Archive for May, 2017
Breaking News: 19 people have been killed and about 50 injured in a suicide bomber attack at Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017Haiti: Vendors act as pharmacists and confessors. “People have no secrets from us. They tell us about their infections, digestion, and sexual matters. For each problem we have a pill.”
Monday, May 22nd, 2017“….The portable pharmacies may look like contemporary art installations or candy store displays, but they can be as dangerous as Russian roulette. The government’s lack of oversight allows untrained merchants like Bonord to obtain and sell pharmaceutical products: generic medicines from China, expired pills, counterfeit drugs imported from the Dominican Republic.
The activity is technically illegal, but the laws are rarely enforced by the Ministry of Public Health and Population. So the vendors sell anything they can get their hands on, from abortion pills to Viagra knockoffs. Sometimes they give bad advice to their clients. One seller told a teenager to take powerful antibiotics for his acne…..”
Famine: South Sudan
Monday, May 22nd, 2017Famine-SouthSudan_Lancet-2017: Document (www.thelancet.com Vol 389 May 20, 2017)
“South Sudan, together with Yemen, Somalia, and Nigeria pose what the UN calls the biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945 as millions flee conflict and drought…”
Un matrimonio burgalés, última víctima del fosfuro de aluminio
Sunday, May 21st, 2017Saudi MOH: ‘2 New Confirmed Corona Cases Recorded’
Saturday, May 20th, 2017
The latest infections raise Saudi Arabia’s number of MERS cases since the disease was first detected in humans in 2012 to 1,611, which now includes 666 deaths.
China: 16 new H7N9 cases, 2 fatal
Saturday, May 20th, 2017Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – China
On 5 May 2017, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China (NHFPC) notified WHO of 24 additional laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China.
Details of the cases
Onset dates ranged from 14 to 29 April 2017. Of these 24 case patients, nine were female. The median age was 56.5 years (range 25 to 82 years). The case patients were reported from Anhui (1), Beijing (1), Chongqing (2), Gansu (1), Guangxi (1), Hebei (7), Henan (1), Hubei (1), Hunan (1), Jiangsu (1), Sichuan (6) and Shaanxi (1). This is the first case reported in Shaanxi since the virus emerged in 2013.
At the time of notification, there were nine deaths, 13 case patients were diagnosed as having either pneumonia (2) or severe pneumonia (11), and two case patients were still being investigated. Nineteen case patients were reported to have had exposure to poultry or live poultry market, and two had no known poultry exposure. The exposure history was still being investigated for three case patients. No case clustering was reported.
To date, a total of 1463 laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported through IHR notification since early 2013.
Public health response
Considering the increase in the number of human infections since December 2016, the Chinese government at national and local levels is taking further measures which include:
- Strengthening risk assessment and guidance on prevention and control focusing on the most affected and newly affected areas;
- Continuing to strengthen control measures focusing on hygienic management of live poultry markets and cross-regional transportation;
- Conducting detailed source investigations to inform effective prevention and control measures;
- Continuing to detect and treat human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) early to reduce mortality;
- Continuing to carry out risk communication and issue information notices to provide the public with guidance on self-protection; and
- Strengthening virology surveillance to better understand levels of virus contamination in the environment as well as mutations, in order to provide further guidance for prevention and control.
WHO risk assessment
The number of human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) and the geographical distribution in the fifth epidemic wave (i.e. onset since 1 October 2016) is greater than in earlier waves. This suggests that the virus is spreading, and emphasizes that further intensive surveillance and control measures in both the human and animal health sector are crucial.
Most case patients are exposed to avian influenza A(H7N9) virus through contact with infected poultry or contaminated environments, including live poultry markets. Since the virus continues to be detected in animals and environments, and live poultry vending continues, further human infections can be expected. Although small clusters of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported including those involving patients in the same ward, current epidemiological and virologic evidence suggests that this virus has not acquired the ability of sustained transmission among humans. Therefore the likelihood of further community level spread is considered low.
Close analysis of the epidemiological situation and further characterization of the most recent viruses are critical to assess associated risk and to adjust risk management measures in a timely manner.
WHO advice
WHO advises that travellers to countries with known outbreaks of avian influenza should avoid, if possible, poultry farms, contact with animals in live poultry markets, entering areas where poultry may be slaughtered, or contact with any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with faeces from poultry or other animals. Travellers should also wash their hands often with soap and water, and follow good food safety and good food hygiene practices.
WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event, nor does it currently recommend any travel or trade restrictions. As always, a diagnosis of infection with an avian influenza virus should be considered in individuals who develop severe acute respiratory symptoms while travelling in or soon after returning from an area where avian influenza is a concern.
WHO encourages countries to continue strengthening influenza surveillance, including surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns, ensure reporting of human infections under the IHR 2005, and continue national health preparedness actions.
edes aegypti mosquitoes that carry Zika can also transmit dengue and chikungunya in the same bite.
Saturday, May 20th, 2017Rückert, C. et al. Impact of simultaneous exposure to arboviruses on infection and transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Nat. Commun. 8, 15412 doi: 10.1038/ncomms15412 (2017).
“…..Thus, we here expose Ae. aegypti mosquitoes to chikungunya, dengue-2 or Zika viruses, both individually and as double and triple infections. Our results show that these mosquitoes can be infected with and can transmit all combinations of these viruses simultaneously. Importantly, infection, dissemination and transmission rates in mosquitoes are only mildly affected by coinfection…..”
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) grew by 9 more cases
Saturday, May 20th, 2017“…..As of 18 May 2017, a total of 29 EVD cases [two confirmed, two probable and 25 suspected] have been reported. To date, three deaths have been reported, giving a case fatality rate of 10%. Most of the cases presented with fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and other bleeding symptoms and signs. The cases have been reported from four health areas, namely Nambwa (11 cases and two deaths), Mouma (three cases and one death), Ngayi (13 cases and no deaths), and Azande (two cases and no deaths). According to available ….”