Category Archives: pandemic

Measles may compromise immune systems for three years | Vaccine News Daily

“We already knew that measles attacks immune memory, and that it was immunosuppressive for a short amount of time. But this paper suggests that immune suppression lasts much longer than previously suspected,” C. Jessica Metcalf, co-author and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and public affairs at Princeton, said. “In other words, if you get measles, three years down the road, you could die from something that you would not die from had you not been infected with measles.”

via Measles may compromise immune systems for three years | Vaccine News Daily.

Australia PM adviser says climate change is ‘UN-led ruse to establish new world order’ – Telegraph

 Climate change is a hoax developed as part of a secret plot by the United Nations to undermine democracies and takeover the world, a top adviser to Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister, has warned.

Maurice Newman, the chief business adviser to the prime minister, said the science showing links between human activity and the warming climate was wrong but was being used as a “hook” by the UN to expand its global control.

“This is not about facts or logic. It’s about a new world order under the control of the UN,” he wrote in The Australian.

“It is opposed to capitalism and freedom and has made environmental catastrophism a household topic to achieve its objective.” Born in Ilford, England, and educated in Australia, Mr Newman, a staunch conservative and former chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange, has long been an outspoken critic of climate change science.

via Australia PM adviser says climate change is ‘UN-led ruse to establish new world order’ – Telegraph.

After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye – NYTimes.com

After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye – NYTimes.com.

“I think the cure was Ian’s own immune system,” Dr. Varkey said, explaining that he suspected the treatments had reduced Dr. Crozier’s symptoms and helped preserve his sight long enough for his immune system to kick in and clear out the virus — just as supportive care during the worst phase of his initial illness had kept him alive until his natural defenses could take over.

Human pneumonic plague outbreak has multiple transmission routes | Vaccine News Daily

Specimens taken from the dog and the three ill people showed acute Yersinia pestis. Experts state that one of the cases of pneumonia could have been transmitted from the dog owner to the individual. This is the first U.S. transmission of the plague since 1924.

Experts state this is an opportunity for health professionals to consider diagnosing the plague in animals, as well as potential to study relatively mild plague illnesses among patients who already take antimicrobial agents.

An automated system located in the hospital lab previously misdiagnosed the bacterium as Pseudomonas luteola. This outbreak shows that there are limits to current diagnostic systems when they test for rare bacteria, like Yersinia pestis, and they are always in need of improvement.

via Human pneumonic plague outbreak has multiple transmission routes | Vaccine News Daily.

EU approves import of 19 genetically modified organisms | News | DW.DE | 24.04.2015

No place to run or hide – corruption and self-delusion win out! The European Union’s executive body granted 10 new authorizations for genetically modified organisms (GMO) food or animal feed on Friday, including varieties of maize, soybean, cotton, and oilseed rape. The Commission also renewed licenses for seven GMO products and allowed the import of two types of carnation.

“All the GMO products approved today have been proved to be safe before their placing on the EU market,” the Commission said in a statement, explaining the products were tested by the European Food Safety Authority and that the authorizations are valid for 10 years.

The newly approved products are made by companies including US giants Monsanto and DuPont, and German firms Bayer and BASF.

via EU approves import of 19 genetically modified organisms | News | DW.DE | 24.04.2015.

Study of isolated Amazonian tribe shows how modern life is changing human bodily bacteria – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A microbiota diversity decline may be linked to the increase in the past several decades of immunological and metabolic diseases such as asthma, allergies, diabetes and obesity, said Maria Dominguez-Bello, a professor of medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Centre.

The researchers analysed microbial samples from 34 of the 54 Yanomami villagers.

They were compared to a United States group, another Venezuelan Amazonian indigenous people, the Guahibo, and residents of rural Malawi in southern Africa.

Yanomami were found to have twice the number of microbe varieties of the US subjects and 30 to 40 per cent more diversity than the Malawians and Guahibo.

Some of the bacteria found in the Yanomami, but not in the others, offer beneficial effects like protecting against kidney stones.

The Yanomami are semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in their remote mountainous region.

“It really is a unique opportunity to contact communities with this ancient lifestyle,” said Oscar Noya, a researcher with the Amazonic Centre for Research and Control of Tropical Diseases in Venezuela who visited the villagers.

via Study of isolated Amazonian tribe shows how modern life is changing human bodily bacteria – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

WHO: Several factors fueling surge of H5N1 in Egypt | CIDRAP

Isn’t this what they were saying about ebola before the latest outbreak?

Despite the gush of cases from Egypt and the sporadic cases reported elsewhere, the H5N1 virus doesn’t appear to transmit easily among people, and the cases reported in March all occurred in countries where the virus is endemic in people, the WHO said. It added, however, that more studies are needed to understand human risk factors, whether mild cases are occurring, and if virus changes are making H5N1 more transmissible from birds to people.

Regarding H7N9, the WHO said that so far China has reported 631 cases, 253 of them fatal, since the virus first emerged about 2 years ago. The total reflects 29 more cases and 26 more deaths than the WHO’s last monthly update on Mar 3.

The agency added that H7N9 detections are still occurring in poultry in locations where human cases are detected, that no major genetic changes have been detected in recent samples, and that the virus still doesn’t transmit easily among humans.

via WHO: Several factors fueling surge of H5N1 in Egypt | CIDRAP.

IRIN Africa | Cameroon soldiers defy Boko Haram in polio battle | Cameroon | Nigeria | Children | Education | Health & Nutrition | Refugees/IDPs

How do you vaccinate women and children against polio in remote areas prone to attack from Boko Haram militants? Arm the soldiers with vaccine.

This is exactly what has happened with great success in northern Cameroon.

Following a series of abductions last year by Boko Haram groups, military escorts have been joining vaccination drives in Cameroon’s Far North Region to protect both local and international humanitarian workers.

In addition to acting as a security presence, officers, who normally patrol the frontlines and at-risk border communities, are also trained to administer polio vaccines – a tactic UNICEF says has been key to the successful campaign.

via IRIN Africa | Cameroon soldiers defy Boko Haram in polio battle | Cameroon | Nigeria | Children | Education | Health & Nutrition | Refugees/IDPs.

Lack of vaccinations in West Africa dangerous for children | Vaccine News Daily

“Like every other medical service in the country, the Ebola outbreak has significantly reduced vaccination activities too,” DWB’s Philippe Le Vaillant said. “The Liberian authorities reported that the number of children vaccinated monthly had dropped by 60 percent at the end of 2014. Measles vaccination coverage also fell to 58 percent, while the minimum acceptable level should be at least 80 percent to protect against the virus. As of January, an estimated 92,000 children below one-year old in Liberia had not been vaccinated at all and are therefore today vulnerable to various preventable childhood diseases.”

via Lack of vaccinations in West Africa dangerous for children | Vaccine News Daily.

Ebola death reported in Sierra Leone region where epidemic originated | World news | The Guardian

Ebola death reported in Sierra Leone region where epidemic originated | World news | The Guardian.

C#@%. When will this end? So many deaths. Pray this marks real beginning of figuring out Ebola’s triggers in nature. I believe human disruption of local ecologies play a big role – logging – industrialized agriculture in formerly pristine areas…