H5N1

Haiti: Aristide's return stalled

Via The New York Times: Aristide’s Return to Haiti Appears to Have Stalled. Excerpt:

Three weeks after the Haitian government gave a diplomatic passport to Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country’s exiled former president, his planned return appears to have stalled amid unresolved security and logistical concerns. 

Mr. Aristide’s longtime lawyer, Ira Kurzban of Miami, accused the United States and France of interfering with his client’s efforts to go home, while in Port-au-Prince, the mood at Mr. Aristide’s refurbished residence has been dampened. 

“We were sure President Aristide would be here by now,” said one of the caretakers, Cerdene Blanc, 35. “Personally, I’ll never stop believing he will return, but I don’t know when anymore.” 

Determining when or if Mr. Aristide might return from his exile in South Africa continues to be difficult. American officials have clearly stated that they oppose efforts to bring him back before Haiti’s March 20 runoff election, arguing that Mr. Aristide’s presence would create instability — a charge his supporters deny. 

They see Mr. Aristide, a former Catholic priest, as Haiti’s conscience, a true democratic leader, who could pressure the government and international donors to help the poor. 

Nonetheless, international opposition is a concern, according to Mr. Kurzban, because all commercial flights from South Africa fly through countries allied with the United States. 

“The idea that Aristide can simply get on a plane and come back to Haiti ignores the fact that he’s not just a Haitian citizen returning home,” Mr. Kurzban said. “There are security concerns and powerful governments that have already expressed a desire to keep him out of the country.”

Christchurch earthquake: Monday updates

Via New Zealand Doctor: Rolling updates on the Chch earthquake. Excerpt:

16:30 - Spike in rare stress myocardiopathy presentations - Christchurch Hospital saw a spike in rare stress myocardiopathy presentations in the first 24 hours after last Tuesday's earthquake, clinical director of cardiology David Smythe told reporters at an afternoon media briefing. 

The condition has symptoms similar to a heart attack and occurs more commonly in women. In the past week, the hospital has been seeing two cases a day. It has also seen about eight traditional heart attacks a day. No patients have died from either heart condition, but several are seriously ill in intensive care. 

16:30 - Community mental health services still struggling on - Christchurch's community mental health services are continuing to operate despite the damage sustained by many of the buildings they usually operate from. Most staff have been redeployed, and the team is looking to work with primary care to increase its counselling capacity, Canterbury DHB's chief of psychiatry, Sue Nightingale, told a media briefing this afternoon. 

Many staff are driving around the city's streets looking for mental health patients. As time goes by, the DHB expects to see a growing number of people with anxiety disorders and other mental health disorders, Dr Nightingale says. 

Based on last September's earthquake, it also expects to see some seriously ill mental health patients admitted to hospital in the next three or four days, she says. 

14:03 -- Latest numbers from Civil Defence -- an update from Civil Defence at 13:45 reports there are now 148 confirmed fatalities and 200 people reported missing in the worst-damaged sites of the city. The number of missing persons will include those confirmed dead who have not yet been identified. So far the names of eight victims have been released.

WHO: Three H5N1 cases in Egypt

Via WHO: Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 44.

The Ministry of Health of Egypt has announced 3 new confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. 

The first case is a 26 year-old female from Dakahlia Governorate. She developed symptoms on 18 January and was hospitalized on 23 January. She has recovered and was discharged on 7 February. 

The second case is a 45 year-old male from Menofia Governorate. He developed symptoms on 20 January and was hospitalized on 26 January. He died on 5 February. 

The third case is a 4 year-old male from Damiata Governorate. He developed symptoms on 14 February and was hospitalized on 16 February. He is in a stable condition. 

Investigations into the source of infection indicate that the three cases had exposure to poultry suspected to have avian influenza. 

The cases were confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratories, a National Influenza Center of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network. 

Of the 125 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 41 have been fatal.

Coston on bush meat

Yesterday I mentioned an item about chimpanzee meat found in Britain. Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary has an excellent post on the issue: Bushmeat,`Wild Flavor’ & EIDs. Highly recommended.

Christchurch earthquake: The cost of rebuilding

Via the NZ Herald News: Christchurch earthquake: Govt counts economic cost of rebuild. Excerpt:

As the Government commits itself to rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Christchurch, it is looking at costs running into tens of billions with an economic impact that will last for years. 

Prime Minister John Key said today Treasury's early estimate of the damage caused by last week's 6.3-magnitude quake was between $10 to $15 billion - two to three times the $5b estimated cost of September's 7.1-magnitude quake and 7 to 8 per cent of the GDP, compared to Hurricane Katrina's one per cent impact on the US economy. 

The Government will have to pick up about $5b of the combined $20b cost, and there are future costs still to be assessed as revenue falls while the country's second largest city recovers. 

"A vibrant city provides jobs for its people and this is a broken city, one that needs to be repaired," Mr Key said today. 

"There's no getting away from the fact that this has had an enormous impact, beyond our control or expectations." 

Mr Key had just announced emergency assistance for businesses and workers hardest hit by the earthquake which will cost between $100 million and $120m. 

It will last for six weeks while the Government works on its next steps, and a modified assistance scheme is likely to follow.

Chikungunya case confirmed in New Caledonia

Via Radio New Zealand: Chikungunya case confirmed in New Caledonia. Excerpt:

Health authorities in New Caledonia have confirmed that the territory has had its first case of the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya. 

The health director in Noumea says the individual, whose age and sex has not been disclosed, was carrying the disease on arrival but has since been cured. 

Chikungunya is similar to dengue and in 2006 it claimed 250 lives when an epidemic hit about a third of the population of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion.

UK: A strong argument for vegetarianism

Via Mirror.co.uk: Chimpanzee meat 'sold as food on UK streets'. Excerpt:

Chimpanzee meat is being sold by backstreet restaurants and traders in the UK. 

Trading Standards officers found chimp flesh for sale as part of a growing bushmeat trade, a Government whistleblower revealed. 

Nearly 7,500 tonnes of illegal meat enters the UK every year, according to the Born Free Foundation. Expert Dr Marcus Rowcliffe, of the Zoological Society of London, warned exotic meat could carry cholera.

Not to mention HIV and who knows what else. 

New Zealand: Monday afternoon in Christchurch

Via the NZ Herald News: Christchurch earthquake: Latest updates. The shock is wearing off, and now it's just a hard slog from one day to the next. Excerpt:

5.09pm 

Doctors have urged the Government not to drag out the search and rescue operation in Christchurch to cater to "public emotion" in a new report highlighted by the Science Media Centre. 

The joint report by Andrew Macintyre, MD, Joseph Barbera, MD and Bruno Petinaux, MD of George Washington University finds search and rescue operations often run too long in the wake of earthquakes. 

Governments need to weigh the potential of finding survivors against the risks to rescue workers and the need to divert efforts to other essential rebuilding tasks, it says. 

"In the experience of the authors, the search and rescue mode is unnecessarily extended in many situations by political leaders responding to public emotion, even with little realistic hope for additional survivors. ... It is important to recognise that decision making by government leaders may be influenced by politics, public confidence, and the media reporting of late 'live finds.'"

Christchurch earthquake: Doctors counselled after 13 staff unaccounted for

Via the NZ Herald News: Christchurch earthquake: Doctors counselled after 13 staff unaccounted for. Excerpt:

The co-owners of the health clinic flattened in the collapse of the CTV building were receiving counselling yesterday and expressed their sympathy for the families of missing staff. 

"The trauma psychologist is with us now," Dr Victoria Flight, who owns the business with her husband John Drew, said yesterday. 

Thirteen staff of the centre, which traded as The Clinic, are missing. Receptionist Pip Lee was pulled out of the rubble alive. 

New Zealand Doctor magazine reports that those at the health centre on Tuesday, the day of the earthquake, numbered four doctors, three receptionists, three nurses, three allied health practitioners and one practice manager. 

Dr Flight was not at the centre on Tuesday because of an injury. 

Asked by the magazine if she felt lucky to be alive, she said, "Well ... No, people say that, but actually, I just feel guilty."

New Zealand: Earthquake update 14

Via New Zealand Doctor: EARTHQUAKE UPDATE FOURTEEN – CANTERBURY DHB. Excerpt:

People need to take the following advice to avoid getting sick with stomach bugs and other illnesses.

Boil drinking water 

Boil all water from taps and tankers before drinking, brushing teeth, or washing or using in food preparation. Water needs to be brought to the boil, it does not need to be boiled for a period of time. 

Alternatively, water can be treated by adding household bleach to it. Use 5 drops of bleach to 1 litre of water or 1 teaspoon of bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes before drinking. 

The City Council will advise when it is no longer necessary to boil or treat tap water. Be careful with human waste 

If you are disposing of human waste (faeces, poo, vomit etc) either: •         bury it in your garden; or 

•         wrap it well in paper or plastic and put it in your red bin for collection.   

Wash your hands immediately after dealing with any human waste. 

Wash your hands regularly 

Sanitize or wash hands after toileting, and before and after preparing food. Cold water is sufficient for hand washing provided soap is used. 

If you don't have water, hand sanitizer is a good alternative. Hand sanitizer is available from official water tanker sites. 

Avoid contact with Sewage

People who have sewage contamination within their homes are advised to move to alternative accommodation. Avoid contact with river, sea water, ponds, puddles and any other surface water, as it may be contaminated with sewage. Do not swim, fish or gather shellfish. 

The authorities will inform the public when the ocean and rivers are safe for contact and normal use again.