Category Archives: pandemic

VDU’s blog: Can MERS-CoV be found in the upper and lower respiratory tract of infected camels? You bet your single hump it can!

Seems pretty dumb to wait on more convenient data while people still get infected, become sick and often die.On balance, separating camels from humans, being better protected when in contact with camels, and improving infection prevention and control in hospitals may even obviate the need for vaccination. Gasp.

Source: VDU’s blog: Can MERS-CoV be found in the upper and lower respiratory tract of infected camels? You bet your single hump it can!

{Not having an easy answer is bothering those who want to excuse humans from having a role in facilitating the MERS outbreak. Seems obvious to me that there is another vector that can pass the disease on to humans and then humans pass on themselves. Back to the bats and massive date farms.}

Viral product provokes immune response against RSV

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania recently found that a subset of viral products once thought to serve no biological purpose in humans could provoke a strong immune defense against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).Nearly all people are exposed to RSV before they turn 2 years old. The majority of these people appear to have the common cold symptoms of coughing, a runny nose, sneezing and a fever. Some very young infants as well as some older adults can have serious reactions to RSV, even needing hospitalization.

Source: Viral product provokes immune response against RSV

Polio resurfaces in Mali from Ebola-hit Guinea: WHO | Reuters

Cases of a crippling vaccine-derived polio virus could spread in Ebola-ravaged Guinea and in Mali after a Guinean toddler traveled to Mali and became the country’s first polio case in more than four years, the World Health Organization said on Monday.The case, caused by a strain of the virus known as type 2 that had come from a vaccine, is the second setback in a week for global efforts to eradicate polio. Two cases were reported in Ukraine last week..Preliminary tests showed the 19-month-old was paralyzed on July 20, seven days before being brought to Mali for treatment. The strain is the same as one found in Siguiri in Guinea’s Kankan region in August 2014.

Source: Polio resurfaces in Mali from Ebola-hit Guinea: WHO | Reuters

Experts say vaccinations during pregnancy protect mother and child

While vaccination rates are rising among pregnant women, more expectant mothers still need to receive specific immunizations to protect themselves and their babies, Siobhan Dolan, a medical adviser to the March of Dimes, said.

“There used to be these fears that getting vaccinated while being pregnant was dangerous, but that’s just not true,” Dolan told Vaccine News Daily. “It’s extremely beneficial for both the mother and the newborn.”

In fact, she said, there are pregnancy-related guidelines on vaccines — focusing on Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) and influenza vaccinations during pregnancy – that are somewhat new and important to reinforce.

Specifically, when pregnant women get the Tdap and influenza vaccinations, the vaccines are transmitted to the fetus “in utero,” later protecting a newborn or infant in case they’re exposed to the diseases in the community, said Dolan, who is board certified in clinical genetics, obstetrics and gynecology.

via Experts say vaccinations during pregnancy protect mother and child.

VDU’s blog: Whether MERS-CoV spreads or stops is entirely up to the hospitals…

We propagate epidemics. We create our own headaches in this arena. Many viruses wouldn’t break out if we didn’t create the circumstances for an outbreak. The biggest headache? Infected patients who spread virus to uninfected patients and health workers when they are in unprotected close contact in a healthcare setting.

via VDU’s blog: Whether MERS-CoV spreads or stops is entirely up to the hospitals….

Hospital emerges as epicenter of Riyadh MERS outbreak | CIDRAP

King Abdulaziz Medical City said in an Aug 15 press statement that 31 MERS-CoV infections have been reported in people who visited the facility’s ED between June and Aug 14. Dr Hanan Balkhi, the hospital’s director of infection prevention and control, said in the statement that, in addition, 4 healthcare workers have tested positive and are in home isolation.

via Hospital emerges as epicenter of Riyadh MERS outbreak | CIDRAP.