Samoa has declared a state of emergency to combat the outbreak
:-(

Update for Samoa:


Samoa measles outbreak worsens with death toll reaching 22
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50528834

A measles outbreak in the Pacific nation of Samoa has killed 22 people, nearly all children under five.

The government says 1,797 cases have been reported - 153 since Friday alone.

Samoa declared a state of emergency last week to combat the outbreak. All schools are closed, children under 17 are banned from public gatherings and vaccinations are now compulsory.


Thanks Gary.
Clyde, ok.

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Update for Samoa:

Samoa measles epidemic worsens with 24 children now dead
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/samoa-measles-epidemic-worsens-24-children-now-dead-n1090551

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Authorities said Monday that a measles epidemic sweeping through Samoa continues to worsen with the death toll rising to 25, all but one of them young children.

“We still have a big problem at hand,” Samoa’s Director General of Health Leausa Take Naseri said in a video statement.

He said more than 140 new cases of people contracting the virus had been recorded within the past day, bringing the total to about 2,200 cases since the outbreak began last month. He said there are about 20 critically ill children who remain in hospital intensive care units.
Older Americans given measles vaccine as children may need another dose.

:-(

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More E. coli illnesses linked to Salinas romaine lettuce, CDC says 67 people in 19 states ill

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2019/11/26/salinas-calif-romaine-lettuce-linked-more-illnesses-cdc-says/4313197002/

An additional 27 people have been infected with a strain of E. coli linked to romaine lettuce, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Days after announcing the outbreak and issuing a safety alert for lettuce harvested in Salinas, California, the CDC released an update saying 67 people have been sick from 19 states.

This is up from 40 people from 16 states in the Nov. 22 advisory.

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This just in...

UN says armed attacks in eastern Congo kill Ebola responders
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/armed-attacks-eastern-congo-kill-ebola-responders-67365243?cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed

Armed groups have attacked and killed Ebola response workers in eastern Congo, the World Health Organization chief said Thursday, an alarming development that could cause the waning outbreak to again pick up momentum.

“We are heartbroken that our worst fears have been realized,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter. He did not say how many people were killed in the attacks in Biakato Mines and Mangina. Others were wounded, he said.

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Yet another case of the plague was just discovered
https://bgr.com/2019/11/28/plague-in-china-bubonic-pneumonic/

A fourth person in China is now confirmed to have the plague. A farmworker in Inner Mongolia tested positive for the disease and is now under strict quarantine as health officials monitor his condition.
As AFP reports, the man is said to be in stable condition. The man’s diagnosis comes on the heels of a trio of other plague cases in the country. China is reportedly responding with a new extermination campaign, spraying hundreds of acres of land with poison to kill off rats and fleas which may be acting as carriers of the disease.

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Just a warning.
There is a flu strain going around
that is somewhat resistant to this
years "flu shot".
i know because i have it.
My MD told me to expect a
different strain to make an
appearance in February.

If you see someone sick,
as Monty Python would say,
"Run away!!!"

Just a warning.
There is a flu strain going around
that is somewhat resistant to this
years "flu shot".
i know because i have it.
My MD told me to expect a
different strain to make an
appearance in February.

If you see someone sick,
as Monty Python would say,
"Run away!!!"

My anti-virus filter lit up on your post, so you are still contagious. ;-)

I take a yearly flu shot regardless of whether the 'health authorities or drug companies' have got it right.

I am below pension age but am in a high risk environment. It is par for the course.

If we look at the process of trying to interpret the next strain or evolution of flu and all the steps taken back and forth between various parties we might accept how difficult the issue is.

I know the flu jab is mostly hit and miss (more hit we hope) but for me it has triggered my immune system, even with the wrong flu specific type, to be on the offensive.

In fact since I started taking it I have gone from a low level of malingering infections (body is sound but environment is infectious) to near no issues.

Obviously people need to talk to their doctors and know their own bodies.

If you think you are at risk it still may be worth considering the jab even if new strains come about. (Ask your GP \ doctor.)

There are also new forms of wider inoculations coming around that target not specific strains but more generic aspects \ markers of the virus type itself.

One of my favourite sites (not one that you would normally associate with this sort of issue) has a great simple walk through of the flu vaccine hit and miss process: hackAday

Gary, i'm glad i could help with the holiday lights.

Samoan Government To Close Its Offices Amid Measles Crisis That Has Left 53 Dead :-)

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/02/784179707/samoan-government-to-close-its-offices-amid-measles-crisis-that-has-left-53-dead

The Pacific island nation of Samoa will shut down government services for two days so that civil servants can focus on a nationwide immunization drive as the country struggles to end a measles outbreak that has claimed more than 50 lives, most of them children.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi announced the closure on Monday, saying the government is relying on "village councils, faith-based organizations, and church leaders, village mayors and government women representatives" to persuade the public to get vaccinated. As a result, he said, all but public utility government services will be shuttered Dec. 5 and 6.

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*Warning Graphic Image*
https://www.foxnews.com/health/monkeypox-case-england-nigeria
Case of monkeypox confirmed in England after patient had traveled to Nigeria: officials

At least one person in England has been diagnosed with a rare viral infection known as monkeypox, Public Health England (PHE) confirmed this week.

The patient, who was not identified, is from southwest England but likely contracted the disease while visiting Nigeria, officials said in a news release on Wednesday. He or she is now being treated at St. Thomas’ Hospital Trust in London.

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Flu season arrives early, driven by an unexpected virus

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/06/us-flu-season-arrives-early-driven-by-an-unexpected-virus.html

The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years.

An early barrage of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there’s a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say.

The last flu season to rev up this early was in 2003-2004 — a bad one. Some experts think the early start may mean a lot of suffering is in store, but others say it’s too early to tell.

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Minister: Polio virus probably brought in from outside Malaysia
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/12/09/minister-polio-virus-probably-brought-in-from-outside-malaysia/1817658

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 9 — The polio virus which infected a three-month-old Malaysian boy from Tuaran, Sabah is suspected to have come from outside Sabah, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said there were two possibilities how the polio virus, which had been eradicated 27 years ago, could reappear in the country — either the virus came from the Philippines or the infant’s family had travelled abroad.

However, according to initial investigation, the infant’s family members did no travel overseas.

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Four more Ebola cases reported as outbreak marches on
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/12/four-more-ebola-cases-reported-outbreak-marches

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) Ebola dashboard reflects 4 new cases today, raising the outbreak total to 3,324, including 2,206 deaths, a sign that the violence of November has indeed extended the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is now in its 16th month.

A total of 391 suspected cases are still under investigation.

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..<snip>...
a sign that the violence of November has indeed extended the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is now in its 16th month.

A total of 391 suspected cases are still under investigation.

We never stop to think how disasters (human or natural) increase dramatically the cases of disease and infection.

Not just Ebola but you can bet many more unrecorded have died from dysentery, flue and so on. The simplest diseases become major killers.

People outside the conflict or disaster zones are not immune to consequences or communicable diseases either given populations rightfully try to migrate to safer areas.

Lots of reasons not to ignore conflict or disaster where ever it happens.

Thanks Lynn for keeping watch.

Thanks so much Crunchy. :-) I think they still fighting over there.
Seems a vaccine might be working, but long wait and see. (Ebola)
It's time for a long awaited pandemic to spread. Doesn't take much.

Well been in the hospital came home last night. Wanted to wish you and everyone here Happy Holidays!!!

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https://fox43.com/2019/12/24/check-your-fridge-88-egg-products-under-recall-after-deadly-listeria-outbreak/

Check your fridge: 88 egg products under recall after deadly listeria outbreak
Posted 10:01 AM, December 24, 2019

Multiple brands of products that include hard-boiled eggs are under nationwide recall following an alert last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a deadly outbreak of listeria. At least seven people in five states have gotten sick, including one who died in Texas.

The eggs from Almark Foods of Gainesville, Ga., were sent to foodservice operators nationwide. Almark says it has temporarily suspended all production at its Gainesville plant.

Trader Joe’s announced Monday it is recalling its brand name Egg Salad in 6-ounce cups and its brand name Old Fashioned Potato Salada in 20-ounc trays. They have use-by dates up to and including Dec. 27, 2019.

Almark Foods has announced a recall of 76 items distributed nationwide. They were sold under multiple brand names including 7 Select, Almark Foods, Best Choice, CMI, Dairy Fresh, Deb-El, Egglands Best, Everyday Essentials, Farmers Hen House, Food Club, Fresh Thyme, Giant Eagle, Great Day, Great Value, Inspired Organics, Kirkland Signature, Kroger, LIDL, Lucerne, Members Mark, Naturally Better, Nellie’s, O Organics, Peckish, Pete & Gerry’s, Rainbow Farms, Rembrandt Foods, ShopRite, Simple Truth Organics, Sunshine, Vital Farms, and Wild Harvest.

The Almark recall includes all product packaged for the retail market manufactured at its Gainesville plant that remains within shelf life. This includes product with “Best If Used By” dates up through March 2, 2020.

China launches probe into mysterious viral pneumonia amid rumors of SARS 2.0
https://www.rt.com/news/477163-china-probes-viral-pneumonia-outbreak/

Dozens of patients have been quarantined and several hospitals put on alert in central China amid an outbreak of a viral pneumonia of unknown origin.

There have been a total of 27 confirmed cases since the start of December in Wuhan, with the majority appearing to come from a single seafood market in the city. Health workers are still working to pinpoint the source, while also disinfecting the marketplace as a precaution.

Seven patients are critically ill, 18 others are in stable condition, and two are recovering and are expected to be released shortly, according to the Wuhan health department. So far no human-to-human infection has taken place and no medical staff have contracted the illness.

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/06/health/china-pneumonia-intl-hnk/index.html

A mysterious virus is making China (and the rest of Asia) nervous. It's not SARS, so what is it?

(CNN)Chinese health authorities have not been able to identify a mysterious strain of pneumonia that has infected dozens of people and put the rest of Asia on alert -- although they have ruled out a return of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus.

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Wuhan pneumonia: six more cases in Hong Kong take total to more than 50 but professor says risk of spread during Lunar New Year mass migration unlikely

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3045622/wuhan-pneumonia-six-more-cases-hong-kong-take


Six more people have been admitted to hospitals in Hong Kong after developing respiratory symptoms on their return from the mainland Chinese city of Wuhan, health authorities said on Friday.

It brought the number of suspected cases in the city to 54.

A new coronavirus strain was revealed by mainland health authorities on Thursday to be the cause of the mystery pneumonia outbreak in the central Chinese city, where 59 people have been infected since December.

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