Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:19 GMT
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Uganda last had Marburg outbreak in 2007
* Uganda declared itself free of Ebola early this month
By Elias Biryabarema
KAMPALA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - An outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Uganda has spread to the capital Kampala after an infected woman travelled to the city and the death toll from the disease, a cousin of Ebola, climbed to five, a health official said on Monday.
The latest outbreak of another haemorrhagic fever, first confirmed on Friday in Kabale district, 430 km (270 miles) southwest of Kampala, has rattled a country that only two weeks ago declared itself free of Ebola after it claimed at least 16 lives.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the Marburg virus, also known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted through bodily fluids such as saliva and blood, or by handling infected wild animals such as monkeys.
"We have one case confirmed in Mulago Hospital while the number of the dead is now five," Rukia Nakamatte, spokesperson for the ministry of health told Reuters on Monday.
"Thirty -four contacts (people are) being monitored and an isolation facility is being set up."
A health official told Reuters on Monday that the woman at Mulago, the country's largest referral hospital, had travelled to Kampala about five days ago and is a member of a family in Kabale which lost three people.
Health investigators have yet to determined the origin of the latest Marburg infection but Uganda's director general of health services, Dr. Ruth Aceng, said on Friday that outbreaks of haemorrhagic fevers in Uganda tend to occur between June and September.
This is the period when villagers who go into the wild to collect fruit are likely to come into contact with wild animals such as fruit bats, a natural vector for the Marbug virus.
Elly Matte, a police spokesperson in Kabale, said people were alarmed about the viral outbreak. "We... might impose a quarantine if the situation worsens," he said.
Ugandan Health officials, as preventative measures, have urged people to avoid public gatherings and bodily contact. The World Health Organization has deployed a team to the district to support the outbreak investigation and response.
The last outbreak of Marburg in Uganda was in 2007 and killed two miners in the west while the deadliest occurrence of haemorrhagic fever was in 2000 when 425 people contracted Ebola and more than half of them died.
Marburg, from the same family of viruses as Ebola, starts with a severe headache followed by haemorrhaging and, in previous outbreaks in Africa, to death in 80 percent or more of cases, usually within eight to nine days.
Although both viruses are highly contagious and have high case fatalities, Marburg has a shorter incubation period of 14 days, compared to Ebola's 21.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/k...tal-five-dead/
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Monday, October 22, 2012
6th MARBURG suspect
6th MARBURG suspect
MARBURG UPDATE: Hospital officials say the Kabale woman admitted at Mulago after she showed signs of the deadly Marburg virus is in a ‘stable’ condition. Sharon Twinomujuni was first treated for malaria then diagnosed with the virus first got treatment from a private clinic in Kisugu, Kampala. Twinomujuni is related to the family of five who were first killed in Kabale as the first victims of the Marburg virus.
http://www.radiocity.ug/radiocity/
MARBURG UPDATE: Hospital officials say the Kabale woman admitted at Mulago after she showed signs of the deadly Marburg virus is in a ‘stable’ condition. Sharon Twinomujuni was first treated for malaria then diagnosed with the virus first got treatment from a private clinic in Kisugu, Kampala. Twinomujuni is related to the family of five who were first killed in Kabale as the first victims of the Marburg virus.
http://www.radiocity.ug/radiocity/
Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uganda
21 OCTOBER 2012 - The Ministry of Health in Uganda has declared an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Kitumba sub-county, Kabale district in South-western Uganda.
Blood samples from 3 cases have tested positive for Marburg at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). Investigation into the outbreak is ongoing.The Ministry of Health (MOH) is working closely with partners to control the outbreak.
The MOH and WHO have deployed a team to the district to support the outbreak investigation and response, including case contact tracing. The national and district taskforces have been reactivated.
WHO will provide support to the national authorities as needed in the areas of coordination, infection prevention and control (IPC), surveillance, epidemiology, public information and social mobilization, anthropological analysis and logistics for outbreak response.
With respect to this outbreak, WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to Uganda. http://www.who.int/csr/don/2012_10_21/en/index.html
MARBURG: PUBLIC GATHERINGS BANNED IN KABALE
Authorities in Kabale have banned all public gatherings as the district moves to contain the outbreak of Marburg Virus. The deadly virus has so far claimed a total of 5 people, while 36 others are being monitored in their homes in the districts of Rukungiri and Kabale. http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=46760
..The belated celebrations of independence in Kabale district are likely to be suspended due to the breakdown of Marburg fever in the area.
..The belated celebrations of independence in Kabale district are likely to be suspended due to the breakdown of Marburg fever in the area.
The celebration has been scheduled next week at Kabale stadium.
Mbarara district MP Mederd Bitekyerezo says that the celebrations must be stopped to save people from getting affected from Marburg.
“Marburg is like Ebola.People should avoid being in crowd” Betekyerezo noted http://www.ugandapicks.com/2012/10/independence-celebrations-in-kabale-suspended-over-marburg-26164.html
Sunday, October 21, 2012
the body of Nathan Biryamubaho
Health workers carry the body of Nathan Biryamubaho, a Marburg virus victim, for burial in Kabale District at the weekend. The disease has killed five people. PHOTO BY Robert Muhereza
Two admitted with Marburg virus signs
Two admitted with Marburg virus signs
By Robert Muhereza
Posted Monday, October 22 2012 at 01:00 Kabale
Two people with signs of Marburg virus were admitted to a newly-relocated treatment centre for the disease yesterday.
The patients were taken to Rushoroza Health Centre III, two kilometres away on Kabale-Katuna road, to reduce congestion at Kabale Referral Hospital.
The district health officer, Dr Patrick Tusiime, at the weekend said the epidemic experts decided to relocate the emergency centre because the virus can easily be transmitted to other patients.
“The emergency ward is situated in the middle of the hospital and there is a scare of possible spread of the virus in this congested area,” Dr Tusiime said. Five people have so far died of Marburg virus in Kabale, creating fear among several residents in Kitumba Sub-county where the victims originate.
Five experts from the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation and UPDF are handling the virus outbreak in the district under the coordination of Dr Joseph Wamala.
The team has organised drills for some health staff at Kabale hospital on how to handle the virus cases and protecting themselves against infection. Meanwhile, three people who died of Marburg virus have been buried in their respective villages under the strict supervision of the epidemic experts.
Barred from burial
Dr Tusiime said the relatives of the deceased were not allowed to attend the burial because they lacked protective gear. Nathan Biryamurabaho was buried at Hamuganda Village in Kitumba Sub-county on Saturday at 6:30pm. Boaz Turyahikayo, 28 and his sister Medrid Asasira, 26 were buried yesterday at Rwabirondo Village in Ndorwa West.
Dr Tusiime said the relatives of the deceased were not allowed to attend the burial because they lacked protective gear. Nathan Biryamurabaho was buried at Hamuganda Village in Kitumba Sub-county on Saturday at 6:30pm. Boaz Turyahikayo, 28 and his sister Medrid Asasira, 26 were buried yesterday at Rwabirondo Village in Ndorwa West.
The other two victims were buried earlier by their relatives. Samples were taken from their bodies and tested positive for Marburg. Biryamubaho’s body was found at his home village in Hamuganda because his relatives sneaked it out of the isolation centre at Kabale hospital after health workers abandoned them.
Dr Tusiime warned the deceased’s relatives against travelling outside their village to avoid transmiting the virus in case they are infected. “The relatives who got in contact with the bodies of the deceased must not attend crowded places like churches, schools and markets until 21 days of surveillance are over. We are working with the epidemic experts to trace other health workers who handled the deceased so that they are closely monitored,” Dr Tusiime said.
Ndorwa West MP David Bahati said he was working with the Ministry of Health and district officials to ensure that they prevent further deaths, especially among those that taking care for the deceased. http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Two+admitted+with+Marburg+virus+signs/-/688334/1538790/-/w3ywh6/-/index.html
From Ebola to Marburg: rare virus rocks Uganda
The deadly Marburg haemorrhagic fever in the southwestern Ugandan district of Kabale claimed a fifth life from the same family at the weekend.
Dr Patrick Tusiime, the Kabale district health officer, told The Observer that the fifth victim died on Saturday morning and was quickly buried by a team of health officials to avert the spread of the disease. The Uganda Virus Research Institute and the ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the Marburg virus in Rwabihondo village, Kitumba parish, Ndorwa West constituency, on Friday.
The victims include Boaz Turyahikayo, a lecturer at Uganda Christian University and his sister, Mildred Ansasiire, a primary school teacher.
“We have restricted family members from moving out to avoid spreading the disease,” Dr Tusiime explained, adding that the family members would be confined in their home from where they would be monitored for 9-10 days... http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21675%3Afrom-ebola-to-marburg-rare-virus-rocks-uganda&catid=34%3Anews&Itemid=114
The Ebola epidemic is under control in the Haut-Uele, according to the Minister of Public Health
Kinshasa, 18/10 / (ACP). - The outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever officially declared August 17, 2012 in the areas of health and Isiro Viadana in the district of Haut-Uele in Orientale Province, is currently under control, said Wednesday in Kinshasa, during a press briefing, the Minister of Health, Dr. Felix Kabange Numbi.
The Minister of Health said that only two cases have been reported in the past three weeks, September 29 and October 11, 2012 and the cumulative number of 77 cases including 36 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic.Nearly 800 people have been in contact with patients have been followed, the minister added stressing that investigations on the ground indicate that the epidemic had started in March 2012 and not in May 2012 as previously announced. http://www.acpcongo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12767:lepidemie-d-ebola-est-sous-controle-dans-le-haut-uele-selon-le-ministre-de-la-sante-publique&catid=41:sante&Itemid=62
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Refugees from Congo suspected to have brought Marburg to Uganda
UGANDA (eTN) - According to emerging reports from Southwestern Uganda, there is increasing suspicion of an outbreak of the deadly Marburg fever, and affected individuals have been tested and put into a full quarantine. A team of health officials is on the ground, assisted reportedly by security personnel, combing areas where refugees have sought shelter to identify anyone displaying symptoms in line with the early signs of the disease.
Only two weeks ago, Uganda was declared Ebola free, after an outbreak, also suspected to have been brought into Uganda from the Eastern Congo, which took a toll on patients and health workers. Marburg falls into the same category of virus diseases as Ebola, and while less virulent, is still known to be a killer disease with a high percentage of casualties.
Diseases in Congo’s rain forests are common but normally contained within a small radius of one or two communities, but with the lack of health care structures in that part of the Congo, where at the moment intense fighting is going on, it makes refugees often the main carriers to bring such disease across the border into Uganda, where a much better-equipped health care infrastructure is then compelled to deal with the unwanted "imports."
The local media in Kampala is now starting to pick up on the news, which almost inevitably started to emerge on Twitter as individuals on the ground sent messages out, which where then picked up and retweeted.
The outbreak comes on the day prior to Uganda’s National Bird Watching contest, with the opening ceremony taking place this afternoon at the Uganda Museum in Kampala from where the participating teams were to leave for their chosen locations upcountry and in the national parks.
A full statement is expected later today from the Ministry of Health, but the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe has reportedly confirmed that it is Marburg, prompting widespread containment measures now unfolding around the affected areas between Kabale and Kisoro.
17 quarantined over Marburg virus
Publish Date: Oct 21, 2012
By Robert Mwesigye
Seventeen people have so far been quarantined over the Marburg Virus in Kabale District.
Ministry of health spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte said though no other person has shown signs and symptoms of the deadly virus, they have quarantined seventeen people.
She said they will monitor the seventeen until the expected gestation period of the virus to ensure they are not infected.
The seventeen are mainly patients and workers at Kabale regional referral hospital.
So far five deaths have been confirmed by the ministry due to the virus that caused panic in the districts of Kabale and Rukungiri where one person, Obed Tegyereize, had travelled reportedly to seek help from pastors.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/6366...rg-virus.html?
Rwanda: Health Ministry Warns on Marburg Fever
21 OCTOBER 2012
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has called on the public to immediately report any signs or suspected cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever, as steps are taken to prevent the deadly virus.
The warning comes at a time when an outbreak of the deadly virus has been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. On Friday, Uganda's Health Ministry confirmed the highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever in Kitumba Sub-county, Kabale District in South-Western Uganda.
"Following reported outbreaks of the deadly Marburg hemorrhagic fever in neighbouring Uganda, the Ministry of Health is cautioning the public to remain vigilant as the government steps up measures of preventing in-flow of the deadly virus into Rwanda," reads the warning, a copy of which The Sunday Times has received.
By Saturday, the deadly virus had claimed four people from the same family in Kabale.
Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a highly contagious disease transmitted from person to person and characterised by fever, headache, joint and muscle pain.
A person suffering from it also experiences sore throat, weakness, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pains and bleeding from all body openings, i.e eyes, nose,gums, ears, anus and the skin.
"Kabale District borders Rwanda, and specifically, the Districts of Gicumbi, Musanze, Nyagatare, and Burera that share a boarder with Uganda are at a high risk," the warning reads.
MoH, in collaboration with its partners, and through the emergency preparedness team, is taking actions to prevent potential health risks that might be caused by the deadly disease.
Alert warnings have been issued to all health centres on how to detect and handle cases once they arise. Health care providers at District Hospitals and Health Centres have been trained to prevent and manage the fever.
All necessary kits and medical supplies needed have been dispatched to all health facilities.
Members of public are required to seek medical attention at the nearest health facility especially those who visited Uganda and are experiencing signs or suspect they might be having the virus.
The ministry says it has elaborated plans to effectively respond should there be an outbreak. It, however, urges the public to stay calm. http://allafrica.com/stories/201210210096.html
Health Ministry warns on Marburg outbreak
The Ministry of Health has this Friday warned the general public of an outbreak of a deadly Marburg virus in Kitumba sub-county, Kabale district in western Uganda.
Health experts have confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg after samples from two relatives taken to the Uganda Virus Institute and tested positive.
Police Thursday stopped the burial of Boaz Turyahikayo a lecturer at Uganda Christian University and his sister Mildrid Asasira after it emerged that their family had lost four people from a mysterious disease in just a month.
The other two are Lillian Banegura their mother and an elder brother Bernard Rutaro who passed away early this month. ..
Alert on as Marburg death toll rises to five
By Robert Muhereza
Posted Sunday, October 21 2012 at 01:00
IN SUMMARY
New case. One more death reported in Kabale as health officials monitor another confirmed case who crossed to Rukungiri, seeking help from preachers.
The death toll from an outbreak of the Marburg virus, a rare and highly contagious form of hemorrhagic fever closely related to the Ebola, has risen to five in just four days, with a new suspected case registered Friday night.
Nathan Biryamurabaho 50, a resident of Bukora Kitumba Sub-county, was the fifth person to die of the virus that was confirmed on Friday in the south-western district of Kabale by the Ministry of Health. The developments come 16 days after Uganda was declared Ebola free.
The Kabale Regional Referral Hospital Director, Dr Placid Mihayo, said the patient died a few hours after he had been referred from Rugarama Hospital when his condition worsened.
The victim is a relative to the family that lost four people in the same sub-county who tested positive to the Marburg virus. “The deceased died at our isolated ward. The symptoms are exactly similar to those of his relatives who died on Thursday at this hospital. We need experts from the Ministry to demonstrate how to handle this emergency scare so that our members of staff can learn from them,” Dr Mihayo said.
The Kabale District Health Officer, Dr Patrick Tusiime, said the relatives of the deceased sneaked the body out of the hospital after the medical team abandoned them.
“We are planning to go to the residence of the deceased and pick the body for postmortem. Such handling of suspected Marburg case should stop because the virus shall spread very fast to other people,” Dr Tusiime said.
October deaths
Another four people who have died since October 4 were also suspected to have been killed by the disease, the Health ministry said in a statement.
“Preliminary reports from the district indicate that four other people had allegedly died of a strange disease since October 4th,” said a press statement issues by Health ministry.
Dr Tusiime said another confirmed victim of the highly-infectious viral hemorrhagic fever only identified as Obed had crossed into Rukungiri District. Obed is said to be seeking healing from religious leaders as he claims to have been bewitched. He escaped from the health facility on Wednesday.
“The results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute clearly show that this man is Marburg positive. We have located where he is and we have liaised with our health counterparts in Rukungiri to monitor him from there,” Dr Tusiime said.
Despite the availability of protective gears and first aid treatment, fear has gripped the medical workers who are now abandoning the hospital.
“Last evening (Friday), when health officials learnt that the victims who passed away had similar symptoms as those of the four confirmed cases who had died earlier, they run away because they are scared of the disease,” said Dr Tusiime.
Experts requested for
The hospital has now requested for experts from the Ministry of Health to handle the patients. A team of health officials have already been dispatched to the district to support both clinical and public health investigations. Also a National Taskforce has reactivated its rapid response committees to quickly act on any emergencies.
Efforts are also underway to trace and list all possible contacts that were exposed to the suspects and confirmed cases. The Ministry of Health urges the general public to report any suspected patient to a nearby health unit and avoid public gatherings or direct contact with body fluids of a person suffering from Marburg by using gloves and masks.
The last outbreak of Marburg in Uganda came in 2007 and killed two miners in the district.http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Nation...z/-/index.html
Posted Sunday, October 21 2012 at 01:00
IN SUMMARY
New case. One more death reported in Kabale as health officials monitor another confirmed case who crossed to Rukungiri, seeking help from preachers.
The death toll from an outbreak of the Marburg virus, a rare and highly contagious form of hemorrhagic fever closely related to the Ebola, has risen to five in just four days, with a new suspected case registered Friday night.
Nathan Biryamurabaho 50, a resident of Bukora Kitumba Sub-county, was the fifth person to die of the virus that was confirmed on Friday in the south-western district of Kabale by the Ministry of Health. The developments come 16 days after Uganda was declared Ebola free.
The Kabale Regional Referral Hospital Director, Dr Placid Mihayo, said the patient died a few hours after he had been referred from Rugarama Hospital when his condition worsened.
The victim is a relative to the family that lost four people in the same sub-county who tested positive to the Marburg virus. “The deceased died at our isolated ward. The symptoms are exactly similar to those of his relatives who died on Thursday at this hospital. We need experts from the Ministry to demonstrate how to handle this emergency scare so that our members of staff can learn from them,” Dr Mihayo said.
The Kabale District Health Officer, Dr Patrick Tusiime, said the relatives of the deceased sneaked the body out of the hospital after the medical team abandoned them.
“We are planning to go to the residence of the deceased and pick the body for postmortem. Such handling of suspected Marburg case should stop because the virus shall spread very fast to other people,” Dr Tusiime said.
October deaths
Another four people who have died since October 4 were also suspected to have been killed by the disease, the Health ministry said in a statement.
“Preliminary reports from the district indicate that four other people had allegedly died of a strange disease since October 4th,” said a press statement issues by Health ministry.
Dr Tusiime said another confirmed victim of the highly-infectious viral hemorrhagic fever only identified as Obed had crossed into Rukungiri District. Obed is said to be seeking healing from religious leaders as he claims to have been bewitched. He escaped from the health facility on Wednesday.
“The results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute clearly show that this man is Marburg positive. We have located where he is and we have liaised with our health counterparts in Rukungiri to monitor him from there,” Dr Tusiime said.
Despite the availability of protective gears and first aid treatment, fear has gripped the medical workers who are now abandoning the hospital.
“Last evening (Friday), when health officials learnt that the victims who passed away had similar symptoms as those of the four confirmed cases who had died earlier, they run away because they are scared of the disease,” said Dr Tusiime.
Experts requested for
The hospital has now requested for experts from the Ministry of Health to handle the patients. A team of health officials have already been dispatched to the district to support both clinical and public health investigations. Also a National Taskforce has reactivated its rapid response committees to quickly act on any emergencies.
Efforts are also underway to trace and list all possible contacts that were exposed to the suspects and confirmed cases. The Ministry of Health urges the general public to report any suspected patient to a nearby health unit and avoid public gatherings or direct contact with body fluids of a person suffering from Marburg by using gloves and masks.
The last outbreak of Marburg in Uganda came in 2007 and killed two miners in the district.http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Nation...z/-/index.html
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
DRC: Continuing efforts to contain Ebola
"Their last confirmed case was admitted in the MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières]/Ministry of Health Ebola ward on October 10, after two weeks with no confirmed cases," Olimpia de la Rosa, MSF medical emergency coordinator, told IRIN in an email. "The decrease in the number of admissions in our facility makes us think that we are on the way to contain the outbreak, but containment efforts must continue until no cases are confirmed for at least 21 days."
According to the UN World Health Organization's (WHO) 8 Octoberupdate, the disease had claimed 24 lives by 7 October, while 31 cases had been confirmed and 18 were suspected. The outbreak, first reported on 17 August, is in Isiro and Viadana health zones in the country's north-eastern Orientale Province.
The Ministry of Health is working with a task force that includes, among others, MSF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO. Its activities involve surveillance, health worker training, community education and the implementation of biosafety measures. MSF has also set up a centre for supportive treatment of Ebola patients.
Ebola, which causes fever and bleeding from orifices, can cause death within days. There is no cure or vaccine for it, so efforts are concentrated on stopping its spread. The current strain in DRC has been identified as Ebola-Bundibugyo - named for a Ugandan district that borders the DRC. The fatality rate rate for this strain is estimated at about 40 percent.
Medical situation delicate
According to MSF's de la Rosa, there is "a need to reinforce health staff knowledge about the ways of transmission of the disease and about the ways to protect patients and themselves from contagion".
Ebola is new to the area, and few local health workers had been trained to deal with it when the outbreak began. Several health workers have succumbed to the outbreak. Maintaining empathy for severely ill patients while ensuring health workers remain disease-free is a challenge.
"For the health staff providing care in the treatment centre, it is a big challenge to make compatible biosafety measures and establish[ing] an empathic patient-care giver relationship. Gloves, goggles, masks, gowns… pose a barrier to transmission but also to human contact and communication," she said.
"Physical contact through the protection material, words [of support] and provision of good medical care in the most friendly facility that biosafety allows can help to overcome this challenge and ensure the providing of quality medical treatment and patients' well-being."
Prevention a problem
According to WHO, "Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals." Fruit bats are considered to be the natural host of the virus.
Preventing future outbreaks will remain difficult as long as the response is reactionary, de la Rosa noted. "It is very difficult to prevent an Ebola outbreak from appearing because we still ignore [the virus] in non-epidemic periods, making impossible to stop the appearance of the first cases," she said. "We can just detect outbreaks when some patients become infected, usually when they die of unknown causes." http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96572/DRC-Continuing-efforts-to-contain-Ebola
Meanwhile, neighbouring Uganda, which experienced a fatal Ebola outbreak in the western district of Kibaale in July, was declared Ebola-free by the country’s Ministry of Health on 4 October.
Meningitis outbreak: Illness linked to 3rd fungus
Meningitis victims sue as probe continues
2:25 AM, Oct 17, 2012
A third fungus — black mold most commonly found on outdoor plants — is likely part of the national meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy that supplied epidural steroids and other drugs.\
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed one Cladosporium infection, and CDC Medical Epidemiologist Tom Chiller linked it to the outbreak. He shared the news in a conference call with doctors and pharmacists nationwide.
At the same time, agents with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raided the closed-down New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., carting off samples and documents.
An FDA spokesman called the raid part of the agency’s ongoing investigation. That includes checking drug samples from New England Compounding Center, reviewing the facility’s operations — including whether it had valid prescriptions for the drugs it compounded — and learning where the drugs went.
The Framingham plant shut down Oct. 3. On Oct. 4, New England Compounding Center recalled all of its 1,200 products.
The FDA is trying to determine how many doses of those products were shipped to clinics nationwide. In the meningitis outbreak, 17,676 vials of the steroid methylprednisolone acetate were shipped to 23 states.
At this point, the most frequent contaminant found in cases related to the compounding pharmacy is the fungus Exserohilum. Another fungus, Aspergillus, was detected in one patient — the September case at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that alerted officials to the meningitis outbreak that has now sickened 233 patients in 15 states. Fifteen of those patients have died.
In Tennessee, 59 patients with fungal meningitis had steroid epidurals into their spinal columns. Those were provided at PCA Pain Center in Oak Ridge, Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center in Nashville and the Specialty Surgery Center in Crossville.
The number of confirmed deaths in Tennessee remains at six.
Like the other two molds in the outbreak, Cladosporium is commonly found in the environment on decaying plant matter and soil, said Stephanie Petty, an environmental scientist at Nashville-based Resolution Inc., which provides environmental consulting for businesses.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Indonesian crew member dies from meningitis
Another in critical condition in Livorno hospital
16 October, 21:05Livorno, October 16 - One of the four crew members of an Italian cruise liner who was hospitalized last week following an outbreak of bacterial meningitis died Tuesday evening, doctors said.
Indonesian crew member Ermandiasa I Gede, 32, died from septic shock, despite numerous attempts by doctors to resuscitate him.
The four were admitted to a hospital in the Tuscan port of Livorno on October 7 at the end of a cruise by MSC's Orchestra liner.
A 26-year-old Brazilian crew member was released Tuesday and will return with his wife to his home country in the upcoming days.
Doctors said that the prognosis for a 32-year-old Filipino crew member is positive and that he should be released in the next several days.
A 47-year-old Italian from Sorrento remains in serious condition in the intensive care department of the Livorno hospital. http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2012/10/16/Indonesian-crew-member-infected-meningitis-dies_7642643.html?
Australia-Mother paralysed as flu rates soar
Shara Helmstedt sustained nerve damage to her legs after contracting influenza B. Photo: Anthea Gleeson/The Chronicle
October 17, 2012 - 4:00AM
Queensland's influenza rates have soared to become the highest in Australia, with one Toowoomba mother left paralysed by an infection.
Shara Helmstedt, 31, is just one of 2023 Queenslanders who were diagnosed with influenza last month.
Victoria recorded the second largest number of cases last month (883).
Last year, Queensland had the third highest rate of influenza cases at 227.3 per 100,000 people but this year the state has the highest rate in the country with 354.9 cases per 100,000 people.
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Ms Helmstedt, a Zumba and fitness instructor with two young sons, contracted the flu two and a half weeks ago.
Two days after first catching it, she thought to herself "geez this has really knocked me around".
Two days after that, she was in hospital unable to move or feel her legs.
The nerves in Ms Helmstedt's legs had been damaged by a strain of influenza B and she has spent the past two weeks regaining feeling in her legs, which are now at 75 per cent movement.
"I was really scared because I have two young boys so I was just thinking 'oh no, this cannot be happening'," she said.
"It was really scary because they like to play footy and wrestle and everything and that's what I like to do with them.
"I knew I can't dwell on it, I've got to keep moving forward and I'll beat it and I will."
Ms Helmstedt had driven herself to the doctor at 20 km/h when she could only drag her legs behind her. Her eight-year-old son PJ helped her struggle in to the clinic.
She was hospitalised immediately.
"He's [PJ] a trooper, he's done it before," she said.
"I didn't realise I was pregnant a few years ago and I fainted and hit my head and was unconscious and he called triple-0 so he's my little guardian angel."
Ms Helmstedt is hoping to get out of hospital next week but is waiting for a Brisbane neurologist to visit Saint Vincent's Hospital in Toowoomba to carry out tests on how damaged her nerves are.
Until then doctors do not know if she will ever recover full use of her legs.
"I'm very fit and active and always out there and it knocked me for six," she said.
"[My family] were scared at first but they know I'm pretty strong and I'll get through it."
Ms Helmstedt said she had no idea "at all" a flu could cause so much damage and thought flu shots were for "old people".
"I'll be getting them from now on," she said.
"When the kids have a sniffle I take them to the doctor, now I'll be going to the doctor as soon as I have a sniffle too." http://www.smh.com.au/queensland/mother-paralysed-as-flu-rates-soar-20121016-27ot2.html
CDC says another 19 people diagnosed with meningitis in U.S. outbreak
Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:55 GMT
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Another 19 people have been diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to possibly tainted vials of a steroid medication, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 231.
The CDC said there were two additional cases of infection in joints after a steroid injection but these were not confirmed as meningitis, bringing the total of infections nationwide to 233.
The death toll from the unprecedented outbreak was unchanged at 15, the CDC said.
The new cases were in Tennessee (6), Florida (2), Indiana (2), Maryland (1), Michigan (1), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (2), Ohio (2), and Virginia (1).
The federal Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it had widened its investigation to other drugs produced by New England Compounding Center, the specialist pharmacy at the center of the outbreak. The Massachusetts company faces multiple investigations and lawsuits over the tainted medication linked to the meningitis scare. http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/cdc-says-another-19-people-diagnosed-with-meningitis-in-us-outbreak?
Vietnam-Stops all transport of live poultry from North to South
(TNO) 16:10 this afternoon, Pham Van Dong, director of the Veterinary Department (MARD) said today all over the country there are five provinces with avian influenza within 21 days, including: Quang Ngai, Ha Tinh, Tuyen Quang Hoa Binh and the Pacific.
In particular, in Quang Ngai are complicated with five new outbreaks arise in two weeks. Currently the province has had to 125,000 children infected poultry.
According to the East, though this dangerous disease is gradually put under control, the risk of further recurrence and spread on a large scale is very high.
"The provinces are translated to the destruction of infected animals and monitored areas with outbreaks, organized vaccination drive enclosure, prohibited activities and movement of poultry slaughter spread of disease," he East note.
According to the head of the Department of Animal Health, will continue to suspend the transportation of live poultry quarantine from the north to the south through the province of Quang Ngai and Kon Tum to prevent the H5N1 virus from 2.3.2.1 to branch the southern provinces until the country to control the current bird flu outbreak. http://www.thanhnien.com.vn/pages/20121016/tam-dung-van-chuyen-gia-cam-song-tu-bac-vao-nam.aspx
Meningitis outbreak: CDC reports 233 infections
Meningitis outbreak: CDC reports 233 infections
Investigators find a third type of mold in vials
1:57 PM, Oct 16, 2012
A third type of mold has been found in unopened vials produced by a compounding lab linked to a national outbreak of fungal infections that now stands at 233 cases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today.
That number compares to 214 on Monday. All but two of the infections are fungal meningitis. The nationwide death count did not rise. In Tennessee, illnesses increased to 59, but the death count stayed at six.
The third mold is Cladosporium, which CDC officials described as a black mold similar to the dominant one, Exserohilum. Exserohilum has been confirmed in 26 cases. A third mold, Aspergillus, was detected in one patient. The vials came from New England Compounding Center’s Framingham, Mass., facility.
The number of confirmations for mold types is fewer than the number of people sickened because of the time it takes for grow a mold sample.
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Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said on "CBS This Morning" that he expects a "steady increase" in the number of fungal meningitis infections over the coming weeks.
The move on Monday by the Food and Drug Administration to widen its investigation into the cause of the fungal meningitis outbreak to other drugs made by a Massachusetts pharmacy, the New England Compounding Center (NECC), is "ominous," Schaffner said.
"We were concerned that there might be other medications that might be contaminated coming from that pharmacy," said Schaffner, who is past-president of National Foundation for Infectious Disease. "The FDA has given us a heads up that that looks to be the case. We'll have to notify many more patients across the country that they may have been exposed to a fungal infection."
"I think we're still in the middle," Schaffner said, when asked about the outbreak's scope. "We're nowhere near the end of this problem. And we will see more patients reporting in ill and we'll have to treat many more going forward."
The FDA said Monday it was looking into two other drugs made by NECC, based outside of Boston in Framingham, Massachusetts.
The agency said it had received reports of a patient with possible meningitis who received an injection of a different steroid than the one found to have caused 15 deaths. It also said two transplant patients were infected with the rare fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak after receiving a heart drug also made by NECC.
Also on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nine more people were diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to possibly tainted vials of the injected steroid methylprednisolone, bringing the number of cases to 212.
The patient identified by the FDA as potentially having meningitis received an injection of the steroid triamcinolone, also supplied by NECC.
The FDA said its investigation of that patient and the two who received the heart drug during surgery was ongoing, and it cautioned that any injectable drugs made by NECC, including those intended for use in eyes, are of "significant concern."
The FD.. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/meningitis-outbreak-nowhere-near-end-wiliam-schaffner_n_1969927.html