Category Archives: pandemic

WHO reports 32 more Ebola cases in West Africa | CIDRAP

22 new cases in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone now has a cumulative total of 158 cases, or 22 more than reported 2 days ago, and 4 new deaths were reported from Jun 18 to 20, the WHO said. The deaths included three in Kailahun and one in Kenema.

But the WHO listed the country’s cumulative deaths in confirmed cases at 34, versus 58 deaths reported in the previous update. The implication is that a number of deaths were found to have had other causes, but the statement doesn’t explain further.

Liberia has 10 new cases, 8 new deaths

In Liberia, 10 new Ebola cases and 8 new deaths were reported from Jun 19 to 22, the WHO said. That raised the cumulative totals to 51 cases and 34 deaths. The latest cases and deaths were identified in Lofa (8 and 6) and Montserrado (2 and 2).

Guinea, the birthplace of the outbreak, identified no new Ebola cases from Jun 18 to 20, but three deaths were reported, two in Gueckedou and one in Telimele, the WHO said. The country’s cumulative count is 390 cases with 270 deaths.

via WHO reports 32 more Ebola cases in West Africa | CIDRAP.

CDC – Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) – Hantavirus

{The nastier version of hantavirus and may have been cause for millions of deaths in 1300-1400 AD in Central and South America due to an outbreak caused by building cities and stockpiles of urban food (grains) infested by mice. Could return through an “oops” over production of grains by big ag and ensuing explosion of mice and rats. a new variety could be our “ebola”}

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a group of clinically similar illnesses caused by hantaviruses from the family Bunyaviridae. HFRS includes diseases such as Korean hemorrhagic fever, epidemic hemorrhagic fever, and nephropathis epidemica. The viruses that cause HFRS include Hantaan, Dobrava, Saaremaa, Seoul, and Puumala.

via CDC – Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) – Hantavirus.

Sierra Leone News: Health Minister Miatta Kargbo Mocks Nurse who died of Ebola: Sierra Leone News

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health and Sanitation Miss Miatta Kargbo has appeared in Parliament yesterday June 17th 2014 to speak on the Ebola menace now ravaging Kailahun district and posing a threat to Sierra Leone. Whilst she appeared with many facts to defend her ministry, the minister went on to shock many by describing two of her deceased staff with promiscuous references of illicit, extra-marital sexual affairs. As citizens listened in horror, she openly identified the male staff by name and went on to say the female staff died because she was in a sexual relationship with the male staff. However, her claims were to be swiftly debunked by the elected parliamentarian for Daru.

via Sierra Leone News: Health Minister Miatta Kargbo Mocks Nurse who died of Ebola: Sierra Leone News.

Superbugs defeated by… Fecal transplants restore healthy bacteria and gut functions — ScienceDaily

“The bottom line is fecal transplants work, and not by just supplying a missing bug but a missing function being carried out by multiple organisms in the transplanted feces,” Young says. “By restoring this function, C. difficile isn’t allowed to grow unchecked, and the whole ecosystem is able to recover.”

via Fecal transplants restore healthy bacteria and gut functions — ScienceDaily.

Ebola update | Sierra Express Media

Ebola was officially confirmed in Sierra Leone on Sunday May 25th this year and only one (1) woman was confirmed having the disease.

Below are official up dates of Ebola suspected cases, confirmed cased and death rates respectively

Date

Suspected cases

Confirmed cases

Dead

Monday 2nd June 2014

36

15

5

Thursday 6th June 2014

71

24

6

Monday 9th June 2014

109

42

12

via Ebola update | Sierra Express Media.

Avian Flu Diary: PAHO: Chikungunya Numbers Jump Nearly 30K In Past Week

While rarely fatal, Chikungunya can produce a severe fever and excruciating joint pain usually lasting for at least a week.  Some studies (cite) indicate significant arthritis-like sequelae can persist for months or even years post-infection.

 

With an incubation period of between 3 and 7 days, and the enormous amount of international travel to, and from, the Caribbean, the concern is that this virus will soon migrate to other areas that also have a favorable climate and the right kind of mosquitoes.

 

Brazil is particularly at risk this summer with the FIFA World Cup, something we discussed yesterday.

 

But then, so is the United States, and even parts of Europe (Italy saw a mini-epidemic in 2007 when just one infected traveler started a chain of infection that eventually touched 300 people).

 

The good news, at least in most of the United States, is that most of us live and work in air-conditioned spaces, and live in regions that maintain pretty good mosquito control programs, and so we aren’t as apt to be continually exposed to (and bitten by) mosquitoes as people living in the Caribbean.

 

But as a native Floridian, I can assure you that it is pretty much impossible to totally avoid feeding our unofficial `state bird’.

 

The state of Florida is concerned enough that it has issued warnings to the public, and is actively Preparing For Chikungunya.  In March the CDC held a Chikungunya Webinar and last December they released a CDC HAN Advisory On Recognizing & Treating Chikungunya Infection.

No one knows if Chikungunya will spread rapidly in the United States, like West Nile Virus has over the past 15 years, or produce infrequent and highly sporadic outbreaks, as has Dengue.

 

But given its rapid global expansion over the past nine years, no one in public health is taking the threat lightly.

via Avian Flu Diary: PAHO: Chikungunya Numbers Jump Nearly 30K In Past Week.