Archive for March, 2019
Weekly summary of major outbreaks in Africa
Wednesday, March 13th, 2019Plague: Uganda
2 Cases
1 Death: 50% CFR
Ebola virus disease: Democratic Republic of the Congo
921 Cases
582 Deaths: 63% CFR
Hepatitis E: Namibia
4 669 Cases
41 Deaths: 0.9% CFR
Lassa fever: Nigeria
420 Cases
93 Deaths: CFR 22.1%
Major Storm System to Bring Significant Impacts to the Central and Southern U.S. Midweek
Wednesday, March 13th, 2019
“……An intense and ferocious winter storm — a “bomb cyclone” — is expected to bring hurricane-force wind gusts, blizzard conditions and a flood threat across a swath of the US heartland Wednesday……”
Italy: Parents risk being fined up to €500 (£425; $560) if they send their unvaccinated children to school.
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019“…..The new law came amid a surge in measles cases – but Italian officials say vaccination rates have improved since it was introduced.
Under Italy’s so-called Lorenzin law – named after the former health minister who introduced it – children must receive a range of mandatory immunisations before attending school. They include vaccinations for chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella.
Children up to the age of six years will be excluded from nursery and kindergarten without proof of vaccination under the new rules.
Those aged between six and 16 cannot be banned from attending school, but their parents face fines if they do not complete the mandatory course of immunisations…..”
Desalination pours more toxic brine into the ocean than previously thought
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019“…….Desalination facilities, which extract drinkable water from the ocean, discharge around 142 billion liters of extremely salty water called brine back into the environment every day, a study finds. That waste product of the desalination process can kill marine life and detrimentally alter the planet’s oceans…..”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLgmFRceoVE
Europe: Measles and rubella monitoring report, March 2019
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019“…..Twenty-nine countries reported measles data for January 2019, with 881 cases reported by 19 countries and 10 countries reporting no cases. Germany did not report measles data for January 2019.
Overall, case numbers continued to increase compared with the previous two months. Romania, Italy, Poland and France had the highest case counts with 261, 165, 133 and 124 cases, respectively.
Notable increases were reported in Italy, Poland, France and Austria.
- Italy reported 165 cases in January, compared with 76 in December and 58 in November.
- Poland reported 133 cases in January, compared with 114 in December and 79 in November.
- France reported 124 cases in January, compared with 54 in December and 61 in November.
- Austria reported 25 cases in January, compared with one in December and four in November…..”
3/11/2004: 191 people are killed and nearly 2,000 are injured when 10 bombs explode on four trains in three Madrid-area train stations during a busy morning rush hour.
Monday, March 11th, 2019Survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia
Monday, March 11th, 2019“…….survivors reported certain symptoms at significantly higher rates than controls, and in both groups, adults reported more symptoms than children and adolescents. Survivors reported higher rates of: urinary frequency (14.7 percent vs. 3.4 percent), headache (47.6 percent vs. 35.6 percent), fatigue (18.4 percent vs. 6.3 percent), muscle pain (23.1 percent vs. 10.1 percent), memory loss (29.2 percent vs. 4.8 percent), and joint pain (47.5 percent vs. 17.5 percent).
Evaluations by healthcare professionals showed significantly more survivors than controls had abnormal findings on abdominal (10.4 percent vs. 6.4 percent), chest (4.2 percent vs. 2 percent), and neurologic (4.5 percent vs. 1.5 percent) examinations. With regards to abnormal musculoskeletal findings on examination, only muscle tenderness was observed significantly more frequently in survivors than controls (4.5 percent vs. 0.9 percent, respectively). Other musculoskeletal findings, such as joint swelling and decreased range of motion were not observed at a significantly higher frequency in survivors compared with controls. The prevalence of health issues declined in both groups over the one-year follow-up period…….”
A British court has sentenced a 37-year-old Ugandan woman to 11 years in prison for the genital cutting of her 3-year-old daughter
Sunday, March 10th, 2019“…..The girl was taken to a hospital and lost a significant amount of blood because of her injuries, according to the BBC.
The judge, Philippa Whipple, said the woman was guilty of child abuse. “It’s a barbaric practice and a serious crime,” she said. “It’s an offense which targets women, particularly inflicted when they are young and vulnerable.”
The girl’s father, 43, had been cleared of charges.
Female genital cutting has been illegal in Britain since 1985, but previous prosecutions have led to acquittals…..”