Suspected Case of Meningococal Virus in Bnei Brak

The Health Ministry reported, Monday, that a five-year-old boy from Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, was admitted to Schneider Children's Hospital in Petach Tikva and was being treated for meningococal disease, a virus which can prove fatal if not treated quickly. The boy was transferred to the children's ward after antibiotics improved his condition. Bacterial samples were taken from him for laboratory analysis and preventativetreatment was administered to his family and people in the yeshiva where he learns. The ministry continues to investigate the boy's contacts.

Fast action by parents and doctors at Kaplan Hospital in Rechovot was recently credited with saving a three-year-old who had a meningococal rash. Doctors say parents whose children have a rash and high fever should not hesitate to bring them to an emergency room.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/260838#.UQaxd7_pccc

Cambodia reports 2 new fatal cases of bird flu in humans, surpassing total for all of 2012

 

 

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JANUARY 28, 2013 12:03 PM

 

 

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Two more children have died in Cambodia of bird flu, bringing the number of fatal cases to four since the start of this year.

The Cambodian office of the U.N.'s World Health Organization said a 17-month-old girl from central Kampong Speu province and a 9-year-old girl from southern Kampot province died Monday after being hospitalized.

Last week, Cambodia reported three human cases of bird flu, two of them fatal. For of all 2012, the country reported a total of three cases, all fatal.

Cambodia since 2005 has reported 26 cases, 23 of them fatal.

WHO says bird flu, also known as avian influenza, or H5N1, has killed 360 other people worldwide since surfacing in 2003. Most human cases have been linked to contact with infected poultry. http://www.canada.com/health/Cambodia+reports+fatal+cases+bird+humans+surpassing+total+2012/7882660/story.html

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Deadly Flu of 1918 Spurred Denial, Then Drastic Action

 5:42 am, Mon Jan 28, 2013.

• By RANDY DOTINGA

The near-closure of the entire city, mandatory face masks and hundreds of deaths were just weeks ahead, along with an epic battle of commerce versus public health.

But nobody in the coastal town by the border was too worried about a deadly flu rampaging across the world in September 1918. "San Diego is full of colds just now," a local newspaper noted, but that wasn't even in a story. It was just an advertisement for something called Dover's Powders.

Things changed almost instantly. Within days, camps of World War I soldiers were quarantined, the local health board president warned of a disease "more murderous than any epidemic the nation has yet experienced" and officials shut down schools, theaters, churches and more.

The deadliest epidemic to ever hit the nation had come to San Diego, where it would take the lives of 368 people, or about one in every 200 residents. Many of those stricken were young and strong, unlike the victims of this year's flu season in the county. (So far, 14 people have died, their ages ranged from 46 to 92, and all but one were already weakened by existing illnesses.)

From Kansas to the World

The epidemic of the Spanish flu didn't start in Spain. The first reports in the world came from a military camp in Kansas, where dozens of men died after struggling to breathe amid fever, headaches, chills and fluid-filled lungs.

Other soldiers survived to be shipped out to Europe to fight in World War I in Europe. They almost certainly spread the illness to that continent, where hundreds of thousands fell ill and died.

As September 1918 turned into October, hundreds would die in single days in Philadelphia and Boston, and the first reported cases of the deadly flu appeared in San Diego at the Army's Camp Kearny.

By early October, four military facilities were quarantined. The "Bluejackets" training at a naval training camp at Balboa Park had to stick around and not take their usual liberty three times a week. They played sports and games instead, the San Diego Union reported.

No Spitting in Balboa Park

"Order has been passed out that there is to be no expectorating on the streets of the park," the paper reported. "The punishment is that the lad spitting on the street or the plaza must wear a cigar box swung about his neck, and this box is partially filled with sand and serves as a receptacle for the cigarette and cigar stubs of the victim’s shipmates."

The city itself, though, didn't worry too much. Bustling with 70,000 residents and just three years past the exposition that put Balboa Park on the national map, San Diego had other things on its mind. Soldiers were flooding the city to prepare to fight in the war, and the recently elected mayor who'd run on a "More Smokestacks" platform, was pushing for more business.

As the flu worsened, city leaders took a pro-business position. They weren't too interested in shutting anything down to prevent the flu's spread even after the local coroner quit to protest their lack of action.... 

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/this_just_in/article_13941f72-6758-11e2-971d-001a4bcf887a.html

Everybody's Got Something to Hide

 ..Except Me and My Monkey

 C'mon, Indonesia..You will have to eventually admit there are positive human cases of H5N1!

C'mon, Saudi Arabia.. I know what you are hiding..

C'mon, Uganda..The new Ebola outbreak will be reported and that's that.

C'mon, State dep't.. You know as well as I do there are cases in Indonesia, Cambodia and Egypt!

C'mon, WHO..You are supposed to be telling people in a timely manner what is goin on!

C'mon, CDC.. I mean really.. are you gonna do your job at all?

C'mon, U.S. Agriculture Dep't.. Where is the report on the "Low Path" H5N1 report in the New York live poultry market.. and what is the N-type?

Hey Jude

Israeli Hospitals Report Beds Filled with Flu Patients

Hospitals along the northern coast report their beds are starting to be filled with patients suffering with influenza.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 1/28/2013, 3:10 PM

Nurse at Rambam Hospital

Flash 90

Hospitals along the northern coast report their beds are filled with patients suffering with influenza, which can sometimes be deadly, particularly when it strikes young or frail children, or the elderly, with other underlyingmedical conditions.

In particular, hospitals in Haifa reported Monday they had reached full capacity in most departments following a night in which the emergency room was flooded with patients.

Rambam Medical Center reported a large intake overnight in the children’s units as well as in departments treating adults for the seasonal flu virus, according to a report broadcast Monday morning on Army Radio.

A similar report came from Haifa’s Bnei Zion Hospital, where the census had also reportedly reached maximum capacity.

In Netanyahu, Laniado Hospital reported that occupancy reached 55 percent over its maximum capacity on the patient floors – but the medical center said it would keep its doors open anyway.

The hospital stressed that if a flu patient feels a worsening situation, such as difficulty breathing, high fever or any other symptom, the patient should “hurry to the hospital for treatment” right away.

“Despite the overload at the hospital, health stands above all, and the hospital staff will address every patient,” said the medical center in a statement.

Laniado Hospital was founded and is funded in part by the Sanzer-Klausenberger Hassidic dynasty.  

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164653#.UQaoV7_pccc

Get Back

Panic grips Mamun Cantt as Sq leader catches swine flu

 January, 28 2013 - 19:17

By Sukhwinder Malhi-

PATHANKOT: Panic gripped Mamun Cantonment  base near here on Monday  when  a suadron leader was found swine flu positive. He has been admitted to Command Hosital at ChandiMandir cantonment near Chandigarh.

Dr Sucha Ram, Pathankot civil Hospital, said, while Squadron  leader Rahul Garg (40), who hails from West Bengal  had been on training in Patiala  on january 14 , from where he suspected to have  got swine
flu, tests on other Army jawans  who have been in his contact were being conducted.

Dr Ram said while  the condition of Garg was citical but stable, three other suspected  swine flu patients were identfied in Pathankot  but their medical report  said they were found swine flu negativwe.

He said, while there has been no swine flu  pateint identfied in the district so far, Garg  is suspected to have got the desase  during his training at Patiala.

H said while an isolation ward has been set up at Pathankot civil hospital for treatment of such patients, an awareness dribve has been launched in the city  to educate people about  swine flu.

http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Panic-grips-Mamun-Cantt-as-Sq-leader-catches-swine-flu.html

Three new human cases of avian influenza H5N1 in Cambodia in 2013

Joint news release of the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia and World Health Organization

PHNOM PENH, 25 JANUARY 2013 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to advise members of the public that three new human cases of avian influenza have been confirmed positive for the H5N1 virus.

The first case, an 8-month old infant boy from Chrey Korng Village, Sangkat Chorm Chao, Khan Por Sen Chey, Phnom Penh has been diagnosed with H5N1 influenza. He developed symptoms on 08th January 2013 then was brought to the National Paediatric Hospital for consultation on 9th January with fever, cough, runny nose, and vomiting. The boy was registered in the Influenza-Like Illness Sentinel Surveillance and the samples were sent to the National Institute of Public Health's laboratory on 11th January. The result was confirmed by Institut Pasteur du Cambodge on 22nd January 2013. The infant has recovered and had history of coming into contact with poultry prior to becoming sick.

The second case, a 15-year-old female from Snao village, Snao commune, Prey Kabass district, Takeo Province, has been diagnosed with H5N1 influenza on 22nd January 2013. She became sick on 11th January suffering with fever and cough. She was initially treated by local private practitioners. Her condition worsened and she was admitted to Kantha Bopha Hospital on 17th January with fever and shortness of breath. Unfortunately, despite intensive medical care, she died on 21st January. There is evidence of recent deaths among poultry in the village and the patient prepared sick chicken for food prior to becoming sick.

In the third case, a 35-year-old man from Trapeang Sla village, Preah Nipean commune, Kong Pisey district, Kampong Speu province has been diagnosed with H5N1 influenza on 23rd January 2013 by Institut Pasteur du Cambodge. He became sick on 13th January, 2013 suffering with fever and cough. He was initially treated by local private practitioners. His condition worsened and he was admitted to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh with fever and dyspnea on 21st January. Samples were taken the same day and sent to the National Institute of Public Health's laboratory. Despite intensive medical care, the patient died soon after the samples were taken. There is evidence of recent deaths among poultry in the village and the patient prepared sick chicken for food prior to becoming sick. The man is the twenty-fourth person in Cambodia to become infected with H5N1 virus, and the third person this year and the twenty-first person to die from complications of the disease. Of all the twenty four cases, 15 were children under 14, and fifteen of the twenty four confirmed cases occurred in females.

"Avian influenza H5N1 is still a threat to the health of Cambodians. This is the three cases of H5N1 infection in human this year, and children still seem to be most vulnerable. I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry, discourage them from playing in areas where poultry stay and wash their hands often. If they have fast or difficulty breathing, they should be brought to medical attention at the nearest health facilities and attending physicians be made aware of any exposure to sick or dead poultry." said HE Mam Bunheng, Minister of Health.

The Ministry of Health's Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have gone to the hospitals and the field to identify the patient’s close contacts, any epidemiological linkage among the three cases and initiate preventive treatment as required. In addition, public health education campaigns are being conducted in the villages to inform families on how to protect themselves from contracting avian influenza. The government's message is - wash hands often; keep children away from poultry; keep poultry away from living areas; do not eat sick poultry; and all poultry eaten should be well cooked.

H5N1 influenza is a flu that normally spreads between sick poultry, but it can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. Human H5N1 Avian Influenza is a very serious disease that requires hospitalization. Although the virus currently does not easily spread among humans, if the virus changes it could easily be spread like seasonal influenza. Hence, early recognition of cases is important.

Globally since 2003, there have been 613 laboratory confirmed cases of avian influenza with 362 related deaths.

The Ministry of Health will continue to keep the public informed of developments via the MoH website www.cdcmoh.gov.kh where relevant health education materials can also be downloaded.

For more information on human influenza please call the MoH Influenza Hotline numbers:

115 (free call); 012 488 981 or 089 669 567

or contact:

Ministry of Health
Dr Sok Touch: Tel +855 12 856 848
Dr Ly Sovann: Tel +855 12 825 424

World Health Organization
Dr Pieter JM van Maaren: Tel +855 23 216 610
Dr Reiko Tsuyuoka: Tel +855 23 216 610

http://www.wpro.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2013/20130125/en/index.html

Baby's in Black

...Two Cambodians died from bird flu in 2013, causing concern at the start of the new year. From Phnom Penh, VOA correspondent Robert Carmichael sent to the following narrative.

 A 2-year-old Cambodian girl is in critical condition in Phnom Penh after hospitalization due to infection with the H5N1 virus, also known as avian influenza or bird flu. Mr. Sonny Inbaraj Krishnan, Information Officer for the World Health Organization in Phnom Penh say this movement makes health experts concerned. Mr. Krishnan said this is the fourth case of H5N1 place people. Last year there were 3 cases, so within one month of the new year there were 4 cases, and that is a concern. 

....However, other diseases such as dengue fever and Malaria killing more people than H5N1, so he Krishnan asked why there is concern about bird flu. Krishnan explained the specific concerns that this H5N1 virus can undergo a process called reclassification and recombination with other influenza viruses, and this process can cause a new virus capable of transmission between people. Cambodia is a country mainly agricultural, and each village poultry. Medical staff of tracking young people who have contact with infected patients and the operators working under the Ministry of Agriculture is testing poultry in the infected villages and destruction of poultry disease.

 Thursday The last six, the Minister of Health Mam Bunheng urged parents to make sure their children wash their hands often and stay away from sick or dead poultry. He also recommends that children with breathing difficulties should be taken immediately to the nearest clinic. Mr. Krishnan said the radio and television stations are transmitting messages. According to Krishnan, since this week will transmit short news on radio and television to inform people how to protect yourself and your family from bird flu. Especially be careful not to allow children to play with chickens and ducks, and it is important nhaty to wash your hands. 

...Mr. Krishnan of the World Health Organization warned not to draw too many conclusions from this event, and yet is the number of samples is small. But according to him, there are local factors complicate the problem. When people get sick, the first place which led them to relatives usually local pharmacist or a private clinic.H5N1 can be fatal in less than 1 week after infection, so to lose a few days because of ineffective treatment and misdiagnosis can be fatal. 

Mr. Krishnan said the illness becomes worse more damage and when the clinic or local pharmacy no prescription anymore, then the new home bring a child or patient to the hospital, and the hospital is very little chance of survival . A next obstacle is the Lunar New Year, starting on February 8. It is time poultry are transported to the market, and raise the risk of infected birds can transmit the disease. Medical experts hope the media are promoting the effort will bring results. http://www.voatiengviet.com/content/ca-cum-gia-cam-thu-tu-trong-nam-gay-lo-ngai-tai-campuchia/1592161.html

Twist And Shout

..Sangiang Village, District Rancaekek, Bandung regency, Asep Wahyudin said the death of the ducks in the group at 15 thousand heads

...Chairman of Farmers Group Partners Barokah, Sangiang Village, District Rancaekek, Bandung regency, Asep Wahyudin said the death of the ducks in the group at 15 thousand heads. That number increased to more than double from seven thousand ducks at the end of December.

"The virus continues to spread and the number of ducks that died continues to grow. Fact, more than double the death," he said in an interview at his farm on Monday (01.28.13).

Asep mengatakanan, before dying, these ducks have the disease with strange symptoms. Duck seizures and neck pulled back. After that ducks lay seizures and death.

"If you see strange symptoms. Almost all ducks are bred experiencing such symptoms. As many as 2,500 cattle have my duck, around 2,000 ducks experienced anything like it. Then dead flounder," he said...

http://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/node/220732?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Do You Want to Know a Secret

..1000 ducks infected ducks  seized at airport..

 ..450 pups ducks or Day Old Duck (DOD) destroyed by the Agricultural Quarantine officer grade II Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra), Monday (01/28/2013) tested positive for the flu or bururng avian influenza. Culling hundreds of ducklings tail is made after receiving the results of laboratory tests of Center for Veterinary Maros, South Sulawesi.

..1000 ducks initially seized on January 13, 2013 in Work Areas for Agricultural Quarantine (KPs) Haluoleo Airport 


Observations second day, there were 125 deaths of scores of individuals.

On the fourth day the sample is taken and sent to the Laboratory of Veterinary Maros Big Bakau. "While waiting for an answer lab test results, continued observation. Observations on the seventh day mortality was found 50 tail number. Observation until the 14th overall was 550 dead tail," he said.
http://regional.kompas.com/read/2013/01/28/21155784/Positif.Flu.Burung.450.Anak.Itik.Dimusnahkan

China CDC H5N1 Travel reminder

Annual leave to travel abroad should be noted that the avian flu to get into the body

...Disease Control, Department of Health, said the recent Asian countries, including Indonesia and Nepal coming of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian flu case reports in the past five years the country focused on Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam, the death rate The up to 六成.

In response, the CDC a special appeal to people during the Spring Festival travel abroad, in particular to the outgoing avian flu areas, should strengthen self-protection, to avoid contact with birds; access to traditional markets should also pay particular attention to personal hygiene and safety, meat and eggs must be fully cooked food again; attempts to prevent the avian influenza virus brought into the country and avoid infection with avian influenza, the public not to smuggling birds immigrants. In addition, the return, such as fever or flu-like symptoms, quarantine officers at the airport to seek assistance, unwell, seek medical advice should wear a mask after returning home, travel and contact history to physician instructions to facilitate the diagnosis as soon as possible and treatment.  http://www.cnyes.com/life/Content/20130128/KH5L3CKORGM4.shtml

Cambodian bird flu deaths prompt awareness drive

PHNOM PENH, 28 January 2013 (IRIN) - Health authorities in Cambodia will bolster public awareness campaigns on H5N1 avian influenza after four people became infected in January, resulting in two fatalities.

“Ongoing public awareness campaigns need to be reinforced through TV and radio,” Sok Touch, director of Cambodia’s Communicable Disease Control Department (CDC), told IRIN on 28 January, calling on people to be vigilant. “We’re planning on doing this immediately as there is no room for complacency.”

The four cases of H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, are the first confirmed in Cambodia this year. There were three recorded cases (all fatal) in 2012.

Since 2005, 24 people have been infected resulting in 21 deaths, according to WHO, with over half of the infections in children under 14.

According to a joint statement from the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 January, an eight-month-old boy from the capital Phnom Penh recovered after being infected with bird flu, while a 15-year-old girl from southwestern Takeo Province and a 35-year-old man from southwestern Kampong Speu Province died after contracting the virus.

The CDC said the boy had contact with chickens at a market, but the girl from Takeo and the man from Kampong Speu both fell ill after cooking dead chickens gathered from their villages.

A fourth case, also in Kampong Speu, was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on 27 January, when a 17-month-old girl tested positive for H5N1.

“We are working closely with the Ministry of Health to enhance surveillance of H5N1,” said Sonny Krishnan, communications officer with WHO in Phnom Penh, adding that WHO did not know yet if there was a link between the cases of the girl and 35-year-old man.

“We just did a map of the two communes and they’re not far from each other, so there could be an indication of a movement of poultry," Krishnan said.

Philippe Buchy, head of virology at the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh, said the best way to avoid further infections was to contain infected poultry, which is complicated in Cambodia.

“The country is large, there is not the surveillance required; a lot of resources [that are needed]... are not available to monitor clearly the poultry deaths everywhere, especially in a country where most of the production is backyard,” he said.

An earlier report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicated that chickens are kept by 90-95 percent of rural households, providing an important source of protein and livelihoods for millions.

According to WHO, since 2003, there have been 613 laboratory confirmed cases of H5N1 with 362 related deaths worldwide.  http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97346/Cambodian-bird-flu-deaths-prompt-awareness-drive

H5N1 2013: Cambodia 4-Indonesia 0

AMAZING!
MAYBE 5

Fourth bird flu case confirmed

• 
• 

Last Updated on 28 January 2013

By Mom Kunthear and Justine Drennan

A shipment of live chickens from the provinces is unloaded at O’Russey market in Phnom Penh, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

In the wake of a Ministry of Health announcement of two fatalities among the three confirmed human cases of avian flu in the new year, authorities this weekend increased efforts to eradicate affected birds, even as some officials reported a fourth case.

An official on the Ministry of Health’s human influenza hotline and a commune chief said yesterday a two-year-old girl from Kampong Speu was diagnosed with H5N1 on Saturday after being admitted to Kantha Bopha hospital in Phnom Penh, where a 15-year-old girl died of the virus last Monday.

Due to less-rigorous monitoring of the disease in other hospitals, the cases seen in Kantha Bopha hospital were likely just the “tip of the iceberg”, said Dr Philippe Buchy, head of the virology unit at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, the medical research centre that tested the recent cases.

In Takeo province’s Prey Kabbas district, officials in Snao village, the home of last week’s 15-year-old victim, killed and burned more than 4,000 chickens and ducks on Saturday and prohibited the import of new poultry into the village for one month, Prey Kabass district governor Ith Sa said.

“The officials from the ministries of Health and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the provincial governor, the courts and local government decided to collect and burn the poultry in the village in order to prevent the spreading [of the virus] to other places,” Sa said.

Local health officials had buried the burned birds outside the village, sprayed the village and distributed medicine to eradicate the virus, he said.

Officials in Kong Pisei district’s Prey Nhat commune, in Kampong Speu province, the home of the two-year-old confirmed on Saturday to be the fourth case of the year, were pushing similar measures, according to commune chief Chan Sun.

Sun said a lot of poultry in the commune tended to get sick during the dry season, and officials had told villagers not to cook or touch sick or dead birds.  

“They have to burn and bury the dead poultry,” he said. “We have also prohibited poultry buyers who usually come into the commune from buying chickens in the commune for a while until we are sure everything is safe.”

More than 40 chickens at the infected toddler’s house had fallen sick and died, and, as with the other three cases this month, health officials suspect contact with poultry had caused her to become ill.

“Health officials went to the girl’s and her neighbours’ houses this morning to spray and distribute medicines, and they tested some poultry,” Sun said.  

Testing individual birds for the virus was the most common method of tracking the virus, but it did not necessarily reflect H5N1’s ubiquity in environments such as markets, Institut Pasteur’s Buchy said.

Although Ith Sa said health officials had sampled 10 birds taken from 10 villagers in Snao and found them clean, Buchy said samples taken from such elements as soil, water and feathers better reflected the exposure caused by “many poultry together” — the situation seen in markets.   

A study co-written by Buchy, to be published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in February, has found that as many as 20 per cent of such samples, from markets in Phnom Penh, Takeo and Kampong Cham, tested positive for H5N1.

Although this finding did not directly demonstrate the disease’s risk to humans, recent cases showed that not only farmers who routinely handled poultry but also people “swimming in ponds where there are ducks, going to markets and...  plenty of things” could be exposed to the virus, Buchy said.

According to Friday’s press release by the WHO and the Ministry of Health, the world has seen 613 confirmed cases of the virus and 362 related deaths, while Cambodia has seen 24 confirmed cases and 21 deaths since the virus emerged a decade ago. The case reported on Saturday would be Cambodia’s 25th.

The last case officially confirmed in Friday’s Ministry of Health statement — a 35-year-old man also from Kampong Speu’s Kong Pisei district, but from Preah Nipean commune — died last Wednesday. In the year’s first case, an eight-month-old boy from Phnom Penh recovered after being diagnosed with the virus.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012861030/National/fourth-bird-flu-case-confirmed.html

 Hundreds of temporary workers Department of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut to demand the installation of

Assiut - Islam Radwan

 

Side of the demonstrations of Veterinary Medicine in Assiut

Hundreds of temporary workers Directorate of Veterinary Medicine in Assiut, inside the headquarters of the Directorate, on Sunday, in order to claim them confirmation, as well as their refusal to appoint Deputy Minister belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood - as they say -.stressed demonstrators, they are working on funds "bird flu" and "Almzbouhat "The salaries do not exceed the 150 pounds per month, which are not sufficient to spend on their families, and demanded more than once installation but to no avail. pointed demonstrators, they were surprised by the nomination of Dr. Mustafa Amin, Deputy Directorate of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Omar Radwan, Hilal Senior specialists Directorate, for the position of Director of the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine in Assiut, and two belong to political Islam, although they had demanded the appointment of Dr. Salah El Din Mohamed Ibrahim takes office, said the demonstrators, they have collected signatures from all its ranks and sent to the head of the Cairo, to recommend Dr. Salah al-Din Muhammad Ibrahim to take office. http://gate.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/5/35/301121/%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1/%D8%AA%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A3.aspx

Wind "sowing" pandemic

Monday, 01/28/2013 06:48

ANTD - According to the New Scientist, bird flu virus can be spread by wind and human disease easily when directly facing the wind.

Scientists from the National Institute of Public Health and Environment in the Netherlands investigated the outbreak of H7N7 influenza in poultry farms in 2003 and give the result: 89 people have been infected, 1 deaths. Wind through tracking chart on the computer scientists to explain why different strains of influenza can fly to different farms. Also pandemic H5N1 had 360 people died in 610 patients. Cause outbreaks of similar cases of H7N7-virus moves through the air.Epidemiological Institute said, if this certification means that the whole world is in danger. Also by FMD virus (the virus that causes foot and mouth disease) Wind can be moved to a distant. And viruses can cause disease outbreaks in animals and poultry. http://www.anninhthudo.vn/Khoe-dep/Gio-gieo-dai-dich-cum/484511.antd

"Superbug" Norovirus Rampant in US, Symptoms Present Within 48 Hours of Exposure

As flu season wanes a new "Superbug" from Australia is taking its place in the spotlight.

• 7:00 pm

A new strain of the highly contagious norovirus has reached the U.S. from Australia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the new norovirus, named GII.4 Sydney because it's believed to have started in Sydney, Australia, is currently the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in the U.S.

In the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Jan. 25, the norovirus is described as: the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis, including foodborne outbreaks, in the U.S. Hospitalization and mortality associated with norovirus infection occur most frequently among elderly persons, young children, and immunocompromised patients.

An article in Time, Health and Family reported that the norovirus is: often confused with the stomach flu because of its contemporaneous circulation with influenza during winter months, norovirus causes 21 million cases of illness, often involving severe vomiting and diarrhea, 70,000 hospitalizations each year in the U.S., and 800 deaths. Where influenza is a respiratory illness, norovirus, which comes in five forms, favors the stomach and intestinal tract, causing inflammation of tissues that leads to pain, nausea, and the diarrhea and vomiting.

Time reports that the CDC says 51 percent of the cases in the U.S. were caused by person-to-person transmission, and 20 percent resulted from contaminated food. Most infections occur in places where large numbers of people are gathered, such as schools, nursing homes and cruise ships, where the virus can pass easily from host to host.

In Australia, the CDC said long-term–care facilities and restaurants were the most frequently reported settings of the GII.4 Sydney outbreaks. The rate of infection increases in places where large numbers of people are gathered and the virus is passed quickly from host to host.

The CDC reports reports the new strain of norovirus was first identified in March 2012 in Australia and has since sickened people on several continents.

According to Time: Historically, the GII strains have caused more severe illness than other versions of the virus, but officials at the CDC says it is too early in the season to determine if GII.4 Sydney is infecting people at higher rates than in previous years. The norovirus season runs from November through March and cases typically peak in January.

“Although most of the time you recover after 24 or 48 hours, [norovirus] is a reason for people to come to the emergency room, and is even responsible for a small number of death each year. It’s not a completely innocuous virus and can certainly ruin a vacation,” Dr. John Treanor, chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Rochester Medical Center told Time.

So far, no treatments exist for the norovirus but Treanor told Time a group of scientists are currently testing a vaccine developed by LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals. The shot contains a part of the norovirus’ outer layer, which they hope will generate a strong immune response in those who get immunized.

Preventing infection with norovirus is similar to protecting against the flu. 

The CDC recommends the following:

• Wash your hands carefully with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before handling food.
• Carefully wash produce and seafood before cooking and consuming them. Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them. Be aware that noroviruses are relatively resistant. They can survive temperatures as high as 140°F and quick steaming processes that are often used for cooking shellfish.
• When you’re sick, wait 2-3 days after you recover before preparing food for anyone. Many local and state health departments require that food handlers and preparers with norovirus illness not work until at least 2 to 3 days after they recover. If you were recently sick, you can be given different duties in the restaurant, such as working at a cash register or hosting.
• Immediately clean any infected or contaminated surfaces and wash laundry thoroughly after throwing up or having diarrhea. Immediately clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces. Use a chlorine bleach solution with a concentration of 1000–5000 ppm (5–25 tablespoons of household bleach [5.25%] per gallon of water) or other disinfectant registered as effective against norovirus by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). http://uppersaucon.patch.com/articles/superbug-norovirus-rampant-in-us-symptoms-present-within-48-hours-of-exposure