Tag Archives: virus

International

Medical Martial Law, Coronavirus MERS update: More cases & deaths! Stay away from hospitals!

23 June 2013 (13:18 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1434/02 Tir 1391/16 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) reporting another person has died and two more people are infected.  That makes 70 cases and 39 deaths globally.

KSA health officials continue to accuse a Netherlands university of intentionally dragging their feet on developing a vaccine for the bat virus.  KSA officials say the university wanted to wait for patent rights before continuing with research.

There is growing evidence that MERS is a fast spreader, especially inside hospitals.

Influenza

Medical Martial Law: Making vaccines more acceptable, soon(?) you can wear the Flu Patch!

23 June 2013 (12:21 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1434/02 Tir 1392/16 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

Researchers in Japan revealing a new way to get you to take those rarely effective flu shots, the Flu Patch.

The patch is made up of about 250 tiny needles around 0.8mm long.  The needles are not metal, but are a combination of compressed vaccines and hyaluronic acid.  The needles dissolve into your skin.

Researchers say testing is promising, with the usual reactions to vaccines.  What does that mean? They say 50% of their test subjects developed flu like symptoms, and/or redness and swelling around the vaccination area.  Mmmm, 50% is considered usual?

Creating a truly effective influenza vaccine is almost impossible, because flu is an RNA virus.   RNA viruses, like AIDS, evolve so fast that by the time a vaccine is developed it’s already out of date (the flu shot you get this year is actually based on last year’s flu, and not even all of the flus out there are covered).

Vaccines work well on DNA viruses, because they evolve very slowly.  The patch would be very useful to help fight DNA viruses.  The researchers say they’ve got another five to ten years of testing and refinement before their vaccine patch is ready.

International

Medical Martial Law, Coronavirus MERS update: More than 50% kill rate! Mass gatherings preparations!

23 June 2013 (02:25 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1434/02 Tir 1391/16 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

The UN World Health Organization is sounding an international warning for the new MERS virus.  Since September 2012, the UNWHO has been notified of 68 cases in which 38 people have died. That’s more than a 50% kill rate.

More than 100 health officials from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe attended a meeting from Thursday through Saturday, discussing the implications of a MERS global pandemic.  They agreed to prepare to cooperate with surveillance, communications, laboratory diagnostics, and infection control to include mass gatherings preparation: “Mass gatherings are a stress test for public health. Crowds, and the infrastructures that support them, can be an ideal setting for outbreaks of disease.”-UN World Health Organization

The mass gatherings event everyone is worried about is the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).  Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world will converge on Mecca, and return home.  KSA is ground zero for this deadly MERS outbreak.

KSA has confirmed more MERS cases, including medical personnel who got infected while attending victims of MERS.

Influenza

New bird flu evolves to infect humans!

23 June 2013 (02:00 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1434/02 Tir 1392/16 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

Health officials in Taiwan confirm that a woman has become the first person to be infected by H6N1.  At least four people who know the woman are showing signs of infection, but tests have been negative.

The woman recovered.  H6N1 normally infects only birds.  Health officials say  they’ve tested poultry farms in the area where the woman lives, and not one bird was positive for H6N1 (just like in the case with H7N9).

International

Norovirus / Tummy Bug update, 21 June 2013: Yellowstone outbreak spreads to Grand Tetons! Pesticides and cruel animal testing! Don’t eat the Raspberries or the Chutney?

In Wyoming U.S.A., at least 200 people are sick, possibly with norovirus (a few cases have been confirmed as norovirus), at the National Park called Yellowstone. New cases are being reported in nearby Grand Teton National Park.  Infected people included park employees and tourists. Local Wyoming news reports say the outbreak started on a tour bus.  Health officials are concerned because of the number of tourists that visit the parks.

The Pocono Medical Center, in Pennsylvania U.S.A., reporting that since May at least 30 employees have become sick with gastrointestinal problems.  For some reason hospital officials refuse to call it an outbreak.

In Virginia U.S.A., Marshall Elementary School reports about a dozen students and one teacher became sick.  Health officials are investigating.

At least 41 people got sick eating food prepared by the Nantucket Grill in North Carolina U.S.A.  Health officials are still investigating.

In California U.S.A., a Santa Cruz County strawberry grower got into big trouble when he used illegal pesticide on his strawberries and people got violently sick after eating them.   He was ordered to destroy what was left of his crop, and to pay a $15000 USD fine for illegal pesticide use.  The pesticide he used, Methomyl, became illegal for use on fruit in 2010.  Victims of the pesticide laden strawberries suffered blurred vision, headache, nausea, stomach cramps, low blood pressure, sweating and muscle tremors.  Also, in Los Angeles 110 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus drivers are reporting getting sick after MTA officials had the buses sprayed with pesticides.  The spraying has been going on for years.  The bug spray is causing the drivers to suffer chronic headaches, uncontrollable shakes, nausea and vomiting.

In Canada, the Irish golf team practicing for their North American golf tour were taken down by tummy bug.  At least eight players were isolated.  Reports that the Australian team was also hit, but they refused to give details.  The Vancouver Island Health Authority reporting at least three cases at Campbell River’s Yucalta Lodge.

In United Kingdom, the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines being sued by passengers that got sick back in May.  At least 96 people were sick on the cruse.   Also, in Newcastle an outbreak that could be the biggest of the year.  At least 400 people got sick.  Health officials suspect salmonella contaminated uncooked curry leaves used to make chutney sauce.  Two norovirus cases confirmed at Watford General Hospital.  One ward in Morriston Hospital was closed for more than ten days.  In Scotland, the County Community Hospital in Invergordon was on restrictions due to a small outbreak.

Also in the U.K., evil corporations Nestle, Unilever, Knorr, Hellmann’s and Yakult, are being accused of cruel animal testing.  Pregnant rabbits, piglets and mice were being intentionally infected with deadly bacteria, then allowed to die horribly (usually by bleeding to death).  The food company officials say they were conducting experiments to see if some of their food products (like herbal teas and probiotic drinks) could kill the bacteria.  According to whistleblowers, those herbal teas and probiotic drinks did nothing to help the intentionally sickened animals!  (so they probably won’t do you any good either)

In New Zealand an investigation revealed the source of a norovirus outbreak in Cardrona township, last year.  It was in the water supply system.

According to Sweden‘s National Food Agency, frozen raspberries are contaminated with microbes that cause vomiting sickness.  They blame frozen berries imported into Sweden.  A couple of months ago they connected a hepatitis A outbreak to imported frozen berries.  Apparently the berries are being contaminated during the packaging process.  Health officials say you should boil the frozen berries before eating them.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the French National Scientific Research Center, claim that broccoli can kill a bacteria (Helicobacter pylori) that is a common cause of tummy bug.  (don’t confuse bacteria with viruses)

International

2013 worst year ever for Dengue Fever epidemic?

19 June 2013 (03:40 UTC-07 Tango)/10 Sha’ban 1434/29 Khordad 1391/12 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

Researchers in India are reporting that the Dengue virus is evolving.  They have identified at least four serotypes of the virus in the Indian state of Kerala, and have observed mutations since 2008.  They have also identified new strains of Dengue that have come in from outside Kerala.

Another problem is that it seems if you survive an initial infection, you will get sicker if you’re infected a second or third time (which is almost guaranteed in mosquito swamped areas).  They say this is why outbreaks of Dengue Fever are getting worse: “People who are infected a second time with a different type of the dengue virus may have a different immune response wherein the clinical symptoms of dengue might worsen and the person will have severe disease. This is called antibody-dependent enhancement.”-E. Sreekumar, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology

In the South East Asian country of Laos, 7920 people have been infected with Dengue Fever so far this year.  13 have died.

The UN World Health Organization gave Laos this dire warning: “If there are no effective actions undertaken, there will be serious economic and social consequences for Lao PDR including deaths, overloaded central, provincial and district health care facilities, and debilitated workers due to illness.”

The UNWHO says the number of mosquito spread Dengue Fever cases has exceeded 2010 numbers for the same time period, in Asia.

Singapore is reporting more than 10000 cases.  For the same time last year they had 4632 cases.  Citizens in that country are outraged because it was revealed that one infected person died in a hospital, because the patient was ignored by medical staff for at least five hours.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed 43609 cases, with 50 deaths.  That’s three times higher than last year during the same time period.

The Philippines’ Department of Health reports 42207 cases.

Malaysia reports more than 10000 cases.

Sri Lanka has ordered it Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Health to conduct a dengue eradication operation.

International

Rubella outbreak in Japan now at “critical” levels! Global health officials scared!

11 June 2013 (01:32 UTC-07 Tango)/02 Sha’ban 1434/21 Khordad 1391/04 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases says 9408 people were diagnosed with rubella between January and the beginning of June.  That’s four times higher than the same time last year, and the highest in five years.

Last week there were 680 new cases, health officials in Japan are calling the outbreak “critical”.

In United Kingdom, a rubella outbreak is being reported in West Midlands.  38 cases thus far.  Across all the U.K. there are at least 962 cases.

In the United Kingdom, Australia and United States, health officials are asking the news media to get the word out about vaccines.  Some U.S. states are returning to requiring grade school students to get the MMR shot, Florida being the latest state to make that rule.

The vaccine does seem to work for most, but some people have had bad reactions, and a recent study showed that people with specific genes get no benefit from the vaccine.   Women who plan to get pregnant should get the vaccine about 30 days prior to getting pregnant.  Studies show you should not get the vaccine while pregnant.

 

Influenza

H7N9 update: Outbreak considered finished! Class BSL-3 virus!

10 June 2013 (20:53 UTC-07 Tango 09 June 2013)/01 Sha’ban 1434/20 Khordad 1392/03 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission considers the H7N9 outbreak over.  No new cases have been reported.  Official updates will take place once per month.   The official count is 131 human cases, 39 deaths.

On 07 June, the UN World Heath Organization reported 132 cases (one man in Taiwan) and 37 deaths.  Apparently two more people died between then and now.

The UNWHO continues to insist that it comes from poultry, even though testing doesn’t show that (Chinese officials tested a total of 899758 bird samples. Only 53 were positive!  51 were chickens in live markets.  The other two were wild pigeons.).  UN health officials admit that there were four “clusters” of possible human to human cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified H7N9 as a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) virus.  Laboratories around the world are now studying the virus.  The CDC also reported that vaccines don’t work against H7 viruses.  A recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study came to the same conclusion.

The MIT study also said the H7N9 contains a protein that can easily evolve to make it infectious to humans.  It then can infect you in your upper respiratory tract (nose, sinuses, throat).

What I find interesting is that it’s taken U.S. researchers this long to conclude what Japanese researchers concluded just days after the outbreak began.

A recent study by National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) says the H7N9 does not follow the currently accepted medical dogma about how flu viruses evolve.   They warn pandemic is still possible.

International

Coronavirus MERS update: More cases more deaths!

07 June 2013 (12:48 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Rajab 1434/17 Khordad 1391/29 Wu-Wu (4th month) 4711

In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), a 14 years old girl is sick with MERS.   She has other health problems, which seems to be a condition for getting infected with MERS.  She lives in an area of KSA that is not the current hot spot for infections, indicating it’s spreading.

Saudi health officials say an 83 years old man died in in the eastern region of Al-Ahsaa.  He developed symptoms on 27 May, and died on 31 May.  Within the KSA 25 people have died, and there are 40 people fighting the infection.  (other sources report numbers lower than that)

In Italy, there are now three people infected.   The man who came back from Jordan unknowingly infected a 42 years old woman and a 2 years old girl.

Going by the latest UN World Health Organization numbers, and current regional reports, there are more than 55 cases and more than 33 deaths, around the world.

There are reports that some people infected with MERS are not showing symptoms.  However, the virus is so new health officials are not sure what typical symptoms are: “…the virus has not been characterized yet. Thus, significant mutations in the viral genome that might explain changes in virulence on transmissibility cannot be confirmed as yet.”-Giovanna Rezza, International Society for Infectious Diseases

International

Norovirus / Tummy Bug update, 04 June 2013: Health officials finally blame drug use in farm animals! Spreading on the Appalachian!

In United Kingdom, the Sandwell Hospital now on restriction after a norovirus outbreak.

The University of Southampton says copper, and alloys that contain copper, kills norovirus.  This might have implications for those plastic water lines that have been replacing copper pipes in homes.

“As soon as you prescribe an antibiotic, you start creating resistance….The drug will kill off most of the bacteria it is targeting, but there will always be a few that survive….They flourish because their rivals, the others without the different gene, are dead.”-Ron Daniels, U.K. Sepsis Trust

Health officials in the U.K. are just now starting to make the connection between massive use of anti-biotic drugs in farm animals and the creation of anti-biotic resistant killer superbug bacterias!  According to officials in the U.K., half of all anti-biotics in Britain end up in farm animals.   They’re now undertaking a five year plan to address the problem.

“In the Netherlands, it’s assumed agricultural workers carry the resistant superbug MRSA and hospitals put them into isolation for testing.”-Mark Holmes,  University of Cambridge

According to the American College of Physicians of the 133 million antibiotics  prescribed to nonhospitalized patients every year, half are unnecessary!  At least half of the cases involve viruses or other problems that anti-biotics don’t work on.  The result is that good bacteria in people are being killed off.

While more and more doctors are finally realizing how bad anti-biotics can be, a new study says if you take probiotics while on anti-biotics, it could even kill the deadly C.diff bacteria.

Another bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, survives stomach acid by producing enzymes that cancel stomach acid.  It also causes cancer.  Researchers in Scotland, U.K., say they think they know how it causes cancer, by preventing the absorption of vitamin C.

Also in U.K., a college student from Australia died from a rare killer bacteria.  The woman apparently got sick just after arriving in London, but thought it was a typical tummy bug.  It was meningococcal strain W-135.   The fast acting deadly bacteria killed the woman just a few hours after tummy bug symptoms first appeared.

In U.S.A., in what’s being called the worst viral outbreak along the Appalachian Trail, health officials say it (assumed to be norovirus) has now spread from Georgia into Pennsylvania.   Warning posters have been posted along the 3516 km (2185 miles) trail.

In upstate New York, U.S.A., health officials reporting a spike in rotavirus cases.

Several western states in the U.S., are being warned after frozen berries sold through the Costco chain, tested positive for hepatitis A.  At least 32 people are sick, the symptoms are the same as tummy bug infections, like nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, abdominal pain. But also include dark urine, clay-colored feces, joint pain, and jaundice.

In California, U.S.A., mosquitoes have been found to be spreading West Nile virus.  West Nile causes nausea and vomiting, but also fever, headache, and body aches as it attacks your central nervous system.

In Alberta, Canada, a woman returned from a trip to Thailand with a rare virus.  The zika virus originated in Africa, it causes your standard tummy bug symptoms but also includes blisters in your mouth.  The woman also developed sore muscles and rashes.

In Geelong, Australia, the Leisurelink swimming pool was closed for super chlorination, to kill parasites after two cases of cryptosporidiosis were reported.  The parasite can survive in the normal levels of chlorine in public swimming pools.

Professor Peter White of University of NSW, Australia, warned health officials to prepare for a bad year of tummy bug infections Down Under.