Dengure fever in Caribbean raises fears of U.S. outbreak
July 29, 2010
An epidemic of dengue fever that has hit Latin America and the Caribbean has increased the risk of a similar outbreak occurring in South Florida, an expert on the disease has told Reuters.
The proximity of Florida to the affected countries, the ease and size of the migration of people from there to Florida and a similar tropical climate have raised the possibility of an outbreak in the state for the first time in decades, Dr. Douglas Fuller, a bioclimatologist and dengue fever expert, told Reuters. Dr. Fuller is the chair of the Geography and Regional Studies department at the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“I think the risk is substantial,” Dr. Fuller told Reuters. “In terms of the basic ingredients, you’ve got everything that you would need for an epidemic. I think we’re on the doorstep.”
Dengue fever can cause flu-like symptoms, including muscle and joint pain, fever and headaches. Though less common, it also comes in a hemorrhagic form that causes massive internal bleeding and bleeding from the body’s orifices and can often be fatal.
Since the beginning of the year through June, there have been 17,000 reported cases of dengue in the Caribbean according to the Pan American Health Organization. The outbreak has been blamed on the unusually wet spring that occurred in the region and the high volume of standing water that resulted. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes that breed in water.
http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/news/214387-dengure-fever-in-caribbean-raises-fears-of-us-outbreak
Zimbabwe – Cholera hits Chiadzwa
Jul 29 2010
A cholera outbreak has erupted in the highly militarised Chiadzwa diamond fields sparking fears of an epidemic amid reports that 78 people have been admitted into hospitals in Mutare, NewsDay can exclusively reveal.
Hundreds were reportedly flocking to makeshift emergency health camps following an outbreak of the deadly and highly contagious cholera epidemic in the area amid a tense stand-off between security personnel cordoning off the diamond fields and the surrounding community.
According to the Health and Child Welfare ministry the outbreak was detected last Sunday.
Provincial Medical Director for Manicaland Dr Milton Chemhuru yesterday confirmed the outbreak but said the pandemic had not reached crisis levels.
Tents had been set up at camps scattered around Chiadzwa diamond fields said Chemhuru. He said not more than 10 people had been admitted there.
“Yes, there is an outbreak, but my staff is very good at controlling the disease and I am sure we are in control of the situation,” Chemhuru said. “We have taken in 79 patients at Mutare district centre situated in the Chiadzwa area but no deaths have been reported. Camps have been set up where tents have been pitched to take in patients.”
Chemhuru said there was another outbreak in other parts of the province, such as Buhera. Cholera treatment camps had been set up at Zangana, Chapinduka, Mutiusinazita and Gunura, he said.
Health minister Henry Madzorera said he was not yet aware of the outbreak because he only received bulletins from the provinces once a week.
“Call the PMD (Provincial Medical Director),” the minister said. “He is the man on the ground and would be able to give you the details you want. I only get bulletins once a week and I have not received any for this week.”
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-29-cholera-hits-chiadzwa
Delhi reports five new dengue cases
Five new cases of dengue in the capital have taken the number of people affected by the mosquito-borne disease to 46, an official said Friday.
‘Five people have tested positive for dengue in Delhi. But no deaths were reported Friday,’ N.K. Yadav, chief medical officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), told IANS.
Delhi has so far reported one dengue death this year.
http://sify.com/news/delhi-reports-five-new-dengue-cases-news-health-kh4uacaiiec.html
COTE D’IVOIRE: Yellow fever, dengue kill at least three
BIDJAN, 30 July 2010 (IRIN) – Ivorian health officials are vaccinating people against yellow fever in Abidjan, the commercial capital, and two other major cities, after the disease killed two people and struck nine others in recent weeks.
During the same period, dengue fever – for which there is no vaccine – killed one person, and there have been 10 more confirmed cases, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Hygiene.
Yellow fever and dengue fever, both viral illnesses transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, have struck communities in Abidjan, Grand Bassam and Bouaké, said Health Minister Eugène Aouélé Aka.
“We are working to eliminate mosquitoes in the affected zones,” he told reporters on 29 July. “We must contain the problem as quickly as possible – we’re in the rainy season when these diseases spread rapidly.”
The illnesses commonly occur during the rainy season, when mosquitoes multiply, but poor hygiene is the culprit, an infectious disease expert in Abidjan told IRIN.
Read more: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=90022
Researchers unveil mechanism of cholera bacteria to create cell energy
Researchers have found that an enzyme in the bacteria that causes cholera uses a previously unknown mechanism in providing the bacteria with energy. Because the enzyme is not found in most other organisms, including humans, the finding offers insights into how drugs might be created to kill the bacteria without harming humans.
Blanca Barquera, a Rensselaer associate professor of biology, led a team (including research professor Joel Morgan and postdoctoral fellow Oscar Juarez) whose findings were published in the June 28 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team studied Na+-NQR, an enzyme that is essentially two linked machines to create energy from food and electrically charge the cell membrane of Vibrio cholerae, powering many cellular functions.
Vibrio cholerae causes cholera, a disease transmitted primarily through contaminated drinking water. Cholera, in which severe diarrhea and vomiting lead to rapid dehydration, is a major cause of death in the developing world, and in the aftermath of catastrophes that compromise water systems.
The Rensselaer team found that the way in which the two machines are linked in Na+-NQR is different from other respiratory enzymes and likely involves much more movement of the protein than has been observed in other enzymes.
New Solution for Maggot & Fly Infestation in Garbage Cans
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 13 /PRNewswire/ — When facing yet another summer of trashcans infested with disgusting maggots and flies, innovator Tim Deasy knew he had to come up with a new solution. Through a little research and effort, Fly Erase Pest Strip was developed. “This was nothing more than a simple twist on an existing technology that is extremely easy to use,” said Tim Deasy. “Our convenient adhesive strip patch means Fly Erase will attach securely to the inner lid of any garbage can and keep the flies away for 4 months.”
Although the pure smell associated with flies and maggots in the hot summer months are a real issue, there are more serious aspects of these infestations to consider. Flies increase rapidly during warmer seasons, this means that diseases will now spread faster if proper hygiene is not observed in our homes. Flies are known to carry bacteria in their feet and mouths that cause mastitis. Flies and maggots are associated with diseases like malaria, typhoid fever, anthrax, leprosy, cholera, conjunctivitis, tuberculosis, dysentery and diarrhea in human beings.
Fly Erase provides unique force shield vapor protection for up to 4 months per trashcan. Disease and bacteria is more than a nuisance, and for only $6.95 Fly Erase offers families a real sense of health security. “The anxiety of opening that outdoor trash can go beyond the pure anticipation of maggots falling out, there are real health issues to consider,” said Mr. Deasy.
For more information, visit http://www.stopmaggots.com.
Somalia – Cholera/Acute watery diarrhea
Somalia: EHA weekly highlights, 24 – 30 July 2010
Date: 30 Jul 2010
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
Full-report: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MCOI-87UDPE/$File/full_report.pdf
Update on major public health concern:
– Cholera/Acute watery diarrhea The number of cholera cases reported from Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu remains high (see Graph 1).
– In week 291, an increase in the number of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases was observed from Lower Shabelle region (where cholera was confirmed at Merka cholera treatment centre), compared to week 28. Merka district accounted for over 56% of all cases reported from 34 health facilities in the region; from week 1-29, the district accounted for 49% of all AWD cases reported. (see Graph 2).
– WHO continues to call on health partners to respond to the current situation, in light of seasonal outbreaks in the past years (see Graph 3).
Nigeria – Cholera outbreak: 6 die, 160 infected in Bauchi
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Bauchi State Commissioner of Health, Mohammed Yahaya Jalam, has raised the alarm of an outbreak of cholera in the state, which has so far claimed six lives while over 160 people have contracted the disease and are currently receiving treatment at various health facilities across the state.
The commissioner raised the alarm while speaking with news men at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching (ATBUTH), Bauchi last weekend, on the development which he said was under control by his ministry and other health related agencies in the state, pointing out that of the 160 people infected, 100 had been treated at the ATBUTH and discharged while the remaining 60 were still receiving treatment.
He said the government had been able to locate the wards that were affected within the metropolis, and the government had been able to control and assisted the victims saying that “we have been able to control it by disinfecting the whole wards by colorating the areas so that it does not break out in other wards and local government and we have been able to provide free treatment to all the affected persons”.
He added, “what causes this cholera outbreak especially during rainy season is that most of the communities don’t treat their water before using them because when there is flood, it goes inside the well and when such water are taken, one will be infected.
After disinfecting the wards, we embarked on sensitisation campaign to make sure that people are aware because it is only when you know where the problem comes from that they can take precautions”.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/8873-cholera-outbreak-6-die-160-infected-in-bauchi
Malaysia – Team To Study Melioidosis, Leptospirosis Bacterial Mortality
KUANTAN, July 29 (Bernama) — A special team will be formed to study the mortality of the melioidosis and leptospirosis bacteria, especially in the three high-risk areas of Pahang.
State Local Government, Environment and Health Committee chairman Datuk Hoh Khai Mun said from reports by the medical specialists, the three areas were Jerantut, Lipis and Maran which had experienced the disease outbreaks before.
“The state government has agreed to form a committee through the Health Department to undertake a comprehensive study on the bacterial mobility in the areas at risk,” he said after presenting awards for the school-level recycling campaign by F&N Beverages and the Kuantan Municipal Council, here Thursday.
Hoh said the team would be joined by an expert on bacteria from the International Islamic University Malaysia.
He said the findings of the study would enable the state government to take early precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence of the disease outbreak.
South Africa – Bad hygiene blamed for child diarrhoea deaths
July 29, 2010
At least 37 children, all younger than five, died of diarrhoea in the province’s hospitals last summer.
The provincial health department has blamed inadequate hygiene and poor sanitation for the spread of the rotavirus that caused severe gastroenteritis in small children.
Faiza Steyn, spokesperson for the department, said the deaths occurred between October and May, a period referred to by those in the medical profession as diarrhoea season.
The figures relating to diarrhoea deaths were the same as the previous financial year but Steyn said incidence of diarrhoea had significantly decreased.
In 2005 over 100 children died of diarrhoea in the Western Cape.
“There was a significant decrease in the number of cases of diarrhoeal disease during 2009/2010 compared to the previous year at primary health care facilities. At hospital level there was an 11% reduction in the number of diarrhoeal disease cases that were admitted in 2009/2010 compared to the previous year.
“The areas with the highest burden of disease are those with informal settlements, mostly because of the poor infrastructure regarding water and sanitation,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed in findings published in the South African Child Gauge 2009/2010, which reported that 80 percent of children who died were younger than five.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=125&art_id=vn20100729122948584C204268
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