Category Archives: pandemic

Prevalence of colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in pigs and pig farm workers in an area of Catalonia, Spain | BMC Infectious Diseases | Not good news…

Eighty-one of the 140 pig farm workers analyzed (57.9% (95% IC: 50.0–66.4%)) were MRSA-positive, all of them ST398. The mean number of years worked on farms was 17.5 ± 12.6 (range:1–50), without significant differences between positive and negative MRSA results (p = 0.763). Over 75% of MRSA-ST398 carriers worked on farms with more than 1250 pigs (p < 0.001). At least one worker tested positive for MRSA-ST398 on all 20 selected pig farms. Ninety-two (46.0% (95% IC: 39.0–53.0%)) of the nasal swabs from 200 pigs from these 20 farms were MRSA-positive, with 50.5% of sows and 41.4% of fattening pigs (p = 0.198) giving MRSA-positive results. All the isolates were tetracycline-resistant, and were identified as MRSA-ST398. The spa type identified most frequently was t011 (62%). Similar spa types and phenotypes of antibiotic resistance were identified in pigs and farmers of 19/20 tested farms.ConclusionsThe prevalence of MRSA-ST398 among pig farm workers and pigs on farms in the studied region is very high, and the size of the farm seems to correlate with the frequency of colonization of farmers. The similar spa-types and phenotypes of resistance detected in pigs and workers in most of the farms studied suggest animal-to-human transmission.

Source: Prevalence of colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in pigs and pig farm workers in an area of Catalonia, Spain | BMC Infectious Diseases | Full Text

A Long-Gone Parasite Returns to Florida, Leaving a Trail of Dead Deer – The New York Times – Nothing is ever “eradicated;” it evolves or is triggered by change in environment – duh!

What biologists discovered turned out to be even more frightening: the reappearance of a parasite known as the New World screwworm fly that had not been seen in the United States since the 1970s and had been considered eradicated.State and federal officials are hopeful that the infestation, which so far is restricted to Florida’s southernmost Monroe County, is being controlled. Symptoms were first reported in wild deer in July, and laboratory tests in late September confirmed the presence of the screwworm, which is the larva of the screwworm fly.The infestation has the potential to cause catastrophic damage to livestock and is being seen by some experts as a reminder of the challenges of controlling the spread of diseases and infestations in a world of limitless global travel and trade.

Source: A Long-Gone Parasite Returns to Florida, Leaving a Trail of Dead Deer – The New York Times

Zika brain damage can evolve after birth, study finds | CIDRAP

Babies exposed to Zika virus before birth can go on to develop microcephaly and other complications after they are born, according to a study today from Brazil.In other research news, Chinese scientists who did experiments in mice found more evidence that the virus may damage the male reproductive system.

Source: Zika brain damage can evolve after birth, study finds | CIDRAP

Stanford University study shows Ebola virus may infect people who show no symptoms – Homeland Preparedness News

{This may mean that ebola has indeed evolved – more survivors, mean that it can impact more people since more survive to carry it to those who are more vulnerable.}

The Stanford researchers identified 14 individuals in the village previously unknown to have had the disease one year after the Ebola epidemic spread through various parts of West Africa.This development, the researchers say, confirms previous suspicions that the Ebola virus does not uniformly cause severe disease and that people may be infected without showing any signs of the illness. The findings also suggest that the virus’ spread may have been far wider than originally thought. The researchers calculated that the virus may be minimally symptomatic in up to 25 percent of all people in affected areas.“The study corroborates previous evidence that Ebola is like most other viruses in that it causes a spectrum of manifestations, including minimally symptomatic infection,” Dr. Gene Richardson,a former fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford who is now a PhD candidate at the university.“It provides important evidence on that front,” he added. “It also means a significant portion of transmission events may have gone undetected during the outbreak. This shows there was a lot more human-to-human transmission than we thought.”

Source: Stanford University study shows Ebola virus may infect people who show no symptoms – Homeland Preparedness News

WHO says human H5N8 risk low as more H5N6 reported | CIDRAP – More political-economic assessment over health assessment, it appears.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in an assessment yesterday, said that while human risk of contracting H5N8 avian flu cannot be excluded, there is so far little evidence that the current H5N8 strain will mutate and infect humans.H5N8 has circulated the globe since 2014, when it first appeared in China, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom. In late 2014, the strain came to North America, and last year H5N8 viruses were also detected in Taiwan, China, Hungary, and Sweden. The strain can infect both wild birds and poultry, and people have minimal to no immunity from the virus.The current clade has been found in 11 countries: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. It was initially detected in Tyva, Russia, in May of 2016, and has followed migratory bird patterns, first appearing in India and then moving west to central Europe, the WHO said.The agency said it expects more countries will report cases in the coming weeks, following bird migration patterns.

Source: WHO says human H5N8 risk low as more H5N6 reported | CIDRAP

WHO scales back Zika public health emergency | CIDRAP

(Becoming clearer and clearer – to me – releases such as this one, are overly influenced by political and economic considerations rather than health concerns)

 

Based on a recommendation from its emergency committee today, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Zika virus infections and related microcephaly cases no longer constitute a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), and efforts to battle and research the disease will now be folded into the WHO’s regular work, where it will receive high-level attention and more sustained funding.

Source: WHO scales back Zika public health emergency | CIDRAP

Febrile illness diagnostics and the malaria-industrial complex: a socio-environmental perspective | Single disease focus – misleading and harmful.

A study from Tanzania highlights the diverse etiology of AFI. Of 870 hospital admissions, 528 (60.7%) patients were clinically diagnosed with malaria, but only 14 (1.6%) actually had malaria parasites upon subsequent blood analysis. Ten different kinds of infections, including bloodstream infections, bacterial and fungal infections, and arboviruses, were all presumptively diagnosed as malaria based on clinical symptoms [19]. But this study was conducted in Moshi, a city of roughly 144,000, which may not be representative of the local disease ecology of large, tropical SSA urban agglomerations like Luanda, Dar es Salaam, Abidjan, Nairobi, or Accra, much less emerging megacities like Lagos or Kinshasa-Brazzaville. We are just beginning to realize how little we know about communicable disease epidemiology in SSA.

Source: Febrile illness diagnostics and the malaria-industrial complex: a socio-environmental perspective | BMC Infectious Diseases | Full Text

Zika counts rise in Florida as more nations note microcephaly | CIDRAP

Ongoing spread in Miami Beach, Little RiverThe Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) reported six new cases of locally acquired Zika yesterday and today.Yesterday the Florida Health reported three new locally acquired cases of Zika, and one new case in a non-Florida resident who had recently traveled to Miami. Two of the local cases occurred in Miami-Dade County residents, and the other involves a Broward County resident.Though investigations are still under way to determine where the four cases were acquired, Florida Health says that Miami Beach and Little River, two neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County, are still the only places in the state where active transmission is taking place.Today Florida Health confirmed two locally acquired cases, both involving Miami-Dade County residents. Officials are investigating where exposure occurred.There are now 230 locally acquired Zika cases in Florida, and 14 undetermined cases. There are 159 pregnant women in the state with Zika, but it is unknown how many contracted the disease through travel, sexual partners, or local transmission.

Source: Zika counts rise in Florida as more nations note microcephaly | CIDRAP

How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease by Jim Robbins: Yale Environment 360

deforestation is having another worrisome effect: an increase in the spread of life-threatening diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. For a host of ecological reasons, the loss of forest can act as an incubator for insect-borne and other infectious diseases that afflict humans. The most recent example came to light this month in the Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, with researchers documenting a steep rise in human malaria cases in a region of Malaysian Borneo undergoing rapid deforestation.

Source: How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease by Jim Robbins: Yale Environment 360

Bird flu spreads in Germany, sparking fears for holiday meals | News | DW.COM | 12.11.2016 – We will kill ourselves with global “goose” greed and try to blame it on wild  birds – but we are doing it to ourselves.

Berlin has set up a crisis management task force to tackle the issue, after reports also came in from Austria that another large outbreak was suspected in an area along the border with Bavaria.Authorities urge extreme cautionAt the same time, Switzerland has confirmed that a number of dead birds found along Lake Geneva were confirmed to be carrying the H5N8 virus. Bern and Vienna both immediately took steps to contain the disease from spreading further, authorities said.This particular strain of avian influenza arrived in Europe from South Korea in 2014, brought by migratory waterfowl. Massive culling followed after wild ducks, geese and swans passed the disease to farmed birds like chickens and turkeys.Authorities have urged extreme caution and care on the part of farmers and food inspectors. The upcoming holiday season will increase the demand for duck, goose and chicken, and the flu outbreak could have serious economic consequences.Avian influenza spreads easily among domestic poultry, but only certain subtypes – H5N1 and H7N9 – are known to infect humans.

Source: Bird flu spreads in Germany, sparking fears for holiday meals | News | DW.COM | 12.11.2016