H5N1

France: "Pig MRSA" ST398 involved in the death of a child?

Maryn McKenna at Superbug has a new post: News break: "Pig MRSA" ST398 involved in the death of a child? Excerpt (click through to her site to find the links):

The latest postings to the website of the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases include a sad and very troubling letter from physicians in Lyon and Paris, reporting the death from necrotizing pneumonia of a previously healthy 14-year-old girl. 

That would be sad under any conditions, but here's what makes the death so troubling: It appears to have been caused by MRSA — but not by the community strain, USA300, that has been implicated in a number of deaths from necrotizing pneumonia. (Several such stories are told in SUPERBUG the book.) 

Instead, her death appears to have been caused by infection with MRSA ST398 — the livestock-associated strain that was first noted in pigs raised with antibiotics, and the pig-farm workers caring for them, in the Netherlands 6 years ago, and that has since spread across the European Union, Canada and into the United States.

India: "Government to blame for malaria, dengue cases"

Via The Times of India: 'Govt to blame for rise in malaria, dengue cases'. Excerpt:

Coming to the rescue of the Shiv Sena-BJP ruled BMC, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has alleged that the state government's ambitious development projects have led to a spurt in malaria and dengue cases in Mumbai. 

"The Maharashtra government should take the blame for the worsening health situation in Mumbai as it has been permitting largescale construction in the city. There are plans by chief minister Ashok Chavan to redevelop the government colony in Bandra and the Mumbai Port Trust as well," Thackeray said. 

"Construction needs water. Builders store a large quantum of water in tanks for a long time. This has led to an alarming rise in malaria and dengue cases in Mumbai," he added. 

The Sena leader said feverish construction activity has brought a fresh wave of migrant labourers to Mumbai. "They have exacerbated the city's health crisis," he said. 

However, the BMC findings tell a different story. According to the civic administration's latest data report, only 3% of the positive cases for malaria have been found at under-construction sites, while a large chunk belongs to slums. Uddhav has to hold the brief for the BMC which has come under fire for its failure to tackle the malaria menace.

Meet your new neighbour A. albopictus

Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary has today's must-read: Making Themselves At Home describes how mosquito species like Aedes albopictus are spreading from their southeast Asian habitats...to places like Italy, Greece, southeast Brazil, and the eastern half of the US.

Companies that produce DEET are likely to see their stock prices soar.

Zimbabwe: 80 hospitalized with cholera

Via ReliefWeb, a Voice of America report: Eighty Hospitalized as Cholera Resurfaces in Zimbabwe's Marange Diamond Area. Excerpt:

A cholera outbreak in Marange district of Zimbabwe's eastern Manicaland province has left 80 people hospitalized and led authorities to set up emergency treatment centers aiming to keep a tight lid on the disease which claimed more than 4,000 lives in late 2008 and early 2009 as the country's health care system collapsed. 

Sources said many of the cases have occurred in villages in and around the Marange alluvial diamond field, and that health care organizations have found it difficult to enter military controlled zone to provide emergency assistance. 

Sources said the outbreak is so serious that the Ministry of Health and its partners are going all out to stop it. 

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in recent report that experts fear another cholera outbreak as the rainy season approaches, as the causes of the last epidemic have not been fully addressed - in particular deteriorating water and sanitation systems which allow cross-contamination of water supplies.

Nigeria: Over 400,000 AIDS cases in Rivers State

Via allAfrica.com, a report from Leadership: Nigeria: HIV/Aids - Over .4 Million Infected in Rivers. Excerpt:

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, has disclosed that about 400,000 individuals are living with the dreaded HIV/ AIDS in the state. 

Parker disclosed this yesterday in Port Harcourt while declaring open a one-day training workshop for journalists, organised by a non-governmental organisation, the Media Initiative Against HIV/AIDS, Nigeria. 

He said the number of persons living with the virus in the state represented 7.4 percent was based on a technical report of the 2008 National HIV Sero-prevalence Sentinel Survey carried out among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinics in Nigeria. 

The commissioner stated that the number of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the state may increase when the report of the 2010 HIV Sero-prevalence Sentinel Survey, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Health and its development partners, is out. 

Parker said the state government had shown political will in responding to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS in the state, pointing out that policy development and advocacy initiatives had started taking shape. 

He described HIV/AIDS as a disease that 'finds fault lines in our society', saying the dreaded disease has assumed endogenous characteristics in different communities worldwide. 

"To add to the challenge, HIV/AIDS is a disease that 'finds fault in our society', and is assuming endogenous characteristics in different communities worldwide. 

"Generally, response efforts require action in sensitive and often controversial areas such as sex and gender relations, prostitution, drugs, homosexuality poverty, wealth death, stigma and other ethical and social concerns", the Commissioner said. 

He commended the media for the central role it had played in addressing HIV/AIDS in the state and Nigeria in general, saying that it has created awareness and facilitated partnerships among different sectors and for persons living with the virus.

Côte d'Ivoire: Yellow fever, dengue kill at least three

Via allAfrica.com, an IRIN report: Cote d'Ivoire: Yellow Fever, Dengue Kill at Least Three. Excerpt:

Ivorian health officials are vaccinating people against yellow fever in Abidjan, the commercial capital, and two other major cities, after the disease killed two people and struck nine others in recent weeks. 

During the same period, dengue fever - for which there is no vaccine - killed one person, and there have been 10 more confirmed cases, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Hygiene. 

Yellow fever and dengue fever, both viral illnesses transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, have struck communities in Abidjan, Grand Bassam and Bouaké, said Health Minister Eugéne Aouélé Aka. 

"We are working to eliminate mosquitoes in the affected zones," he told reporters on 29 July. "We must contain the problem as quickly as possible - we're in the rainy season when these diseases spread rapidly." 

The illnesses commonly occur during the rainy season, when mosquitoes multiply, but poor hygiene is the culprit, an infectious disease expert in Abidjan told IRIN.

Finland plans new H1N1 vaccination drive

Via YLE: New Swine Flu Vaccination Drive Planned. Excerpt:

Fewer Finns than expected have been vaccinated against the H1N1 influenza. With only about half of the population having had the swine flu jab, there are at least 1.5 million unused doses left. 

Health clinic staff say that the number of people seeking shots dropped off sharply around last March. 

The remaining doses are still usable until the end of next May. Thus Finland is not in the same situation as the Netherlands, which is disposing of some 17 million unused doses that will soon pass their expiration dates. 

Many other countries seem to have wasted large sums in acquiring the swine flu shots. The Council of Europe is looking into whether the World Health Organisation was too hasty in declaring swine flu as a pandemic. 

The value of the shots remaining on the shelf in Finland is about 10.5 million euros. However the state's acquisition of the vaccine was not overblown, says Senior Researcher Rose-Marie Ölander of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). 

Public health authorities believe that at least some of the remaining doses will be used this autumn. They are planning a new campaign to encourage the young in particular to get the jab.

New Zealand: School hit hard by swine flu

Via NZHerald.co.nz: School hit hard by swine flu.

An outbreak of swine flu at Seddon School in Marlborough has affected nearly half the school roll. 

At its peak 46 children out of a roll of 107 were ill prompting the Public Health Service to investigate. 

Nelson Marlborough Medical Officer of Health, Dr Ed Kiddle says swab tests were taken from sick children during the week and the results confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, however the outbreak is now starting to wane.

Honduras: A drop in suspected dengue cases

Via ElHeraldo.hn, a little good news: Afirman que hay baja de pacientes con dengue - País.[Fall in dengue patients confirmed] Excerpt, with my translation:

En la semana 28 se ha observado una baja de pacientes sospechosos de dengue hasta de un 40 por ciento, en relación a la semana 27, según autoridades sanitarias. 

Health authorities in week 28 say they have observed a drop of up to 40 percent in patients suspected of dengue, compared to week 27.

Las salas del hospital Escuela y el Materno Infantil donde se atienden a las personas que han sido infectadas por el zancudo Aedes aegypti "se mantienen con un número considerable de pacientes debido a que hay unos 100 casos menos", dijo Marco Molinero, director del principal centro asistencial del país. 

The dengue wards of School and Maternal-Child hospitals "are maintaining a considerable number of patients but there are 100 fewer cases," said Marco Molinero, director of the country's chief health centre.

En lo que va del año 2010, las autoridades de la Secretaría de Salud han certificado la muerte de 31 personas, entre ellas niños y adultos de ambos sexos.

So far in 2010, the Secretariat of Health has certified the deaths of 31 persons, children and adults, of both sexes.

Minding the store in Asia

I was otherwise occupied this afternoon, while Arkanoid Legent has done a wonderful job of covering the news from Malaysia to Turkey. I wish we had a dozen more hot-zone blogs like this one.