Ebola alert :Nugochi yet to confirm Nyaho fever case – MOH | citifmonline. Ghana may have first case of Ebola.
Category Archives: pandemic
Saharan Dust on the Move : Image of the Day
{Interconnected – climate change and interchange? – naw say tea partiers and lots of GOP – despite proof such as this}
Saharan dust has a range of impacts on ecosystems downwind. Each year, dust events like the one pictured here deliver about 40 million tons of dust from the Sahara to the Amazon River Basin. The minerals in the dust replenish nutrients in rainforest soils, which are continually depleted by drenching, tropical rains. Research focused on peat soils in the Everglades show that African dust has been arriving regularly in South Florida for thousands of years as well.
In some instances, the impacts are harmful. Infusion of Saharan dust, for instance, can have a negative impact on air quality in the Americas. And scientists have linked African dust to outbreaks of certain types of toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Florida.
Anthrax discovered in beef in Hungary | News | DW.DE | 04.07.2014
{Know where you food is from and if it has been properly inspected – give anyone who suggests privatizing inspection instructions on how to shut the door as they leave their senses!}
Five people were being monitored in hospital for a suspected infection of the disease, Hungarian health authority said ANTSZ in a statement.
The disease appeared to have been identified in frozen beef from two cattle that were slaughtered on a farm near the town of Tiszafured, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Budapest.
Authorities said the five people hospitalized had probably contracted the disease during illegal slaughtering. The ANTSZ said some of the beef had been shipped to a company that operates canteens, with the firm’s operations having been suspended.
ANTSZ added that the vaccination of animals exposed to the anthrax bacteria had already begun. “Authorities have taken the necessary measures, so there is no longer an immediate danger,” the statement said.
The health agency has also asked for people who believe they may have eaten the infected meat to see a doctor, with early treatment being vital.
It added that the matter would be reported to police, given that the canteen firm had allegedly bought the meat from illegal sources.
Anthrax, which is spread by spores, results in flu-like symptoms that can go on for several days, followed by pneumonia and often fatal respiratory collapse. Untreated, it has a mortality rate of more than 90 percent, which falls to 42 percent when treated early with antibiotics.
via Anthrax discovered in beef in Hungary | News | DW.DE | 04.07.2014.
Ebola conference agrees to set up regional fund | Africa | DW.DE | 03.07.2014
However, in an interview with DW, Anja Wolz of Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the situation in Sierra Leone was still a matter of great concern. In the last two days, another 30 patients had been taken in at the treatment center where she works, she said.
According to Wolz, a major problem is that many people “are denying that Ebola exists.” People who fell sick were hiding rather than go to a doctor and could infect others. There was still a great need for public awareness campaigns, she said, as many Africans “think the white people are bringing Ebola.” MSF staff were working hard to overcome this but they could not go to every single village, Wolz said, addding that the problem was the same in Liberia and Guinea.
via Ebola conference agrees to set up regional fund | Africa | DW.DE | 03.07.2014.
Fear as ebola ‘out of control’ in parts of west Africa | World | The Guardian
Described by virologists as a “molecular shark”, ebola is believed to be hosted by the fruit bat, a delicacy in Guinea and Liberia. The current strain is at least the fifth mutation since its discovery in 1976. Diagnosis is often complicated by the fact symptoms mirror those of malaria, common in the region, including fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Victims sometimes have horrific internal and external bleeding and most die of shock or multiple organ failure, although chances of survival increase dramatically if adequate treatment is received early on. No cure exists for ebola but confirmed cases are first quarantined before undergoing intensive rehydration therapy. Due to its high contagion rate, medical workers should wear head-to-toe biohazard suits even when dealing with dead patients.
via Fear and ignorance as ebola ‘out of control’ in parts of west Africa | World | The Guardian.
Liberia: At Redemption Hospital – Fear Grips Nurses, Patients After Ebola Outbreak (Page 2 of 2)
“We have been working since the outbreak of Ebola here but the fear is there and you cannot erase that. Working has slow down because the patients are not coming like before. Some of the patients on beds before the outbreak also left,” one of the nurses stated.
According to them, patients are afraid of being admitted at the hospital.
The nurses said some residents of the community are allegedly engage into stigmatizing health workers at the hospital.
“Even if we are in our bus passing, they (residents) will be on the road calling us Ebola, Ebola and so, the patients themselves are not coming because they are afraid,” another nurse added.
Meanwhile, the nurses have called for more awareness to be made to help curtail the spread of Ebola in Liberia.
The nurses urged citizens to report cases of persons showing symptoms of the Ebola virus including constant vomiting, fever, amongst others to the hospital.
Prior to the outbreak of the Ebola virus, the Redemption Hospital provides free medical treatment to hundreds of patients on a daily basis.
Sometimes ago, the administration of the hospital called on the GOL and donor partners to help provide more beds to the hospital to help curtail the influx of patients.
But presently, most of the hospital beds are left unoccupied because patients are not seeking medical treatment there.
Zhejiang bans urban live poultry trading – People’s Daily Online
{Personally, I am vegan but this is THE way to lower risk of this flu and new ones!}
Live poultry trading has been banned in urban areas of east China’s Zhejiang Province for good from Tuesday to control the spread of bird flu.
Zhejiang recorded a higher number of human cases of bird flu infections than any other province in 2013.
Many live poultry markets closed when a bird flu case was found. But markets reopened at a later date.
Fearing the spread of bird flu, Zhejiang has decided to completely close all live poultry markets in urban areas.
From now on, only dead and plucked poultry can be traded in urban markets, according to the provincial government.
Agricultural authorities in Zhejiang have begun to advocate standardized poultry cultivation so meat can be traced back to its producers.
Consumers are worried they may not be able to determine whether dead poultry was healthy, whereas they can when buying live poultry.
The authorities will also develop a process where poultry can be killed and plucked by machines on a large scale.
via Zhejiang bans urban live poultry trading – People’s Daily Online.
Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!
Dutch farmers actually bought in (which is amazing since the Netherlands is Europe’s biggest meat exporter). And in 2013, the ministry announced that between 2007 and 2012, the Netherlands saw a 56% decrease in antibiotic sales to farms without any significant negative impact on efficiency or financial results. Modern Farmer describes the impact on animal and human health:
So has all this attention to detail actually helped animal and human antibiotic resistance? Early data says yes. The 2013 edition of the Netherlands’ annual report on antibiotic usage in animals shows resistant bacteria declining in pigs, veal, chickens and dairy cattle. What will really prove its worth, though, is whether antibiotic-resistant infections decline in humans too.
Evidence shows that there has been no further increase in the number of human infections. But we’ll have to wait to see if the number goes down.
So the Dutch took a risk that paid off — prioritizing animal and human health by redesigning agricultural norms. Will other countries follow their example? Why shouldn’t they?
via Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!.
West Nile deja vu – US chikungunya cases jump to 74 in 23 states | CIDRAP
The chikungunya epidemic in the Caribbean is continuing to spill over into the United States, with federal and state officials reporting at least 74 cases in 23 states yesterday.
Looking good over stopping the outbreak!?! RABAT, Morocco: WHO reduces Ebola death toll in Sierra Leone | Health | Macon.com
The World Health Organization on Wednesday announced it was changing the way it reports fatalities from the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone at the request of the government.
Previously, probable and suspected deaths from Ebola were included in the count but from now on, only laboratory confirmed cases will be reported, reducing the death toll in Sierra Leone from 58 to 34 as of Tuesday.
via RABAT, Morocco: WHO reduces Ebola death toll in Sierra Leone | Health | Macon.com.






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