Tag: epidemic

CDC warns about spike in RSV cases across South

Maggie Fox – June 10, 2021

(CNN)A common cold virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is spreading across the South, causing an unusual wave of late spring disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention said Thursday.

The CDC issued a Health Advisory Network warning to doctors and other health care providers to be on alert for the virus, which can cause pneumonia, especially in very small children and babies.

“Due to this increased activity, CDC encourages broader testing for RSV among patients presenting with acute respiratory illness who test negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” the CDC said in the alert.

“RSV can be associated with severe disease in young children and older adults. This health advisory also serves as a reminder to healthcare personnel, childcare providers, and staff of long-term care facilities to avoid reporting to work while acutely ill — even if they test negative for SARS-CoV-2.”

RSV is spread like most other respiratory diseases — by small droplets and on contaminated surfaces.

“RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under one year of age in the United States. Infants, young children, and older adults with chronic medical conditions are at risk of severe disease from RSV infection,” the CDC said.

https://www.cnn.com

Risk of brain-eating amoeba, flesh-eating bacteria may increase due to climate change: Experts

Julia Jacobo – May 29, 2021

The sweltering summer heat may send swimmers diving head-first into the nearest body of water, but climate change may contribute to life-threatening risks for swimmers as waterborne pathogens thrive and multiply faster in increasingly warming waters, experts said.

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility for dangerous pathogens, such as Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, and Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria, said Dr. Sandra Gompf, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of South Florida.

These pathogens move fast and can kill quickly.

Once diagnosed, Naegleria fowleri is very difficult to treat, said Darien Sutton, a Los Angeles emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical contributor. Once it enters the brain, it causes a form of meningitis, and once the patient is exhibiting symptoms it’s often too late to save them.

Vibrio vulnificus infections can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a severe infection in which the flesh surrounding an open wound dies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://abcnews.go.com

As if black & white fungus were not enough: 1st case of deadly ‘YELLOW fungus’ reported in Covid-19 patient in India

RT – May 25, 2021

A patient who was recovering from Covid-19 has been found to have symptoms of yellow fungus, news agency ANI quoted a doctor in an Uttar Pradesh hospital as saying. The new disease is reportedly more dangerous than black fungus.

Dr. BP Tyagi, an otolaryngologist in the city of Ghaziabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh, said it was the first case of yellow fungus in a patient recovering from Covid-19. The 45-year-old man had been undergoing treatment for Covid-19 over the past few months, however, his condition deteriorated over the past few days, so he was admitted to the hospital and an examination revealed yellow fungus.

According to the doctor, yellow fungus is a potentially fatal disease caused by bad hygiene and humidity. It is more dangerous than black fungus or white fungus, as it’s difficult to diagnose because it starts inside the body, affecting the internal organs. Black fungus begins with a distinct facial disfiguration which is easy to spot. The symptoms of yellow fungus include lethargy, lack of appetite, weight loss, and in severe cases, the disease can lead to organ malfunction. He added that the patient earlier had symptoms of black fungus and white fungus, which are also complications of Covid-19.

This comes as cases of mucormycosis (commonly known as black fungus) and white fungus have been on the rise among Covid-19 patients in India. Several states declared it to be an epidemic. Fungal infections have been reported in patients who were put on prolonged oxygen support or have been prescribed steroids as part of treatment for Covid-19. Both black and white fungus affect the lungs and other vital organs and can be extremely dangerous.

https://www.rt.com

6 Indian states declare Covid-linked ‘black fungus’ an epidemic as death toll rises

RT – May 21, 2021

Multiple Indian states and territories have formally declared mucormycosis – more commonly known as ‘black fungus’ – to be an epidemic as Indians who have recovered from Covid-19 continue to die from the infection.

After the Union Health Ministry called on Indian states to declare an epidemic on Thursday, three states and one territory reportedly did so on the same day. They are Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, and the Chandigarh union territory.

The states and territories join Telangana and Rajasthan, which had already declared an epidemic before the ministry’s letter, to make a total of six states and territories which officially recognize black fungus as an epidemic under the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897.

Recognizing the infection as an epidemic makes the reporting of suspected and confirmed cases to the health department mandatory and also gives the Indian government more resources to fight the problem.

The Union Health Ministry warned on Thursday that black fungus was leading to a “prolonged morbidity and mortality amongst Covid-19 patients.”

The infection enters through the bloodstream via a cut or through the respiratory system via the nose, and can then spread to the heart, the brain, and the lungs. Symptoms can include facial swelling and black lesions, and mucormycosis has a fatality rate of around 54%.

Black fungus can have even more of an impact on those who have recovered from Covid-19, however, which is what’s thought to have caused India’s latest problem with the infection.

According to most recent reports, at least 90 people have died from the fungus during the pandemic, with thousands more cases recorded. Health experts argue that steroids used for Covid-19 patients, along with a lack of proper sanitation, could be behind the surge of cases.

https://www.rt.com

Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada

Jessica Murphy – May 5, 2021

Doctors in Canada have been coming across patients showing symptoms similar to that of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare fatal condition that attacks the brain. But when they took a closer look, what they found left them stumped.

Almost two years ago, Roger Ellis collapsed at home with a seizure on his 40th wedding anniversary.

In his early 60s, Mr Ellis, who was born and raised around New Brunswick’s bucolic Acadian peninsula, had been healthy until that June, and was enjoying his retirement after decades working as an industrial mechanic.

His son, Steve Ellis, says after that fateful day his father’s health rapidly declined.

“He had delusions, hallucinations, weight loss, aggression, repetitive speech,” he says.

“At one point he couldn’t even walk. So in the span of three months we were being brought to a hospital to tell us they believed he was dying – but no one knew why.”

Roger Ellis’ doctors first suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease [CJD]. CJD is a human prion disease, a fatal and rare degenerative brain disorder that sees patients present with symptoms like failing memory, behavioural changes and difficulties with co-ordination.

One widely known category is Variant CJD, which is linked to eating contaminated meat infected with mad cow disease. CJD also belongs to a wider category of brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, in which protein in the nervous system become misfolded and aggregated.

But Mr Ellis’ CJD test came back negative, as did the barrage of other tests his doctors put him through as they tried to pinpoint the cause of his illness.

His son says the medical team did their best to alleviate his father’s varying symptoms but were still left with a mystery: what was behind Mr Ellis’s decline?

In March of this year, the younger Mr Ellis came across a possible – if partial – answer.

Radio-Canada, the public broadcaster, obtained a copy of a public health memo that had been sent to the province’s medical professionals warning of a cluster of patients exhibiting an unknown degenerative brain disease.

“The first thing I said was: ‘This is my dad,'” he recalls.

Roger Ellis is now believed to be one of those afflicted with the illness and is under the care of Dr Alier Marrero.

https://www.bbc.com

Russia reports world’s first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu

Polina Devitt, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – February 20, 2021

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named A(H5N8) being passed to humans from birds and has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO), Anna Popova, head of consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday.

Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months but so far only in poultry. Other strains – H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 – have been known here) to spread to humans.

Russia reported the case of human infection to the WHO “several days ago, just as we became absolutely certain of our results,” Popova said on Rossiya 24 state TV. There was no sign yet of transmission between humans, she added.

Seven workers at a poultry plant in Russia’s south had been infected with the H5N8 strain in an outbreak at the plant in December, Popova said, adding that the individuals involved felt fine now. “This situation did not develop further,” she said.

In an email WHO’s European arm said it had been notified by Russia about a case of human infection with H5N8 and acknowledged this would if confirmed be the first time the strain had infected people.

https://www.reuters.com

Fatal ‘rabies-like disease’ discovered in bats in Australia poses threat to humans

Ricky Scaparo – April 8, 2021

(ETH) – What is being deemed as a deadly “rabies-like” disease has just been discovered by Medics in South Australia where at least two cases of Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL) have been identified.

The report reveals that the potentially killer virus can be transmitted from bats to humans through means of bites and scratches. Both ABL and rabies belong to the same group of viruses called Lyssavirus, which attacks the nervous system. One Doctor, Louise Flood from the Department for Health and Wellbeing’s Communicable Disease Control Branch, has warned that if symptoms are left untreated they could be “invariably fatal”.

She said: “ABL is a rabies-like disease that can be transmitted to humans if they are bitten or scratched by an infected bat and if treatment is delayed until after the onset of symptoms, the condition is invariably fatal.” she goes on to warn that although only one percent of bats carry this disease, the rise in these cases is becoming “concerning”.

She went on to say “While only one percent of bats usually carry ABL, these two recent exposures are concerning and is an important reminder that bats should only ever be handled by appropriately trained and vaccinated animal handlers.

“While the development of ABL from bat bites or scratches can be prevented through prompt wound management and post-exposure prophylaxis, it is important to avoid contact in the first place.” Another warning was issued regarding pets by Dr. Mary Carr from the Department of Primary Industries, urging Australians to take them to the vets if they have been attacked by a bat.

She said: “If you suspect your animal has been either bitten or scratched by a bat please contact your local vet or the Emergency Animal Disease hotline.” The report indicates that early signs of this virus in humans include flu-like symptoms, such as headaches, fever, and weakness.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Oregon health officials monitoring 4 people for Ebola

KGW Staff – March 25, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) on Thursday announced it is monitoring four people for Ebola after those people recently returned from Guinea and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), two West African countries in the midst of Ebola outbreaks.

OHA said there is low risk for people in Oregon. It did not say where the four individuals are located.

Local public health departments and OHA have been in touch with the four people, who arrived back in Oregon in early March. They are considered “persons under monitoring”, OHA said.

“We want to make sure these individuals have the support they need to monitor their health, stay in contact with public health officials and safely get help with medical services if it comes to that,” said Dr. Richard Leman with the OHA Public Health Division.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Level 3 travel warnings for the affected regions in both Guinea and DRC. The CDC recommends people avoid nonessential travel there.

Since March 4, the CDC has required all airlines to supply contact information for all U.S.-bound travelers who have been in Guinea or Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 21 days, which is the largest known incubation period for Ebola, OHA said. Those travelers are interviewed upon arriving in the U.S. to determine if they are symptomatic and to confirm their contact information. If they are symptomatic, they will be offered medical evaluation.

https://www.kgw.com

Diphtheria becomes major global threat again as it evolves antimicrobial resistance

Strange Sounds – Mar 10, 2021

Diphtheria – a relatively easily-preventable infection – is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

The researchers, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, say that the impact of COVID-19 on diphtheria vaccination schedules, coupled with a rise in the number of infections, risk the disease once more becoming a major global threat.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious infection that can affect the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin. If left untreated it can prove fatal. In the UK and other high-income countries, babies are vaccinated against infection. However, in low- and middle-income countries, the disease can still cause sporadic infections or outbreaks in unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated communities.

The number of diphtheria cases reported globally has being increasing gradually. In 2018, there were 16,651 reported cases, more than double the yearly average for 1996-2017 (8,105 cases).

Diphtheria is primarily caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae and is mainly spread by coughs and sneezes, or through close contact with someone who is infected. In most cases, the bacteria cause acute infections, driven by the diphtheria toxin – the key target of the vaccine. However, non-toxigenic C. diphtheria can also cause disease, often in the form of systemic infections.

https://strangesounds.org

Brain-swelling Nipah virus 75 times more deadly than coronavirus may be next pandemic, scientists warn of ‘The Big One’

Jamie Micklethwaite  – February 21, 2021

A brain-swelling disease 75 times more deadly than coronavirus could mutate to become the next pandemic killing millions, scientists have warned.

Experts told the Sun Online how a number of emerging diseases could trigger another global outbreak – and this time it could be “The Big One”.

The fruit bat-borne virus Nipah is a prime candidate for serious concern, they fear.

Severe brain swelling, seizures and vomiting are just some of the symptoms of this highly potent disease — which was first discovered in 1999 in Malaysia.

Outbreaks in south and southeast Asia show the virus to be extremely deadly, with a death rate of between 40 to 75 per cent.

COVID-19’s fatality rate is around one per cent, according to Imperial College, so a Nipah pandemic would kill many more people.

It has also been named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of 16 priority pathogens for research and development due to its potential to trigger an epidemic.

And chillingly, Nipah is just one of 260 known viruses with epidemic potential.

https://www.news.com.au