Category Archives: pandemic

NYC Rats Now Carrying Same Fleas That Spread Bubonic Plague: Gothamist

The good news is that researchers did not find any plague or typhus bacteria in the fleas they sampled. But come on, we all know it’s only a matter of time. “If these rats carry fleas that could transmit the plague to people, then the pathogen itself is the only piece missing from the transmission cycle,” says Matthew Frye, the lead author of the study.

via NYC Rats Now Carrying Same Fleas That Spread Bubonic Plague: Gothamist.

Saudi MERS deaths reach 400 as cases surge | CIDRAP

Saudi Arabia’s surge of MERS-CoV cases and deaths continues into March, with 15 more cases reported over the past 3 days, as well as 6 additional deaths, pushing the country’s fatality count to 400, according to statements from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH).

Thirteen of the new cases are from Riyadh, with 2 reported in Buraydah, the capital of Al Qassim region, which is 220 miles northwest of Riyadh. All of the patients are adults, ages 34 to 80, and all but four are men. All 15 of the latest MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case-patients are symptomatic, with 9 hospitalized in critical condition and 6 listed as stable.

Seven of the patients are from outside of Saudi Arabia, and of four healthcare workers who are infected, three are from foreign countries. All but four of the patients have preexisting health conditions.

via Saudi MERS deaths reach 400 as cases surge | CIDRAP.

Nearly Beaten in Sierra Leone, Ebola Makes a Comeback by Sea – NYTimes.com

Sick fishermen came ashore in early February to the packed wharf-side slums that surround the country’s fanciest hotels, which were filled with public health workers. Volunteers fanned out to contain the outbreak, but the virus jumped quarantine lines and cascaded into the countryside, bringing dozens of new infections and deaths.

“We worked so hard,” said Emmanuel Conteh, an Ebola response coordinator in a rural district. “It is a shame to all of us.”

Continue reading the main story

RELATED COVERAGE

Liberia’s President Urges U.S. to Continue Ebola AidFEB. 27, 2015

Fatality Rate Is Falling in West African Ebola Clinics FEB. 26, 2015

Leaders of Ebola Fight at U.N. Express Worry About EradicationFEB. 20, 2015

Public health experts preparing for an international conference on Ebola on Tuesday seem to have no doubt that the disease can be vanquished in the West African countries ravaged by it in the last year. But the steep downward trajectory of new cases late last year and into January did not lead to the end of the epidemic.

via Nearly Beaten in Sierra Leone, Ebola Makes a Comeback by Sea – NYTimes.com.

CDC puts C difficile burden at 453,000 cases, 29,000 deaths | CIDRAP

The CDC found that about two thirds of the 453,000 cases were related to a stay in a hospital or nursing home and the other third were community-associated cases, involving people with no recent hospital or nursing home exposure. Most of those who died were elderly.

“Eighty percent of deaths from C difficile infections happened in people 65 and older,” said Michael Bell, MD, deputy director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion in the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, at a press conference today.

“One of nine patients over 65 with C difficile dies within 30 days of diagnosis,” he added. “That’s a frightening statistic.”

via CDC puts C difficile burden at 453,000 cases, 29,000 deaths | CIDRAP.

Modi bets on GM crops for India’s second green revolution | Reuters

Modi bets on GM crops for India’s second green revolution | Reuters.

His bet will mean many deaths for India when monocrops succumb to massive crop failures due to unforeseen new fungi, bacteria, or rust. Will also open doors for new Bhopal type disasters but its all about money and not people or the planet. 

USAID funds Ebola ‘smart pod’ project

Sharmila Anandasabapathy, director of Baylor Global Initiatives and the Baylor Global Innovation Center emphasized both the time and cost efficiency of the ESP.

“Compared to a stand-alone hospital, you’re talking two weeks [for it to be deployed] as opposed to potentially nine to 12 months,” Anandasabapathy said. “For cost, I think it would be between 1/10th and 1/20th the cost, depending on the facility.”

Each ESP medical unit will be equipped with eight beds, an air filtration system, air conditioning and a contained waste management system. It will also come with a set of clinical training apps that would show how to properly use the ESP. Once a request to deploy an ESP comes in, a team could have it in the field and operating in two weeks.

“Like Legos, you can put multiple containers together so you can go from an eight-bed unit to a 16-bed unit very quickly,” Anandasabapthy said. ‘You can develop individual units for waste management that can be attached to larger units, but we hope that at full scale, we could build a 100-bed hospital in a month.”

via USAID funds Ebola ‘smart pod’ project.

Superbug linked to 2 deaths at UCLA hospital; 100 potentially exposed – LA Times

Weak as water excuse – “it’s not our fault because we depended on other people.”

UCLA said it immediately notified public health authorities after discovering the bacteria in one patient and tracing the problem to two endoscopes. The university said it had been cleaning the scopes “according to standards stipulated by the manufacturer” and it changed how it disinfects the instruments after the infections surfaced.

UCLA said it immediately notified public health authorities after discovering the bacteria in one patient and tracing the problem to two endoscopes. The university said it had been cleaning the scopes “according to standards stipulated by the manufacturer” and it changed how it disinfects the instruments after the infections surfaced.

Dale Tate, a university spokeswoman, said “the two scopes involved with the infection were immediately removed and UCLA is now utilizing a decontamination process that goes above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards.”

via Superbug linked to 2 deaths at UCLA hospital; 100 potentially exposed – LA Times.

Measles makes its mark all over again: One of humanity’s oldest foes is back on the increase – Features – Health & Families – The Independent

Since al-Razi first carefully documented it (about 900 AD), this little strand of RNA tucked in a protein envelope has enjoyed a rare kind of notoriety, even in the shock-and-awe world of infectious diseases. In 1529, the Spanish introduced it to Cuba, killing two out of three natives. Over the next decade or so, the virus ravaged Central America, decimating many populations and killing up to half of all Hondurans. And, in 1693, in colonial America, Virginia governor Edmund Andros issued a proclamation for a “day of humiliation and prayer” in the hope of waylaying the virus.

It’s not like that today, but the disease is no slouch either. In 2013, according to the World Health Organisation, there were 16 deaths from the virus each hour, around the world, for the entire year. It is one of the leading causes of death among young children, despite our ability to safely vaccinate against it. It is estimated that between the years of 2000 and 2013, vaccination has prevented 15.6 million deaths. Do you recognise it yet?

via Measles makes its mark all over again: One of humanity’s oldest foes is back on the increase – Features – Health & Families – The Independent.

Singapore researchers produce new antibody to combat flu, pneumonia | Vaccine News Daily

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have created and developed an antibody that has been shown to boost survival chances for patients suffering from the flu and pneumonia, Cell Reports said on Feb. 10.

The antibody has shown to be effective in lab tests and is now being designed for use in humans. NTU scientists are also using the new antibody to develop a diagnostic kit that can help physicians track the recovery progress of flu and pneumonia patients.

via Singapore researchers produce new antibody to combat flu, pneumonia | Vaccine News Daily.