H5N1

Ecuador: 10,887 dengue cases, 20 deaths so far this year

Via Hoy.com.ec: Dengue en Ecuador deja 20 muertos y 10 887 contagiados en el primer semestre de 2012. [Dengue is Ecuador leaves 20 dead and 10,887 infected in first half of 2012] Excerpt, with my translation:

Una epidemia de dengue que se registra en Ecuador ha provocado la muerte de 20 personas durante el primer semestre de 2012, frente a los tres fallecidos en el mismo período de 2011, informó este viernes el ministerio de Salud. 

The Ministry of Health this Friday reported that the dengue epidemic in Ecuador has caused the deaths of 20 persons during the first half of 2012, compared to 3 deaths in the same period in 2011.

La cartera también reportó 10 887 infectados, 165 de ellos de gravedad, desde enero pasado, en tanto en el primer semestre de 2011 se habían contabilizado 3 055 casos. 

The ministry also reported 10,887 cases, 165 of them severe, since last January; the first half of 2011 saw 3,055 cases.

Los fallecimientos se produjeron en las provincias costeras de Guayas (5), Manabí (9), Los Ríos (1), Santa Elena (1), Santo Domingo (2) y El Oro (1), esta última fronteriza con Perú (sur), y la andina de Pichincha (cuya capital es Quito, 1).

The deaths occurred in the coastal provinces of Guayas (5), Manabí (9), Los Ríos (1), Santa Elena (1), Santo Domingo (2) and El Oro (1)—this last on the Peruvian border, and the Andean province of Pichincha, whose capital is Quito, had one death also.

Paraguay: After the coup

I've been trying to follow the impeachment of Paraguay's President Lugo and his replacement by Vice-President Franco. One report indicates that Franco has replaced a couple of major cabinet ministers, so I checked the website of the Ministerio de Salud Publica y Bienestar Social [Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare]. It doesn't show any changes to the minister, Esperanza Martínez, and I haven't found anything on the site that mentions the change of government.

However, the impeachment has been met with fierce condemnation by most Latin American governments. Argentina has pulled its ambassador out of Asunción, and several others have recalled their ambassadors for "consultations." Some kind of economic impact seems likely to result, and this in turn could hurt the delivery of health services.

Zimbabwe: The politics of cholera

Via Bulawayo24 News, a report that sounds like the opening shot of a campaign against Robert Mugabe: Zanu-PF killed 4 000 with cholera - Tsvangirai. The whole report:

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday blamed President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government for the 2008 cholera outbreak that resulted in more than 4000 deaths. The deaths came following a total collapse of the water supply system in the country. 

Speaking during a tour of Firle Sewage Treatment Plant on the outskirts of Harare, Tsvangirai who along with Mugabe formed a coalition government in 2009 which helped contain the raging outbreak, said politicians often make decisions that do not address the challenges of the day. 

"I was asking the mayor (Muchadeyi Masunda) what gave the government the reason to assign the running of water to Zinwa. No one has been able to explain to me why Zinwa was allowed to run water supplies," Tsvangirai said. 

The premier said political decisions are to blame for outbreaks of diseases such as cholera which is still simmering as the country is yet to fully contain it. 

"Why put the whole city at risk? This is where politicians make mistakes as they take political decisions over matters that are technical in nature. Why do you introduce politics where there is no need for politics? The reason why the country is not able to move forward is sometimes we make decisions that have nothing to do with the challenges we have got," said Tsvangirai. 

"We need water in the city. We cannot be a city that is accused in this age of having cholera outbreaks. It is out of step that in 2012 we should experience cholera and other diseases that are long gone and have nothing to do with the modern age," said Tsvangirai.

Bihar: Encephalitis death toll rises to 227

Via The Times of India: Bihar: Encephalitis death toll rises to 227. Excerpt:

PATNA: Two more children have died of encephalitis in Bihar, taking the toll due to the disease in the state to 227 since May this year, an official said today. 

One child each died at two hospitals in Muzaffarpur and Patna districts in the past 24 hours due to encephalitis, Additional Secretary (Health) R P Ojha told reporters. 

Six new cases of encephalitis were detected in the hospitals, taking the number of such patients to 573, he said.

India bans serological tests for TB diagnosis

Via Xinhua: India bans serological tests for TB diagnosis.

The Indian health ministry has banned the serological test kits for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in India, which are blamed to give inconsistent and imprecise results, leading to wrong diagnosis and thereby risking human lives. 

"The central government is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient to prohibit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of the said test kits in public interest," said Arun Panda, joint secretary at the Indian health ministry in a notification issued this month. 

Officials say safer alternatives are available for the diagnosis of TB. 

Serology or blood-based tests are popular in the privately-run hospitals across India. Experts say around 150,000 TB serological tests are done in India despite strong evidence against such tests in detecting TB. Patients' annual spending on such tests is estimated at some 15 million U.S. dollars in India. 

No government-owned hospital or health care center in the country uses serological tests to diagnose TB. 

The ban comes almost a year after the World Health Organization issued an advisory to countries in July last year to stop conducting these tests for TB, for they give inaccurate results and can lead to misdiagnosis. 

TB advocacy groups have welcomed the Indian government's move.

Reviving Fukushima's fisheries

An editorial in The Japan Times Online: Reviving Fukushima's fisheries. Excerpt:

A fishing cooperative in Fukushima Prefecture on June 14 carried out a fishing operation on a trial basis off the prefecture. The prefecture's fishing industry has suffered greatly from the severe accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. 

The bottom line was to confirm that fish caught in waters off the prefecture are safe. It is hoped that the trial operation can lead to full-scale fishing operations and the revival of the prefecture's fishing industry. 

For one year and three months after the nuclear crisis happened, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations has refrained from fishing operations and, instead, concentrated on monitoring the concentration of radiation in fish and shellfish off the prefecture. 

Fukushima fishermen are suffering from rumors that their fishing products may not be safe. 

On June 14, six fishing boats of the Soma Futaba Fishing Cooperative in the city of Soma left Matsukawa-ura fishing port and carried out dragnet fishery operations in an area 150 meters or more deep about 50 km from the shore. They caught mizu dako (North Pacific giant octopus), yanagi dako (Octopus conispadiceus) and shiraito makibai (a kind of spiral shellfish). 

Tests done by the Fukushima prefectural government since last summer have detected no radioactive substances in these fish and shellfish. 

The fish and shellfish caught on June 14 will not be shipped to markets. If the results of the tests by the fishing cooperative are accepted by the heads of the prefecture's fishing cooperatives, the fishing cooperative in Soma will carry out fishing operations twice this month with an eye toward shipping the catches to markets. 

Depending on the outcome of these operations, it may catch a larger number of different types of fish and shellfish. 

The impetus to launch the fishing trial operation was the feeling by local fishermen that they cannot continue to rely on compensation from Tepco and that if they do not resume fishing now, the fishing industry of Fukushima Prefecture may die out. 

According to the Fisheries Agency, the concentration of radioactive cesium on the sea bottom is generally decreasing. But in April, Japanese sea perch caught in Sendai Bay some 100 km from the nuclear power plant were found to contain radioactive cesium exceeding the safety standard level.

Hong Kong: Flu response level lowered

Via the Hong Kong government website: Flu response level lowered. Excerpt:

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow announced the influenza response level was lowered today from serious to alert, 21 days after a case of human avian influenza was detected.   

Briefing the media, he said many activities in healthcare institutions, including hospitals, will resume to relatively normal.   

The response level was raised from alert to serious when a two-year-old boy was found to have influenza A (H5) on June 1. The Centre for Health Protection stepped up surveillance and began probing the source of the infection.   

The boy's close contacts were traced and placed under quarantine. No further avian flu case was detected during the three weeks of strengthened surveillance and the case was classified as an imported sporadic infection. The boy is now in serious condition.

The little boy has been ill for a long time. In general, small children with H5N1 seem to die or recover within days of first showing symptoms. 

India: 181 cases of dengue reported this year in Chennai

Via The Hindu, a report datelined Chennai: 181 cases of dengue reported this year. Excerpt:

With over 65 of the 200 wards in the city reporting dengue cases this year, the Chennai Corporation has roped in councillors to improve participation of residents in mosquito control. 

The number of dengue cases has touched 181 in the city limits so far. 

As part of creating awareness in the city, the civic body on Friday, organised a meeting for all its 200 councillors to facilitate the increased participation of people in combating the disease. However, only 65 councillors turned up for the meeting. 

Infectious diseases such as dengue are rearing their ugly heads predominantly in high-end localities in a few zones. Major zones with dengue cases so far this year, include Royapuram (30 cases), Teynampet (26), Kodambakkam (40), Adyar (20) and Anna Nagar (17). 

The largest number of dengue cases – 10 – has been reported in ward no. 138, covering areas in proximity to K.K. Nagar. According to officials, none of those who contracted the disease had any complications. 

Most of the city’s healthcare facilities have been reporting cases of dengue on a regular basis, and officials attribute the rise in number of cases to stagnant water in high-end residential neighbourhoods and the contraction of infections from floating populations from the southern districts. 

“People have to be careful not to facilitate mosquito breeding in their overhead tanks, gardens or wells,” said an official.

Indonesia: Corruption in H5N1 vaccine project?

Via The Jakarta Globe: KPK Investigating Nazaruddin's Connection to Bird Flu Vaccine Project. Excerpt:

Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has turned its attention to the construction of an avian flu vaccine factory in the latest development in the anti-graft body’s ever-expanding investigation into corruption allegations surrounding graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin. 

Anugrah Nusantara was awarded a Rp 1.3 trillion ($137.8 million) contract to build the vaccine factory. Nazaruddin reportedly had a 30 percent stake in the construction company. The project broke ground in 2008 and just recently wrapped up, Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chairman of KPK, said on Friday. 

“The KPK is still investigating it, the process is ongoing,” Bambang said. 

The KPK’s investigation into the factory began in May 2011, shortly after the arrest of Mindo Rosalina Manullang, a member of Nazaruddin’s staff. 

The Supreme Audit Agency, which also looked into the construction project, found an irregularity that could have cost the state more than Ro 600 billion in losses. 

Ribka Tjiptaning, head of House commission IX that oversees health, said that the factory was not funded by the Health Affairs Ministry. 

“It was funded by Finance Ministry’s budget, similar to Hambalang project,” Ribka said on Friday, adding that the budget for the vaccine factory was never discussed or approved by the House in 2008. 

Ribka said that the only funds approved for the production of an avian flu vaccine were in 2010. That money was a reallocation of the education budget totaling Rp 490 billion. 

Nazaruddin’s lawyer Junimart Girsang denied his client’s involvement in this case.

Uganda: An overview of nodding disease

Via Think Africa Press, a long but concise discussion: Uganda: Is Enough Being Done to Combat Nodding Disease? Excerpt:

The disease has effectively paralysed the communities it affects. Parents are unable to work because nodding patients require constant attention. Families affected by the disease are ostracised from their communities since no-one knows whether the disease is infectious. 

“These communities are so demoralised,” Patrick Okot, the local chairman of Abim, told Think Africa Press. "People live with the fear that every decision they make – the food they eat, where they get their water – introduces the potential for infection. This small town in Lamwo District has been badly affected by nodding disease, with an estimated 300 cases in the village and surrounding areas. The nearest health centre is nearly 50 km away. “This disease, which is not yet known, is giving us a lot of setbacks”, says Okot. 

Okot believes that government health officials have not done enough to allay these fears. 

In his State of the Nation address earlier this month, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni discussed a newly launched government health effort. In an apparently unscripted moment during his speech, Museveni touted the plan as the best option the government has for preventing the further spread of nodding disease: “Why don’t we then eliminate river blindness so that if nodding disease continues, we will know it is something else?” he asked. 

Since the government’s river blindness eradication campaign started, however, there has been increasing discussion in his village about whether black flies may be the cause of nodding disease, but no-one is fully convinced one way or the other.