CDC: 2018-2019 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates
May 5th, 201937.2 million – 42.7 million
flu illnesses
524,000 – 637,000
flu hospitalizations
36,100 – 59,600
flu deaths
Cyclone Fani: Extensive damage in Bangladesh with over 1000 homes destroyed and entire villages submerged.
May 5th, 2019- At 5 dead and over 60 injured;
5/4/2002: An EAS Airline plane crashes into the town of Kano, Nigeria, killing 148 people.
May 4th, 2019“……The Executive Airline Services twin-engine plane took off from Kano at about 1:30 p.m. with 76 people on board headed for Lagos…..[T]he plane immediately showed signs of distress before plunging toward the ground. It then ripped through a working-class neighborhood……About three full blocks of structures were destroyed.
Many of the victims on the ground were burned to death……”
Peru and Ecuador have recorded cases of Mayaro virus (MAYV) in 2019.
May 4th, 2019Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization. Epidemiological Alert:
Mayaro fever. 1 May 2019, Washington, D.C.: PAHO/WHO; 2019
Mayaro fever is a zoonosis caused by an arbovirus of the Alphavirus genus, Togavirus family. Transmission by Haemagogus mosquitoes has been documented. Human cases are associated with recent exposures to humid forest environments inhabited by these vectors.
In the first days, the disease presents as a nonspecific clinical picture similar to other arboviruses: fever, headache, myalgia, retro-ocular pain, chills, severe arthralgia, dizziness, nausea, photophobia, anorexia, often incapacitating joint edema, rash (mainly on the chest, legs, back, arms and less frequently in the face), abdominal pain, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, and in some cases mild hemorrhagic disease symptoms have been described.
The incubation period is relatively short, ranging between 1 to 12 days. The disease is self-limiting, with a duration from 3 to 5 days, with persistence of arthralgia that can remain for weeks or months; a fatal case with encephalopathy has been documented.
Symptomatic management with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), rest,
hydration, and supportive treatment of possible complications is recommended, following
the exclusion of more severe diseases such as malaria, dengue, or bacterial infections.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for Mayaro virus infection.
In 2019, 2 cases were confirmed in Peru in the provinces of Quispicanchis (Cusco Region)
and La Mar (Ayacucho Region) (16).
Additionally, on 26 April 2019, Ecuador reported that of 34 samples that were negative for
dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and leptospirosis, 5 were positive for Mayaro.
Fani (the strongest to hit the area in 20 years) slams into India and at least 2 dead so far and millions heading inland.
May 3rd, 2019“…….On Thursday, Tropical Cyclone Fani had strengthened significantly in the Bay of Bengal, with maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph) and gusts of up to 305 kilometers per hour (190 mph)…….