A Mongolian couple died of the bubonic plague -- reportedly after eating raw marmot -- prompting a six-day quarantine that left a number of tourists stranded in the region.

The couple had consumed the raw meat and kidney of a marmot, believed by some to be a folk remedy for good health, Ariuntuya Ochirpurev of the World Health Organization told the BBC.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/mongolian-couple-die-bubonic-plague-eating-marmot-triggers-quarantine

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Norwegian woman dies from rabies after Philippines puppy bite
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48226676
The woman was out and drove a moped with her traveling friends when she suddenly had found an abandoned dog puppy at the roadside who then was taken to their holiday home.
Relatives write in a press release that the woman cared for the dog that recovered. She and her friends played with the puppy who nibbled their fingers as puppies usually do. The woman, who herself worked in healthcare, made sure that the small scratches after the teeth were sterilized, reports the Norwegian VG.
Only when she was home in Norway for a while did she get sick and it took time before she got the right diagnosis. Her family thinks that rabies vaccine should be recommended for those traveling to rabies-affected areas as Southern Asia and Africa.

Armed attacks, misinformation and a growing funding gap continue to impede the response to the Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with the World Health Organization warning that the situation could spiral out of control.

Insecurity leaves response teams “unable to perform robust surveillance nor deliver much needed treatment and immunizations,” the WHO reported Friday in its latest update on the outbreak confirmed last August. The health organization warned that “without commitment from all groups to cease these attacks, it is unlikely that this EVD [Ebola virus disease] outbreak can remain successfully contained in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/ebola-outbreak-could-spiral-beyond-drc-who-warns/4913176.html

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It turns out that the same lethal drug that has been driving the nation’s spiraling opioid epidemic is also causing an historic surge in overdose deaths among cocaine users.

That’s according to a new analysis of death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that fentanyl — a cheap synthetic opioid that is a hundred times more potent than morphine — and other opioids were involved in nearly three-fourths of all cocaine overdose deaths and an increasing number of methamphetamine deaths.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opioid-crisis-meth-cocaine-deaths_b_5cdaed1ce4b0c1f748249d1c

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An Ebola epidemic in a conflict-riven region of Democratic Republic of Congo is out of control and could become as serious as the outbreak that devastated three countries in west Africa between 2013 and 2016, experts and aid chiefs have warned.

New cases over the past month have increased at the fastest rate since the outbreak began last year, as aid agencies struggle to enact a public health response in areas that have suffered decades of neglect and conflict, with incredibly fragile health systems and regular outbreaks of deadly violence involving armed groups.


'Terrifying' Ebola epidemic out of control in DRC, say experts

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says backyard chickens likely are behind the Salmonella outbreaks in 21 states.

The Thursday announcement says five people have been hospitalized and about a quarter of the total 52 infected people are under the age of 5. Four of the infected people live in Tennessee.

A CDC news release says most of the ill people reported having contact with chicks or ducklings, which it says were obtained through sources including hatcheries and agricultural stores. The CDC says people can get sick from touching backyard poultry or their environment.

It says sick birds may appear clean with no signs of illness. It says people should wash their hands after handling the birds and avoid touching their faces after snuggling them.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/cdc-backyard-chickens-likely-cause-of-salmonella-outbreaks-in-tennessee/2008415153

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VASHON ISLAND, Wash. — Sarah Day is a school nurse with “street cred” when it comes to the polarizing issue of vaccines on an idyllic island in Washington state known for its rural beauty, counterculture lifestyle and low immunization rates.


Vaccine rates climb on ‘hippie’ island amid measles outbreak

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5th migrant child dies after detention by US border agents

HOUSTON (AP) — A 16-year-old Guatemala migrant who died Monday in U.S. custody had been held by immigration authorities for six days — twice as long as federal law generally permits — then transferred him to another holding facility even after he was diagnosed with the flu.

The teenager, identified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, was the fifth minor from Guatemala to die after being apprehended by U.S. border agents since December.

Advocates demanded that President Donald Trump’s administration act to safeguard the lives of children in detention as border crossings surge and the U.S. Border Patrol detains thousands of families at a time in overcrowded facilities, tents, and outdoor spaces.

Mods. Please close/lock his thread. Thanks.

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