Continued from here
Tiger Lily – at 13:29
Commonground – at 13:09
You read my mind!
Outbreak of Dengue Fever in Saudi November 5, 2006
JEDDAH: Saudi media reported an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Jeddah this week. Hospital officials have so far reported four cases of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia. There have been no cases of dengue fever reported in Kuwait.
According to local reports agricultural engineer, Mohammed Habib Bukhari, has warned against a larger scale dengue fever outbreak in Jeddah.
He said stagnant pools of water left over by an abrupt, but severe downpour last week were a fertile breeding ground for dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes. Bukhari pointed out that some 40 swamps around the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in addition to the Mesk Lagoon, Jeddah’s dumping area, and the stagnant pools covering several parts of southern Jeddah were high risk areas.
Dengue is caused by the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito breeding in stagnant water. It is marked by high fever, joint pain, skin rashes and a sharp drop in platelets in the blood that can prove fatal.
Several dozen people have died from the virus in a recent outbreak in India.
Bangladesh
November 5, 2006
Mosquito menace adds to people’s woes Rizanuzzaman Laskar
The sudden surge of mosquito menace in the city over the last few weeks continues to aggravate the woes of city dwellers.
The sudden increase of mosquitoes has created a fear in the minds of people who dread that a dengue epidemic might be on its way to plague their lives.
Despite the rapid increase of mosquitoes, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC)’s negligence in dealing with this menace continues to frustrate the city dwellers.
<snip>
Another official blamed the general people’s indifference towards cleanliness of their premises to be a major reason of the increase in mosquitoes. “If they continue to depend on us to eradicate mosquitoes and don’t keep their premises clean, then they are bound to be disappointed,” he said.
He also blamed wetlands, ponds and canals located in the fringes of city to be the major breeding grounds of mosquitoes. “We urge our field workers to cover up an addition of one kilometre area beyond our accounted vicinity to prevent mosquitoes from migrating.”
<snip>
6 people died from Malaria in Jalpaiguri (regional proximity to Bangladesh) November 5, 2006
Comment: For tracking purposes would it be useful to consider opening a new thread for reporting Dengue, Chick, and Malaria outbreaks?
Tiger Lily – at 13:33
Side scroll…Yikes. I am so sorry. What did I do to cause it?
(on the previous thread. BB)
Tiger Lily --- Looks like you used underscore as a seperator, instead of using hyphens. You only need to type 5 or 6 hyphens (dashes) in order to create a horizontal seperator line.
Bronco Bill - at 13:52 - I never knew that…..too bad I won’t remember it next week……..love growing older. :-)
I thought I would post this here (from the last thread) It is a very helpful map.
Notice you can select which illness you want on the world map (example dengue, flu, ….)
Bronco Bill - at 13:52
Thanks! Yes, I did underscore. I should really spend more time in the sandbox :)
Commonground – at 14:03 --- Age can be a good thing. You can’t be held responsible for something you can’t even remember!! ;-)
Thanks for the tip Bronco Bill - I will definitely be using it……
Great map DennisC. Does anyone know how the heck I could go about trying to find out if all these disease outbreaks are within the norm? If you go to the map and read the “alerts” you would think the world is coming to an end. How can I find out what is normal for these Countries?
Commonground- I guess it’s pretty self explainatory. There is a description of the icons that greatly helps. I guess we pretty much know what is “normal”. We should keep an eye on the epidemics in those countries, as well as out own. The biohazard shields make me feel uneasy, for some reason, more so than that red flashing chicken. Any how, this is a great map to watch. It is a wealth of information. (not sponsored by WHO, or the ministeries of China!)
cottontop - at 15:22 - DennisC’s map isn’t the one with the flashing chickens. Go check it out. Post @ 14:05. How do we know what’s “normal”? If there is an outbreak in say Bangladesh, how are we to know what is a “normal” outbreak and what is not? It may speak of “fear” in the villagers, but I wish I know how many deaths they had last year, and the year before, to compare. If it’s an epidemic, than that’s a whole different ball game.
Commonground- Please give me the site. I’ve gotten so confused with all of this. I have been looking for that one since I first gave it to you last month. O.k. there’s another site? Please help!
commonground- cancel the help order. Got it.
I am so happy to hear you are confused. now I don’t feel so alone. Thank you so much. I have been watching the flashing chickens for about 8 months now, but I do know you just discovered it a while back. I don’t like the biohazard icons either.
commonground- That red flashing chicken must be tired, after 8 months!
I’m just going to use it as another wealth of information, and try to follow up on what’s going on. This will be helpful for our look out post, I think. OG, I feel a box of krispy creams coming on!
Has anyone else noticed that all the flashing chickens are gone except the one for low path in the US? What do you suppose that means?
under the radar - I have noticed. Don’t know what it means. I could speculate on what I think it means, but I wouldn’t want to offend other Countries.
PAKISTAN: Islamabad/Rawalpindi
Nov 8 2006 / http://tinyurl.com/ymuvws
Dengue Fever patients reaches 3530
ISLAMABAD: The number of Dengue Fever suspected patients has climbed up to the 3530 including 1300 confirmed cases of the virus in different parts of the country. After the confirmation of nine patients in the twin cities, the number of effected patients has reached 179 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the last twenty-four hours. According to the statistics given by the ministry of health, in the last twenty-four hours 95 patients were brought to the different hospitals of twin cities over suspicion on dengue fever while 122 more cases were confirmed all over the country .
In twin cities, the situation is also worsening. The death of 35 patients is confirmed on the official level in which 33 patient died of deadly virus in Sindh and 2 in Peshawar.
PAKISTAN
Dengue suspect cases stands over 3,000 in Pakistan
UPDATED: 08:22, November 07, 2006
The total number of patients with signs and symptoms similar to those of dengue fever admitted in different hospitals of Pakistan stood at 3,230 by Monday evening, according to a press release issued by Pakistan health ministry here.
The total number of patients declared positive for dengue virus across the country stands at 1,113, said the press release.
So far a total of 33 deaths have occurred from dengue fever across the country, 32 from Sindh province and one in North West Frontier Province.
A total number of 500 patients have so far been admitted to different hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi with symptoms similar to those of dengue fever.
The total number of positive cases of dengue virus in the twin cities now stands at 175.
Source: Xinhua
PHILIPPINES
DoH declares dengue outbreak in Laguna town
11/08/2006 / http://tinyurl.com/tuvac
CABUYAO, Laguna — The Department of Health has declared a dengue outbreak in Cabuyao, Laguna after its representatives confirmed a sharp rise in the incidence of dengue inside a relocation site here, the provincial health officer said Wednesday. Dr. Alsaneo Lagos said from zero last year, there have been over 10 incidents of confirmed dengue cases inside the 53-hectare Southville Housing Project.
He said, however, that of 10 reported dengue deaths, only three have been confirmed as caused by the mosquito-borne dengue virus. Two of the victims were children aged 3 and 5 who died in a Mandaluyong hospital recently.
“We declared a dengue outbreak based on the recommendations and findings of the DoH. The dengue cases in Southville have reached a problematic stage,” Lagos said.
He added that eight more victims, all of them children, are still confined in several hospitals.
During their visit to the resettlement site Tuesday, Lagos said they discovered that many children were also suffering from colds and fever. He said they immediately conducted a check up on the children and other residents in the area.
“We will put up a screening center inside the relocation site. We will monitor the whole area everyday until we can clear it of dengue,” Lagos said. Aside from regular monitoring, Lagos said they have activated the “Brigada Kontra Kiti-kiti (Brigade Against Mosquito Larvae)” so to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds.
PAKISTAN
Here’s a report on a big fight about dengue in the Sindh Assembly in Pakistan. Lots of finger pointing, but it’s certain that they are only suspecting dengue here. http://tinyurl.com/y8yyen
Is there a global map of major dengue outbreaks/ Flu/ unknown heamorrhagic disease over the last 4 weeks anywhere that anyone knows of.
These reports are getting increasingly frequent and it could be a useful tool to see how or if they are clustered.
Is there a global map of major dengue outbreaks/ Flu/ unknown heamorrhagic disease over the last 4 weeks anywhere that anyone knows of.
These reports are getting increasingly frequent and it could be a useful tool to see how or if they are clustered.
Commonground at 15:26
I was just goofing around to see if I could find a source of info on dengue outbreaks in the past few years (to get a sense of what’s normal) and found this on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever#Recent_outbreaks
I can’t vouch for the information but the tables look like they might have a bit of what you are looking for?
Peru
A total of 508 Peruvan school children on Tuesday were poisoned after eating a government-provided breakfast in Huancayo, the capital of the Junin Region in the country’s central highlands, regional health authorities said on Wednesday. The children, aged between four and 11 years old, suffered from stomachache, vomiting, nausea, dehydration, after eating pasteurized milk and bread on Tuesday, authorities said. Around 110 of the children were sent to hospital for treatment and the five most seriously ill were kept in intensive care, authorities said. In the wake of the accident, the Peruvian Health Ministry sent a team of six medical experts to Huancayo to assist the investigation into the case. Initial investigation results showed that infected milk is the most likely cause, based on the children’s symptoms. The country’s interior ministry and police have taken samples from the school children’s breakfast food for analysis in forensic laboratories, and the analysis results will be released on Thursday. Providing free breakfast to school children is a part of the country’s National Food Assistance Program, which is aimed at improving nutrition in children and women in underdeveloped areas.
China
Twenty-one students in a private school in Xinjiang fell ill and were hospitalized after having lunch in the school’s cafeteria. The students at Zhongcheng Private School, in Wensu County, complained of headaches, bellyaches and vomiting after lunch on Wednesday, according to a local health official. Nineteen of the students aged from six to 14, were discharged from hospital the same day after treatment, said the official. Two others were still in hospital, but out of critical condition. The school said undercooked beans possibly led to the poisoning. The county’s health monitoring authorities had run tests on the students for further examination.
http://visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?id=8239&cat=dis&lang=eng
remember to cook your beans well:-)
Huwebes, Nobyembre 09, 2006 6:59:00 AM
09 - Diarrhea outbreak death toll rises to 11 in Agusan del Sur Thursday, November 09 2006 @ 09:40 AM GMT
Provincial The death toll in the diarrhea outbreak in three far-flung areas of San Luis, Agusan del Sur has risen to 11, a spokesman of the provincial government reported on Thursday.
The affected areas are Sitios Kamalangan, Tamiang and Guisawan, all in Barangay Binicalan in Kilometers 90 and 55, about a four-hour hike from the municipal proper of San Luis.
The dead were immediately buried in the said affected areas. The identities of the fatalities are still being consolidated.
The diarrhea outbreak struck in said areas on Monday.
Ferdinand Perez, spokesman of the provincial government, said Agusan del Sur Governor Adolph Edward Plaza had mobilized all health personnel in the province to combat the dreaded disease which reportedly affected a total of 85 families.
Regional Health Director Dr. Leonita Gorgolon, also deployed more doctors, nurses and even midwives to assist the provincial health personnel in Agusan del Sur headed by Dr. Joel Esparagoza and the municipal health personnel in San Luis town led by Dr. Aladin Plaza, to prevent the spread of diarrhea.
The municipal disaster coordinating council has been activated to assist the victims.
Perez said Plaza sent boxes of medicines worth close to P100,000 for the victims. The medicines were personally received by San Luis Mayor Jose Chua.
At least 85 persons severely affected by the diarrhea disease were evacuated to D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital in Patin-ay, Prosperidad town and in Butuan City for immediate treatment.
The other victims were treated at various rural health centers in the nearby municipality of Talacogon and this town.
Initial findings of an investigation into the outbreak showed the diarrhea was caused by contaminated water drawn from a shallow well, Perez said.
Plaza, who is closely monitoring the twin disaster in the municipalities of San Luis and Bunawan, said the current situation in those areas is already under control.
Early this week, typhoid fever also hit Barangay Libertad in Bunawan town, where one person was reported dead while close to 500 others were affected.
The typhoid fever was caused by contaminated water drawn from shallow well, it was learned. (PNA)
— This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Balita MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
Epidemic Hazard North America Canada Mantioba Province, Winnipeg 11/2/06
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading in Winnipeg’s hospitals and personal care homes, the city’s medical health officer warned Wednesday. Dr. Margaret fast, medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Reginal Health Authority, said that norovirus has appeared in city hospitals, emergency rooms, and personal care homes. For the past number of years, norovirus infection seemed to be on the increase and it’s not an officially reported disease. but there have been cases and outbreaks in higher numbers than usual across the whole country.” Dr. Fast said. The number of norovirus infections is difficult to track because not everyone seeks hospital treatment once they contract it. But officals said at St. Boniface general Hospital that they have seen about 100 cases in the past week. The norovirus usually does not require a trip to the emergency room. Norovirus spreads very easily, either through direct contact or indirect contact.
http://vis2.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert.php?land=eng
can not find any current news on this for the past few days.
cottontop, I’m from Manitoba so I’ll chime in:-) It’s a short duration illness, upset stomach, weakness and fatigue, diarrhea- basically you just feel awful for a day or two. After that it takes a couple of days to ‘get back to normal’. That’s if you’re young and healthy. My M-I-L is in the hospital right now(went there yesterday) due to complications from a bad case of norovirus. She’s in her seventies and not in good health to begin with so it’s been hard on her.
No schools closed that I’ve heard but there are probably alot more cases out there than they’re seeing, that’s true.
Venezuela, Los Guayos
More than 100 children were poisoned after eating bad food at a breakfast at the Las Augilas VI Bolivarian Integrated Education Center, in Los Guayos in the Venezuelan sate of Carabobo. The children reported stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea around mid-day on Tuesday, and some of them even fainted, Venezuelan newspaper El Universal reported on Thursday. Local police rushed the children to local medical centers — 28children to Las Aguitas medical center, some to the Los Guayos Integral Diagnostic Center, and those in critical conditions to the Dr Enrique Tejera Hospital in Valencia and the Carabobo Hospital in the city of Naguangua. Samples collected by health authorities showed that the poisoning was caused by the breakfast the children had eaten. Local authorities have suspended teaching at the school. The incident is the second in recent days. On Monday, 40 children suffered food poisoning in the west Venezuelan state of Aragua, where food from the School Food Program was found to be contaminated.
http://visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?id=8238&cat=dis&lang=eng
MaMa-
Is that norovirus the same as Norwalk virus? Is it Norwalk? At any rate, I’ve had the 24 hour stomach virus, whatever it’s called, and it’s a nightmare. I really feel for these people.
cottontop, it is the same and nasty. Here’s an information link from the US Bad Bug Book. More than you probably wanted to know about it:-)
RSOE HAVARIA Emergency Information Service
Epidemic Hazard - Europe Event summary
GLIDE Number EH-20061104–8245-UKR Event type Epidemic Hazard Date / time [UTC] 04/11/2006 - 03:52:59 (Military Time, UTC) Country Ukraine Area - County / State Kárpátalja City Munkács Cause of event Unknow Log date 04/11/2006 - 03:52:59 (Military Time, UTC) Damage level Heavy Time left - Latitude: N 48° 27.000 Longitude: E 22° 43.020 Number of deaths: 1 persons Number of injured persons: Not or Not data Evacuated: - Infected 1 -
DESCRIPTION Unknow virus infected two man.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/11/06
Burnsville, N.C. — “As Paul Edelson, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, headed into the Health Department building in this Black Mountain town, he started to open the door for a woman on crutches.
“Wait,” she told him. She pulled out a Clorox wipe and swished off the door handle.
Dusty Beam, 23, was coming in to get a flu shot. Edelson heads a CDC team investigating an early and fast-moving outbreak of seasonal influenza that has swept the area, infecting mostly youngsters at first and forcing closure of the Yancey County and Mitchell County school systems. The episode is an epidemiologist’s dream: a microcosm of how flu spreads and its impact on a community.
Local health and school authorities, alarmed when absenteeism hit 250 of Yancey County’s 2,575 students and up to 45 teachers, shut schools Nov. 2 when they could not muster enough substitute teachers willing to be exposed to the illness. At midweek, the illness hit neighboring Mitchell County to the east, and those schools, serving 2,200 students, were closed Thursday after as many as 40 children went home sick within a few hours on Wednesday.
Friday was a Veterans Day holiday in both districts, and both systems are expected to reopen Monday.
“We felt a four-day break would be a precautionary measure to keep the flu from spreading to more of our students and faculty members,” said Mitchell County school superintendent Brock Womble.
In a state of paranoia
Lab tests have confirmed the North Carolina outbreak is a run-of-the-mill influenza B virus, which is generally mild, with fever, body aches and dry cough. Most patients were well within four to five days, health officials said, although four children were hospitalized.
At week’s end it had not been determined whether the particular strain is covered by this year’s flu vaccine; local health officials who complained of not getting any vaccine during October scrambled last week to offer shots as the illness began to affect more adults.
Yancey County activated its reverse-911 calling system — usually used to notify parents when snow causes school closings — to warn residents not to gather in public. Soccer games, volleyball, and church activities were canceled. Folks stayed away from downtown and merchants rang fewer sales.
“Everybody’s scared to death of the flu,” said Sandi Hogan, administrative assistant at the Chamber of Commerce. “You get people who don’t know the difference between this flu and the bird flu.”
For parents, the outbreak and school closings meant missing work, getting relatives to watch children, even taking well youngsters to work.
For elderly folks in the local nursing home, it meant quarantine: no visitors all week.
For the Atlanta-based CDC, it provided a case study in lessons that could be important in a pandemic, such as avian flu.
For everyone, it meant taking precautions to stay well.” - excerpt
(sorry lost the URL)
I really didn’t know where to put this.
TABLE III. *Deaths in Honolulu, Hawaii for all weeks during 2006
All time high for deaths for Pneumonia & Influenza for week 44.
That link in 06:42 is not right.
Go here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/distrnds.html. Then go to the Mortalilty Tables. Then go to Hawaii.
(Sandi Hogan, administrative assistant at the Chamber of Commerce. “You get people who don’t know the difference between this flu and the bird flu.” -Well ma’am, tell them H5N1 has a 60 to 70 % fatality rate for the under 30 crowd’…)
Didn’t their Chamber of Commerce distribute the business pandemic prep checklist? “Key roles to play”, doncha know…
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/business/index.html
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/index.html
Well, the CDC got to try some of that trial run/practice stuff, to see what people will do when told to miss work and keep kids home, (taking youngsters to work + contagious before symptoms = ungood) but everywhere needs to get ready for months of disruptions.
Australia
Nursing home battles fatal outbreak
The Canberra nursing home at the centre of a deadly respiratory outbreak says it is working with the ACT Health Department to help control the unidentified illness.
The Jindalee Aged Care Residence has released a statement, saying it is in contact with the department twice daily and following its instructions.
The outbreak has claimed the lives of four elderly residents, while a further 43 people are still battling the respiratory infection at the Narrabundah home
An outbreak of whooping cough in Palo Alto:
Soon pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, hit members of the cross-country team. Now seven cases of the tough, rib-cracking infection have been confirmed at Palo Alto High School; county health officials suspect 37 more. And all 1,700 Paly students are being encouraged to get booster shots to keep the disease from spreading.The Santa Clara County health department will hold a free pertussis vaccination clinic on campus Wednesday, and has alerted more than 5,000 local health care providers about the outbreak, reminding doctors how to test for the disease and treat it. While many people assume whooping cough is gone from the United States — eradicated like polio — it’s been on the rise in recent years. The infection can result in weeks of coughing, cracked ribs, pneumonia and other complications. The cough, which may be accompanied by a ``whooping sound, can be so severe it leaves patients struggling to catch their breath. In the Paly students, the disease typically mimicked a common cold at first, with a terrible, lingering cough developing days later. `It’s really a tough, tough disease, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the Santa Clara County health officer. It can kill babies, with the highest death rates in infants too young to be immunized. While most children are vaccinated, scientists have learned that protection wanes significantly within 10 years. So teens who got the standard series of DPT shots as babies may be susceptible again. Last year, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone between the ages of 11 and 64 get a new `Tdap’‘ booster shot to protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
Budapest hospital closed due to epidemic
Kútvölgyi Hospital, located in Budapest’s District XII, is closed to visitors will admit no new patients after an epidemic broke out with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea on Friday, writes hirszerzo.hu. Around 70 patients have contracted the virus since Friday and most are reported to be recovering. Three patients and a hospital employee were diagnosed with the same illness on Monday.
Hospital Director Tamás Palicz said the symptoms of the illness go away within three days. The hospital will remain closed to visitors until 72 hours after the last patient recovers, which will probably be in around a week. Some departments may make an exception, for example, obstetrics and intensive care, where no infections have been reported so far.
Tests to determine the cause of the illness are underway. The National Public Health and Medical Officers Service (ÁNTSZ) has reported similar cases from other hospitals. Viral epidemics are not uncommon at this time of year, and hospital patients, whose immune system is generally weak and are in contact with each other, are more prone to infection, Palicz said.
COMMENT
Sounds like seasonal flu but that’s a lot of folks to require hospitalization.
Another longer but excellent article on the current situation with whooping cough is here:
Nimbus – at 06:23
A boy in my daughter’s class at elementary school got whooping cough last winter, as did his younger brother. The interesting thing was that this boy had been immunized for DPT since any child is required to have the whole array of vaccinations before enrolling in school.
The “Flu Crew”-
I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. Since there has been much discussion about vaccines, I thought this article would be sutible for a good read, food for thought. I have no opinion on this one way or the other, as I maintain the motto, don’t believe, but don’t disbelieve. I hesitated to post this, but after Pixie’s above post, found that this article fits right in what she just said.
Vaccine Dangers and Vested Interests www.nexusmagazine.com
click on sample articles, article is third on the left.
What do you think?
Sorry, cottontop, but I could not get past the word “UFO”. It set off my my “BS” alarm.
Pixie – at 06:50, depending on the state, some parents can claim “it is against their beliefs”.
(I had also seen online once upon a time, a parent who wasn’t religious, just more scared of vaxing the kid than of the mercury in tuna fish they were eating, ect, asking online how to forge the form for school so it would look like the child had been vaxed. Not sure staff actually has time to call Dr.s in and out of state and verify vax records, right?)
Also, whether it is sunspot cycles or what, sure seems like diseases aren’t behaving as “normal”, whatever we thought that was, a few decades ago.
“between the ages of 11 and 64 get a new Tdap’‘ booster shot “ Well, that’s my age range, alright…
crfullmoon – at 07:29 depending on the state, some parents can claim “it is against their beliefs”.
Yes, I have several friends who think that way, but not this family. This particular family had most definitely had both the kids vaccinated against pertussis according to the usual schedule. The kids were young, too, one a 2nd grader and one a kindergartener.
anonymous @07:24
get past it! that’s not what I’m advacating. one never knows where your find the next interesting read on a topic we’ve been discussing. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
originally posted by lifeisgreat on the Southeast Asia thread…
Oct 29 2006 Pig flu sparks epidemic fears’‘’
… “An exotic flu strain identified in Hong Kong appears to have crossed from pigs to humans, triggering memories of a global flu pandemic which killed 20 million people in 1918.
Although health officials in the former colony are anxious not to cause panic, they are monitoring the new strain closely.
The infection, reported in New Scientist magazine, was identified in a 10-month-old girl admitted to Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun hospital in late September.
Although she was successfully treated, the virus bears all the molecular hallmarks of a porcine, or pig, strain.
This is a source of concern because research published in 1997 suggested that a virus which jumped from pigs to people was the source of the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918.
Alan Hay, director of the World Health Organisation influenza collaborating centre at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, said: “We’re monitoring the case very carefully for that reason. We don’t know the ins and outs of this yet…”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/489385.stm
Notice more is happening in Hungary. This time in a different town. They say it is not bacterial and something about the worker (?) being intimidated by the officals. It is listed under epidemic allert and there are now 50 infants (??) effected and in the hospital (??). Again I cannot get a clear translation. Any Hungarians out there? Is food posioning among infants that common there or is there something going on?
notice also this is in a different city from: Kaposvár on Oct 24 : http://tinyurl.com/y68dco and Kútvölgyi Hospital in Budapest http://tinyurl.com/wlu2j
MAMA at 16:05:
Dr. Niman reported via rumor thread that something big is about to be communicated, but the big has already happened elsewhere. I’ve been going through this thread for clues and the article at 16:05 might be it. TOM DVM always said this would be a big indicator pig-to human. So, this could be where the next big story breaks. Anyone got any extra thoughts on this?
Pixie_This breaking through of WC into the vaccinated may be due to two things. I’ve for some time wondered just how long a batch is kept and who’s checking the expiration dates. Especially in the multidose bottles that are removed from the batch box. Maybe as the vaccine approaches expiration it loses some potency if punctured several times through the rubber stopper, but I couldn’t find any testing on this topic last time I looked. I’ve found recent expired meds in crash carts that aren’t used on a regular basis like the OB floor. Crash carts are checked by a lot of people so, I wondered if Pediatrician and FP offices assign this to someone who takes it seriously. Or, this is a new strain and the vaccine isn’t protective. Over 1/2 the kids last year in the midwest had both shots plus boosters and still caught it.
Leo7 - at 17:08
Thanks - I hadn’t realized that so many vaxed kids in the midwest caught it and my friend will find that interesting (we’re in the NE).
On Niman: If I had to bet, Niman will most likely be telling us shortly that recombination has become obvious, too obvious to ignore, in recently released sequences. That is just my guess, and I have not spoken to Niman about it or seen any further detail so far. From the wording he used in his hinting of what is to come, I figure that his saying that some will now see things in a “blinding” new light refers to his fellow scientists. When Niman gets this excited about something, it invariably means that his theories are proven, or closer to being proven, depending on how you look at things. Since Niman usually predicts sequence outcomes that are not very “good” for us, I would read into the tea leaves further that the new sequence news is not something to celebrate (i.e. the subject at hand lately has been that of changes leading to higher transmisibility in humans, so that’s probably where the news lies also).
A bit more on the virus in Hungary - sorry I will try to search out more later - too busy at work today!
Calici virus breaks out at four Budapest hospitals
More than 100 patients have contracted the calici virus in four Budapest hospitals, Kútvölgyi Hospital, Ferenc Jahn Hospital, the National Rheumatology and Physiotherapy Institute and János Hospital. According to hirszerzo.hu, 74 patients are being treated at Kútvölgyi Hospital. Kútvölgyi Hospital and the Phisiotherapy Institute are closed to visitors; Ferenc Jahn Hospital is partly closed, while no limitation has yet been introduced at János Hospital.
Calicivirus info from CDC
Note: this is snipped from a larger article titled Calicivirus Emergence from Ocean Reservoirs: Zoonotic and Interspecies Movements
Caliciviral infections in humans, among the most common causes of viral-induced vomiting and diarrhea, are caused by the Norwalk group of small round structured viruses, the Sapporo caliciviruses, and the hepatitis E agent. Human caliciviruses have been resistant to in vitro cultivation, and direct study of their origins and reservoirs outside infected humans or water and foods (such as shellfish contaminated with human sewage) has been difficult. Modes of transmission, other than direct fecal-oral routes, are not well understood. In contrast, animal viruses found in ocean reservoirs, which make up a second calicivirus group, can be cultivated in vitro. These viruses can emerge and infect terrestrial hosts, including humans.
<snip>
Nimbus – at 17:25 Thank you very much.
The story at 16:05 is dated Oct. 29, 1999. So that can’t be the big news.
If there is a “hidden” outbreak somewhere- my guess is it is in Napal and was “masked” by the dengue cases. All those doctors that left their hospitals speaks volumes.
But to be honest, I don’t think we have missed too much here: the press and the public-yes; Wikians-no.
MaMa – at 16:05. The link has a publication date of Oct 26, 1999. (This is a good thing, for some otherwise bad news.
LOL! Thanks blackbird- I gotta stay away from the ‘puter when I’m in a rush:-)
Mysterious Illness Sickens Floyd County Students
Last Edited: Tuesday, 14 Nov 2006, 10:25 PM EST
“ATLANTA (FOX5) — Floyd County authorities are investigating a mysterious illness that has sickened more than 100 students at Midway Primary School.”
DennisC – at 17:47
So you still thinkin’ about Nepal too I see?
Report: Scarlet fever rapidly spreading in North Korea
Published: 11/15/2006
Surely they test for the bacteria so there should be no chance of a missed H5N1 - unless someone has both
Angola
About 20 people died of tuberculosis in the last three months, in Bi’ province, out of 320 cases registered by the local sanitary authorities, ANGOP has learnt in Kuito. According to the supervisor of the Programme on fight Against Tuberculosis, Isaˇas Chicapa Lemos, who informed ANGOP, said that the excessive number of cases is due to social problems. At least 236 patients have been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, whereas the rest have extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The source added that the districts of Kuito, Kamacupa, Chinguar and Kuemba are the most affected by this disease.
UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS, NURSING HOME - AUSTRALIA (CANBERRA
Australian Capital Territory Health has confirmed there have now been 5 deaths at Narrabundah’s Jindalee Nursing Home and that a further 52 people are battling the illness.The outbreak is believed to have started early last month [October 2006]. At this stage, the disease is confined to staff and patients at the one nursing home….
Likely candidates for etiologic agent are influenza virus (susceptible to oseltamivir or amantidine/rimantidine) or respiratory syncytial virus (susceptible to ribavirin or palivizumab), both highly infectious agents frequently associated with outbreaks of viral diseases among the elderly in care homes…..
From www.floridatoday.com
November 16, 2006
Outbreak sickens 700 on Carnival ship
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More than 700 passengers aboard a trans-Atlantic cruise fell ill with flu-like symptoms, cruise line official said.
The outbreak, believed to be norovirus, struck 556 guests and 154 crewmembers aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Liberty as of Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the cruise line. The Miami-based company said the ship is carrying 2,804 paying passengers and 1,166 crewmembers.
The ship departed Nov. 3 from Rome and is scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.
Officials believe the outbreak is under control because less passengers are reporting symptoms. Nobody has been removed from the ship, Carnival said.
“It appears the interventions are starting to work,” said David Forney, with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Within 24 hours of sailing, they had a lot of people sick. It has tapered off considerably over the past couple days.”
Three environmental health specialists were expected to board the ship when it docked in St. Maarteen today, Forney said. The specialists will oversee the cleaning operation and try to determine the cause of the outbreak.
“It’s impossible for now to say what the source is,” Forney said.
The ship was scheduled to set sail again Sunday, but Carnival pushed the departure day back to next Tuesday so the crew has extra time to disinfect the ship, Carnival officials said.
The Liberty, which had its maiden voyage in July 2005, is one of the world’s largest cruise ships, with 13 passenger decks and space for 2,974 travelers.
They are think it is calicivírus, sorry the translations are sketchy.
Sopron,Hungary
30 high school students sick…Franciscan street-door dormitory …spewing and diarrhea symptoms … http://tinyurl.com/y75tcz
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
7 school children-The class rooms , device texts uninterruptedly disinfect , the constitutional employees mask he wears…
Köszeg, Hungary
29 people, same problem- diarrhea and spewing thought to be calicivírus.
Virus outbreak shuts cardiac unit
The cardiac unit at Swansea’s Morriston Hospital has closed to new patients due to an outbreak of a virus.
Six patients and 17 members of staff have been hit by sickness and diarrhoea because of an airborne virus traced to a patient transferred there.
Emergency cases are being sent to other hospitals and 36 patients have had their operations postponed.
The NHS trust said extra infection control measures were in place and it hoped the unit would open on Tuesday.
Acting director of operations Janet Williams said: “We have had problems over the past two weeks, but now a decision has been taken to close the unit to try and clear it.
More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/6158948.stm
Karachi Pakistan
A total of 25 patients suspected with viral haemorrhagic fever are currently hospitalised at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). A total of 645 patients aged between six to 82 years were admitted to AKUH between June 14 and November 17, 2006 with viral haemorrhagic fever. Out of these, fourteen patients expired due to severity of the disease, while 606 recovered and were discharged. The patients suffered from symptoms from bleeding, diarrhoea, vomiting to abdominal pain. 284 patients were diagnosed to have Dengue haemorrhagic fever, three patients suffered from Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), while in the remaining, the special serological tests were either negative or the results are in pending.
Scientists predict next Ebola outbreak
afrol News, 17 November - The next Ebola outbreak should be expected to occur “in northern Congo Brazzaville, towards Cameroon and the Central African Republic,” according to African scientists that have closely studied the pattern of the deadly disease. They found that Ebola affect many Central African mammals besides humans and that the disease fluctuates with climate variables throughout the Gabon-Congo region, making predictions possible.
Long article here: http://www.afrol.com/articles/22756
J Virol. 1994
Department of Pathobiological Sciences and Veterinary Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
“In July 1991, an influenza A virus, designated A/Maryland/12/91 (A/MD), was isolated from the bronchial secretions of a 27-year-old animal caretaker. He had been admitted to the hospital with bilateral pneumonia and died of acute respiratory distress syndrome 13 days later. Antigenic analyses with postinfection ferret antisera and monoclonal antibodies to recent H1 swine hemagglutinins indicated that the hemagglutinin of this virus was antigenically related to, but distinguishable from, those of other influenza A (H1N1) viruses currently circulating in swine. Oligonucleotide mapping of total viral RNAs revealed differences between A/MD and other contemporary swine viruses.
However, partial sequencing of each RNA segment of A/MD demonstrated that all segments were related to those of currently circulating swine viruses. Sequence analysis of the entire hemagglutinin, nucleoprotein, and matrix genes of A/MD revealed a high level of identity with other contemporary swine viruses. Our studies on A/MD emphasize that H1N1 viruses in pigs obviously continue to cross species barriers and infect humans.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=8138990
Virology. 1997
Department of Virology, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. epsilon@virus1.net.iss.it
Swine influenza viruses possessing avian genes were first detected in Europe in 1979 (Scholtissek et al., 1983, Virology, 129, 521–523) and continue to circulate in pigs in that region of the world.
To evaluate the frequency of transmission of swine H1N1 and H3N2 viruses to man, we tested 123 human sera for hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies against avian and mammalian H1N1 and H3N2 virus strains. Our findings indicate that swine influenza viruses possessing A/Port Chalmers/1/73-like hemagglutinin may have transmitted to approximately 20% of young persons under 20 years of age who had contact with pigs. Thus, H3N2 swine viruses, possibly possessing avian-derived internal genes, may be entering humans more often than was previously thought. We strongly recommend that pigs be regularly monitored as a potential early warning system for detection of future pandemic strains.
- excerpt
J Gen Virol. 1998 Dec
Multiple genetic reassortment of avian and human influenza A viruses in European pigs, resulting in the emergence of an H1N2 virus of novel genotype.
Central Veterinary Laboratory-Weybridge, Addlestone, Surrey, UK. ibrown.vla@gtnet.gov.uk
“Novel H1N2 influenza A viruses which were first detected in pigs in Great Britain in 1994 were examined antigenically and genetically to determine their origins and establish the potential mechanisms for genetic reassortment. The haemagglutinin (HA) of all swine H 1 N2 viruses examined was most closely related to, but clearly distinguishable both antigenically and genetically from, the HA of human H1N1 viruses which circulated in the human population during the early 1 980s.
The potential mechanisms and probable progenitor strains for genetic reassortment are discussed, but we propose that the swine H1N2 viruses examined originated following multiple genetic reassortment, initially involving human H1N1 and ‘human-like’ swine H3N2 viruses, followed by reassortment with ‘avian-like’ swine H1N1 virus. These findings suggest multiple reassortment and replication of influenza viruses may occur in pigs many years before their detection as clinical entities.”
November 20, 2006 03:40pm
An 88-year-old man is believed to be suffering a mystery illness which has already claimed six lives in a Canberra nursing home. So far 57 people - 50 elderly residents and seven staff - have undergone treatment since the flu-like respiratory illness was first detected in Jindalee Nursing Home in mid-October. Another six residents have died.
Residents and staff have been immunised with the anti-viral Tamiflu as health authorities try to identify the virus. ACT Health says all of the people who died were elderly and already had serious illnesses. The last death was on Thursday. The 88-year-old man fell ill at the weekend and is now undergoing tests, with results due back within the next two days.
About 140 people live in the nursing home, which has about 150 staff.
ACT Health spokeswoman Natalie Driver said extensive tests were under way on all of those infected and results should be received by the end of the week.
General practitioners throughout Canberra have been briefed on what to do if someone presents themselves with what looks like the illness.
Chief Executive of the ACT division of General Practice Richard Bialkowski said it had similar symptoms but does not appear to be the normal winter flu.
“I think the normal, sort-of winter strain, it doesn’t appear to be,” he told ABC Radio.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2006
“Pigs can play an important role in the genetic reassortment of influenza viruses and as a reservoir for another lineage of influenza viruses that have the ability to reassort and be transmitted between species. In March and April 2006, novel H3N1 influenza A viruses were isolated from pigs with respiratory diseases at two different commercial swine farms in Korea. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses of the sequences of all eight viral RNA segments showed that the novel H3N1 swine influenza viruses were reassortants that acquired the hemagglutinin gene from an H3 human-like virus and other genes from swine influenza viruses that are currently circulating in Korea.
Serologic and virologic tests in the infected farms suggested that pig-to-pig and farm-to-farm transmissions occurred. Clinical signs in pigs and experimentally infected mice suggest the potential to transmit the virus between swine and other mammalian hosts. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of the swine H3N1 subtype from domestic pigs under field conditions in Korea. Further surveillance will be needed to determine whether this novel subtype will continue to circulate in the swine population.
“Since 2003, three novel genotypes of H1 influenza viruses have been recovered from Canadian pigs, including a wholly human H1N2 virus and human-swine reassortants. These isolates demonstrate that human-lineage H1N2 viruses are infectious for pigs and that viruses with a human PB1/swine PA/swine PB2 polymerase complex can replicate in pigs.”
- abstract
Relief at port follows virus-swept voyage for Carnival cruise passengers
Passengers disembarking at Port Everglades Sunday said their 16-day cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines’ Liberty turned from tranquil to terrible when a highly contagious intestinal virus swept through the ship, flooding the infirmary with almost 700 patients and quarantining many in their staterooms.
Shortly after passengers left the ship, an intensive cleaning began, including the use of an anti-viral fogging agent sprayed from bow to stern of the 952-foot ship. The scouring will be monitored by health specialists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The illness, most likely a highly contagious norovirus that causes extreme gastrointestinal distress, sent 534 of 2,804 passengers, or about one in five, to the ship’s infirmary. One-hundred-forty-two members of the 1,186 -person crew were treated at the infirmary.
Klatu @00:32
RE: Nursing home illness
Is there a list of symptoms?
Cross posting from another thread - originally posted by diana
Deadly tropical disease arrives on U.S. shores Scientists say West Nile threat pales by comparison
Sunday, November 19, 2006 BY AMY ELLIS NUTT Star-Ledger Staff
ATLANTA — Chikungunya, a severe and sometimes deadly infectious disease that has devastated the islands of the Indian Ocean, has arrived in the United States.
Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota and at least a half-dozen other states have reported cases of travelers returning from visits to Asia and East Africa sick with the mosquito-borne virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chikungunya can cause fever, nausea, crippling joint pain and even neurological damage.
“This virus has exploded,” said French scientist Philippe Parola, before presenting his findings last week at the 55th annual American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference. “People must start to pay attention.”
From the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, Reunion and the Seychelles, to 150 provinces of India, chikungunya has infected more than 1.3 million people in just the past 20 months.
Much more here:http://tinyurl.com/y8jqzx
A question to any of you that were here during last late fall/winter time period: Do you recall this many deadly infectious diseases happening around the globe?
It just seems incredable to me that this is just occurring this year and hasn’t happened before.
newname – at 20:46
It’s not your imagination. It’s my nightmare.
Nimbus @17:36
I am just blow away by this article. It really sums up what we’ve been thinking. Newname asked the question, and TomDVM believed this to be true. It’s good to see it documented. We are not imagining this.
The thing is, we don’t know for sure what it means. And, as has been pointed out by many, all we will really know for sure is what we will see when we look behind ourselves after the fact.
What we can do now is to do everything we can to make sure we’re prepared, without delay. That would include making sure we are as healthy as possible.
In fact, I just remembered that NS1 was talking about that in one of these threads, that he/she had some links in his/her profile, and I just checked and there are.
I haven’t read the information yet, but I’m going to. NS1 mentioned in his/her post that a healthy person’s body may be able to fight off the virus soon after infection, before it has a chance to really grab hold and do serious damage.
I think that would be some pretty important information to know.
Under The Radar – at 22:46
Mosquito vector-borne illnesses can bring the healthiest person down - cold.
I’m all for natural remedies , but I’m more in tune with fish that eat ‘skeeter larvae - like guppies (and family).
Meningococcal disease in Sudan
21 November 2006
From 1 September to 8 November 2006, 231 suspected cases and 16 deaths of meningococcal disease have been reported in Greater Yei County, Central Equatorial State of South Sudan.
The epidemic threshold was crossed in this county during the last week of October. Five cerebral spinal fluid specimens have tested positive for Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A by latex test.
An outbreak investigation was conducted by the Ministry of the Central Equatorial State with the support of WHO’s Early Warning and Response Network (EWARN) team and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A national multisectoral task force established earlier this year which includes county health authorities, UNICEF, WHO and nongovernmental organizations is coordinating the outbreak response.
More here: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_11_21/en/index.html
Wyoming - Shigellosis outbreak continues
CHEYENNE - The number of people coming down with shigellosis, a gastrointestinal infection caused by bacteria, has grown to at least 35 as of Monday, according to the Indian Health Service and the Wyoming Department of Health.
The disease causes diarrhea, fever, stomach cramping and sometimes bloody stools, said Kelly Weidenbach, surveillance epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health.
“A Shigella outbreak of this size is considered rare in Wyoming,” Weidenbach said.
At least 12 local children have been hospitalized over the past few months because of the disease. Weidenbach said the majority of the cases have been among elementary school-aged children.
More here: http://tinyurl.com/y8s9wq
Iowa - Department of Public Health investigates illness outbreak in Manchester
The Iowa Department of Public Health is hoping to have some answers later today on an outbreak of illness in the Manchester school district. Department spokesman, Kevin Teale, says nearly 170 students got ill on Friday.
Teale says they put together a questionnaire for the people who got ill and they can enter the information into the computer and look for common links. Teale says they do know that most of the ill students were at Manchester’s Lambert Elementary School and they’re trying to find out why.
More here: http://tinyurl.com/txa4t
BRUCELLOSIS, HUMAN - KYRGYZSTAN (OSH)
The physicians of the Osh region in Kyrgyzstan have reported an increase in the number of cases of human brucellosis, 596 cases so far in 2006 compared with 196 cases in 2005.
The Nookatsky district of the Osh region reported the highest number of cases of the disease, with 266 cases. 108 cases were reported in the Karasujskiy district and 48 in the Aravanskiy district.
— ProMED-mail
During the last 2 months, the number of patients with brucellosis reported from the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan has increased by 200 persons. It is not specified in the posting which forms of the disease have been recognized or when the symptoms began. Most frequently, however, this disease is diagnosed after transformation into the chronic form, with a high percentage of physical disability in the patients and social and economic losses. Preventive maintenance in the care of cattle and universal vaccination are not carried out. - Mod.NP
A map of Kyrgyzstan showing the Osh region in the Oshskaya Oblast can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/kyrgysta.pdf
acinetobacter epidemic -Iraq
Infectious Disease News, In the past decade, Acinetobacter has become about four times more resistant to standard antibiotics and is responsible for an increasing number of infections in hospitals, according to a study presented at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
The study, presented by Roberta B. Carey, PhD, microbiologist with the CDC’s division of health care quality promotion, showed that the incidence rates of multidrug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter in hospitals has increased from 4.5% in 1995 to 16.7% in 2004. Also by 2004, the strain was resistant to three drug types in one in four cases. Acinetobacter are gram-negative bacteria found in moist environments or on the skin of healthy people and are often seen in health care personnel. “The outbreak spreading nation wide is largely due to Iraq, and because of a legal technicality in reporting the military, and CDC will not discuss it publicly.
More people come forward, bit by bit telling stories of how the hospital played down there infection. The one person who could have done something about it, “Rep. Dennis Moore” has walked away from the issue deciding it wasnt worth getting into even after what he had seen at a visit to Walter Reed.” “Every VAMC in this country that had a soldier from Iraq in it is contaminated with MDR AB, as simple as a door knob or privacy curtain to pass it on. But, as long as it doesnt have to be reported it will not.”
infection cases in the November 19th, 2004 MWMR report:
85 of the cases were OIF/OEF Landstuhl Regional Medical Center 33 Walter Reed Army Medical Center 45 U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort 11 National Naval Medical Center 8 Brooke Army Medical Center 5
By August 2005 Forbes reported that at least 280 cases of infection had been reported. While DOD stodgily stood by public statements of 112 infections.
An article posted this morning in Denver’s Rocky Mtn News about the chik-infected travelers who brought it back to the state.
Coloradans fall victim to exotically named chikungunya
By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News November 22, 2006
A warning to overseas travelers: Don’t forget the bug spray.
At least two Coloradans returned home recently from Asia and East Africa with chikungunya, an infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes….
Chikungunya is among several types of mosquito-borne diseases that people can contract when they travel abroad, said John Pape, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“Each year, we get reports of -dengue, malaria and other diseases from travelers,” Pape said. “There is no outbreak of these diseases locally, and it’s not mosquito season. So there’s really no danger to the general public.”
But Eileen Farnon, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, said the disease is nonetheless a concern because mosquitoes may still be prevalent in other parts of the country.
She said at least 28 cases have been confirmed nationwide this year….
Austrailian Nursing Home Flu Outbreak Notice the numbers are now at 68
Authorities use bird flu plan to tackle influenza outbreak
The ACT Health Department says it is using plans drawn up for the bird flu threat, to control an influenza outbreak at the Jindalee Nursing Home.
An eighth elderly resident died today and authorities believe the toll may rise further.
Sixty-eight people - including staff - have been affected.
The Acting Chief Health Officer, Charles Guest, says authorities are doing everything possible to control the outbreak.
“We got onto this one early and have identified it as influenza and I’m hoping that the measures that we’ve put in place have actually reduced the amount of illness and death that have arisen because of it,” he said.
23.11.2006
Hawks Bay Today.NZ
“Health and local council authorities may never know what caused a large number of birds, and possibly some cats and dogs, to die at Havelock North’s Anderson Park this week. The sudden death of the birds at the park was first reported on Monday and sparked investigations from the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Hastings District Council and Havelock North Police.
Initial reports pointed to a poisoning, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board’s Lester Calder said today. A resident living next to the park, off Lipscombe Crescent, who did not want to be named, said the birds started dying on Monday.
He said his neighbour’s dog had also died this week and that a number of other residents living on Panckhurst Street, just behind the park, had also reported their pets missing.
Team to probe “mysterious deaths” in Meghalaya [India]
Nov. 23 / http://tinyurl.com/ybgj8h / Link to map of region: http://tinyurl.com/ya5quw
Shillong, Nov. 23 (PTI): As mysterious deaths reported from remote villages of West Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya Government yesterday sent a team of doctors to ascertain the matter and also take preventive measures.
Chief Secretary, S K Tiwari, told reporters here that a team of doctors was sent from district headquarters Nongstoin to investivate the “mysterious disease” which reportedly claimed 20 lives.
While informing that another team would leave today to investigate on the same in three remote villages affecting a population of 500 people, he said so far there was no official report of such deaths in primary or community health centres.
The two teams would examine the patients including blood test and the report would be made available within the next four to five days.
Media reported that Rickettsial disease had claimed 20 lives in two small hamlets of Langpa and Phoumiap in West Khasi hills district during the last one month.
It said eight children were taken ill last week and all of them died a few days latter. Most of the children complained of chest pain coupled with influenza.
Okay, I don’t know where to put this, sorry if its in the wrong area. This is a news story about what happens to spent chickens. Seems they are gassed, and then the bodies are layered with sawdust to make fertilizer. Makes me uneasy for some reason.
Good link to Rickettsial Diseases:
http://dermnetnz.org/viral/rickettsia.html
Symptoms match with Q Fever.
Many thanks to all who post here. I have a sneaking suspicion that THIS may be the thread which indicates widespread H2H of H5N1 - should that event occur.
“Bushmeat” link to SARS outbreak confirmed
Lebanon - suspected cases of seasonal Typhoid fever. More expected
Burundi - Meningitis Outbreak and Cholera update
Australia - Authorities fear cholera outbreak as three women hospitalised
South Africa - fears of a TB “superbug”
New Zealand’
200 dead birds found in Havelock North area
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council says a mass death of birds in the Havelock North area is not likely to be linked to bird flu. Around 200 birds have been reported dead in the area this week.
The birds are mostly small species like sparrows and starlings, but there have also been ducks, magpies and a bellbird reported. The council’s group manager of asset management, Mike Adye, says a range of tests are being carried out to try to find the cause of the deaths; but it may be some time before the cause - or its location - can be found.
Mr Adye says there have been reports of pets dying after eating dead birds, and he advises people to dispose of any dead birds in the rubbish or to bury them deeply.
the posts from this thread have been transferred to the new forum to Not Bird Flu News But Close News Diary