NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
BBC, 23 July 2014
Dozens Placed in Quarantine after China Plague Death http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image..._002877261.jpg Plague affects wild rodents and is then spread by fleas Part of a city in north-west China has been sealed off and dozens of people placed in quarantine after a man died of bubonic plague, state media say. The man died in Yumen city, Gansu province, on 16 July. A total of 151 people have been placed under observation, Xinhua news agency says. Authorities have isolated a part of the city centre and three sections of Chijin town which is an hour away. The man was believed to have caught the infection after contact with a marmot. Marmots are large, squirrel-type rodents that live in mountainous areas. The victim is reported to be a 38-year-old man who had fed a dead marmot to his dog. The deputy head of the hospital where the man died said that the victim had arrived with an increased heart-rate and seemed to be slipping into shock. The hospital has since been quarantined. Quote:
Those in quarantine all had contact with the man, Xinhua said. None was showing signs of infection, it said. Officials have told reporters that the group could be released after nine days of quarantine if no further cases of plague appeared among them. Yumen is a small city in western Gansu province, which borders Xinjiang. The last reported case of bubonic plague in the city was in 1977, Xinhua said. Gansu has seen at least five cases of the plague in the last 10 years http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...08493859-1.jpg Marmots are large, squirrel-type rodents that live in mountainous areas Bubonic plague, known as the Black Death when it killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages, is now rare. It is a bacterial disease mainly affecting wild rodents that is spread by fleas. Humans bitten by infected fleas can then develop bubonic plague. Once bacteria infects the lungs, human-to-human transmission of pneumonic plague can occur through coughing. If diagnosed early, bubonic plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics, while pneumonic plague has a high mortality rate-the World Health Organization says. Related Story: |
EBOLA/Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spread Around The World
How Deadly Ebola has Spread Across the Globe:
Health officials Try to Trace 30,000 Linked to Death of US Victim - as Nigerian Film Star Sparks Outrage by Fleeing Africa First-Class in an Ebola Mask http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...10_964x376.jpg A woman is being tested for the disease in Hong Kong after returning from Kenya. It comes as Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond today declared the virus poses a 'very serious threat' to Britain as he prepares to chair an emergency meeting on how to bolster the country's defences against the vicious virus. Last night it emerged a British man was taken to hospital in Birmingham after complaining of feeling 'feverish' on a flight back to the Midlands from Benin, Nigeria, but was given the all-clear after undergoing tests. It comes as staff at Charing Cross Hospital in London also feared a man in his twenties had contracted the deadly bug this week. However, neither man was found to have the deadly virus which has already killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and infected more than 1,200 since it was first diagnosed in February. Medical staff across the UK remain on high alert for symptoms of the virus, which can go unnoticed for three weeks and kills 90 per cent of victims.
Fears of a global Ebola pandemic are 'justified' an expert has said as Nigerian health officials try to trace 30,000 people at risk of contracting the deadly disease following the death of Patrick Sawyer. The U.S. citizen boarded a flight in Liberia carrying the disease to Nigeria, potentially infecting 'anyone on the same plane'. It comes as Nigerian actor Jim Iyke sparked outrage, posting a picture of himself wearing an Ebola mask while sitting in a first class airport lounge as he fled Liberia. The 'Nollywood' star posted a message on his Instagram page saying he had cut short a business trip to Monrovia in Liberia - where at least 600 people have already died from the disease. The death toll for this, the worst outbreak recorded since the Ebola virus was discovered in 1976, stands at 672, while more than 1,200 people have been infected. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...05_634x381.jpg The latest outbreak of Ebola is the most severe since the disease was discovered in 1976. So far the disease has spread from a village in Guinea to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/..._aid_organ.jpg Nigerian health officials are in the process of trying to trace 30,000 people, -believed to be at risk of contracting the highly-infectious virus, following the death of Patrick Sawyer in Lagos http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...T_Cynthia_.jpg Ebola (above) has already killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria and infected more than 1,200 since it was first diagnosed in February. Symptoms include sudden fever, vomiting and headaches The disease has swept through Western Africa, having first been detected in Guinea in February. Since then victims have succumbed to the incurable illness, which starts with flu-like symptoms before evolving to cause catastrophic internal bleeding, in Sierra Leone and Liberia. But it was the death of a U.S. citizen in the Nigerian captial of Lagos on Friday, that has prompted fears the disease could be on the brink of spreading to the West, as experts warn it could be carried across international borders by air travellers. Mr Sawyer, a consultant for Liberia's Finance Ministry, died on Friday after arriving at Lagos airport on June 20, having vomited and suffered diarrhoea on two flights. The 40-year-old U.S. citizen had been to the funeral of his sister, who also died from the disease. A woman quarantined at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong has tested negative for the disease, despite returning from a trip to Kenya with Ebola-like symptoms. Meanwhile two suspected patients in the UK have also tested negative. But the panic sparked by Mr Sawyer's death is 'justified' says Dr Derek Gatherer of the University of Lancaster, claiming the virus is as infectious as flu. He warned each person infected with the disease could spread the virus to at least two other people. 'Anyone on the same plane could have become infected because Ebola is easy to catch,' he said. 'It can be passed on through vomiting, diarrhoea or even from simply saliva or sweat - as well as being sexually transmitted. 'That is why there is such alarm over Mr Sawyer because he became ill on the flight so anyone else sharing the plane could have been infected by his vomit or other bodily fluids.' It comes as health campaigners today called for U.S. authorities to speed up their approval of a new drug hoped to be the first cure for the deadly Ebola virus. They are calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States to fast-track their authorisation of the TKM-Ebola drug. The petition, created on change.org states: 'One of the most promising is TKM-Ebola manufactured by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals. 'This drug has been shown to be highly effective in killing the virus in primates and Phase 1 clinical trials to assess its safety in humans were started earlier this year.' In July the FDA put clinical trials on hold, despite the fact 14 research participants had already safely tolerated the drug, campaigners said. :dunno: 'IT SCARES THE JESUS OUTTA ME': OUTRAGE AS NIGERIAN 'NOLLYWOOD' STAR POSTS PICTURE WEARING EBOLA MASK AS HE FLEES LIBERIA A Nigerian actor has sparked outrage after posting an image of himself wearing an Ebola mask while sitting in a first class airport lounge as he flees Liberia. 'Nollywood' star Jim Iyke posted a message on his Instagram page saying he had cut short a business trip to Monrovia in Liberia - where at least 600 people have already died from the disease. The image of Iyke sitting on green leather-clad seats in the airport's luxury first class lounge while wearing an expensive designer watch and sunglasses was accompanied with the caption: 'Not ashamed to admit this scares the Jesus outta me -Ebola.' http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...19_621x605.jpg Nigerian actor Jim Iyke posted this picture on his Instagram account, revealing he had cut short a business trip to Liberia over fears the Ebola virus is spreading in the West African country The contrast between Iyke's image of first class luxury is in stark contrast to the thousands of terrified Liberians who are living in fear of contracting the deadly disease. However, much of the anger about his image stemmed from fear among Nigerian citizens that Iyke appeared to be travelling back to the country without having been tested to see if he was infected. Twitter user @Avariberry posted a message reading: 'Jim Iyke or Not... he gotta be screened. #TestJimIyke.' Meanwhile @IcallDibbz_ said: 'Please ooo, James Ikechukwu, aka Jim Iyke, should be quarantined.' Others picked up on the fact Iyke had an expensive face mask to protect himself, but was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...80_634x608.jpg Health campaigners have petitioned U.S. authorities, calling for the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track their approval of a new Ebola drug, which could be the first cure for the disease Those responsible for the petition added: 'Given that at least one patient has transferred the disease from Liberia to Nigeria by air travel, the possibility of a global pandemic becomes increasingly likely. 'In view of this it’s imperative that the development of these drugs be fast-tracked by the FDA and the first step should be releasing the hold on TKM-Ebola. 'There is a precedent for fast tracking anti-Ebola drugs in emergency cases as happened last year when a researcher was exposed to the virus and received an experimental vaccine.' Mr Sawyer was put in isolation at the First Consultants Hospital in Obalende, one of the most crowded parts of the city, home to around 21 million people. He took two flights to reach Lagos, from Monrovia to Lome and then onto the Nigerian capital. So far 59 people who came into contact with Mr Sawyer have been identified by Nigerian health officials, and are under surveillance. But health officials have said they are looking at contacting 30,000 people who could be at risk of contracting the disease. Professor Sunday Omilabu, from Lagos University Teaching Hospital, said health officials are in the process of tracing all those people who are thought to have been in contact with Mr Sawyer. He said: 'We've been making contacts. We now have information about the (flight) manifest. 'We have information about who and who were around. 'So, as I'm talking, our teams are in the facility, where they've trained the staff, and then they (are) now asking questions about those that were closely in contact with the patient.' Public health adviser, Yewande Adeshina, added: 'We're actually looking at contacting over 30,000 people in this very scenario. 'Because any and everybody that has contacted this person is going to be treated as a suspect.' Hong Kong prepares for possible Ebola outbreak: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...09_636x358.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...80_634x922.jpg U.S. citizen Patrick Sawyer, pictured with his daughter Ava, died on Friday in the Nigerian capital of Lagos having become infected with the Ebola virus. His death prompted fears of a global pandemic after he flew from Liberia to Nigeria http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...94_634x423.jpg Decontee Sawyer, the wife of Liberian government official Patrick Sawyer, said she shudders to think how easily her husband could have returned to the U.S. carrying the disease Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond today declared the disease a 'very serious threat' to Britain as he prepares to chair an emergency meeting on how to bolster the country's defences against the vicious virus. British airlines are on alert for cases of the deadly virus, after tests revealed a man died in Nigeria from the disease, having been allowed to board an international flight from Liberia. A British man has also been tested for the Ebola virus, putting doctors on red alert that it could be on its way to the UK. A spokesman for Hong Kong's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) will be notified if it is confirmed the patient is suffering from the Ebola virus. In Nigeria health officials said today, they are in the process of tracing 30,000 people at risk of contracting the disease after coming into contact with a Liberian man who died on Friday. Meanwhile, the British man was taken to hospital in Birmingham after complaining of feeling ‘feverish’ on a flight back to the Midlands from West Africa. He had been travelling from Benin, Nigeria via Paris, France when he became unwell on Monday. However, after undergoing a number of tests he was given the all-clear for the virus which has already killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and infected more than 1,200 since it was first diagnosed in February. In another scare, medical staff at Charing Cross Hospital in London became concerned a man in his twenties had caught the virus this week. But his symptoms were quickly confirmed as not being linked to the bug and doctors ruled out the need for an Ebola test. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...an_America.JPG Tragic: US citizen Patrick Sawyer (pictured with his wife Decontee) died after contracting Ebola in West Africa http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...losure_loo.jpg Fears: Medical staff at Charing Cross Hospital in London became concerned a man in his twenties had caught the virus this week. However, his symptoms were later put down to another bug and Ebola was ruled out Nigeria tracing over 30,000 potentially exposed to Ebola: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...12_636x358.jpg Fears over the ability to contain the spread of Ebola were augmented last night as it emerged the body of a young stowaway was found hidden in on a U.S. military plane. The Pentagon said the young boy, believed to be of African origin, was found near the wheel of a cargo plane which landed in Germany. Quote:
It is thought the boy climbed aboard in Mali, which borders Guinea - where the current Ebola outbreak originated at the end of last year. It comes as hospitals and medical centres across the UK remain on red alert for the virus, with doctors being told to look out for symptoms of the disease which can go unnoticed for three weeks and kills 90 per cent of victims. The Department of Health confirmed protections have been put in place to deal with the deadly bug, should it spread to Britain. A spokesman said: ‘We are well prepared to identity and deal with any potential cases of Ebola, although there has never been a case in this country.’ The Government’s chief scientific advisor also issued a frank warning about the disease, which he said could have a ‘major impact’ on the UK. Sir Mark Walport said: ‘The UK is fortunate in its geographical position. We’re an island. But we are living in a completely interconnected world where disruptions in countries far away will have major impacts. ‘The most dangerous infections of humans have always been those which have emerged from other species,’ he told the Daily Telegraph, referring to the virus originating in fruit bats and monkeys. He said the Government was ‘keeping a close eye’ on the outbreak and was prepared for the disease spreading to Britain, but insisted any risk was ‘very low’. He added: ‘We have to think about risk and managing risk appropriately.’ Public Health England has added to fears about the spread of the virus by saying it was ‘clearly not under control’. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...t_Photo_by.JPG Virus: Symptoms of Ebola include high fever, bleeding, damage to the nervous system and vomiting http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...t_Photo_by.jpg Outbreak: There is no vaccine or cure for Ebola, which is spread by contact with infected blood or bodily fluids The Government agency’s global health director, Dr Brian McCloskey, said: ‘It is the largest outbreak of this disease to date, and it’s clear it is not under control. ‘We have alerted UK medical practitioners about the situation in West Africa and requested they remain vigilant for unexplained illness in those who have visited the affected area.’ The current outbreak started in Guinea in February and spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone in weeks. Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and damage to the nervous system. There is no vaccine or cure. It is spread by contact with infected blood or other bodily fluids. All outbreaks since 1976 – when Ebola was first identified – have been in Africa, with the previous highest death toll being 280. However, authorities around the world have been put on high alert in recent weeks after an American doctor working in Liberia became infected and passed through an airport. Nigerian health officials yesterday admitted they did not have a list of all the people who came into contact Patrick Sawyer, prompting fears the outbreak could spread. But the manifesto appears to have been disclosed as Professor Sunday Omilabu, from Lagos University Teaching Hospital, said health officials are in the process of tracing all those people who are thought to have been in contact with Mr Sawyer. He said: 'We've been making contacts. We now have information about the (flight) manifest. 'We have information about who and who were around. 'So, as I'm talking, our teams are in the facility, where they've trained the staff, and then they (are) now asking questions about those that were closely in contact with the patient.' Public health adviser, Yewande Adeshina, added: 'We're actually looking at contacting over 30,000 people in this very scenario. 'Because any and everybody that has contacted this person is going to be treated as a suspect.' Doctor demonstrates the dangers of working with ebola: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...24_636x358.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ica_showin.jpg Spreading: The outbreak has hit Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and has now killed a man in far more densely populated Nigeria. The outbreak is the deadliest ever of the terrifying disease as the death toll crept past 670 Mr Sawyer, a consultant for Liberia’s Finance Ministry, had been in Liberia for the funeral of his sister, who also died from the disease, and was on his way back to his home in the US. The 40-year-old arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, on July 20 and had suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea on two flights. He was put in isolation in hospital and died on Friday. So far 59 people who came into contact with him have been identified and are under surveillance. But the airlines have yet to release flight information naming passengers and crew members. Dr David Heymann, head of the Centre on Global Health Security, said every person who had been on the plane to Lagos with Mr Sawyer would need to be traced. Sierra Leone’s top doctor fighting Ebola died yesterday after he contracted the virus just days ago. Sheik Umar Khan was credited with treating more than 100 patients. Liberia closed most of its border crossings on Sunday and Nigeria’s airports and borders have been on full alert since Friday. Nigeria confirms Ebola case in megacity of Lagos: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...39_636x358.jpg Quote:
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NB***Chikungunya is the latest virus from mosquitas, it supposedly comes from the Asian mosquito. It, like EBOLA and denque is also spreading around the world, there is NO CURE at this time*** . |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
Nasty Chikungunya Virus Gaining Traction in U.S & Many Countries.
John Bacon, USA TODAY, 1 August 2014 Tiger mosquitos, which are known carriers of human diseases including chikungunya, West Nile virus and dengue fever. Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus that has swept through the Caribbean in recent months, is making gains in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The CDC issued a count this week indicating almost 400 cases have been diagnosed in non-Caribbean areas of the United States this year, all but two of them contracted outside the United States. Another 215 cases were diagnosed in Puerto Rico, where 199 were contracted locally. Florida leads the way among states, with 107 cases, and its two locally contracted cases are the only ones in the continental U.S. "With the recent outbreaks in the Caribbean and the Pacific, the number of chikungunya cases among travelers visiting or returning to the United States from affected areas will continue to increase," the CDC said. Health officials confirmed a Cabarrus County, N.C., resident has tested positive for the chikungunya virus. The person was bitten by a mosquito while traveling to the Caribbean a few weeks ago. VPC Officials said that chikungunya — spread by bites from infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes — is not contagious from person to person, is typically not life-threatening and will likely resolve on its own. Chikungunya causes symptoms such as fever and joint pain within a week after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Patients can also develop severe headaches, muscle pain and swollen joints. There is no vaccine and no specific treatment. From 2006‒2013, studies identified an average of 28 people per year nationwide with positive tests for recent chikungunya virus infection. All were travelers visiting or returning to the United States from affected areas, mostly in Asia. In late 2013, chikungunya virus was found for the first time in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean. The CDC notes that travelers can protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites. Other advice: When traveling to countries with chikungunya virus, use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and pants and stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens. The word chikungunya, from the East African Kimakonde language, translates loosely as contorted or hunched over from pain. The disease is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It has been documented in 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Symptoms typically begin three to seven days after being bitten and include fever and severe joint pains, often in the hands and feet. There is no vaccine or medication to prevent the disease, but it rarely kills those infected. Painful Mosquito-Borne Disease Now Infecting More Than 350,000 People In The Americas The first report of chikungunya in the Americas surfaced in the Caribbean in December 2013. By March, there were 15,000 such reports. Now, according to the latest numbers from the regional office of the World Health Organization, there are 350,580 suspected cases of this incredibly painful viral infection. Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes. It involves a sudden fever and, in most cases, severe joint pain that usually lasts a few days but has been known to continue for months and even years. There's no cure, but doctors can help relieve the patient's symptoms. "It's a really pathetic, nasty disease," Joe Conlin, a medical entomologist and spokesperson for American Mosquito Control Association told Business Insider in 2013. "I've... seen and heard children just screaming for days on end because of the pain." Chikungunya was first identified in 1952, according to the World Health Organization, and there were sporadic outbreaks in Asia and Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. But in the past decade, it's become a much larger threat. "Since 2004, chikungunya has expanded its geographical range, causing sustained epidemics of unprecedented magnitude in Asia and Africa," notes a recent report from the CDC. The virus reached epidemic proportions in India in 2006, when 1.5 million people fell sick. It jumped to Europe in 2007, infecting 197 people in Italy. For years, researchers have been expecting mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile to increase in the Americas, and it seems chikungunya's time has come. The Dominican Republic has had 193,395 suspected cases since December, more than any other country in the current outbreak. There have also been tens of thousands of cases in Haiti, Martinique, and Guadaloupe, and a scattering of other cases elsewhere — including El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, and Saint Lucia. As of July 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had counted 136 cases in the contiguous United States, but all of these were "travel-associated." That means the chikungunya was found in visitors or in American residents returning from areas where the disease is prevalent. Still, that's much higher than the recent average just 28 local cases each year. Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes, which means it doesn't spread from an infected person to someone else directly. The right species of mosquito needs to be present to act as an intermediary, and these species are endemic in parts of the United States. When an infected person is bitten by the right species of mosquito, that mosquito sucks up their infected blood and can then pass on the disease when it bites another person. "To date, no local transmission has been identified in the continental United States," the CDC notes, meaning we haven't yet seen it spreading through mosquitoes in the U.S. But if an infected person is bitten on U.S. soil, "these imported cases could result in local spread of the virus." While effective mosquito control and widespread air conditioning make huge numbers of cases unlikely here, it's probably just a matter of time until we see this painful disease begin to spread throughout the U.S. In a recent issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, Roger Nasci, of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, called the spread of chikungunya to mainland South, Central, and North America "inevitable." Here are the full numbers from the Pan-American Health Organization, not including imported cases: http://static2.businessinsider.com/i...unya-count.png Quote:
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PhOtOs-Homeless Man Caused Ebola Panic in US
The Homeless Man Who Caused Ebola Panic in Dallas:
Vagrant Who Wandered off While he was Meant to be Under Observation for Virus Captured after Frantic Search - and Will Now be Held Against his Will
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...93_964x400.jpg Homeless man Michael Lively (pictured right) was the first person to ride in the ambulance that carried Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan (pictured left) to Presbyterian Hospital, Texas. It is possible that Lively came into contact with Duncan's Ebola-infected bodily fluids during that ride. Lively, who is not showing any symptoms of the disease, had been under observation when he wandered off. On Monday, hazmat crews continued to sanitize the Dallas apartment where Duncan stayed before being taken to the hospital. The picture left, obtained exclusively by MailOnline, shows Duncan minutes after he stepped off a plane in Dallas and was greeted by family members 16 days ago. They now face the agonizing wait to find out if they or any of their loved ones have been infected. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ebola_home.JPG Michael Lively, the homeless man who sparked an Ebola alert in Dallas on Sunday after going missing following possible contact with an infected patient This is the first photo of the homeless man who sparked an Ebola alert in Dallas on Sunday after going missing following possible contact with an infected patient. Michael Lively who was the first person to ride in the ambulance that carried Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan to Presbyterian Hospital, Texas. It is possible that Lively came into contact with Duncan's Ebola-infected bodily fluids during that ride. Lively, who is not showing any symptoms of the disease, had been under observation when he wandered off. He is now in the psych ward of Parkland Hospital following a city-wide search by Dallas police. Police are working to obtain a court order to hold Lively at the hospital, against his will if necessary. Authorities had monitored him a day earlier before he went missing, but want to take his temperature regularly to make sure he doesn't have a fever, a possible symptom of Ebola infection. Texas public health officials say there is 'zero chance' Lively spread Ebola to anyone else - even if he became infected with it. Centers for Disease Control Director Thomas Friedan sought to reassure the public during a press conference from Atlanta. The CDC is currently monitoring 48 people in Dallas who may have come into contact with Duncan while he was contagious with the deadly disease. Losing track of Lively was just the latest mistake by authorities in Texas, who have come in for heavy criticism over their handling of the Ebola outbreak. The CDC is currently monitoring 48 people in Dallas who may have come into contact with Duncan while he was contagious with the deadly disease. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ER_05_Memb.JPG Clean up: Members of the Cleaning Guys Haz Mat clean up company are seen as they sanitize the apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before being admitted to a hospital on October 5 http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ial_cleane.jpg Precautions: Hazardous material cleaners spray disinfectant on their personal protective equipment after working in the apartment http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ER_05_Neig.JPG Getting a peak: Neighbors watch as members of the Cleaning Guys Haz Mat clean up company are seen as they sanitize the apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before being admitted to a hospital http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ER_05_Memb.JPG Contamination: Ebola is transmitted by contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. Duncan was reportedly sweating profusely and vomiting when he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance that picked up Michael Lively next Ebola can manifest in a patient any time up to 21 days after exposure. A patient is not contagious until symptoms begin to emerge. Lively is rated as 'low risk' for infection by authorities, but officials were still desperate to monitor him. At a press conference on Sunday, CDC Director Thomas Friedan declared: 'There’s no doubt that we can stop Ebola in this country.' |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
EBOLA EPIDEMIC:
Could Terrorists Turn Themselves into Ebola Suicide 'Bombs'? Experts Fear ISIS Jihadists May Infect Themselves to Spread Virus in West Isis fanatics may be thinking of infecting themselves with Ebola, says expert A U.S Naval War College lecturer says strategy is entirely plausible The virus is running rampant in West Africa, with 3,800 dead in a few months New Ebola cases reported in the US, Spain and Australia
Terrorist group Isis may be considering using Ebola as a suicide bio-weapon against the West, according to a military expert. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with an infected person who is showing the symptoms – and it wouldn't be difficult for fanatics to contract it then travel to countries they want to wreak havoc in, according to a military expert. Scroll down for videos http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...itant_webs.jpg Terrorist group Isis may be considering using Ebola as a suicide bio-weapon against the West, according to a military expert 'The individual exposed to the Ebola Virus would be the carrier. In the context of terrorist activity, it doesn't take much sophistication to go to that next step to use a human being as a carrier.' And Professor Anthony Glees, Director at Buckingham University's Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, agrees that the strategy might be considered. He said: 'In some ways it’s a plausible theory – IS fighters believe in suicide and this is a potential job for a suicide mission. They are sufficiently murderous and well-informed to consider it, and they know that we’ve been remiss in the UK.' http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...28_636x358.jpg The virus is running rampant in West Africa, with 3,800 dead in just a matter of months and the first cases appearing in Europe at the U.S. The possibility that Isis, also known as Islamic State and Isil, could make the situation far worse is one that should be taken very seriously, another expert said. In the May 2013 issue of the journal Global Policy, Amanda Teckman, author of the paper The Bioterrorist Threat Of Ebola In East Africa And Implications For Global Health And Security concluded: 'The threat of an Ebola bioterrorist attack in East Africa is a global health and security concern, and should not be ignored,' Forbes reported. Far from being lone voices on this theory, concern in America about Ebola being used as a bioweapon was in fact a catalyst for its $5.6billion Project Bioshield, according to a source familiar with the matter, who did not wish to be named. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ed_file_im.jpg The virus is running rampant in West Africa, with 3,800 dead in just a matter of months and the first cases appearing in Europe at the U.S Signed off by President George W. Bush in 2004, it ensures generous funding for scientists researching bioweapon counter-measures, as well as accelerating research against chemical, radiological and nuclear agents. It also grants the U.S government the power to stockpile huge quantities of medical countermeasures. However, Jennifer Cole, Senior Research Fellow, Resilience & Emergency Management, at the Royal United Services Institute, while acknowledging that Isis using Ebola as a weapon isn't out of the question, says that now would not be the best time to employ this strategy. She told MailOnline: 'Everyone's looking out for signs of Ebola at the moment so they'd be very unlikely to get away with it. 'The other issue with Ebola is that it's very hard to control. The militants could just end up wiping themselves out before they've had the chance to pass it on. 'For a suicide attack, strapping sticks of dynamite to your chest is far more effective.' Middle East security expert Andreas Krieg, from King’s College London's Department of Defence Studies, echoed Cole's scepticism. He said: 'It is certainly possible for Isis to use the Ebola virus as it is a cheap and accessible source in West Africa. However, considering the WHO’s and international community’s effort to contain the spread of the virus it will be increasingly difficult to "export" the virus via air transport to other parts of the world. It would require a lot of effort and have a low chance of success.' He added: 'Isis is not currently focusing on the West. At the moment Isis’ focus is on expanding its territory and influence in Syria and Iraq. It is bogged down there. Within this context I do not see any place for Ebola as a bio-weapon to be used against any of the opponents. It would be too risky as they would likely infect their own fighters and people living in their territory.' Professor Glees added: 'It would be logistically very difficult to get an IS fighter to West Africa, come into contact with Ebola, wait to find out if they were infected, then leg it to London.' The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. died on Wednesday despite intense but delayed treatment, and the government announced it was expanding airport examinations to guard against the spread of the deadly disease. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...A_OCTOBER_.jpg The possibility that Isis, also known as Islamic State and Isil, could make the situation far worse is one that should be taken very seriously, another expert said. The checks will include taking the temperatures of hundreds of travelers arriving from West Africa at five major American airports. The new screenings will begin Saturday at New York's JFK International Airport and then expand to Washington Dulles and the international airports in Atlanta, Chicago and Newark. An estimated 150 people per day will be checked, using high-tech thermometers that don't touch the skin. The White House said the fever checks would reach more than 9 of 10 travelers to the U.S. from the three heaviest-hit countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. President Barack Obama called the measures 'really just belt and suspenders' to support protections already in place. Border Patrol agents now look for people who are obviously ill, as do flight crews, and in those cases the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is notified. As of Wednesday, Ebola has killed about 3,800 people in West Africa and infected at least 8,000, according to the World Health Organization. A medical official with the U.N. Mission in Liberia who tested positive for Ebola arrived in the German city of Leipzig on Thursday to be treated at a local clinic with specialist facilities, authorities said. The unidentified medic infected in Liberia is the second member of the U.N. mission, known as UNMIL, to contract the virus. The first died on September 25. He is the third Ebola patient to arrive in Germany for treatment. The virus has taken an especially devastating toll on health care workers, sickening or killing more than 370 of them in the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - places that already were short on doctors and nurses. There are no approved medications for Ebola, so doctors have tried experimental treatments in some cases, including drugs and blood transfusions from others who have recovered from Ebola. The survivor's blood could carry antibodies for the disease that will help a patient fight off the virus. Ebola: What is it? http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...37_636x358.jpg Man sees if an Ebola-infected ISIS terrorist could enter USA: |
‘I Have Ebola, Everyone’s F..ked’ >US Passenger
‘I Have Ebola, Everyone’s F..ked’, said US Passenger Sent Back to US
http://www.dominicantoday.com/image/...CE8D8E807.jpeg Video grab as passenger is escorted by security. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.- Punta Cana Airport operations director on Thursday said the U.S. national who caused a scare of Ebola infection aboard an inbound plane from Philadelphia on Wednesday, was sent back to his country yesterday noon. Walter Zemialkowski said the passenger who was coming for a 15-day vacation was returned to the U.S., as part of the US Airways policy for unruly passengers. "I have ebola, everyone is f..ked," the 54 year-old man said in mid flight, prompting panic among the 290 passengers and terminal staff. |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
Mistakes in US Causing Panic and EBOLA to Spread >>>No Proper Training or Treatment
='Who's This Idiot With The Clipboard?' Disbelief and Panic as Mystery Man WITHOUT a Hazmat Suit Helps Second Ebola Nurse Board Her Plane to Atlanta, Disposes Waste and Then Climbs Aboard
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...88_964x399.jpg As news helicopters swarmed over Dallas' Love Field this evening to watch the second U.S. nurse to contract Ebola board a private plane bound for Atlanta, one lone man stood out from the pack. Holding a clipboard and directing the transfer, the unidentified man seemed to be the only person on the tarmac without protective clothing, wearing just a button down shirt and trousers. It's unclear if he joined the crew on the flight to Atlanta but he certainly boarded the plane. While Ebola is not an airborne disease, his presence so close to patient Amber Vinson's medical team sparked fears after he was seen grabbing a container and hazmat trash bag from one of the workers in full-protective gear. Daily Mail UK, 16 October 2014 While Ebola is not an airborne disease, his presence so close to patient Amber Vinson's medical team sparked fears after he was seen grabbing a container and hazmat trash bag from one of the workers' in full-protective gear and later boarding the flight. It is believed he flew with Vinson and the other hazmat-suited medical staff to Atlanta and local television crews spotted him with the stricken nurse as she disembarked at the airport in Georgia to be transferred to Emory University Hospital. When the plane landed in Atlanta, the man had still not donned any protective clothing and was seen openly interacting with Vinson and the other medical professionals caring for the nurse. Scroll down for video http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...the_transp.jpg The man is seen boarding the flight, after exchanging several objects with the hazmat crew http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...circle_jpg.jpg Clipboard man appears to have flown on the same flight as infected Miss Vinson, as he is seen in footage of her getting into an ambulance at an airport in Atlanta Members of the public watching were struck with disbelief at the man's decision to throw caution to the wind. 'He needs to be put on watch the second the plane lands so he does not infect anyone in Atlanta. This needs to be contained and I one will be ticked of I hear a report next week that he is the next victim!' Dean Pitts wrote on NBC Dallas' website. American Medical Response, the ambulance company who transported Miss Vinson to the airport, say the man in plain clothes was most likely a member of the air crew transporting the patient to Atlanta, where she will be treated at Emory University Hospital. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...e_to_contr.JPG Vinson landed in Atlanta, Georgia before 8pm Eastern Time to be treated at Emory University Hospital Texas Health Presbyterian refused to comment on the incident. Meanwhile, representatives of the ambulance service said the man wasn't with their crew and Emory University Hospital said they didn't think any of their staff was on the flight. That means the man was most likely with the CDC, which organized the flight from Dallas to Atlanta. While the CDC did not return MailOnline's calls for comment, a spokesman said that they didn't think anything was wrong with the interaction since he 'kept a safe distance'. Miss Vinson's flight landed in Atlanta around 7:45pm Eastern Time. Social media was as equally impressed as they were dumbfounded by the man who has quickly become known as 'clipboard man' online. Dan Hevia said what many shocked viewers must have immediately thought when they saw the brave or foolhardy individual when he wrote, 'I'd like to know who the dude with the clipboard is so I can avoid him. C'mon! Another incredulous witness was staggered, asking, 'My infectious disease training may be a bit limited but fairly sure that clipboard isn't Ebola proof.' Others went straight to the heart of the matter, with Lib Media Exposed asking, 'Who's the idiot who thinks all the protection he needs from Ebola is a f******' clipboard?' Another Twitter user, Luke Murray pointed out that 'clipboard man' might be the recipient of a dubious prize, should the worst come to the worst. 'So much for protocols,' wrote Lurray. 'Clipboard dude in the pic with nurse 2 is up for a Dawrin Award should something happen to him.' The mystery man on the tarmac is just the latest questionable practice highlighted in the CDC's handling of the Ebola outbreak in America, which started when Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan was initially turned away from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital last month after reporting a high fever. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...age001_png.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...the_transp.JPG The man with the clipboard is seen grabbing various objects from the hazmat team, raising questions about whether he could have been contaminated Mystery man walks with ebola victim WITHOUT hazmat suit: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...11_636x358.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...g_a_health.jpg A plane carrying Miss Vinson, who tested positive for Ebola, departs Love Field for Atlanta Despite telling health care workers that he had recently returned from Liberia, he was not tested for Ebola, and was instead sent home with antibiotics. He returned home to his family's apartment and continued to get worse over the next several days. It was only when he was taken to the hospital a second time, that time by ambulance, that medics discovered he had Ebola. And in the initial days of Duncan's treatment, nurses at the Dallas hospital revealed that they were given 'no protocols' on how to dress when caring for the Ebola patient. That confusion led nurse Nina Pham, 26, to report to the hospital on Friday when she noticed a spike in her temperature. Just four days later, her co-worker Miss Vinson, became the second nurse at the hospital to contract the disease. The CDC is currently monitoring more than 75 health care workers at the hospital who came into contact with Duncan during his stay. He passed way from the disease last week. The worsening Ebola problem led President Obama to abruptly cancel a planned campaign trip on Wednesday, deciding to meet with his Cabinet on the issue instead. Obama's decision to nix the trip - just a few hours before Air Force One was scheduled to depart - reflected the urgency facing the administration amid the American public's escalating concerns about potential spread of the virus. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...BER_15_Ebo.jpg Ebola patient Amber Vinson arrives by ambulance at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta yesterday http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...rrying_Amb.jpg Miss Vinson's plane landed in Atlanta around 7:45pm Eastern Time. She was then seen being loaded into an ambulance (pictured) to be taken to Emory University Hospital Press secretary Josh Earnest said on Wednesday that Obama still had confidence in CDC Director Tom Frieden. However, the president admitted that Ebola needs to be fought in a 'much more aggressive way'. 'What we've been doing here is reviewing exactly what we know about what’s happened in Dallas,' Obama said Wednesday, 'and how we’re going to make sure that something like this is not repeated – and that we are monitoring, supervising, overseeing in a much more aggressive way exactly what has taken place in Dallas initially, and making sure that the lessons learned are then transmitted to hospitals and clinics all across the country.' http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ER_15_Emer.jpg Emergency vehicles escort an ambulance carrying Miss Vinson on the tarmac at Love Field Airport http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...oman_with_.jpg A maintenance woman wears a mask while working before the Protect Environmental Haz-Mat emergency response team arrived at the Bend East apartment complex where the Ebola-stricken nurse lives http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ht_Haz_Mat.jpg Workers in hazmat suits begin to decontaminate the female Ebola patient's apartment, covering the door with plastic sheeting http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...35D_8CBF_0.jpg Decontamination was in progress in the apartment building of the second health care worker with Ebola This comes as President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday to approach new cases of the Ebola virus in a 'much more aggressive way,' signaling that his administration hasn't already been doing all it can to slow the advance of the deadly contagion. As pressure grows on the administration to explain how it has failed to contain the disease in Texas, the president said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would launch a 'rapid response SWAT team' within 24 hours whenever a new case is confirmed. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...Travel_Map.jpg A Frontier Airlines jet carrying Dallas nurse Amber Jay Vinson crisscrossed America's skies The CDC team, he said, will 'take local hospitals step by step through what needs to be done.' Obama's comments to the press came after a hastily called all-hands-on-deck cabinet meeting that lasted two hours and pre-empted a pair of planned political campaign appearances in New Jersey and Connecticut. The president's promise to get more serious about Ebola mirrors a vow on Monday from CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, who said his agency would 'double down' on disease surveillance and interventions. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...rlines_pla.jpg The Frontier Airlines plane that Amber Vinson flew from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday, rests at a terminal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Wednesday http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ate_The_Be.jpg Dallas Police patrol the entrance to The Village Bend East apartments where a nurse, Amber Jay Vinson, tested positive for Ebola after caring for 'patient zero' Thomas Duncan http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...CTOBER_15_.jpg In harm's way: Obama said he had personally hugged and shook hands with nurses who had treated an Ebola patient at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ER_15_Emer.jpg Miss Winson is transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta where she is receiving treatment for Ebola That comment, too, suggested that the US government hadn't yet put the pedal to the metal. 'What we've been doing here is reviewing exactly what we know about what’s happened in Dallas,' Obama said Wednesday, 'and how we’re going to make sure that something like this is not repeated – and that we are monitoring, supervising, overseeing in a much more aggressive way exactly what has taken place in Dallas initially, and making sure that the lessons learned are then transmitted to hospitals and clinics all across the country.' Obama is struggling amid low approval ratings to show that he's in command of the world's most sophisticated public health infrastructure as Ebola threatens to claim tens of thousands of lives across the Atlantic Ocean. 'I am absolutely confident that we can prevent a serious outbreak of the disease here in the United States,' Obama said, 'but it becomes more difficult to do so if this epidemic of Ebola rages out of control in West Africa.' http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...rack_Obama.jpg Wrong guy? Thomas Frieden (on screen) is a doctor with years of experience in monitoring disease outbreaks, but his communication style and his all-is-well predictions rub some in Congress the wrong way http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/..._U_S_Cente.jpg President Barack Obama called off a political trip on Wednesday to convene an Ebola brain-trust meeting at the White House, saying afterward that his administration would be 'much more aggressive' in the future 'If it does, then it will spread globally in an age of frequent travel and the kind of constant interactions that people have across borders.' Citing the need to continue sending relief workers and aid shipments to western Africa, he insisted that 'the investment we make in helping Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea deal with this problem is an investment in our own public health.' 'This is not simply charity. ... It is also probably the single most important thing we can do to prevent a more serious Ebola outbreak in this country.' In a bid to assure Americans that the risk of transmitting Ebola from person to person is low, Obama said that he personally 'shook hands with, hugged and kissed (not the doctors) but a couple of the nurses at Emory [University Hospital] because of the valiant work that they did in treating one of the patients.' 'The followed the protocols, they knew what they were doing and I felt perfectly safe doing so,' he said. 'This is not a situation like the flu where the risks of a rapid spread of the disease are imminent.' 'I want to use myself as an example so people have a sense of the science here,' Obama declared. But the president's confidence has been confounded by his choice of point-persons, which is under fierce attack on Capitol Hill as Republican members of Congress privately fret that the administration has put the wrong people out in front. Frieden on Wednesday blamed the third confirmed U.S. Ebola patient for getting on a commercial aircraft on Monday following her close interaction with the first patient, when she had a slight fever before the aircraft began boarding. However, later on Wednesday, the CDC admitted they gave Vinson permission to fly. Mystery Man Walks With Ebola Victim WITHOUT Hazmat Suit |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
Ebola Lockdown: British Send 3,000 UK Troops into Sierra Leone to Set up Military Blockades to Restrict Movement in Attempt to Stop the Virus Spreading
Thousands of UK troops would be sent to Sierra Leone to enforce a military lockdown under radical plans to defeat ebola being considered by Britain’s most senior Army officer. General Sir Nick Carter is leading a review of the UK’s response to the virus, and could use 3,000 British soldiers to impose a blockade and restrict human movement in the African country. Sir Nick, the Chief of the General Staff, will advise Ministers on proposals, including an increase in troop numbers and using Royal Navy ships to patrol its coastal waters. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...D_OCTOBER_.jpg Personel carry out duties on board the hospital ship RFA Argus as it prepares to leave its home port of Falmouth for Sierra Leone The top-level review comes as charity Oxfam said a critical shortfall of Western military personnel in West Africa was in danger of putting lives at risk. It wants troops to deliver vital supplies and build treatment centres for victims. But defence sources disclosed last night that options to be considered by Sir Nick go much further and include UK troops deploying to towns and villages deep inside Sierra Leone. A source said: ‘From a military perspective ebola is like a biological warfare attack and should be countered accordingly. There needs to be a clampdown on human movement inside Sierra Leone and possibly to and from the country between now and late 2015 when it is hoped that an antidote will have been developed.’ http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...t_Liberian.jpg Liberian soldiers patrol in Monrovia's West Point slum. British troops could be carrying out similar duties if a recommendation by the Chief of the General Staff is approved http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...rs_patrol_.jpg Liberian soldiers patrol Dolo's Town, some 60km east of Monrovia, quarantined as a measure to contain the spread of ebola http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...ssued_by_t.jpg RFA Argus sailing from Falmouth. Those on the ship include doctors, nurses, surgeons and Royal Marines in a bid to tackle the ebola outbreak in West Africa Sir Nick, who led thousands of UK troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, is expected to deliver recommendations by the end of this week. Currently 750 British military personnel are committed to stamping out ebola. The UK has also sent a hospital ship and three helicopters. Since the outbreak began more than 4,500 people have died from the disease. Experts fear the death toll could rise to a million by July next year. In a further move, the Government’s health watchdog Public Health England last night released specific advice for pregnant women concerned about contracting ebola, saying research suggested there is ‘limited evidence’ they are at increased risk of severe illness, medical complications and death when infected. Britain to deploy troops to help aid in the fight against Ebola: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...54_636x358.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/..._Thomas_17.jpg Royal Navy medical ship RFA Argus leaves Falmouth, Cornwall for Sierra Leone carrying three Merlin helicopters and a crew of around 380 It said: ‘Reported complications include spontaneous abortion and pregnancy-associated haemorrhage. Infants born to mothers who are in the terminal stage of disease are invariably infected.’ Meanwhile, the number of specialist beds available in the UK for ebola victims has been reduced following a legal row over building work at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Hospital. Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is withholding payments to the building company Laing O’Rourke Construction after claims that work on a £330million rebuilding project there is not up to standard. Sir Leonard Fenwick, the trust’s chief executive, said: ‘It means we can’t move to the next stage and build the centre for infectious diseases.’ Laing O’Rourke declined to comment due to legal proceedings. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/...t_Photo_by.jpg Crew members of RFA Argus make last minute calls before they sail for Sierra Leone |
Dominican Govt Blocks Entry From Ebola Countries
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Dominican Government Bans Travellers From Countries Linked to Ebola 28 Oct 2014 http://www.dominicantoday.com/image/...9B7FAC1C8.jpeg Ebola Map humanosphere.org. Santo Domingo.- The government of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday announced that anyone who has visited any country on which the World Health Organization declared an alert for ebola cases during the last 30 days, cannot enter the country. It said the Civil Aviation and Immigration agencies have been ordered to enforce the measure by the Public Health Ministry, issued today. Public Health minister Altagracia Guzman made the announcement in a press conference, joined by the heads of the various national security agencies and of the Emergency Operations Center. |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
First Ebola Victim may have Been Infected by Bats
AP, 1 Jan 2015 NEW YORK (AP) — A team of researchers think they may have pinpointed how the Ebola epidemic in West Africa started — with a small boy playing in a hollowed-out tree where infected bats lived. The researchers explored an area in southeastern Guinea where 2-year-old Emile Ouamouno fell ill a year ago and died. Health officials believe he was the first case in the epidemic, which wasn't recognized until spring. The Ebola virus wasn't found in the bats they tested so they weren't able to prove the source, the scientists reported in a study published Tuesday. But they believe the boy got Ebola from the furry, winged creatures that had lived in the hollow tree. "As a scientist, I can say it's a possible scenario," said one of the study's authors, Fabian Leendertz of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. An outside expert said the researchers' work was thought-provoking. "They didn't find smoking guns" but perhaps broadened the thinking about what sparked the epidemic, said Stephen Morse, a Columbia University infectious disease expert. The Ebola epidemic is the worst in world history, blamed for killing nearly 8,000 people across West Africa this year, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic's exact origin has never been determined, but the virus is thought to spread to people from some sort of animal. Many experts have suspected some species of fruit bat, though some wonder if West Africa's epidemic started through another animal — like a chimpanzee or small antelope — that was perhaps infected by bats and then eaten by people. The researchers saw no signs that Ebola had affected larger animals around the boy's small village of Meliandou. But they learned that a large colony of small, smelly bats with long tails lived in a hollow tree near the boy's home. Villagers told the researchers that the tree caught fire in March, causing a "rain of bats" to pour out of the tree. The bats were destroyed or gone before the researchers arrived in mid-April — a bad break for the researchers, Leendertz said. The researchers tested 169 bats, including fruit bats and a few from the species that lived in the tree. None tested positive for Ebola, but that doesn't disprove the hypothesis because experts think the virus may dwell in only a small minority of bats. The researchers are trying to collect more of the bats for testing. The study was published Tuesday in EMBO Molecular Medicine. Also on Tuesday, Liberia's government announced it will allow families to bury Ebola victims in a special plot of land instead of requiring that the bodies be cremated so as not to spread the virus. Ciatta Bishop, head of Liberia's national Ebola burial team, said the government has secured 25 acres where Ebola victims can now be buried. More than 2,000 suspected Ebola victims have been cremated since the cremation decree was ordered at the height of the crisis in Liberia several months ago. The corpses of Ebola victims are highly contagious, and many of those who washed or touched bodies before the burials contracted the disease. The cremation decree is highly unpopular in Liberia, where funeral traditions are carefully followed and are considered a sacred obligation to the deceased. ___ Paye-Layleh reported from Monrovia, Liberia. |
re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
FATAL Zika Infection Spreading Around The World
-Many Countries Urge Sick Travellers to Report Zika Symptoms Daily Mail UK, 30 January 2016 The Zika virus is spreading rapidly in Latin America, and Asian governments have issued advisories in a bid to contain the spread of the disease, which could be linked to birth defects and can cause temporary paralysis. So far, no Zika case has been confirmed anywhere in Asia. ___ http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/...94_634x444.jpg A health worker fumigates against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a vector of the Dengue, Chikunguya and Zika viruses, inside a house in Lima, Peru, Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. The Zika virus causes only a mild illness in most people. But there's mounting evidence linking it to a birth defect, especially in Brazil. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) SOUTH KOREA South Korean officials have advised pregnant women against traveling to Central and South America and required doctors to immediately report suspected cases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Friday also included the Zika virus among the group of infectious diseases recognized and monitored as potential health threats. Doctors can now face fines of up to 2 million won ($1,654) for failing to report patients infected by the mosquito-borne disease or showing symptoms of infection. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention has also been sending text messages to people traveling in the Zika regions to inform them of the disease and preventive measures. An official from the center said it has no plans yet to strengthen temperature checks at airports as that would only stoke unnecessary fear. ___ MALAYSIA Health authorities have asked travelers from South and Central America who display symptoms such as fever and rashes to immediately report to health centers. Deputy Health Director Dr. Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the move was imperative as it was not practical to conduct public health screenings at national gateways. "The virus is difficult to detect and there is no quick point-of-care test which can be used," he said. ___ JAPAN Japan's Foreign Ministry has issued a safety advisory urging women to try to avoid traveling to Brazil and other affected countries during pregnancy, and advised all travelers to the area to use caution. It suggested wearing long sleeves and pants, using mosquito sprays and avoid leaving out buckets, empty gardening pots and other containers that can catch water, and report to medical institutions in case of developing suspected symptoms. The health authorities asked medical facilities to advise pregnant women not to visit the Zika areas, conduct test on suspected patients returning from the areas and send samples to the national lab. ___ AUSTRALIA The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is advising pregnant women to avoid travel in areas where Zika is active. The federal government is also asking Australian doctors to look out for signs of Zika infection in travelers returning from affected areas. A spokeswoman said Australian laboratories could diagnose the virus if required. ___ INDIA Health Minister Shri J. P. Naddahas has stressed the control of the spread of Aedes mosquitoes that transmit dengue and the Zika virus and breed in clean water. "Community awareness plays an instrumental role in this regard. There is a need for greater awareness amongst community," he said. India is also stepping up surveillance and has set up a technical group to monitor the situation. ___ HONG KONG Health officials are advising pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to adopt necessary anti-mosquito precautions, and consider deferring trips to areas with Zika virus transmissions. Secretary for Food and Health Dr. Ko Wing-man also said that because only up to one quarter of the infected persons might develop relatively mild illness, "the attention was therefore not too big." Aedes mosquitoes are currently not found in Hong Kong, the Health Department said, but the secretary said that other species of mosquito present in the territory are also considered as possible carriers of the disease. ___ VIETNAM The Vietnamese health authority has warned people coming from countries with the Zika virus to monitor their health for 14 days and if they develop fever to report to medical facilities. The health authority also warned people to empty water containers and use mosquito nets to prevent the possible spread of the virus. ___ US Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, says no one in the United States with the Zika virus, has contracted without leaving the country. |
Re: NEW ZIKA Virus +Plaque/Dengue/Chikungunya Spreading Around The World
First Zika Virus Cases Discovered in Ireland
Irish Central, 4 February 2016 http://media.irishcentral.com/images...ika-iStock.jpg Almost all cases of the Zika virus thus far have been acquired via mosquito bites. Photo by: Getty images. Countries and Territories With Active Zika Virus Transmission http://www.cdc.gov/zika/images/zik-w...3-2016_web.jpg The first two cases of the Zika virus in the Republic of Ireland have been confirmed. In completely unrelated cases, a man and a woman presented themselves with the virus. They are now well and fully recovered. It is believed they both recently returned to Ireland following travel in a Zika affected country. “Both individuals have a history of travel to a Zika affected country. These are the first cases of Zika virus infection confirmed in Ireland,” said the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE). The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency on Monday and highlighted its concerns regarding the effects of the virus on pregnant women. The virus has been linked to thousands of suspected cases of babies born with underdeveloped brains in South America. Neither of the cases in Ireland was at risk of pregnancy, the HSE confirmed. "The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne infection, which isn't harmful in most cases,” said the HSE statement. "However, it may be harmful for pregnancies, as it's been potentially linked to birth defects, specifically, abnormally small heads [microcephaly]." The WHO reports that the vast majority of people who contract the Zika virus will only suffer mild symptoms, akin to a mild flu or a cold. Some may even have no symptoms at all. The infection is believed to last between two and seven days. The discovery of the virus in Ireland is not unexpected as other European countries have also reported cases involving travel to Zika-infected areas. “Zika virus is spread through the bite of a mosquito that is in certain countries but which is not present in Ireland,” stressed the HSE. “If you become ill within two weeks after your return to Ireland from an affected area, you should contact your doctor for assessment and let him/her know of your recent travel history to an affected area.” Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr. Kevin Kelleher, the Assistant National Director of Health Protection at the HSE, said that 75-80 percent of people will not be aware they have the virus. Problems arise in South America, however, where women between the age of 15 and 45 are becoming exposed to the virus for the first time. The effects of the virus become evident if these women fall pregnant and countries such as Brazil and El Salvador have advised women to avoid pregnancy for at least the next year. Almost all cases of the Zika virus thus far have been acquired via mosquito bites, although one case alleged to be sexually transmitted was reported in Texas. The risk of sexual transmission of the Zika virus is thought to be extremely low, according to WHO. More cases are expected to appear in Ireland but most will not know they have the disease. Pregnant women, or women who wish to get pregnant, are also being advised to carefully consider the risks of travel to a Zika-affected country. Irish tour operators including American Holidays, Travelmood and Falcon are allowing pregnant customers concerned about travel to affected countries to change their bookings. Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, said: "While the risk is low in most cases, I would particularly urge pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant to consider postponing their travel to affected areas and to consult with their healthcare provider before travel.” The Department of Foreign Affairs has changed its travel advice for 32 countries and territories in recent days as the virus spreads throughout Latin America. The WHO estimates there could be four million cases of the virus in the Americas in the next year. |
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