Preparedness for Zika Virus Disease — New York City, 2016

The rapid spread of Zika virus across the World Health Organization's Region of the Americas has had a direct effect on the U.S. health care delivery system. Hospitals in New York City (NYC) have been implementing prevention and response efforts consistent with CDC guidance. As of September 21, 2016, a total of 715 cases of laboratory-confirmed Zika virus disease had been diagnosed in New York state among travelers who returned from affected areas, their sexual contacts, or infants infected in utero. This represents the highest number of reported cases in any state to date, and underscores the importance of health care systems preparing to care for patients with possible Zika virus disease.[1] Building upon a framework that was established in 2014 to screen patients for possible exposure to Ebola virus disease (Ebola), NYC Health + Hospitals,* the largest municipal health care delivery system in the United States, implemented a Zika Preparedness and Response Action Plan† (Zika Action Plan) to address the threat from Zika and ensure appropriate patient care. The plan developed by NYC Health + Hospitals includes universal travel screening, signage depicting areas with active Zika virus transmission, clinical and epidemiologic evaluation for possible Zika virus exposure, diagnostic testing for Zika virus infection and linking of infected patients to appropriate specialists, and education on Zika virus disease and preventive measures (e.g., avoiding travel to areas with active Zika virus transmission).

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30,000 chickens culled in Germany after bird flu detected

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say a flock of 30,000 chickens has been destroyed in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein after a strain of bird flu was detected in their enclosure.

The animals were killed Sunday and Monday as a precaution to try to contain the H5N8 strain of the virus, which can easily spread among birds but is not known to infect humans.

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Ebola Might Not Make Some People Sick, Study Finds

The Ebola virus may not make some people sick, researchers reported Tuesday.

It shouldn't be surprising — most viruses can cause silent infections in at least a few people. But Ebola is so notorious for causing horrific symptoms, and for being so very deadly, that no one had taken the time to see if it might not always be so bad.


In at least one village in Sierra Leone, it seems that up to a quarter of those infected may never have known it.

"Our data indicate that 25 percent of Ebola virus infections may have been minimally symptomatic," an international team of researchers writes in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

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Expect more bird flu cases in Europe and in the US, OIE says

PARIS – More outbreaks of a severe strain of bird flu in Europe are likely to occur in the next few weeks as wild birds believed to transmit the virus migrate southward, the deputy head of the world animal health body said on Tuesday.

North America, especially the United States where bird flu last year led to the death of about 50 million poultry, should also prepare for new cases, said Matthew Stone, Deputy Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

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University of Missouri reports 31 confirmed mumps cases

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A mumps outbreak at the University of Missouri continues to grow with 31 confirmed cases.
The university also said Wednesday that there are another 27 probable cases of people who have been in close contact with someone with confirmed mumps showing symptoms for at least two days. The university says it's working with health officials to control the outbreak.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/11/17/university-missouri-reports-31-confirmed-mumps-cases.html

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Some good news.


Zika No Longer Global 'Health Emergency,' WHO Declares

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it no longer considers the Zika epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.

But Zika's threat to pregnant women and babies is not going away anytime soon, the agency says. Instead, the virus is now a chronic problem, says the WHO's Dr. Pete Salama.

"It is really important that we communicate this very clearly: We are not downgrading the importance of Zika," Salama says. "In fact, by placing this as a longer term program of work, we're sending the message that Zika is here to stay. And WHO's response is here to stay, in a robust manner."

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Chicken products sold in Minnesota are subject of recall

A Georgia-based farming company has recalled 4,059 pounds of chicken products, some of which were sold in Minnesota.

Wayne Farms LLC recalled the poultry because of undercooking and potentially harmful bacteria, according to a news release from the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The ready-to-eat grilled chicken products included 9-pound cases of "Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Fillets" and 22.5-pound cases of "Fully Cooked Flame Grilled Chicken Breast Fillets."

In Minnesota, retailers include: Bruce Foods in Wyoming, Don's Food Pride in Appleton, Doug's Supermarket in Warroad, Lueken's Village Foods North in Bemidji, Plantenberg's Food Pride in Richmond, and Service Food Markets in Fergus Falls and Perham, according to the USDA.

The department has not received reports of adverse health effects, the release said. Locations in Florida, Iowa, Missouri and North Dakota also sold the products, which were produced in August.

The recalled products include establishment numbers "EST. 45411" or "P-45411" inside the USDA mark of inspection, the release said.

"Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them," the release said. "These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."

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Scientists catalogue bacteria, microbes and other yucky stuff found on ATMs

Bacteria found on human skin. Microbes from bony fish, mollusks, chicken and baked goods. These are part of the long list of life-forms that live on the surfaces of ATM keypads in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, according to a new analysis.

The study was published in the American Society for Microbiology's open access journal mSphere. It is one of a number of fascinating research projects in recent years to catalogue and understand the microbes that live among, on or inside us and how they impact human health. Last year, scientists explained how each person is surrounded by a cloud of bacteria that follows you wherever you go and is as unique and identifiable as a fingerprint. And this summer, they detailed the inhabitants of the subterranean world of Boston's subway, known as "the T" - not anthrax or plague, thankfully, but lots of other scary things.

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Sabra recalling hummus products over listeria concern

Sabra is again recalling its famous hummus products in the U.S. over concerns about listeria, the FDA announced Saturday.

In a statement, the FDA said the company is “recalling certain hummus products made prior to November 8, 2016 due to concerns over Listeria monocytogenes, which was identified at the manufacturing facility but not in tested finished product.”

A full list of the Sabra products being recalled can be found here.

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If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, get it now

With flu season right around the corner, U.S. health officials are urging everyone to get their flu shot now so they’ll be protected from the potentially serious complications of influenza.

“The fact that flu activity hasn’t picked up dramatically yet means there is plenty of time for people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already,” said Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This year’s flu season is starting out much like last year, Brammer said. Currently, influenza H3N2 is the predominant strain, she said, although H1N1 is also circulating. Last year, the H3N2 virus started out as the dominant strain, only to be displaced by H1N1 as flu season hit full swing. “It ended up being an H1N1 season,” she said.

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Large section of Miami Beach cleared of Zika virus

MIAMI — Federal and state health officials announced Tuesday that the Zika virus is no longer being locally transmitted in a large section of Miami Beach.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott visited the barrier island to celebrate the announcement, which comes after a difficult summer where three different sections of South Florida were designated as Zika zones. That move prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue travel warnings to pregnant women over the mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects, creating major headaches for business owners and residents dependent on tourism.

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Zika Virus Damages Babies' Brains After Birth, Doctors Report

Babies born looking normal and healthy after a Zika infection are developing smaller-than-normal heads months later, doctors reported Tuesday - a bad sign that shows the virus continues to damage a baby for weeks or months.

That means that if a pregnant women gets infected with Zika, her baby could be at risk not only in the womb, but long after birth.

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Regular Milk May Beat Low Fat for Kids

Canadian researchers collected height and weight data on 2,745 healthy children ages 1 to 6 years. They took blood samples, and their parents reported how much skim, 1 percent, 2 percent and whole milk the children drank.

After controlling for age, sex, outdoor play and other factors that affect both vitamin D levels and weight, they found that children who drank one cup of whole milk per day had a vitamin D level comparable to that of children who drank 2.9 cups of 1 percent milk, but their body mass index was lower by 0.79 points. The higher the fat content of the milk they drank, the lower the children’s B.M.I. and the higher their vitamin D levels. The study is in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Dengue fever kills 20 in Burkina Faso

Dengue fever has killed at least 20 people in the West African state of Burkina Faso, where about 2,000 cases of the disease have been recorded.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease which is prevalent in sub-tropical and tropical regions.

It is a major cause of illness worldwide, causing about 100 million episodes of feverish illness a year.

Its outbreak in Burkina Faso is causing alarm and officials are trying to avoid any widespread panic.

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Germany Culling 16,000 Turkeys Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

There will be no pardons for these birds.

A case of high risk H5N8 bird flu has been confirmed in the German state of Lower Saxony and about 16,000 turkeys on the farm will now be culled, authorities said on Thursday.

The case was confirmed in Cloppenburg in north Germany and is the first farm-based case in Lower Saxony, one of Europe’s largest poultry production regions, the state’s agriculture ministry said.

Several European countries and Israel have found cases of H5N8 bird flu in the past few weeks and some have ordered that poultry flocks be kept indoors to avoid the disease spreading.

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Predatory bacteria can wipe out superbugs, says study

Predatory bacteria - that eat others of their kind - could be a new weapon in the fight against superbugs, say UK researchers.

Experiments showed a dose of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus acted like a "living antibiotic" to help clear an otherwise lethal infection.

The animal studies, published in Current Biology, suggested there would be no side effects.

Experts said the approach was unusual, but should not be overlooked.

Fear of an antibiotic apocalypse, caused by growing levels of bacteria resisting the drugs, has led to scientists trying other approaches.

Bdellovibrio is a fast-swimming bacterium that works its way inside other bacteria where it devours its hosts' insides and swells in size.
Deadly dose

Once it has finished feeding it replicates and bursts out of its now dead host.

The team at Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham tried using Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to kill a common cause of food poisoning.

Shigella bacteria make 160 million people ill each year, and more than a million die, largely through contaminated food.

Tests in a laboratory dish showed the predatory bacteria caused the population of superbug Shigella to collapse 4,000-fold.

Further tests in fish larvae showed a deadly dose of the superbug led to only 25% surviving for three days.

more..

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We had some problem with Salmonella lately in Croatia...all started with eggs from Poland:

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/10/eu-members-say-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-polish-eggs/#.WDgOcfkrJaQ

But today, Ministy of agriculture send report about 42t of meat will be incinerated, as it's not fit for consumption:

http://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/trgovacki-lanci-bijesni-na-tolusica-vlasnik-objekta-u-kojem-su-nasli-42-tone-neispravnog-mesa-znali-smo-da-je-istekao-rok-nismo-ga-stigli-ukloniti/5306599/
(Croatian text, maybe Chrome translator would work?)

It took a death of a child, for all people in inspection to be rigourous again about healthy standards!
:/

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non-profit org. Play4Life in Zagreb, Croatia, EU

We had some problem with Salmonella lately in Croatia...all started with eggs from Poland:

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/10/eu-members-say-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-polish-eggs/#.WDgOcfkrJaQ

But today, Ministy of agriculture send report about 42t of meat will be incinerated, as it's not fit for consumption:

http://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/trgovacki-lanci-bijesni-na-tolusica-vlasnik-objekta-u-kojem-su-nasli-42-tone-neispravnog-mesa-znali-smo-da-je-istekao-rok-nismo-ga-stigli-ukloniti/5306599/
(Croatian text, maybe Chrome translator would work?)

It took a death of a child, for all people in inspection to be rigourous again about healthy standards!
:/

Sorry about the child's death. :-(

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Finland finds H5 bird flu in wild birds in Aland islands

Finland has detected H5 bird flu in wild birds in Aland islands, Baltic Sea, Finnish Food Safety Authority said on Thursday.

The office said it would make further studies to find out whether it was the highly pathogenic H5N8 virus which has hit wild birds and farms in several countries in Europe and the Middle East in last weeks.

The Finnish government is due on Friday to order farmers to keep flocks indoors, the office said.

Better the birds die than people.

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A year later, Brazil town that spawned Zika struggles with virus

CAMPINA GRANDE, Brazil — On a recent Friday morning, Dr. Alba Batista conducted what has become a routine procedure: a weekly neurological exam of an infant born with microcephaly, a birth defect that leaves newborns with abnormally small heads.

“Fridays are always difficult for me,” said Batista. “Every week, you see a new case.”

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