Tag: outbreak

After Corona now Brucella outbreak in China: Thousands infected by bacteria after leak in biopharmaceutical plant

Strange Sounds – September 20, 2020

Another outbreak in China has sparked a wave of concern among authorities after thousands of people in the northern part of the country tested positive for a bacterial infection.

The infection spread among people working in a state-owned biopharmaceutical plant in Lanzhou city, which produces animal vaccines after a leak occurred last year.

Here’s what you need to know about the new Brucellosis outbreak:
According to Chinese authorities, the biopharmaceutical plant had used expired disinfectants for producing Brucella vaccines for animals between July and August last year. This indicated that the bacteria was not eradicated in the factory exhaust.

Subsequently, the contaminated gas from the factory formed aerosols containing the bacteria, which was then carried by wind to a nearby Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute. This resulted in infecting close to 200 people there as well in December last year.

There are 3,245 people who have contracted Brucellosis, according to health officials in Lanzhou.

Another 1,401 people also tested as an early positive for the disease, news agency AFP reported.

The total positive cases also included 20 students and faculty members of Lanzhou University, some of whom had been to the institute.

https://strangesounds.org

Chlamydia and gonorrhea have increased among younger women, study finds

Bethany Ao – September 14, 2020

Rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea are increasing among women ages 18 to 30 in the United States, a recent study by Quest Diagnostics suggests

The study, recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed more than 17 million laboratory samples taken between 2010 and 2017 from females ages 12 to 30. Researchers found that while there was a decline in cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea among adolescents ages 12 to 17, women of ages 25 to 30 experienced a 50% increase in positive test results. Women 18 to 24 had a 21% increase in positive test results over the period of the study.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends annual screenings for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among sexually active women under 25, said Harvey Kaufman, director of Quest’s Health Trends Research Program. For women 25 and older, the CDC recommends screenings only for those with specific risk factors, such as reporting that their sex partner may have a concurrent sex partner. Kaufman, a co-author of the study, said the findings suggest that sexual and contraceptive practices have changed since 2002, when the CDC guidelines were first published.

Kaufman pointed out that the CDC guidelines were largely influenced by a 1998 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found that the overall rate of chlamydia among female Army recruits was 9.2%. As a result, the authors of the study recommended a screening program for female recruits 25 and under.

https://www.inquirer.com

Giant clouds of mosquitoes are so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses in Louisiana

Strange Sounds – September 11, 2020

Experts in southwest Louisiana say clouds of mosquitoes have been so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses.

According to first estimates, hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in a five-parish area in southwest Louisiana.

Veterinarian Craig Fontenot of Ville Platte says the swarms drain animals’ blood and animals also become exhausted from constantly moving in an attempt to avoid the biting insects.

LSU AgCenter agent Jeremy Hebert said he has spoken to several cattle owners who have lost as many as eight animals. He had also heard of three mosquito-related deaths of horses.

Fontenot estimates that hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in his five-parish area.

“There’s a lot on the verge of dying,” Fontenot said.

LSU AgCenter agents say spraying has begun to thin the hordes pushed out of marshes by the storm that made landfall Aug. 27.

https://strangesounds.org

New Chinese Tick-Borne Virus Outbreak Kills 7, Infects 60 And Scares The World

Strange Sounds – August 9, 2020

A new infectious disease caused by a tick-borne virus has killed over seven people and infected 60 others in China, official media here reported on Wednesday, warning about the possibility of its human-to-human transmission.

More than 37 people in East China’s Jiangsu Province contracted with the SFTS Virus in the first half of the year. Later, 23 people were found to have been infected in East China’s Anhui province, state-run Global Times quoted media reports.

A woman from Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, who suffered from the virus showed onset of symptoms such as fever, coughing. Doctors found a decline of leukocyte, blood platelet inside of her body. After a month of treatment, she was discharged from the hospital.

At least seven people have died in Anhui and East China’s Zhejiang province due to the virus, the report said. SFTS Virus is not a new virus. China has isolated pathogen of the virus in 2011, and it belongs to the Bunyavirus category.

Virologists believe that the infection may have been passed on to humans by ticks and that the virus can be transmitted between humans, it said.

Sheng Jifang, a doctor from the first affiliated hospital under Zhejiang University, said that the possibility of human-to-human transmission could not be excluded; patients can pass the virus to others via blood or mucous.

https://strangesounds.org

750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes has just been approved for release in Florida Keys

ETH – August 20, 2020

(ETH) – Local authorities in the Florida Keys has just approved the plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in 2021 and 2022 despite the disapproval of many local residents and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups.

The purpose of these mosquitoes being released is to reportedly test if a genetically modified mosquito is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti. However, there is a heated opposition against this proposal from not only residents but other agencies as well.

“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement released Wednesday.

“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed,” she added.

This genetically modified mosquito, named OX5034, has been altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, long before it hatches and grows large enough to bite and spread diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Only the female mosquito bites for blood, which is required for her to mature her eggs. Males feed only on nectar and are thus not a carrier for the disease. According to CNN, The mosquito is also approved to be released into Harris County, Texas, Also beginning in 2021, according to Oxitec, the US-owned, British-based company that developed the genetically modified organism (GMO).

https://endtimeheadlines.org

China Quarantines Region While Second Case Of Bubonic Plague Diagnosed in New Mexico.

ETH – August 13, 2020

(BIN) – While the WHO declares that there is nothing to worry about, China is sealing off entire villages and a man died in New Mexico from a rare form of the plague that once killed off half the world population.

China sealed off several villages in Inner Mongolia in a second attempt to contain the spread of a new outbreak of bubonic plague. A man died in the region’s city of Bayannur from multiple organ failure after contracting the disease. Authorities in Bayannur said:

“The place of residence of the deceased is locked down, and a comprehensive epidemiological investigation is being carried out.” Thirty-five contacts of the man have been sent into quarantine. The statement added: “Currently, there is a risk of the human plague spreading in our city.”

Last Thursday another person died from circulatory system failure due to infection with bubonic plague. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is “carefully monitoring” a case of bubonic plague in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, but says that it is “not high risk”.

In a seemingly unrelated case, a man in his 20s died of the septicaemic plague in New Mexico last week. This was the second case of septicaemic plague in New Mexico in less after a man in his 60s was diagnosed with bubonic plague in New Mexico’s Santa Fe County last month.

Septicaemic plague is the rarest of the three plague varieties which include bubonic plague. Like bubonic, septicaemic plague is spread by bites from infected fleas or by direct contact with animals. Animals carrying the disease can include rodents, wildlife, and pets.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

There Is Currently A Mysterious Outbreak Of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Buruli Ulcer In Australia

Strange Sounds – August 7, 2020

There is currently an outbreak of a tropical disease called Buruli ulcer, which has been centered along a portion of Australia’s southern coast, more precisely in the serene beachside suburbs of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.

Australia has seen occasional cases of the disease since the 1930s. However, since 2017, more than 100 people have been infected with this type of flesh-eating bacteria that is rarely seen in this part of the world.

And Victoria’s recent outbreak has mystified researchers over the past few years, particularly regarding its source and how the disease is being spread.

What is Buruli Ulcer?

The little-known illness is caused by a pathogen known as a mycobacterium (Mycobacterium ulcerans).

It’s named for Buruli county in Uganda, which is where scientists first identified the collection of symptoms as a specific condition.

Once the bacterium enters the skin, it releases a unique toxin known as mycolactone and begins breaking down and consuming flesh, leaving painful and debilitating wounds that can be disfiguring if left untreated.

The bacterium not only damages the tissues it inhabits, but also is able to prevent the immune system from mounting a defense.

That’s the same genus of microorganisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy, among other illnesses.

https://strangesounds.org

Suspected case of BUBONIC PLAGUE registered in China, days after Mongolian outbreak

RT – July 5, 2020

A suspected case of bubonic plague has been registered in China’s north, according to local health authorities. The news comes after two similar cases were detected in neighboring Mongolia.

The case was registered at a hospital in China’s Inner Mongolia region, its health commission said in a statement on Sunday.

This prompted a third-level warning of a potential epidemic in the region. The alert comes into force immediately and will be in place until the end of this year. It’s believed the patient in question is suffering from the bubonic form, which causes swollen lymph nodes, and is considered to be the most easily treated variant of the disease.

The plague also has a pneumonic and an extra-deadly septicemic form that can kill a victim within a day.

Earlier this week, two people also tested positive for the bubonic plague in neighboring Mongolia.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage, the potential return of the dreaded plague is definitely the last thing the world needs. So far, Covid-19 has infected nearly 11.5 million people, killing more than 530,000 of them.

https://www.rt.com

Biblical Swarms of Voracious Locusts Jump From Argentina to Brazil, Threatening Winter Crops – Devastating Plague Heading North With Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize Already Reporting Insects – Mexico and the U.S. Next?

Strange Sounds – July 20, 2020

Weather conditions may be forming to send a cloud of locusts in northern Argentina over the border to Brazil, threatening winter crops in the giant farming nation.

The locusts are now about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Rio Grande do Sul state border.

But wind currents on Wednesday may take the insects into Brazil, Celso Oliveira, a meteorologist at Somar Meteorologia in São Paulo, said by text.

The swarm could harm wheat, canola and barley crops in the western part of the state, as well as native vegetation, he said.

In late June, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry declared a state of emergency in two southern states to allow officials to take precautions.

The locusts have remained in Argentine territory since then, after arriving from Paraguay in May. A second cloud is in Paraguay, about 300 kilometers from the border, Argentine officials said Thursday.

While the phenomena has always been present in South America, excessive dryness and warmer temperatures this year have seem them thrive. The most recent invasions in Argentina were in 2019 and 2017.

And according to the following videos, the locusts seem to move towards north and start invading countries like Colombia:

https://strangesounds.org

11th case of dengue fever confirmed in the Florida Keys

Associated Press – July 8, 2020

KEY LARGO, Fla. – An 11th case of the mosquito-borned dengue fever has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, health officials said.

So far, all 11 cases have been in Key Largo, including 8 cases the last week of June, the Florida Department of Health officials said Tuesday.

Officials are “currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections,” Florida Keys spokeswoman Alison Kerr told the Miami Herald.

The latest patient has been treated and is expected to make a complete recovery, Kerr said.

Health department officials believe all of the cases were locally acquired, the Herald reported.

One case of dengue fever has been confirmed Miami-Dade County, according to health department spokeswoman Olga Connor.

The disease is transmitted through the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, an invasive species that also spreads diseases like yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya.

Symptoms typically appear within 14 days of being bitten and include severe muscle aches and pains, fever and sometimes a rash, according to the health department.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said helicopters and trucks are targeting the adult mosquitoes and larvae, said Chad Huff.

District workers are also doing door-to-door house inspections at homes and businesses in Key Largo to check for adult mosquitoes and larvae.

https://www.fox5ny.com