Category Archives: pandemic

Single Dose of Antibiotic Found Effective in Quelling MRSA – NYTimes.com

Any questions about thoroughness of the research and lack or any bias?
“The study was led by researchers at Duke University and designed and funded by the Medicines Company, the maker of the antibiotic, oritavancin. The drug, to be sold as Orbactiv, may be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as early as August under a special fast-track process, the company said.” Hope it works well but if it adds to the problem of drug resistant bacteria – this model of research must change.

via Single Dose of Antibiotic Found Effective in Quelling MRSA – NYTimes.com.

Avian Flu Diary: CDC Updated Travel Advice For Umrah & Hajj

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak is ongoing in the Arabian Peninsula. CDC has issued a MERS travel alert with health recommendations to reduce your risk of infection.

The World Health Organization has made the following recommendations:

High-risk travelers (for example, people who have weakened immune systems or who have diabetes, chronic lung disease, or kidney failure) should review their risk with a doctor and consider whether the pilgrimage is advisable.

People who develop respiratory illness while they are at Hajj should isolate themselves or, if isolation is not possible, wear a surgical mask around people.

Travelers should avoid contact with camels, not visit farms, and not consume raw camel milk or urine or undercooked meat.

In addition, for the 2014 Pilgrimage, the Saudi Ministry of Health recommends that the following groups postpone travel:

People older than 65 years

Children younger than 12 years

Pregnant women

People with chronic diseases (such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or respiratory disease)

People with weakened immune systems or who take drugs that suppress the immune system

People with cancer or terminal illness

via Avian Flu Diary: CDC Updated Travel Advice For Umrah & Hajj.

Chikungunya cases surge in Dominican Republic, Haiti | CIDRAP

Chikungunya infections in Caribbean countries spiked last week, led by quickly growing numbers mainly in the Latin parts of the region, according to the latest update from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Also two new countries—Barbados and Chile—are investigating their first suspected or confirmed imported cases, according to media and infectious disease reporting system sources.

via Chikungunya cases surge in Dominican Republic, Haiti | CIDRAP.

14 confirmed Ebola cases and 4 deaths revealed | Sierra Express Media

Freetown, May 30, 014 (SLENA) – The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has Confirmed 14 cases of Ebola and four deaths as of May 29, 2014.

Making the disclosure at the Inter-Ministerial committee on Ebola meeting held in the Health Ministry’s Conference hall in Freetown, Health and Sanitation Minister, Miatta Kargbo said out of the deaths, one died in the Kenema Hospital, one in the Kailahun community, and the two other deaths occurred in Liberia from patients who discharged themselves from hospital  to reside in Liberia.

via 14 confirmed Ebola cases and 4 deaths revealed | Sierra Express Media.

WHO | Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

Guinea

From 23 May 2014 to 27 May 2014, 4 new districts reported 14 new clinical cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 5 deaths as follows: Boffa, 5 cases and 1 death; Telimele, 7 cases and 4 deaths; Boke, 1 case and 0 death; and Dubreka, 1 case and 1 death. Community and nosocomial transmission are still occurring in Gueckedou, Macenta, and Conakry.

As of 18:00 on 27 May 2014, the total cumulative number of cases due to EVD is 281 and 186 deaths. The classification of these cases and deaths are as follows: confirmed, 163 cases and 103 deaths; probable, 66 cases and 56 deaths; and suspected, 44 cases and 23 deaths. The geographical distribution of the cases is as follows: Conakry, 48 cases, and 26 deaths; Gueckedou, 176 cases and 126 deaths; Macenta, 31 cases and 19 deaths; Kissidougou, 7 cases and 5 deaths; Dabola, 4 cases and 4 deaths; Djinguiraye, 1 case and 1 death, in addition to the cases and deaths in the newly affected areas. The total number of cases in isolation is 16 (10 in Gueckedou, 3 in Telimele, and 3 in Boffa). The number of contacts under follow-up is 427 (250 in Conakry, 213 in Gueckedou, 126 in Macenta, and 88 in Telimele).

Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, 16 cases, (7 laboratory-confirmed, 9 suspected) and 5 community deaths have been reported from Kailahun district. The district is located in the eastern region of Sierra Leone sharing borders with Gueckedou in Guinea and also with Liberia.

via WHO | Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update.

Tests show high H7N9 antibodies in Chinese poultry workers | CIDRAP

The researchers found a hemagglutination-inhibition antibody titer of at least 1:160 in 7.2% of poultry workers in May and in 14.9% in December, a rise that was consistent with the second wave of H7N9 activity in China, with Guangdong as one of the hot spots. None of the participants had confirmed H7N9 infections, and investigators didn’t find evidence of infection in any of the general public group for either testing period.

The team pointed out that other studies of H7N9 seroprevalence in Chinese poultry workers showed much lower levels. For example, a study based on sampling in Zhejiang province in April and May of 2013 found 1.3% had antibody titers suggesting earlier infection.

Looking for risk factors, the researchers found that being female and having occupational exposure for 10 or more years was associated with infection. The team said the increased risk in women may reflect their having the major share of poultry duties for that region, which include selling poultry, defeathering, and cleaning. They said the longer work history could be related to reduced preventive measures or may reflect greater susceptibility to infection in older people.

They found that working in a retail market, rather than a wholesale setting, was associated with antibody titers indicative of infection in the analysis of samples from May. The researchers wrote that the shorter stays in warehouse markets and twice-a-week disinfection protocols might limit workers’ exposure to the H7N9 virus.

via Tests show high H7N9 antibodies in Chinese poultry workers | CIDRAP.

Health Ministry Addresses Social Media Report on Ebola death in Kailahun | Sierra Express Media

As of May 25, 2014, report received from the District Medical Officer Kailahun district, and the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control indicate that eleven (11) cases of acute diarrhoea and vomiting reported, of which four (4) died and the five (5) admitted at the Koindu Community Health Centre are responding to treatment. Two out of the eleven (11) cases have already been discharged.

via Health Ministry Addresses Social Media Report on Ebola death in Kailahun | Sierra Express Media.

Just because they can… Israeli forces deny Nablus farmers access to fields to harvest wheat | Maan News Agency

Israeli forces on Saturday morning prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing their fields to harvest wheat south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian official said.

Ghasan Daghlas, who monitors settlement-related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that dozens of Palestinian farmers were on their way to harvest wheat in the area of Lafjan near the village of Aqraba when they were stopped.

Daghlas said that Israeli troops blocked the farmers and told them that they could not access their fields because the area had been declared a closed military zone, with no further explanation.

via Israeli forces deny Nablus farmers access to fields to harvest wheat | Maan News Agency.