Avian flu outbreak confirmed in Norfolk


A new outbreak of avian flu has been confirmed in a small flock of chickens and geese in Norfolk.

The UK’s deputy chief veterinary officer said a number of birds in the flock of 35, in Diss, south Norfolk, had died from the disease, and the remaining birds are being humanely culled.

A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

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WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats


The World Health Organization on Tuesday released new recommendations aimed at reducing the use of certain categories of “last resort” antibiotics as part of its ongoing efforts to combat the rise of superbugs.

Public health officials pointed to the increasing rate of new strains of pathogens that are becoming antibiotic-resistant, saying these “nightmare bacteria” pose a catastrophic threat. Overuse of antibiotics in livestock as well as in humans is the main cause.

Such resistance has created a world in which even the most minor of infections and illnesses can quickly turn deadly and in which diseases once thought conquered, such as tuberculosis and gonorrhea, are becoming untreatable in more and more cases.

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RECALL: Cashews sold at ALDI could contain glass


JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) -

Check your shelves. ALDI is recalling containers of cashews sold at its stores because they could possibly contain glass.

In a Wednesday news release, the company said the recall affects 8-ounce containers of Southern Grove Cashew Halves and Pieces with Sea Salt with the best-by dates of Nov. 27, 2018 or Nov. 28, 2018. The UPC code is 041498179366.

The nuts were sold at ALDI stores across the United States, including Arkansas and Missouri.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the recall was initiated after the company received reports of glass found in the product.

To date, no injuries related to the product have been reported and no other ALDI products are affected by the recall.

The company has removed the nuts from store shelves.

Customers who purchased the product should discard it immediately or return it to their local store for a full refund.

The product was distributed to ALDI stores in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC., Wisconsin and West Virginia.

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Yemen cholera cases pass 100,000 amid 'unprecedented' epidemic

The number of suspected cases of cholera resulting from a severe outbreak in Yemen has passed 100,000, the World Health Organization says.

A total of 798 deaths associated with the disease have been recorded in 19 out of 22 provinces since 27 April.

The charity Oxfam said the epidemic was killing one person almost every hour.

Yemen's health, water and sanitation systems are collapsing after two years of war between government forces and the rebel Houthi movement.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.

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Yemen cholera cases pass 100,000 amid 'unprecedented' epidemic
The number of suspected cases of cholera resulting from a severe outbreak in Yemen has passed 100,000, the World Health Organization says.
A total of 798 deaths associated with the disease have been recorded in 19 out of 22 provinces since 27 April.
The charity Oxfam said the epidemic was killing one person almost every hour.
Yemen's health, water and sanitation systems are collapsing after two years of war between government forces and the rebel Houthi movement.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.

Cholera :(

Polio :-(


Syria sees first polio cases in three years: WHO

Three new cases of polio have been recorded in Syria in the first outbreak of the virus in the country since 2014, the World Health Organization and a partner initiative said.

The new cases were registered in the oil-rich province Deir Ezzor, the majority of which is controlled by the Islamic State group and where a siege of the capital has restricted access to basic goods for some of the population.

An outbreak hit the province in 2013-2014, when 36 cases were reported, according to the Polio Global Irradication Initiative.

WHO spokeswoman Sona Bari told AFP on Thursday that the new cases are from a different strain of the virus.

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Polio :-(

I had a teacher that had polio.
We children called him "Hjortfot".
That means Deerfoot but he was one of best the teacher I ever had:)

DRC Ebola outbreak puts Zambia on alert


IT’S been almost five years since a serious outbreak of the Ebola broke out in Guinea, spreading to two other West African countries, claiming

over 11,000 lives.
Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone were the most hit by the disease and they recorded high mortality rates due to Ebola.
According to a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 28,637 cases of Ebola were reported worldwide by January 2016 and 11,315 deaths were confirmed, with the vast majority of the deaths taking place in the three countries.
Not only did the Western region suffer from loss of lives, socio-economic activities in that part of Africa were also disrupted.
It was only on June 9 last year that the disease was declared officially over.
Understandably, news of the disease breaking out in the neighbouring country, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has put the Zambian government on high alert to avoid a repeat of the West African epidemic.

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Polio :-(


DR Congo polio outbreak hits global eradication goal

Two outbreaks of polio have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a blow to the goal of wiping out the disease from the world.

The World Health Organization said there was a high risk the disease would spread.

Polio is a potentially deadly infection mainly affecting young people and can result in permanent paralysis.

It had been pushed back to just three countries until an outbreak was last week confirmed in Syria.

These are the first cases in DR Congo since 2012.

Africa Live: Updates on this and other African stories

"WHO assesses the risk of further national spread of these strains to be high, and the risk of international spread to be medium," the WHO stated in its disease outbreak report.

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The thought scares me.


A Few Genetic Tweaks To Chinese Bird Flu Virus Could Fuel A Human Pandemic


A study published Thursday shows how a bird flu virus that's sickening and killing people in China could mutate to potentially become more contagious.

Just three changes could be enough to do the trick, scientists report in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

And the news comes just as federal officials are getting ready to lift a moratorium on controversial lab experiments that would deliberately create flu viruses with mutations like these.

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Ebola Virus Disease - Democratic Republic of the Congo: External Situation Report 25 (20 June 2017)

WHO, UN Agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and partners continue to support the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to rapidly investigate and respond to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Likati Health Zone, Bas Uele Province in the north-east of the country.

On 19 June 2017, no new confirmed, probable cases or suspected have been reported since the last situation update on 15 June. Seven alerts have been reported and investigated and none fulfilled the suspected case definition.

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Zika update.


Zika Mosquitoes More Prevalent Than Expected

TUESDAY, June 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- The latest buzz from federal health officials is that mosquitoes that can spread Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses are in more counties in the southern United States than previously thought.

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War-Torn Yemen to Get Cholera Vaccines as Death Toll Mounts




GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency and some major partners have agreed to send 1 million doses of cholera vaccine to Yemen to help stanch a spiraling and increasingly deadly caseload in the impoverished country, which is already facing war and the risk of famine.

A spokesman for the World Health Organization said Wednesday that it didn't initially want to publicize last week's decision because questions remain about when and how the doses could reach the neediest people in a country sliced up along front lines and grappling with a nearly-collapsed health system.

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Danger map reveals health threat zone


South America is a hotbed of potential viruses that could be the next major threat to the world's health, according to "danger maps".

The EcoHealth Alliance in New York looked at mammals, the viruses they harbour and how they come into contact with people.

It revealed bats carry more potential threats than other mammals.

The researchers hope the knowledge could be used to prevent the next HIV, Ebola or flu.

Some of the most worrying infections have made the jump from animals to people - the world's largest Ebola outbreak seemed to start in bats, while HIV came from chimpanzees.



Maps in above link.

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Ok :)


Ebola virus burial teams may have 'saved thousands of lives'


They were ordinary people doing an extraordinary job in extremely dangerous times.

Now new research suggests Red Cross volunteers who helped bury most of the bodies of Ebola victims in West Africa could have prevented more than 10,000 cases of the deadly disease.

More than 28,000 people were infected with Ebola in 2014-2015. Of those, 11,310 people died.

The worst affected countries were Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

A major part of the response was ensuring the safe burials of people who had died of Ebola. The bodies of victims were particularly toxic.

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London Underground.


London Underground steps up cleaning regime to tackle superbugs

Industrial vacuum cleaners and magnetic wands will be used in a bid to rid the tube network of eight of the most dangerous superbugs.

Cleaning of the London Underground will be stepped up each night over the summer to remove metal particles, dust, oil and grease from about 50 stations and five tunnels.

An investigation published last month by London Metropolitan University and taxi insurers Staveley Head found 121 types of bacteria and mould on public transport in the capital.

Eight of the most threatening bacteria to human health were discovered on the tube, with the Victoria line deemed the dirtiest route.

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Cholera :(


Yemen faces world's worst cholera outbreak - UN

Yemen is now facing the worst cholera outbreak anywhere in the world, the United Nations has warned.

A statement by Unicef and the World Health Organization says the number of suspected cholera cases in the war-torn country has exceeded 200,000.

So far more than 1,300 people have died - one quarter of them children - with the death toll expected to rise.

The two UN agencies say they are doing everything they can to stop the outbreak from accelerating.

"We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world," the statement says.

"In just two months, cholera has spread to almost every governorate of this war-torn country," it says, with an estimated 5,000 new cases every day.

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Two more cases of human plague confirmed in New Mexico



Two new cases of the plague have been confirmed in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, according to health officials.

The New Mexico Department of Health said a 52-year-old woman and a 62-year-old woman were recently diagnosed with the plague. According to health officials, the first confirmed case of the plague this year occurred in June when a 63-year-old man contracted the plague.

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Brain-eating amoeba found in Louisiana drinking water, officials say


Traces of a deadly brain-eating amoeba were found in a water system in a parish in Louisiana this month, but officials said the water is safe to consume.

The brain-eating amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri is a “single-celled living organism found in warm freshwater and soil,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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How very sad. :-)


WHO: Cholera death toll in Yemen rises to 1500

SANAA, Yemen — The World Health Organization says a rapidly spreading cholera outbreak in Yemen has claimed 1500 lives since April and is suspected of sickening 246,000 people.

WHO representative in Yemen Dr. Nevio Zagaria said in a news conference in Sanaa on Saturday that the number of suspected cases in the country’s second outbreak of cholera in six months has multiplied tenfold in the last two months.

The death toll rose from 1300 as announced two weeks ago by WHO, which put the number of suspected cases at 200,000 at the time. The organization said that a quarter of those killed by the disease in the war-torn country are children.

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