H5N1

Australia: Dengue mozzies hit Tennant Creek

Via ntnews.com.au in the Northern Territory: Dengue mozzies hit Tennant Creek. But no one has actually come down with dengue. Excerpt:

The Territory Health Department will be checking all properties in Tennant Creek to kill the dengue fever-carrying mosquito Aedes aegypti found in the town. 

NT senior medical entomologist Peter Whelan said there was no dengue transmission in the Northern Territory and no one identified in Tennant Creek with dengue fever who would introduce the virus.  

He said the department wanted residents to help by emptying and cleaning all water containers, and taking other preventive measures but it could take two years to rid the town of the pest.

"The current risk of dengue transmission in Tennant Creek is extremely remote," he said. "It would require someone with dengue fever coming here and being bitten by one of these mosquitoes. 

"This infected mosquito would have to live to bite another person to transmit the dengue virus."

India: Bird flu-like virus killing Jharkhand crows

Via The Times of India: Bird flu-like virus killing Jharkhand crows.

RANCHI: The Centre has sent an alert to the Jharkhand government to remain cautious about a possible poultry infection, after a mysterious bird flu-like virus is believed to have killed between 500 and 1,000 crows in Jamshedpur, Bokaro and parts of Hazaribagh. 

Though an official intimation from the Union animal husbandry department is still to reach the state, a study on the crow deaths conducted at the animal disease laboratory in Bhopal found a virus resembling that of bird flu. 

However, the study allays fears about cattle, poultry and humans being infected because the virus was detected only in the brain of the dead crows. 

Joint commissioner at the department of animal husbandry, A B Negi, said the virus was not found in the fecal matter or esophageal swabs of the dead crows. This means it cannot spread from one crow to another or any other bird unless the flesh of an infected crow is consumed by another scavenger. 

"It is likely that a crow consuming a dead crow or any other scavenger may pick up the virus and get infected," he said. 

A team of scientists from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute had visited Jamshedpur to collect samples of crow carcasses and made prima facie observations. IVRI joint director Rishendra Verma said there was no evidence to show that the poultry in Jamshedpur was infected. 

While a sizable population among tribals in Jharkhand consume crow meat and are in danger of being infected, the department of animal husbandry under the state government has issued public awareness advertisements to handle dead crows carefully and bury them. 

M K Sinha, the head of the zoology department, Ranchi University, has called for a detailed report on the deaths. "Mass deaths is something that needs to be handled with care so that the infection does not spread to other birds, cattle or humans," he said. 

The symptoms shown by the infected crows include quivering, high body temperatures and convulsions.

HIV/AIDS infections soaring in China general population: experts

Via Xinhua, on the day before World AIDS Day, some discouraging news: HIV/AIDS infections soaring in China general population: experts.

Chinese experts say an increasing number of old people and college students in the country have become infected with HIV/AIDS through unsafe sexual intercourse in recent years. 

Figures revealed Wednesday by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the number of HIV positive men in their 60s and above soared from 483 in 2005 to 3,031 in 2010, accounting for 8.9 percent of the total. In 2005, the group only took up 2.2 percent. 

Chinese men 60 and above with AIDS also skyrocketed from 237 to 2,546, accounting for 11 percent of all AIDS cases, up 5.6 percentage points from 2005. 

"As a result of improved living standards and health conditions, the sexually active period of old people, especially males, has been prolonged," said Wu Zunyou, director of the CDC HIV/AIDS prevention and control center. "With considerable sex drive even after retirement and the death of spouses or their lack of interest, some elderly have resorted to sex services." 

"Many tended to choose secluded and low-end venues and didn't use condoms, which made them highly vulnerable to HIV infections," Wu added. 

Also, a total of 1,252 HIV/AIDS-infected students were discovered as having the virus between January and October, accounting for 21 percent of all student cases. Infection has been especially obvious in the past two years among male college students aged between 20 to 24, according to the CDC.

Indonesia: B2B H5N1 outbreaks in 3 subdistricts

Via Ida's Bird Flu Information Corner, a translated report from Seputar Indonesia: Sukabumi, West Java ::: Bird flu outbreaks in 3 subdistricts. Excerpt:

Bird flu H5N1 outbroke in 3 sub-districts (kecamatan), Jampang Tengah, Bojong Genteng and Parakan Salak, in Sukabumi, West Java province. 

Spokesman of Livestock Service in Sukabumi mentioned 5 small-scale farms in 3 subdistricts tested positive H5N1 by rapid test. It was mentioned that Livestock Service sent the dead chicken samples to the Veterinary Disease Investigation Center, suggesting the outbreak has caused chickens death.

Funding crunch puts progress on AIDS at risk

Via Reuters AlertNet: Funding crunch puts progress on AIDS at risk. Excerpt:

The international community has made extraordinary progress in the past decade in the fight against AIDS, but a funding crisis is putting those gains at risk, the United Nations health agencies said on Wednesday. 

A World Health Organisation-led report said the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS and now infects about 34 million people around the world has proven a "formidable challenge" for scientists and public health experts. 

"But the tide is turning," it added. "The tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation are in our hands". 

Yet a severe funding crisis at the world's largest backer of the fight against AIDS and a decline in international donor money to battle the disease is dampening optimism in the HIV/AIDS community about an eventual end to the pandemic. 

Annual funding for HIV/AIDS programmes fell to $15 billion in 2010 from $15.9 billion in 2009, well below the estimated $22-24 billion the U.N. agencies say is needed by 2015 to pay for a comprehensive, effective global response. 

The public-private Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the world's largest financial backer of HIV treatment and prevention programmes, said last week it was cancelling new grants for countries battling these diseases and would make no new funding available until 2014. 

"Just as the world is making huge strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS, the goal of creating an AIDS-free generation, where no children are born with HIV, will not be possible unless the Global Fund is able to continue scaling up its work," said Patrick Watt, Save the Children's global campaign director. 

In an interview with Reuters as the U.N agencies report was released, Gottfried Hirnschall, the WHO's director for HIV/AIDS, said progress in cutting the number of new HIV infections and dramatically increasing access to life-saving AIDS drugs made this a critical time in the battle.

US: 190 Portland high school students tested for TB

Via NWCN.com, a report datelined Portland: 190 Central Catholic students tested for TB. Excerpt:

Nearly 200 students were tested for tuberculosis at Portland's Central Catholic High School Tuesday, after fears of possible exposure. 

A TB testing team from the Multnomah County Health Department tested 190 students and the results were expected to be available on Thursday. 

A letter was sent to parents and students earlier this month, warning they may have been exposed to the person with the lung infection. 

Principal John Garrow said germs are spread through the air, but most people exposed do not become infected. 

If any of the tests come out positive, Garrow said the county would handle the treatment plan. He added that health workers will also visit the school in 8-10 weeks to check test results once again.

Cholera insurance for Haiti?

Georgianne Nienaber is back with a long, well-researched article in LA Progressive.com: Are Haiti's Cholera Victims Warren Buffett's "Girls in the Convertible?" Excerpt (read the whole piece to learn what the title means):

Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest micro finance organization. Founded in 1994 as Fondasyon Kole Zépol by Father Joseph Philippe, the  Grameen Foundation recipient currently has 50,533 women borrowers with an outstanding loan balance of 409,376,655 (HTG Haitian Gourdes) or US $10,021,257. 

The Grameen Foundation has been supporting microfinance activities in Haiti since 2003. It has no formal ties with the Grameen Bank, which was started in 1976 in Bangladesh as a means of supplying small loans (micro-credit) to the poor who had no collateral. Grameen gives Fonkoze high marks and positive assessments for its work in Haiti. 

Within 24 hours of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that paralyzed Haiti, Fonkoze mobilized and was able to secure approval to acquire $2 million of cash from accounts in the City National Bank of New Jersey. The money was shipped to Haiti on a US military C-17, providing critical cash infusion for members. Haiti’s major banking institutions were shut down and cash was virtually unavailable. 

Swiss Re is also partnered with Fonkoze in a natural catastrophe micro insurance program that provides protection to women clients against work losses due to earthquakes, floods and hurricanes. The policy paid out following very heavy rains in late May and early June 2012[sic] in the southwest part of Haiti. A total of 3,815 clients received insurance benefits, according to James Kurz, Fonkoze’s senior financial analyst. 

Kurz explained in an email that the price of the current work loss policy is 3% of the value of the client’s loan. “They pay the premium at the time of the disbursement. So for example, a client taking a $250 loan would pay $7.50 when they receive their loan.” 

The actual price of the insurance is about 5% of the value of the loan, so Fonkoze is currently subsidizing a portion of the price. “We are working on lowering the cost and setting a roadmap to decrease the subsidy over time,” Kurz said. 

Under the current plan, if a client made payments AFTER the catastrophic event and is eligible, she receives reimbursement of those payments. She does not receive reimbursement of payments made before the event. The policies covers damage to the clients’ home, business assets and inventory. A qualifying claim results in: repayment of the client’s outstanding loan balance; a $125 cash payout to help with emergency expenses; and a new loan if and when the client is ready, Kurz said. 

The other insurance Fonkoze offers is credit/life. “If a client dies, their loan is forgiven and their beneficiary receives a $125 cash payout,” Kurz added. The current catastrophic policy does not include cholera insurance, which is still under development. 

“The commitment that the partners made at CGI was to develop a cholera product, test it, roll it out with Fonkoze’s clients, and then share the results with the world,” Kurz says. That means that it is very early. We don’t know exactly how the product will work, or what the price will be.”

Mexico: 17 dengue deaths in Yucatán

Via El Universal: Ssa reporta 17 muertos por dengue en Yucatán. [Health Secretariat reports 17 dengue deaths in Yucatán] Excerpt, with my translation:

De acuerdo con el Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica de la Secretaría de Salud del gobierno federal, hasta la semana número 46 Yucatán registró la incidencia más elevada de casos de dengue con 9 mil 974 probables enfermos y 17 defunciones, situación que colocó al estado en el primer lugar a nivel nacional. 

According to the federal Health Secretariat's National System of Epidemiological Vigilance, as of week 46 Yucatán has recorded the highest incidence of dengue cases in the country, with 9,974 probable cases and 17 deaths.

A través de su portal web, el sector salud federal señala mediante un plano de la República Mexicana pintado con color rojo, la zona del estado en referencia al nivel más alto en todo el país en casos de dengue. Indica que los casos confirmados entre 2010 y 2011 son 2 mil 254 y 4 mil 355 respectivamente, para un total de 6 mil 609 enfermos. En defunciones en 2010 se habla de 4 casos y en lo que va del 2011 de 17 fallecidos.

On its web portal, the federal health sector has a map of Mexico with Yucatán painted red as having the highest dengue level in the country. It indicates that confirmed cases in 2010 and 2011 are 2,254 and 4,355 respectively, for a total of 6,609 cases. Four deaths were recorded in 2010 and 17 in 2011 so far.

That link will take you to the dengue report for week 43, a little out of date, but the disease has clearly been a problem in Yucatán for some time.

Canada: Attawapiskat public-health disaster

Charlie Angus, the Member of Parliament for the riding of Timmins-James Bay, posted this 10-minute video on YouTube two weeks ago: ATTAWAPISKAT HOUSING-CRISIS. It's already had over 24,000 views and helped to draw national (and worldwide) attention to this disgrace. The health hazards are enormous, starting with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and going on to rashes, severe burns, and mental health issues. 

More YouTube videos about this Cree community are online here.

I'm now working on a Tyee article about Attawapiskat in particular and Canadian aboriginal housing in general, and the more I learn the angrier I get. You can follow breaking news about this at #attawapiskat. If you're a Canadian, you damned well should.

CIDRAP: Flu news scan for November 29

Via CIDRAP: FLU NEWS SCAN: Egyptian H5N1 case, avian flu outbreaks, US flu update. Excerpt:

A 31-year-old woman in Egypt is in critical condition with an H5N1 avian flu infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today. 

The woman, from Dakahlia governorate, developed symptoms Nov 10, was hospitalized Nov 16, and is now on a ventilator. She was exposed to sick and dead poultry in her backyard, the agency said. The Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratories, a WHO-affiliated national influenza center, confirmed her case on Nov 21. 

The country has now had 153 H5N1 cases since 2006, 52 of which have been fatal. Egypt has confirmed 34 H5N1 cases this year, including 12 deaths. The global H5N1 count has now reached 571 cases and 335 deaths, for a case-fatality rate of 58.7%.