On world tuberculosis (TB) day, public health specialist Chapal Mehra describes the work of Dr Zarir Udwadia, who has been working tirelessly to fight the disease in its often untreatable forms.

When Dr Udwadia, an acclaimed pulmonologist, wrote in a medical journal in 2012 about a virtually untreatable form of TB, the ordinary Indian did not know who he was.

But the letter set off a frenzy in the medical community and eventually made him one of India's best known doctors, and a man who reminded the country of its growing epidemic of TB and drug-resistant TB (DR TB) - a type of tuberculosis which is unresponsive to at least two of the first line of anti-TB drugs.

India is is the global TB epicentre - the country records 2.8 million new tuberculosis cases annually, of which more than 100,000 are multi-drug resistant (MDR), according to the World Health Organization.

The disease kills 400,000 Indians every year, and costs the government around $24bn (£19.2bn) annually.


A day in the life of India's 'tuberculosis warrior'

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VANCOUVER — As many as four people have been infected with cholera in British Columbia, in what health officials are calling an extremely rare case.

Dr. Shannon Waters, a medical health officer with Island Health, said the individuals likely contracted the illness after eating herring eggs harvested on the coast of Vancouver Island.

Testing is still under way to determine the exact strain of the bacterial infection, she said.

"This is unique. We have not seen this before in B.C.," Waters said.

Symptoms of cholera include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea that can lead to extreme dehydration.

Cholera may be passed person-to-person, but is usually contracted from bacteria in food or water sources infected with fecal matter, Waters said.

There have been a few cases in the United States, where people contracted the illness from eating raw or undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Centers for Disease Control.



Rare cholera outbreak on Vancouver Island: 'We have not seen this before'

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TB: 86 percent of New York City tuberculosis patients born outside US


The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released a new report on tuberculosis (TB) cases in New York City in 2017. The new report indicates that TB cases have increased 10 percent from the previous year, with 613 cases in 2017, up from 556 in 2016.

The number of people diagnosed with multidrug-resistant TB – TB disease that is resistant to two of the most important antibiotics and is harder and more expensive to treat – also increased.

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Researchers Find New ‘Organ’ Missed by Gold Standard Methods for Visualizing Anatomy & Disease

Researchers have identified a previously unknown feature of human anatomy with implications for the function of all organs, most tissues, and the mechanisms of most major diseases.

Published March 27 in Scientific Reports, a new study co-led by an NYU School of Medicine pathologist reveals that layers of the body long thought to be dense, connective tissues—below the skin’s surface, lining the digestive tract, lungs, and urinary systems, and surrounding arteries, veins, and the fascia between muscles—are instead interconnected, fluid-filled compartments.

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.....dense, connective tissues.....

MUCH NEEDED Here and ThroughOut Life to WARD OFF dA NASTIEs of_____ OH______ SIGH_____ YAWN_____ et al.

I FEEL GGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREATTTTTTTT!!!!!

and UNTOUCHED by NASTIEs of SICKENING Yap

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May we All have a METAMORPHOSIS. REASON. GOoD JUDGEMENT and LOVE and ORDER!!!!!

LOS ANGELES (KABC) --
A judge ruled that Starbucks and other coffee sellers in California must provide a cancer warning on their products for customers.

A nonprofit group sued several companies that sell coffee, including Starbucks, coffee distributors and retailers in 2010.

The lawsuit claimed those companies violated state law, which requires them to warn consumers about chemicals in the roasting process that may cause cancer. One of those chemicals is acrylamide, which is a carcinogen.


Starbucks, other coffee sellers ordered to warn California customers of carcinogens in coffee

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(CNN)You may want to take a little extra time washing your hands if you're visiting relatives this Passover and Easter weekend. Doctors are still seeing a number of patients with flu, but the numbers are declining amid an intense flu season.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed four more flu-associated pediatric deaths in the 12th week of the season, bringing the total to 137 since October. Puerto Rico and 16 states were still seeing widespread flu cases during the week ending March 24, the CDC said Friday in its weekly surveillance report.


Flu is still hanging around in some regions, CDC warns

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The new director of the top U.S. public health agency on Thursday pledged to work to bring the nation's opioid epidemic "to its knees" and said he believes the AIDS epidemic could be ended in three to seven years.

Dr. Robert Redfield Jr. made the comments at a staff meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/03/30/cdc-director-pledges-to-bring-opioid-epidemic-to-its-knees.html

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The medical community is sounding the alarm after a man in the U.K. has become the first patient with a type of gonorrhea infection that is not responding to the antibiotics commonly used to cure it.

Doctors are calling it the “worst-ever” case of the sexually transmitted disease, which hits approximately 78 million men and women every year.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/04/02/untreatable-super-gonorrhea-case-could-be-tip-iceberg.html

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'Nightmare bacteria' cases seen in 27 states, CDC reports

More than 220 cases of a breed of “nightmare bacteria” with new or rare antibiotic-resistant genes, have been found in 27 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released Tuesday.

The CDC has warned of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria for years, but these “nightmare bacteria” are “virtually untreatable” and capable of spreading genes that make them “impervious” to most antibiotics, Scientific American reported.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/04/03/nightmare-bacteria-cases-seen-in-27-states-cdc-reports.html

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Synthetic pot for years was sold under the guise of a cheaper alternative that allows users to dodge drug screenings.

And while there have been rashes of hospitalizations nationwide involving those who’ve ingested fake weed, experts say they’ve never seen the severe side effects — internal bleeding in particular — that have killed at least two and sickened dozens in the Chicago area and central Illinois in the past month. Investigators say that while users have been smoking different brands of the synthetic marijuana, the common ingredient that may be leaving people ill is rat poisoning.


Bleeding from synthetic pot outbreak unusual, experts say

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Bad movies can have sequels with the sequels often being bad. Ghost Rider featured a man with a flaming skeleton head riding a motorcycle. Ghost Rider 2 featured a man with a flaming skeleton head riding a motorcycle. It didn't get better the second time around.

How about bad flu seasons like this year's? The number of people with the flu seemed to peak about 3 months ago with this number declining since then. But will there be a sequel, a second wave, this Spring? And if so how bad will the sequel be?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/04/07/how-this-flu-season-could-have-a-second-wave/#2ae982d25725

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Stronger Recommendations by PCPs for Herpes Zoster Vaccination Needed, Says Study

A recent survey conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Health found that only 35% of primary care physicians strongly agreed that vaccination against herpes zoster (HZ) is important.

From January to March 2017, the researchers distributed a cross-sectional online survey to all physicians in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation at NYULH, across 5 different practice settings. A total of 138 (out of 530) responded (26%).

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More than half of your body is not human, say scientists.

Human cells make up only 43% of the body's total cell count. The rest are microscopic colonists.

Understanding this hidden half of ourselves - our microbiome - is rapidly transforming understanding of diseases from allergy to Parkinson's.

The field is even asking questions of what it means to be "human" and is leading to new innovative treatments as a result.

"They are essential to your health," says Prof Ruth Ley, the director of the department of microbiome science at the Max Planck Institute, "your body isn't just you".

No matter how well you wash, nearly every nook and cranny of your body is covered in microscopic creatures.

This includes bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea (organisms originally misclassified as bacteria). The greatest concentration of this microscopic life is in the dark murky depths of our oxygen-deprived bowels.



More than half your body is not human

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First Maui case of rat lungworm in 2018 reported

The Maui News – The first case of rat lungworm disease on Maui this year was confirmed last month, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday.

The individual became ill in mid-February and was briefly hospitalized, the Health Department said. Spokeswoman Anna Koethe said Wednesday afternoon that the Health Department could not disclose where on the island the person resides due to privacy concerns.

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Updated:



Hawaii officials confirm 2 more rat lungworm infections

HONOLULU (AP) — State health officials have confirmed two new rat lungworm infections in Hawaii.

Health officials said Wednesday that the separate cases involve an adult Maui resident and an adolescent visiting the Big Island from New York.

Officials said the Maui resident became ill in mid-February and was briefly hospitalized. The individual was most likely infected on Maui but had a history of traveling to Oahu and the Big Island during the time when the infection might have occurred.

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Do not eat chopped romaine lettuce
https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html

Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Chopped Romaine Lettuce

200 million eggs recalled
http://abc7.com/health/200m-eggs-recalled-over-salmonella-fears/3344098/

You may want to check your eggs as more than 200 million are being recalled because of potential salmonella contamination.

According to the FDA, 22 illnesses have been reported in connection with the eggs to date.

The eggs have been sold in various stores, including Food Lion and Walmart.

Rose Acre Farms, of Seymour, Indiana, issued a voluntary recall for 206,749,248 eggs distributed to restaurants and retail stores in the following states: Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

According to the FDA, the eggs were distributed from the farm in Hyde County, North Carolina, and reached consumers in the following states: Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia through retail stores and restaurants via direct delivery.



The eggs that are part of the recall can be identified by the plant number, P-1065, with the Julian date range of 011 through 102 printed on either the side portion or the principal side of the carton or package.

The FDA urges consumers to stop using the recalled eggs right away and return them to the store you bought them from for a full refund.

According to the FDA, the recalled eggs may be contaminated with salmonella braenderup, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals can experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

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The idea of turning the immune system against cancer got a big boost over the last few days, with a trio of studies showing the approach’s effectiveness against lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more than 150,000 people a year. For cancer that has spread beyond the lungs, the five-year survival rate is historically just 1%.

But trials over the last five years have repeatedly shown more uses for immune therapy in lung cancer, and the new research confirms that nearly all lung cancer patients will now receive immune therapy, said Patrick Forde, the first author on one of the studies and a lung cancer specialist at Johns Hopkins Medical.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/16/new-studies-show-hope-turning-immune-system-against-lung-cancer/522225002/


Thanks for the articles Gary.

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The first known epidemic of drug-resistant typhoid is spreading in Pakistan, raising fears that more diseases worldwide are heading towards being untreatable.

The typhoid superbug, which is resistant to five types of antibiotics, has infected at least 850 people since 2016.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/typhoid-superbug-pakistan-global-antibiotic-failure-a8307836.html

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