A fungal meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections expanded to 15 states on Monday as Pennsylvania reported its first case of the disease that has killed 15 people nationwide.
The Pennsylvania patient, who received an epidural steroid injection in July from medications supplied by New England Compounding Center (NECC) of Framingham, Massachusetts, is being treated in a hospital, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said.
The new case means that all but eight of the 23 states that received suspect medications from the Massachusetts specialist pharmacy have reported at least one case of fungal meningitis, a rare and deadly disease that has proven difficult to treat.
Over the weekend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its tally of cases, which sometimes lags reports from state health departments, showed 205 people stricken with the disease after receiving injections. Illinois and New Hampshire reported their first cases.
The suspect lots of steroid were shipped to 76 facilities in 23 states, including two locations in Pennsylvania.
"We have been working directly with the clinics to ensure that patients who received these injections are monitored and receive any necessary follow-up," said Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Michael Wolf.
Health authorities believe that nearly 14,000 people nationwide received injections from the potentially contaminated medication.
The state worst affected by the outbreak, Tennessee with 53 cases and six deaths, was holding an administrative hearing on Monday to determine whether to suspend the license of NECC.
At one hospital in Tennessee, St. Thomas in Nashville, more than 275 patients have undergone spinal tap tests, a painful procedure to determine if they have meningitis, and 33 people infected with meningitis have been treated.
The company faces an array of federal and state investigations. It has recalled the suspect medicines, surrendered its license to operate in Massachusetts and suspended operations. A sister company, Ameridose, also has suspended operations.
Meningitis is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever and nausea. Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
The outbreak raised questions about how the pharmaceuticals industry operates. NECC engaged in a little-known practice called drug compounding that is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which generally oversees drug makers.
In compounding, pharmacies prepare specific doses of approved medications, based on guidance from a doctor, to meet an individual patient's need.
A Reuters investigation found that one NECC customer received solicitations from the company for bulk orders and failed to require proof of individual patient prescriptions as required by state regulations.
The emails support assertions made last week by state pharmacy regulators that the compounding firm, which was authorized to deliver products only in response to patient-specific prescriptions, had violated its license in Massachusetts.
Several states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio, are investigating the company.
The 15 states reporting cases of meningitis are Tennessee, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, Idaho, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Florida.
- Times Live
Showing posts with label Pandemic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pandemic. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Meningitis outbreak expands to 12 states, 184 cases: CDC
(Reuters) - The deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis expanded to 12 states with the first case confirmed in Texas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday, bringing the total of cases to 184.
The number of deaths from the outbreak linked to injections of steroid remained at 14 on Friday, the CDC said.
Fifteen new cases of meningitis were reported on Friday including two in Florida, three in Indiana, one in Maryland, two in Michigan, two in New Jersey, one in Tennessee, one in Texas and three in Virginia. Of the 23 states that have received some of the steroid medication suspected of being contaminated, 12 have reported cases of meningitis.
The CDC said there was one additional case of an infection in a joint after an injection from the medication, which has not yet been confirmed as a fungus.
The widening outbreak has alarmed U.S. health officials and focused attention on regulations of pharmaceutical compounding companies such as the one that produced the drugs, the New England Compounding Center Inc in Framingham, Massachusetts.
The steroid is used as a painkiller, usually an epidural injection but also including some injections to joints. It could have been given to nearly 14,000 patients, authorities said.
Meningitis is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Patients show a variety of symptoms including severe headaches and fever. Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
- Reuters
The number of deaths from the outbreak linked to injections of steroid remained at 14 on Friday, the CDC said.
Fifteen new cases of meningitis were reported on Friday including two in Florida, three in Indiana, one in Maryland, two in Michigan, two in New Jersey, one in Tennessee, one in Texas and three in Virginia. Of the 23 states that have received some of the steroid medication suspected of being contaminated, 12 have reported cases of meningitis.
The CDC said there was one additional case of an infection in a joint after an injection from the medication, which has not yet been confirmed as a fungus.
The widening outbreak has alarmed U.S. health officials and focused attention on regulations of pharmaceutical compounding companies such as the one that produced the drugs, the New England Compounding Center Inc in Framingham, Massachusetts.
The steroid is used as a painkiller, usually an epidural injection but also including some injections to joints. It could have been given to nearly 14,000 patients, authorities said.
Meningitis is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Patients show a variety of symptoms including severe headaches and fever. Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
- Reuters
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Epidemic Hazard in Angola on Thursday, 11 October, 2012 at 13:12 (01:12 PM) UTC.
Ten people died of a measles outbreak from 17 September to the present date, in Menongue City, capital of the south-eastern Kuando Kubango Province, a fact that is worrying the local health authorities. ANGOP has learnt that most of the deceased are children below the age of two, but there is also the record of a 35-year old adult. According to the head of the Menongue Municipality health department, Carlos Jonas, who gave this information to ANGOP on Thursday, in view of this worrying reality, which includes the fact that this disease is highly contagious, the authorities have reinforced routine vaccination acts. From 17 September up to the present date the authorities recorded 320 cases of measles were recorded in Menongue City, a number that is considered very high considering the period of the outbreak. According to official sources ten people are currently in-patients in the central hospital for medical assistance, while others are getting ambulatory treatment.
- RSOE EDIS
- RSOE EDIS
Sunday, 7 October 2012
US fungal meningitis infections rise to 47
An outbreak of rare fungal meningitis in the US has now affected 47 people in seven states, health officials say.
Doctors at about 75 medical clinics are being warned to alert patients who received suspect steroid injections.
Five people have died from the illness, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has linked to products from a Massachusetts-based pharmacy firm.
Officials say they found contamination in a sealed steroid vial at the New England Compounding Center.
The firm recalled the steroid doses and has since shut down operations, but the vials have already been shipped to 23 states.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include severe headache, nausea, and fever as well as slurred speech and difficulty walking.
The fungal meningitis causing concern in the US is not infectious, the CDC says.
'Abundance of caution'
Confirming that 47 people were now affected - an increase of 12 in the space of 24 hours, the CDC said new cases were reported for the first time in Michigan.
In Tennessee, which has the majority of the cases, a total of 29 people have now fallen ill. There were six cases in Virginia, three in Indiana Indiana, two each in Maryland and Florida and one in North Carolina, the CDC said.
It is not yet clear how many patients may have been exposed to any contamination, and fungal meningitis can have a lengthy incubation period.
A briefing by the CDC and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday said a fungus linked to the steroid medication had been identified in tests of five patients.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we advise all health care practitioners not to use any product" from the company, said Ilisa Bernstein, director of compliance for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
New England Compounding Center is a type of pharmacy that mixes ingredients for customised medicines. The steroid in question was three lots of methylprednisolone acetate from the firm.
On Friday, the CDC listed about 75 clinics and medical centres that received the suspected lots, and told doctors to immediately contact patients who have had an injection.
Tests are under way to confirm if the contamination is the same fungus blamed in the outbreak. The disease cannot be passed from person to person.
Three people have died in Tennessee, with one death in Virginia and one in Maryland, reports say.
- BBC
Doctors at about 75 medical clinics are being warned to alert patients who received suspect steroid injections.
Five people have died from the illness, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has linked to products from a Massachusetts-based pharmacy firm.
Officials say they found contamination in a sealed steroid vial at the New England Compounding Center.
The firm recalled the steroid doses and has since shut down operations, but the vials have already been shipped to 23 states.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include severe headache, nausea, and fever as well as slurred speech and difficulty walking.
The fungal meningitis causing concern in the US is not infectious, the CDC says.
'Abundance of caution'
Confirming that 47 people were now affected - an increase of 12 in the space of 24 hours, the CDC said new cases were reported for the first time in Michigan.
In Tennessee, which has the majority of the cases, a total of 29 people have now fallen ill. There were six cases in Virginia, three in Indiana Indiana, two each in Maryland and Florida and one in North Carolina, the CDC said.
It is not yet clear how many patients may have been exposed to any contamination, and fungal meningitis can have a lengthy incubation period.
A briefing by the CDC and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday said a fungus linked to the steroid medication had been identified in tests of five patients.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we advise all health care practitioners not to use any product" from the company, said Ilisa Bernstein, director of compliance for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
New England Compounding Center is a type of pharmacy that mixes ingredients for customised medicines. The steroid in question was three lots of methylprednisolone acetate from the firm.
On Friday, the CDC listed about 75 clinics and medical centres that received the suspected lots, and told doctors to immediately contact patients who have had an injection.
Tests are under way to confirm if the contamination is the same fungus blamed in the outbreak. The disease cannot be passed from person to person.
Three people have died in Tennessee, with one death in Virginia and one in Maryland, reports say.
- BBC
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Rabies cases increasing
Johannesburg - Rabies cases are on the increase in South Africa, Netcare Travel Clinics said on Wednesday.
"Four people in KwaZulu-Natal died of rabies this year, bringing the potentially deadly medical condition to the fore once more," Dr Pete Vincent said in a statement.
"... These fatalities and the worrying number of cases reported around South Africa in recent months have highlighted the importance of educating [people] about this dreaded disease."
World Rabies Day is on Friday.
About 55 000 people worldwide die of rabies every year, 44% of them in Africa.
Vincent said there was a misconception about rabies, which is a viral disease that attacks the brain, and that people needed to be aware of how to protect themselves.
"Many people do not realise that it is possible to contract rabies when the saliva from an infected animal comes into contact with an open wound or mucous membrane," he said.
Another misconception was that all animals infected became highly aggressive.
"In fact, some rabid animals become very passive and one needs to watch for any change in behaviour, rather than just aggression," said Vincent.
People should stay away from strange dogs or animals behaving strangely.
He said unlike many other infectious diseases, clinical infection with rabies could be prevented through immunisation, even after exposure to the virus.
If people were bitten, they could be saved if treated timeously and properly. The wound had to be cleaned thoroughly with soap and water and then the person had to be taken for urgent medical attention, said Vincent.
- SAPA/NEWS24
"Four people in KwaZulu-Natal died of rabies this year, bringing the potentially deadly medical condition to the fore once more," Dr Pete Vincent said in a statement.
"... These fatalities and the worrying number of cases reported around South Africa in recent months have highlighted the importance of educating [people] about this dreaded disease."
World Rabies Day is on Friday.
About 55 000 people worldwide die of rabies every year, 44% of them in Africa.
Vincent said there was a misconception about rabies, which is a viral disease that attacks the brain, and that people needed to be aware of how to protect themselves.
"Many people do not realise that it is possible to contract rabies when the saliva from an infected animal comes into contact with an open wound or mucous membrane," he said.
Another misconception was that all animals infected became highly aggressive.
"In fact, some rabid animals become very passive and one needs to watch for any change in behaviour, rather than just aggression," said Vincent.
People should stay away from strange dogs or animals behaving strangely.
He said unlike many other infectious diseases, clinical infection with rabies could be prevented through immunisation, even after exposure to the virus.
If people were bitten, they could be saved if treated timeously and properly. The wound had to be cleaned thoroughly with soap and water and then the person had to be taken for urgent medical attention, said Vincent.
- SAPA/NEWS24
Friday, 14 September 2012
Yosemite park hantavirus alert to 230,000 campers
Yosemite park rangers have expanded a health advisory about a killer virus to nearly a quarter of a million people who have stayed there since June.
The mouse-borne hantavirus is now known to have infected nine people - three of whom have died. There is no known cure.
Officials at the California park insist their letters to more than 230,000 people are purely precautionary.
Deer mice, which spread the infection, have increased in number and now the rodents are being trapped and killed.
Yosemite initially sent a warning last month to 1,700 campers who stayed at a specific campsite, before gradually expanding that figure as infections emerged elsewhere.
Most of the cases involved guests at the Signature cabins in Curry Village, but one case involved someone who had stayed at multiple High Sierra camps in wilderness areas.
A ninth person is now recovering after being stricken with the disease following a visit to Yosemite in early July, said National Park Service spokesman John Quinley on Thursday.
It can take six weeks for the emergence of early symptoms such as aches and fever, or in half the cases headaches and sickness. It then moves into the lungs.
One third of cases are fatal, but identifying it early through blood tests increases a person's chance of survival.
The hantavirus is carried in rodent faeces, urine and saliva. When it dries out and mixes with dust, it can be inhaled by humans, especially in small spaces.
The first death was reported in August. One of those who died was a 37-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay area.
The park saw two other cases of the hantavirus in a more remote area during 2000 and 2010, but this year's were the first known deaths.
- BBC
The mouse-borne hantavirus is now known to have infected nine people - three of whom have died. There is no known cure.
Officials at the California park insist their letters to more than 230,000 people are purely precautionary.
Deer mice, which spread the infection, have increased in number and now the rodents are being trapped and killed.
Yosemite initially sent a warning last month to 1,700 campers who stayed at a specific campsite, before gradually expanding that figure as infections emerged elsewhere.
Most of the cases involved guests at the Signature cabins in Curry Village, but one case involved someone who had stayed at multiple High Sierra camps in wilderness areas.
A ninth person is now recovering after being stricken with the disease following a visit to Yosemite in early July, said National Park Service spokesman John Quinley on Thursday.
It can take six weeks for the emergence of early symptoms such as aches and fever, or in half the cases headaches and sickness. It then moves into the lungs.
One third of cases are fatal, but identifying it early through blood tests increases a person's chance of survival.
The hantavirus is carried in rodent faeces, urine and saliva. When it dries out and mixes with dust, it can be inhaled by humans, especially in small spaces.
The first death was reported in August. One of those who died was a 37-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay area.
The park saw two other cases of the hantavirus in a more remote area during 2000 and 2010, but this year's were the first known deaths.
- BBC
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Ebola outbreak in DRC risks spreading to towns -WHO
KINSHASA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo risks spreading to major towns if not brought under control soon after the death toll doubled within a week, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday.
The number of people killed by the contagious virus for which there is no known treatment has now risen to 31, including five health workers. Ebola causes massive bleeding and kills up to 90 percent of its victims.
"The epidemic is not under control. On the contrary the situation is very, very serious," Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Congo's capital Kinshasa, told Reuters by phone.
"If nothing is done now, the disease will reach other places, and even major towns will be threatened," he said, adding that an estimated $2 million had to be urgently found to pay for measures to tackle the disease.
The outbreak, which is believed to have been caused by tainted bushmeat hunted by local villagers, has so far struck in the towns of Isiro and Viadana in the northeastern province of Orientale.
Some 16 people in neighbouring Uganda died of the disease last month, though the WHO said the two epidemics were not connected.
The latest WHO figures show there are now 65 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Congo, with 108 people under surveillance.
Kabambi said one suspected case in Kinshasa had come back negative. Congo's ramshackle capital is home to at least 9 million people and its health sector is crumbling.
Congo's infrastructure has been devastated by decades of corruption, conflict and misrule. The country last year came bottom of a United Nations development index. (Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
-- AlertNet
The number of people killed by the contagious virus for which there is no known treatment has now risen to 31, including five health workers. Ebola causes massive bleeding and kills up to 90 percent of its victims.
"The epidemic is not under control. On the contrary the situation is very, very serious," Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Congo's capital Kinshasa, told Reuters by phone.
"If nothing is done now, the disease will reach other places, and even major towns will be threatened," he said, adding that an estimated $2 million had to be urgently found to pay for measures to tackle the disease.
The outbreak, which is believed to have been caused by tainted bushmeat hunted by local villagers, has so far struck in the towns of Isiro and Viadana in the northeastern province of Orientale.
Some 16 people in neighbouring Uganda died of the disease last month, though the WHO said the two epidemics were not connected.
The latest WHO figures show there are now 65 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Congo, with 108 people under surveillance.
Kabambi said one suspected case in Kinshasa had come back negative. Congo's ramshackle capital is home to at least 9 million people and its health sector is crumbling.
Congo's infrastructure has been devastated by decades of corruption, conflict and misrule. The country last year came bottom of a United Nations development index. (Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
-- AlertNet
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Ebola virus spreads in eastern Congo
Officials in eastern Congo say the Ebola epidemic has spread to a second centre after a woman was contaminated during the funeral of a victim of the disease and travelled back to her home.
The health officials say 15 people have died since the beginning of the epidemic.
Congolese authorities are warning the population of the risks linked to the washing and displaying of dead bodies, a tradition that is widespread in Africa.
The practice facilitates the spread of the deadly hemorrhagic fever. Around 170 people are currently under surveillance after they came into contact with infected patients.
Ebola was first discovered in Congo in 1976 and has no cure. The disease causes severe internal bleeding and is fatal in 40% to 90% of cases.
- Times Live
The health officials say 15 people have died since the beginning of the epidemic.
Congolese authorities are warning the population of the risks linked to the washing and displaying of dead bodies, a tradition that is widespread in Africa.
The practice facilitates the spread of the deadly hemorrhagic fever. Around 170 people are currently under surveillance after they came into contact with infected patients.
Ebola was first discovered in Congo in 1976 and has no cure. The disease causes severe internal bleeding and is fatal in 40% to 90% of cases.
- Times Live
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Ebola outbreak kills 14 in DRC
The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 14 and the crisis is not yet under control, medical officials say.
The epicentre of the outbreak, which killed its first victim last month, is in the busy town of Isiro in Orientale Province, but it has spread to the settlement of Viadana 75 km (45 miles) away, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement.
WHO also called for aid of nearly $2 million to help Congo’s weakened health sector cope with the disease.
Last month officials confirmed that the epidemic was a different strain from the one that killed at least 36 people in neighbouring Uganda, and had likely been sparked by locals eating infected meat in the forest.
The World Health Organization has registered 30 suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo in an outbreak that comes on the heels of one in neighbouring Uganda. It says 14 people have died.
The WHO said in a statement that as of Sept. 1, they had counted 30 cases in Isiro, located northeast of Kisangani. Another 169 people have come into contact with infected patients and are under surveillance. Of these cases, only seven tested positive for Ebola after laboratory tests.
“A week ago we were a bit optimistic ... but a few days later we got some more cases ... We have quite a clear picture of what is happening, but I cannot say it is under control,” Anja de Weggheleire, medical coordinator in the area for the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said.
With the last confirmed case on Saturday, the end of the epidemic remains a long way off, de Weggheleire said.
The outbreak in July in Uganda killed 16. Ugandan health officials say the outbreak there is under control, but they have yet to declare the country free of Ebola.
Ebola is transmitted to humans from monkeys and birds and causes massive bleeding in victims. Mortality rates can be as high as 90%.
- Times Live
The epicentre of the outbreak, which killed its first victim last month, is in the busy town of Isiro in Orientale Province, but it has spread to the settlement of Viadana 75 km (45 miles) away, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement.
WHO also called for aid of nearly $2 million to help Congo’s weakened health sector cope with the disease.
Last month officials confirmed that the epidemic was a different strain from the one that killed at least 36 people in neighbouring Uganda, and had likely been sparked by locals eating infected meat in the forest.
The World Health Organization has registered 30 suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo in an outbreak that comes on the heels of one in neighbouring Uganda. It says 14 people have died.
The WHO said in a statement that as of Sept. 1, they had counted 30 cases in Isiro, located northeast of Kisangani. Another 169 people have come into contact with infected patients and are under surveillance. Of these cases, only seven tested positive for Ebola after laboratory tests.
“A week ago we were a bit optimistic ... but a few days later we got some more cases ... We have quite a clear picture of what is happening, but I cannot say it is under control,” Anja de Weggheleire, medical coordinator in the area for the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said.
With the last confirmed case on Saturday, the end of the epidemic remains a long way off, de Weggheleire said.
The outbreak in July in Uganda killed 16. Ugandan health officials say the outbreak there is under control, but they have yet to declare the country free of Ebola.
Ebola is transmitted to humans from monkeys and birds and causes massive bleeding in victims. Mortality rates can be as high as 90%.
- Times Live
Monday, 3 September 2012
Corpses pile up in KZN morgues
NATIONAL NEWS - About 400 unclaimed bodies are lying in state mortuaries in KwaZulu-Natal, the Daily News reported on Monday.
According to the afternoon daily the bodies were located at 41 mortuaries, with 125 bodies waiting to be claimed at the Fort Napier mortuary in Pietermaritzburg.
The Inkatha Freedom Party's Usha Roopnarain, a member of the KZN health portfolio committee, was reported as saying that some bodies had been lying in the Fort Napier mortuary since last December.
The committee apparently visited the mortuary last week.
The province's former head of forensic pathology was quoted as saying that at some of the province's smaller mortuaries bodies had to be stacked one on top of another.
The provincial health department attributed the delays in burying the bodies to administrative processes.
Unclaimed bodies are supposed to be buried within 30 days.
Source : Sapa/George Herald
According to the afternoon daily the bodies were located at 41 mortuaries, with 125 bodies waiting to be claimed at the Fort Napier mortuary in Pietermaritzburg.
The Inkatha Freedom Party's Usha Roopnarain, a member of the KZN health portfolio committee, was reported as saying that some bodies had been lying in the Fort Napier mortuary since last December.
The committee apparently visited the mortuary last week.
The province's former head of forensic pathology was quoted as saying that at some of the province's smaller mortuaries bodies had to be stacked one on top of another.
The provincial health department attributed the delays in burying the bodies to administrative processes.
Unclaimed bodies are supposed to be buried within 30 days.
Source : Sapa/George Herald
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Kruger anthrax outbreak contained
Johannesburg - An outbreak of anthrax that killed 30 roan antelope in the Kruger National Park has been contained, park spokesperson William Mabasa said on Wednesday.
"There have been no changes to the situation in the park," he said.
"Our people are on the ground to contain the situation and it hasn't spread to any other areas."
Mabasa said that it would be impossible to vaccinate all the animals in the park.
"We are only vaccinating the roan antelopes because they are a rare species and we must protect them."
On Tuesday, Mabasa said the carcasses were found at the weekend in an enclosure created for breeding.
"We are burning the carcasses and also vaccinating the other animals," he said.
The park had about 100 roan antelope before the outbreak.
- SAPA/News24
"There have been no changes to the situation in the park," he said.
"Our people are on the ground to contain the situation and it hasn't spread to any other areas."
Mabasa said that it would be impossible to vaccinate all the animals in the park.
"We are only vaccinating the roan antelopes because they are a rare species and we must protect them."
On Tuesday, Mabasa said the carcasses were found at the weekend in an enclosure created for breeding.
"We are burning the carcasses and also vaccinating the other animals," he said.
The park had about 100 roan antelope before the outbreak.
- SAPA/News24
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
11-year-old hospitalised with typhoid
THE Eastern Cape health department has embarked on a awareness campaign on waterborne diseases after an 11-year-old girl was hospitalised with typhoid.
Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana today, in an effort to prevent an outbreak, sent a team of nurses and environmental officers to Nqabarha near Dutywa, where the girl comes from.
Officials from Amathole District Municipality also joined in to assist with the campaign and to take water samples for testing. Stool samples have also been sent to the laboratory.
“We are going to spend the whole week in the villages. We are pulling out all stops in order to ensure that we don’t allow this case to spread and become an outbreak,” said health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo.
Kupelo, who also visited the village, said there were initially two people suspected to have typhoid, but the result for another patient has since come back negative.
“The girl was transferred to Frere Hospital where the typhoid was confirmed on August 9. Since it is contagious, she had been put in isolation,” said Kupelo, adding that the patient was now admitted at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.
“The patient is progressing very well and doctors are very happy with her condition, but she is still in isolation,” he said.
Kupelo said there was no outbreak yet, but the campaign was an effort by the MEC to ensure that the situation did not develop into one.
- Daily Dispatch
Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana today, in an effort to prevent an outbreak, sent a team of nurses and environmental officers to Nqabarha near Dutywa, where the girl comes from.
Officials from Amathole District Municipality also joined in to assist with the campaign and to take water samples for testing. Stool samples have also been sent to the laboratory.
“We are going to spend the whole week in the villages. We are pulling out all stops in order to ensure that we don’t allow this case to spread and become an outbreak,” said health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo.
Kupelo, who also visited the village, said there were initially two people suspected to have typhoid, but the result for another patient has since come back negative.
“The girl was transferred to Frere Hospital where the typhoid was confirmed on August 9. Since it is contagious, she had been put in isolation,” said Kupelo, adding that the patient was now admitted at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.
“The patient is progressing very well and doctors are very happy with her condition, but she is still in isolation,” he said.
Kupelo said there was no outbreak yet, but the campaign was an effort by the MEC to ensure that the situation did not develop into one.
- Daily Dispatch
Monday, 13 August 2012
Epidemic Hazard in Kenya on Sunday, 12 August, 2012 at 17:20 (05:20 PM) UTC.
A truck driver was yesterday quarantined at Mombasa's Aga Khan Hospital on suspicion he was infected with the deadly Ebola virus. The man only identified as Moses, 61, is said to have been in Kampala as from August 3, and arrived yesterday in Mombasa with symptoms resembling those of Ebola. According to Coast provincial director of Public Health and Sanitation Anisa Omar, the man had symptoms of fatigue, sore throat and fever, prompting doctors to seclude him from the rest of the patients at the hospital. "It's true the man was in Kampala from August 3 and when he arrived, he developed the symptoms. He decided to seek medical attention at the hospital where he was isolated from the other patients after being examined by the doctors,' Omar said. Anisa said the patient's blood samples have been taken to the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi. She however allayed fears of the virus spreading to other parts of the region saying the situation is under control. This comes a week after Public Health Minister Beth Mugo assured the country that the government was doing all it can to shield Kenyans from the deadly virus. Ebola kiled 14 people in Western Uganda two weeks ago.
- RSOE EDIS
- RSOE EDIS
Monday, 6 August 2012
Epidemic Hazard in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:45 (03:45 AM) UTC.
Health workers in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say an outbreak of cholera has claimed at least nine lives in a refugee camp. The first case of cholera - a contagious disease caused by filth and lack of hygiene - emerged three days ago among thousands of people in a makeshift refugee camp, Doctors Without Borders said. Thousands of people have fled fighting between M23 rebels and government forces backed by UN peacekeepers. Patrick Wieland, from Doctors Without Borders, said his organisation had set up an isolation clinic tent at Kanyaruchinya on the outskirts of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Wieland said humanitarian agencies were delivering water to the camp but people probably were collecting the water with dirty containers. He said there were not enough toilets for the people who fled fighting last week in Rutshuru and neighbouring Kiwanja, about 80km north of Goma. "We're treating people with arms and legs blown-off by grenades and other heavy arms," said Wieland. He also said that for the first time they treated many more civilians than combatants. In Goma, locals had told that 13,500 families had arrived in the past month, displaced by the fighting. "People have been forced to build their own makeshift shelters - shelters made of twigs, grass and so on and a few leaves," he said.
"Few people have been able to get hold of plastic sheeting from the United Nations refugee agency, but for the most part people are being forced to live out in the open. "They're saying they have had no food for a month and have [had only] high-energy biscuits a week ago, but since then nothing." M23 rebels, who take their name from a March 23 2009 agreement they signed with the Congolese government, last week attacked government troops and UN peacekeepers, firing mortars at the peacekeepers' base at Kiwanja which was surrounded by more than 2,000 displaced people at the time. Wieland said the fighting was much heavier than any his team has seen in the three-month-old rebellion. He said that since April, Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 500 people hurt in the conflict. Congo's army now controls only the city of Goma and the village of Kibumba, 10km outside Goma. Now the rebels hold all towns going north as far as Rutshuru and are threatening to besiege Goma. The UN Security Council demanded on Thursday that the M23 halt any advances towards Goma. In a statement delivered by council president Gerard Araud of France, the Security Council expressed deep concern at the worsening humanitarian situation, especially a surge in the number of refugees. Araud called on the international community to provide appropriate humanitarian support.
- RSOE EDIS
"Few people have been able to get hold of plastic sheeting from the United Nations refugee agency, but for the most part people are being forced to live out in the open. "They're saying they have had no food for a month and have [had only] high-energy biscuits a week ago, but since then nothing." M23 rebels, who take their name from a March 23 2009 agreement they signed with the Congolese government, last week attacked government troops and UN peacekeepers, firing mortars at the peacekeepers' base at Kiwanja which was surrounded by more than 2,000 displaced people at the time. Wieland said the fighting was much heavier than any his team has seen in the three-month-old rebellion. He said that since April, Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 500 people hurt in the conflict. Congo's army now controls only the city of Goma and the village of Kibumba, 10km outside Goma. Now the rebels hold all towns going north as far as Rutshuru and are threatening to besiege Goma. The UN Security Council demanded on Thursday that the M23 halt any advances towards Goma. In a statement delivered by council president Gerard Araud of France, the Security Council expressed deep concern at the worsening humanitarian situation, especially a surge in the number of refugees. Araud called on the international community to provide appropriate humanitarian support.
- RSOE EDIS
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Ebola haemorrhagic fever
Key facts
- The Ebola virus causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks in humans.
- Viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.
- Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
- The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
- Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
- There is no treatment or vaccine available for either people or animals.
The Ebola virus can cause severe viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks in humans with a case fatality rate of up to 90%. Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
The Ebola virus is comprised of five distinct species: Bundibugyo, Ivory Coast, Reston, Sudan and Zaïre.
Bundibugyo, Sudan and Zaïre species have been associated with large Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks in Africa, while the Ivory Coast and Reston species have not. EHF is a febrile haemorrhagic illness which causes death in 25-90% of all cases. The Ebola Reston species, found in the Philippines, can infect humans, but no illness or death in humans has been reported to date.
Transmission
Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found dead or ill in the rainforest.
Later Ebola spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people. Burial ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Transmission via infected semen can occur up to seven weeks after clinical recovery.
Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating Ebola patients. This has occurred through close contact without the use of correct infection control precautions and adequate barrier nursing procedures. For example, health-care workers not wearing gloves and/or masks and/or goggles may be exposed to direct contact with infected patients' blood and are at risk.
Among workers in contact with monkeys or pigs infected with Ebola Reston, several human infections have been documented and were clinically asymptomatic. Thus, the Ebola Reston virus appears to be less capable of causing disease in humans than the other Ebola species. However, the evidence available relates only to healthy adult males. It would be premature to conclude the health effects of the virus on all population groups, such as immuno-compromised persons, persons with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and children. More studies of Ebola Reston virus are needed before definitive conclusions can be made about the pathogenicity and virulence of this virus in humans.
Signs and symptoms
EHF is a severe acute viral illness often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings show low counts of white blood cells and platelets as well as elevated liver enzymes.
People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. Ebola virus was isolated from seminal fluid up to the 61st day after the onset of illness in a laboratory acquired case.
The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) varies between 2 to 21 days.
During EHF outbreaks, the case-fatality rate has varied from outbreak to outbreak between 25% and 90%.
Diagnosis
Differential diagnoses include, malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other VHFs.
Ebola virus infections can only be diagnosed definitively in the laboratory by a number of different tests:
- enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
- antigen detection tests
- serum neutralization test
- reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
- virus isolation by cell culture.
Treatment and vaccine
Severe cases require intensive supportive care. Patients are frequently dehydrated and in need of intravenous fluids or oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes.
No specific treatment or vaccine is yet available for EHF. New drug therapies have shown promising results in laboratory studies and are currently being evaluated. Several vaccines are being tested but it could be several years before any are available.
Natural host of Ebola virus
In Africa, fruit bats, particularly species of the genera Hypsignathus monstrosus, Epomops franqueti and Myonycteris torquata, are considered possible natural hosts for Ebola virus. As a result, the geographic distribution of Ebolaviruses may overlap with the range of the fruit bats.
Ebola virus in animals
Although non-human primates have been a source of infection for humans, they are not thought to be the reservoir but rather an accidental host like human beings. Since 1994, Ebola outbreaks from the Zaire and Ivory Coast species have been found in chimpanzees and gorillas.
Ebola Reston has caused severe VHF outbreaks in macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) farmed in the Philippines and in imported monkeys in 1989, 1990 and 1996 to the USA and in 1992 in monkeys imported to Italy from the Philippines.
Since 2008, Ebola Reston viruses were detected during several outbreaks of a deadly disease in pigs. Asymptomatic infection in pigs has been reported and experimental inoculations tend to demonstrate that Ebola Reston cannot cause a disease in pigs.
Prevention
Controlling Ebola Reston in domestic animals
There is no animal vaccine available against Ebola Reston. Routine cleaning and disinfection of pig or monkey farms (with sodium hypochlorite or other detergents) is expected to be effective in inactivating the virus. If an outbreak is suspected, the premises should be quarantined immediately. Culling of infected animals, with close supervision of burial or incineration of carcasses, may be necessary to reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission. Restricting or banning the movement of animals from infected farms to other areas can reduce the spread of the disease.As Ebola Reston outbreaks in pigs and monkeys have preceded human infections, the establishment of an active animal health surveillance system to detect new cases is essential in providing early warning for veterinary and human public health authorities.
Reducing the risk of Ebola infection in people
In the absence of effective treatment and a human vaccine, raising awareness of the risk factors of Ebola infection and the protective measures individuals can take is the only way to reduce human infection and death.In Africa, during EHF outbreaks, educational public health messages for risk reduction should focus on several factors.
- Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats or monkeys/apes and the consumption of their raw meat. Animals should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing. Their products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
- Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community arising from direct or close contact with infected patients, particularly with their bodily fluids. Close physical contact with Ebola patients should be avoided. Gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn when taking care of ill patients at home. Regular hand washing is required after visiting sick relatives in hospital, as well as after taking care of ill patients at home.
- Communities affected by Ebola should inform the population about the nature of the disease and about outbreak containment measures, including burial of the deceased. People who have died from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried.
- Precautionary measures are needed in Africa to avoid that pig farms infected through contact with fruit bats amplify the virus and cause EHF outbreaks.
Controlling infection in health-care settings
Human-to-human transmission of the Ebola virus is primarily associated with direct contact with blood and body fluids. Transmission to healthcare workers has been reported when appropriate infection control measures have not been observed.Health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus should apply infection control precautions to avoid any exposure to the patient’s blood and body fluids and/or direct unprotected contact with the possibly contaminated environment. Therefore the provision of health care for suspected or confirmed Ebola patients requires specific control measures and the reinforcement of standard precautions, particularly basic hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, safe injections practices and safe burial practices.
Laboratory workers are also at risk. Samples taken from suspected human and animal Ebola cases for diagnosis should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably-equipped laboratories.
WHO response
WHO has been involved in all past Ebola outbreaks by providing expertise and documentation to support disease investigation and control.
Recommendations for infection control while providing care to patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever is provided in the: Interim infection control recommendations for care of patients with suspected or confirmed Filovirus (Ebola, Marburg) haemorrhagic fever, March 2008.
WHO has created an aide–memoire on standard precautions in health care. Standard precautions are meant to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens. If universally applied the precautions would help prevent most transmission through exposure to blood and body fluids.
Standard precautions are recommended in the care and treatment of all patients regardless of their perceived or confirmed infectious status. They include the basic level of infection control and include hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment to avoid direct contact with blood and body fluids, prevention of needle stick and injuries from other sharp instruments, and a set of environmental controls.
Table: Chronology of major Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreaks (as of May 2012)
| Year | Country | Virus subtype | Cases | Deaths | Case fatality |
| 2011 | Uganda | Ebola Sudan | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2008 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ebola Zaire | 32 | 14 | 44% |
| 2007 | Uganda | Ebola Bundibugyo | 149 | 37 | 25% |
| 2007 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ebola Zaire | 264 | 187 | 71% |
| 2005 | Congo | Ebola Zaire | 12 | 10 | 83% |
| 2004 | Sudan | Ebola Sudan | 17 | 7 | 41% |
| 2003 | Congo | Ebola Zaire | 35 | 29 | 83% |
| (Nov-Dec) | |||||
| 2003 | Congo | Ebola Zaire | 143 | 128 | 90% |
| (Jan-Apr) | |||||
| 2001-2002 | Congo | Ebola Zaire | 59 | 44 | 75% |
| 2001-2002 | Gabon | Ebola Zaire | 65 | 53 | 82% |
| 2000 | Uganda | Ebola Sudan | 425 | 224 | 53% |
| 1996 | South Africa (ex-Gabon) | Ebola Zaire | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 1996 | Gabon | Ebola Zaire | 60 | 45 | 75% |
| (Jul-Dec) | |||||
| 1996 | Gabon | Ebola Zaire | 31 | 21 | 68% |
| (Jan-Apr) | |||||
| 1995 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ebola Zaire | 315 | 254 | 81% |
| 1994 | Cote d'Ivoire | Ebola Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 1994 | Gabon | Ebola Zaire | 52 | 31 | 60% |
| 1979 | Sudan | Ebola Sudan | 34 | 22 | 65% |
| 1977 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ebola Zaire | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 1976 | Sudan | Ebola Sudan | 284 | 151 | 53% |
| 1976 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ebola Zaire | 318 | 280 | 88% |
- WHO
Ebola in Uganda – update
The Ministry of Health in Uganda has reported a cumulative number of 53 suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever including 16 deaths. Of these, five cases have been laboratory confirmed by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe (this includes three fatal cases and two cases currently being treated in the isolation facility).
Currently 32 cases are admitted to an isolation facility in Kagadi hospital, Kibaale district, and a total of 312 contacts were identified, of whom 253 are being closely followed-up. So far all samples from other districts have tested negative for Ebola, indicating that there has been no expansion of the outbreak beyond Kibaale District. However a clinical officer who attended to a case in Kibaale district was transferred to Mulago Hospital in Kampala for treatment but later died.
Among the contacts being monitored daily are the seven health workers who attended to the fatal case transferred to Mulago Hospital, none of them has so far developed symptoms of the disease.
Response
The Government of Uganda is continuing to work with a number of partners to control the outbreak.
At the central level the Prime Minister convened a Ministerial Task Force, chaired by the Minister of Health, to facilitate and coordinate the outbreak response.
In Kibaale district, the local health authorities are working through its task force with several partners to mobilize resources and supplies. These partners include WHO, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). WHO has deployed logisticians and supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE) to Uganda.
Required funds for local operations are being mobilized. Additional support is being received from the EMESCO Foundation (a local NGO), Members of Parliament from Kibaale district, the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS).
Epidemiologists from WHO and US CDC have arrived in Kibaale district and are supporting the response by screening and triaging suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. WHO is coordinating with Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network partners.
With the support of MSF, the construction of a new isolation facility in Kagadi, Kibaale district, is expected to be completed today and additional wards will open to address the increasing number of suspected cases. MSF, IDI and EMESCO are providing food to patients in the isolation facility and have committed to continue to do so for the next two weeks.
For active surveillance and contact tracing in the communities, arrangements with local authorities are being made to increase the number of mobile teams and ambulances.
With regard to social mobilization, the Uganda Red Cross Society has trained 62 teams of Red Cross volunteers and village health teams to conduct social mobilization and public awareness activities. Additionally, public announcements are being disseminated in 11 local languages on 20 radio stations. WHO is facilitating the deployment of a medical anthropologist to assist in these activities.
Neighbouring countries
A number of countries neighbouring Uganda have taken proactive steps to enhance their surveillance to detect and respond to cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever.
In Kenya, two rumoured suspected cases have since been reported and investigated. Both cases have tested negative for Ebola.
The South Sudan Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, has issued guidance to the general public and has activated a national task force to undertake enhanced surveillance as population movement and trade between South Sudan and Uganda are high.
WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to Uganda.
- WHO
Currently 32 cases are admitted to an isolation facility in Kagadi hospital, Kibaale district, and a total of 312 contacts were identified, of whom 253 are being closely followed-up. So far all samples from other districts have tested negative for Ebola, indicating that there has been no expansion of the outbreak beyond Kibaale District. However a clinical officer who attended to a case in Kibaale district was transferred to Mulago Hospital in Kampala for treatment but later died.
Among the contacts being monitored daily are the seven health workers who attended to the fatal case transferred to Mulago Hospital, none of them has so far developed symptoms of the disease.
Response
The Government of Uganda is continuing to work with a number of partners to control the outbreak.
At the central level the Prime Minister convened a Ministerial Task Force, chaired by the Minister of Health, to facilitate and coordinate the outbreak response.
In Kibaale district, the local health authorities are working through its task force with several partners to mobilize resources and supplies. These partners include WHO, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). WHO has deployed logisticians and supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE) to Uganda.
Required funds for local operations are being mobilized. Additional support is being received from the EMESCO Foundation (a local NGO), Members of Parliament from Kibaale district, the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS).
Epidemiologists from WHO and US CDC have arrived in Kibaale district and are supporting the response by screening and triaging suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. WHO is coordinating with Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network partners.
With the support of MSF, the construction of a new isolation facility in Kagadi, Kibaale district, is expected to be completed today and additional wards will open to address the increasing number of suspected cases. MSF, IDI and EMESCO are providing food to patients in the isolation facility and have committed to continue to do so for the next two weeks.
For active surveillance and contact tracing in the communities, arrangements with local authorities are being made to increase the number of mobile teams and ambulances.
With regard to social mobilization, the Uganda Red Cross Society has trained 62 teams of Red Cross volunteers and village health teams to conduct social mobilization and public awareness activities. Additionally, public announcements are being disseminated in 11 local languages on 20 radio stations. WHO is facilitating the deployment of a medical anthropologist to assist in these activities.
Neighbouring countries
A number of countries neighbouring Uganda have taken proactive steps to enhance their surveillance to detect and respond to cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever.
In Kenya, two rumoured suspected cases have since been reported and investigated. Both cases have tested negative for Ebola.
The South Sudan Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, has issued guidance to the general public and has activated a national task force to undertake enhanced surveillance as population movement and trade between South Sudan and Uganda are high.
WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to Uganda.
- WHO
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Some Ebola patients likely to survive
A doctor works in a laboratory on collected samples of the Ebola virus at the Centre for Disease Control in Entebbe, about 37km south-west of Uganda's capital Kampala.
Kampala - Some of the 32 Ebola patients in isolation at a government hospital in western Uganda's Kibaale district are responding to treatment and may be discharged soon, a health official said on Friday.
The east African country has been battling an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus which has so far killed 16 people.
Health officer Dan Kyamanywa said on Friday there had been no new deaths in two days.
“There are signs of optimism because a big number of the 32 patients we have in isolation are recovering. In fact 9 of the 32 are doing very well and if they keep their current recovery momentum we might discharge them soon,” he said.
There is no cure for Ebola, which is transmitted by body fluids such as saliva, sweat and blood, but doctors can treat symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting.
Residents in western Uganda say they are too scared to go shopping in local markets for fear of catching the Ebola virus in Kibaale, 170 km (100 miles) west of the capital Kampala.
Kibaale is near the Democratic Republic of Congo where the virus first emerged in 1976, taking its name from the Ebola River.
Tourism Minister Ephraim Kamuntu on Friday acknowledged that the Ebola outbreak was putting off some potential tourists but said Uganda was safe and the outbreak was confined to one district.
In neighbouring Kenya, test results from two suspected cases of Ebola have come back negative, a spokesman for the Public Health Ministry said.
- Reuters
US warned of swine flu outbreak
US health officials on Friday warned the public to be careful around pigs after an outbreak of flu among visitors to county fairs.
The virus does not appear to have evolved to the point where it spreads easily among humans, but it does contain a gene from the pandemic H1N1 flu that sickened millions worldwide in 2009 and 2010.
“We are concerned that... may confer the potential for the virus to infect or spread among humans to a greater extent,” said Joseph Bresee, an influenza epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus was first detected in July 2011 and there have since been a total of 29 known cases Ä 16 of them in the past three weeks Ä in the United States.
It is a relatively mild flu Ä everyone recovered and only three people were hospitalized. As a result, many more cases have likely occurred without being reported to health officials.
The bulk of the reported cases were among children, who are more susceptible to swine flu.
With county fair season in full swing, health officials expect more people will get sick.
“We also expect some of the cases may be severe,” Bresee cautioned.
Bresee urged people to go to the doctor if they feel flu symptoms after coming into contact with pigs so that public health officials can better track the outbreak.
“What we're really going to be looking for is evidence that the virus has made that change to spread efficiently among humans,” he explained. “So far we haven't seen that.”
Simple hygiene - hand washing after contact with animals and not eating, drinking or putting things like cigarettes in your mouth while in animal areas - can prevent the flu's transmission.
Pregnant women, children younger than five, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses should avoid exposure to pigs and swine barns.
- Sapa-AFP
The virus does not appear to have evolved to the point where it spreads easily among humans, but it does contain a gene from the pandemic H1N1 flu that sickened millions worldwide in 2009 and 2010.
“We are concerned that... may confer the potential for the virus to infect or spread among humans to a greater extent,” said Joseph Bresee, an influenza epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus was first detected in July 2011 and there have since been a total of 29 known cases Ä 16 of them in the past three weeks Ä in the United States.
It is a relatively mild flu Ä everyone recovered and only three people were hospitalized. As a result, many more cases have likely occurred without being reported to health officials.
The bulk of the reported cases were among children, who are more susceptible to swine flu.
With county fair season in full swing, health officials expect more people will get sick.
“We also expect some of the cases may be severe,” Bresee cautioned.
Bresee urged people to go to the doctor if they feel flu symptoms after coming into contact with pigs so that public health officials can better track the outbreak.
“What we're really going to be looking for is evidence that the virus has made that change to spread efficiently among humans,” he explained. “So far we haven't seen that.”
Simple hygiene - hand washing after contact with animals and not eating, drinking or putting things like cigarettes in your mouth while in animal areas - can prevent the flu's transmission.
Pregnant women, children younger than five, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses should avoid exposure to pigs and swine barns.
- Sapa-AFP
Friday, 3 August 2012
Uganda scurries to curb Ebola virus
Ugandan health officials are monitoring over 200 people who had close contact with Ebola patients, as the country attempts to curb the spread of the deadly disease that has claimed 16 lives since early July.
A total of 30 patients are in isolation wards, including eight health workers in a national hospital in the capital, Kampala, Uganda's Health Ministry said on Thursday.
"The ministry team is actively and closely following up to 232 people suspected to have had contact with the dead and sick," said the ministry's Dennis Rwamafa in a statement.
"These contacts have not shown any signs of the disease but continue to be monitored," he said.
Ebola has hit Uganda four times, including in 2000 when it left 224 people dead in the north of the country.
The government is encouraging people to report suspected Ebola cases and has urged people to avoid shaking hands and large gatherings.
But many people say they are afraid of contracting the disease.
Local authorities in Kibaale - the epicentre of the outbreak - and the neighbouring district of Kabarole have banned social gatherings and ordered the closure of all markets until the outbreak is under control, according to local media.
Some 200 schools in Kibaale have also temporarily closed, and the head of Uganda's prison service has banned visits to
inmates.
Source:
Al Jazeera And Agencies
A total of 30 patients are in isolation wards, including eight health workers in a national hospital in the capital, Kampala, Uganda's Health Ministry said on Thursday.
"The ministry team is actively and closely following up to 232 people suspected to have had contact with the dead and sick," said the ministry's Dennis Rwamafa in a statement.
"These contacts have not shown any signs of the disease but continue to be monitored," he said.
Ebola has hit Uganda four times, including in 2000 when it left 224 people dead in the north of the country.
The government is encouraging people to report suspected Ebola cases and has urged people to avoid shaking hands and large gatherings.
But many people say they are afraid of contracting the disease.
Local authorities in Kibaale - the epicentre of the outbreak - and the neighbouring district of Kabarole have banned social gatherings and ordered the closure of all markets until the outbreak is under control, according to local media.
Some 200 schools in Kibaale have also temporarily closed, and the head of Uganda's prison service has banned visits to
inmates.
Source:
Al Jazeera And Agencies
Epidemic Hazard in Kenya on Thursday, 02 August, 2012 at 18:35 (06:35 PM) UTC.
Anxiety has gripped Siaya residents after a 27-year-old man was admitted to hospital with symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus. The man, who was immediately put in a solitary ward in Siaya District Hospital, was admitted Wednesday [1 Aug 2012] morning with excessive blood oozing from his gums. "He is also passing bloody urine," said Siaya Medical Superintendent Jacktone Omoto, who said that was a symptom associated with the haemorrhagic fever. Omoto said the patient's blood sample was sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Siaya for testing, and the results are expected on Friday [3 Aug 2012] at the earliest. Director of Public Health Shahnaaz Sharif has, in the meantime, called for calm as the country awaits the results of the tests. On Monday [30 Jul 2012], the government put on high alert Provincial Directors of Health and District Medical Officers in Western, Nyanza and the Rift valley, which border Uganda, over the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease. Public Health Minister Beth Mugo is expected to give a ministerial statement on the specific measures the government has taken since the outbreak was reported in neighbouring Uganda about 3 weeks ago.
- RSOE EDIS
- RSOE EDIS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)