H5N1

Philippines: Leptospirosis deaths in Luzon now 19

Via Inquirer News: Leptospirosis deaths in Luzon now 19. Excerpt:

DAGUPAN CITY—The number of people dying from leptospirosis in this Pangasinan city and Central Luzon this year has risen to 19, with six of nine deaths in Dagupan recorded in August.   

Dr. Michael Canto, Region I Medical Center (RIMC) spokesperson, said 36 people were confined at the hospital in August while three of the nine Pangasinan fatalities came from San Fabian and Binmaley towns. 

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by exposure to water contaminated by the urine of animals, especially rats.   

“We see a clustering of the cases in Poblacion Oeste in Dagupan where two died and several others were confined due to the disease. The two fatalities from Poblacion Oeste, while not neighbors, used to pass through a flooded pathway,” Canto said.   

The other cases were recorded in the Dagupan villages of Mayombo, Malued, Sabangan and Pantal Norte, he said.   

From Aug. 14 to 19, three leptospirosis deaths were recorded here. In July, one of the three persons afflicted with leptospirosis also died.   

Dr. Leonard Carbonell, city health officer, said leptospirosis cases began to come out on the second week of August following continuous flooding in at least 18 of 31 villages here due to rains dumped by the southwest monsoon and Typhoon “Helen.”  

 “We are now on fever watch, looking for residents with fever and encouraging them to see a doctor immediately. But we are doing mass prevention [by distributing the antibiotic] doxycycline in areas that were flooded,” he said.   

“Most of the victims worked as fish pond caretakers, construction workers and tricycle drivers, people exposed to floodwaters,” he said.   

In Central Luzon, leptospirosis cases rose to 153 from July to Aug. 28, from only 102 between January and June, Department of Health records showed.   

Nine people have died from the disease in the last eight months, with Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga reporting two deaths each, according to the weekly update of the regional DOH.   

The four deaths last week were recorded in San Miguel town and Meycauayan City in Bulacan, Abucay town in Bataan and in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga.   

At least 47 people caught the disease in floods spawned by southwest monsoon rains from Aug. 6 to 8. Nine of the patients were from Bataan, 31 in Bulacan, three in Pampanga and four in Tarlac.   

The 255 cases from January to August doubled the 125 cases for the same period last year, the DOH said.

Branswell: US reporting first death due to new H3N2v

Via TheRecord.com, a report by Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press: U.S. reporting first death due to new swine flu; no person-to-person spread seen. Excerpt:

The United States reported the first known death caused by the new swine flu virus that has been jumping from pigs to people there. 

An unidentified Ohio woman, who reportedly had multiple health problems, died this week of infection with the variant H3N2 virus. The woman, 61, was from Madison County near the centre of the state. She had direct exposure to pigs at a county fair before becoming ill. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control expressed sympathies, but used the opportunity to warn that people who have serious health problems should avoid swine at the current time. 

“These people should absolutely not have contact with pigs or visit pig arenas at fairs this summer,” said Dr. Lyn Finelli, chief of surveillance and outbreak response in the CDC’s influenza division. 

People with a range of chronic illnesses — heart disease, asthma, chronic lung disease — or who have weakened immune systems are at higher risk of having severe illness if they become infected with influenza. 

The CDC also reported Friday that the tally of human cases of H3N2v infection has risen to 288 since July, when infections with this virus started to pop up again after a hiatus of several months. Twelve additional cases were reported this week. 

The “v” in the virus’s name — short for variant — signals this is an animal influenza strain, not the human H3N2 strain. 

The surprising surge of cases this summer has been driven by transmissions occurring at state and county fairs in the U.S. The vast majority of the cases have been in children under the age of 18 who have been exposed to the virus at fairs. 

Finelli said several hundred thousand children in the U.S. exhibit pigs at fairs every year. The pigs are typically sold at the fairs and taken to slaughter after the events. During the fair, it is common for children to virtually camp out in the pig barns to look after their animals. 

Ten U.S. states have reported human cases. But to date no other country has reported seeing this virus, either in pigs or in people.

Twitter alerts USGS to Philippines quake

Via BusinessWeek.com: Twitter Alerts U.S. Geological Survey to Philippines Quake. Excerpt:

Twitter Inc., the microblogging service that lets more than 140 million users send short messages on everything from the mundane to the life-altering, tipped off the U.S. Geological Survey to the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit near the coast of the Philippines today. 

The Reston, Virginia-based agency detected tweets about the earthquake one minute and seven seconds after the seismic event, which occurred at about 8:47 p.m. local time, Paul Earle, a USGS seismologist, said in a telephone interview. 

Social media sites such as San Francisco-based Twitter are playing a more prominent role in raising awareness of and coordinating responses to natural disasters, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and one last year in Japan that led to the failure of the Fukushima nuclear plant. USGS scientists monitor tweets for mentions of the word “earthquake” and its equivalents in other languages. 

“In some cases, it gives us a heads up that it happened before it can be detected by a seismic wave,” Earle said. 

The system for monitoring Twitter, called the Tweet Earthquake Dispatch, is most effective in remote regions, where the agency does not have as many instruments for measuring seismic activity as it does in an earthquake-prone area such as California, Earle said.

I picked it up on Twitter also, within seconds of opening my laptop early this morning. My traffic began to look like a seismogram: from 24 visits between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. to 332 in the next hour and 156 in the hour after that. We're now back to peace and quiet.

Ironically, Filipinos were frustrated by the fact that their own USGS, Phivocs, was offline at the time of the quake—and evidently doesn't have an active Twitter account yet.

Cuba: Follow-up on the cholera outbreak

Via The Disease Daily on HealthMap: Cholera in Cuba Contained. Excerpt:

Cuba’s first cholera outbreak in over a century has ended. Cuban government declared Tuesday that the outbreak had been contained, with no new cases reported in 10 days leading up to the announcement. Cuban Public Health Ministry (MINSAP) officials reported 417 cases in total, with three deaths. The bulletin was published in Granma, Cuba’s Communist Party newspaper. 

Three separate institutions in Cuba confirmed the presence of Vibrio Cholerae O1, which is the enterotoxigenic bacteria implicated in the outbreak. 

The epidemic had been centered in the city of Manzanillo, population 135,000, about 560 miles east of the nation’s capital, Havana. Throughout the region, the government implemented measures required to maintain the outbreak. After disinfecting suspected water sources, distributing clean water supplies, and maintaining check points to prevent infected individuals from traveling, officials also suspended Manzanillo’s and neighboring city Bayamo’s summer Carnivals in the wake of the emergency. 

The national government continued to take preventative measures against spreading the disease by issuing relevant daily public health messages. Venezuela’s military also provided support by sending 20 physicians. 

There have been unsubstantiated claims that Cuban aid workers returning from Haiti had somehow introduced the bacteria into the region. Those most familiar with the situation noted that heavy rainfall and flooding resulted in outhouses overflowing and likely contamination of drinking water.

Online dissidents have also been quiet about cholera and dengue lately.

Sierra Leone: Cholera situation as of August 27

Vis allAfrica.com, a report from Concord Times in Freetown: Sierra Leone: Cholera Situation in Salone As At 27 August. I gather "Salone" is a short way to say "Sierra Leone." Excerpt:

Nationally the cholera occurrence continues to show an upward trend particularly in the Western Area which accounts for the majority of cases (49%). As of the 27 August 2012 the national cumulative for all 10 districts is 13,918 cases with 232 deaths (CFR=1.7). 

Western Area (183), Bombali (20) and Tonkolili (17) reported the highest number of cases. Cholera outbreak has been confirmed in Kenema district in the East of the country bringing the number of affected districts to 11. Reported data indicate 16 cases with no deaths. 

A meeting on cholera preparedness and response was held for the District Medical Officers (DMOs) to strengthen their capacity especially in the areas of coordination, capacity building and standard setting. The expected result of this meeting includes streamlined emergency response, effective information flow and improved case management. 

Deputy Minister of Health, James Borboh Sawyer encouraged the DMOs to report regularly the district situation to the national level. 

In her statement, the representative from the Office of the President, Ms Miatta Kargbo thanked the partners for their support and reiterated government's commitment to control the outbreak.

Branswell: Health Canada finds new source of TB vaccine

Via The Ottawa Citizen, a report by Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press: Health Canada finds new source of TB vaccine; Japanese product to fill void. Excerpt:

Health Canada has secured a new supply of tuberculosis vaccine, filling a void left when the country's sole supplier recalled all its product earlier this year. 

The department says it has entered a 19-month contract with Japan BCG Laboratory of Tokyo to buy TB vaccine. 

The vaccine was given expedited approval, which was necessary because it was not previously licensed for use in Canada. 

Canada hasn't had a supplier of TB vaccine since mid-June, when Sanofi Pasteur recalled 47,000 doses of TB vaccine because of fears it might have been contaminated. 

The building where the vaccine was made was flooded last fall; Health Canada inspectors later found mould in what should have been a sterile manufacturing area. 

Sanofi is working to repair the facility, which is in Toronto, but it doesn't expect to have product back on the market until the end of 2013. 

Tuberculosis vaccine is known as BCG vaccine, named after Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin who developed the strain used in it back in the early 1900s. 

The vaccine uses a live but weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis in cows. It is related to the bacterium that causes TB in people. 

BCG vaccine is not widely used in Canada. It is mainly employed to protect young children living in First Nations and Inuit communities where the risk of TB outbreaks is high. 

A statement from Health Canada suggests it may be awhile still before the vaccine is available for administration.

US: CDC reports more H3N2v cases, first death

Via CDC: CDC Reports More H3N2v Cases. Click through for the full report and many links. Excerpt:

Today, CDC is reporting 12 additional cases of H3N2 variant virus (H3N2v) infection, as well as the first H3N2v-associated death, which was reported by the state of Ohio. 

The death occurred in an older adult with multiple underlying health conditions who reportedly had direct exposure to pigs in a fair setting. 

While limited person-to-person spread of this virus has been detected and likely continues to occur sporadically, no sustained community transmission has been found. 

CDC is monitoring this situation and working with states to respond to these evolving outbreaks. The agency continues to urge people at high risk from serious flu complications to stay away from pigs and pig arenas at fairs this summer. 

"We’re saddened to hear about the death of one person in Ohio associated with the current H3N2v outbreaks," says CDC’s Dr. Lyn Finelli. "Like with seasonal flu, we have been – and continue to be – particularly concerned about people with factors that put them at high risk of serious complications if they get the flu. These people should absolutely not have contact with pigs or visit pig arenas at fairs this summer." 

Dr. Finelli is Lead for the Surveillance and Outbreak Response Team in CDC’s Influenza Division. 

High risk factors for serious flu complications include: being younger than 5 years (especially children younger than 2 years), or 65 and older, pregnancy, and certain chronic medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, weakened immune systems, and neurological or neurodevelopmental conditions. A full list of high risk conditions is available on the CDC seasonal flu website. 

"Anyone with a high risk factor should not only avoid pigs and pig arenas at fairs, but they should also seek prompt medical attention if they get flu-like symptoms, especially if they have pig exposure, but even in the absence of pig exposure," Finelli says.

7.7 quake off Philippines triggers tsunami alert; one death

Via PhilStar.com, the first detailed report: 7.7 quake off Philippines triggers tsunami alert. Excerpt:

A 7.7-magnitude undersea quake struck off the eastern coast of Samar province on Friday night, triggering tsunami warnings across a wide swath of Asia. 

Undersecretary Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said in a radio interview that an old woman was confirmed killed and a boy injured in a landslide in Cagayan de Oro City, which took place after the earthquake. 

Meanwhile, a report by radio dzMM said that a house in Agusan del Sur province was hit by a fire. The report said that the fire was sparked by a gas lamp that was toppled during the earthquake. 

There were some reports of cracked roads after the quake. Local officials in Samar province are confirming a report that a bridge collapsed. 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that the quake struck 112 kilometers southeast of Guian, Samar. The quake, which was tectonic in origin, took place at 8:47 p.m. 

The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake at magnitude 7.9. It later said that the quake measured at 7.6 in the Richter scale. It said that the quake hit at a depth of 34.9 kilometers and was centered 106 kilometers (66 miles) east of Sulangan town on Samar Island.

US: California hantavirus outbreak surprises experts

Via Nature News Blog: Nature News Blog: California hantavirus outbreak surprises experts. Excerpt:

A hantavirus outbreak in California’s Yosemite National Park is raising concerns among public health officials and has also presented researchers with a medical riddle. 

According to a 27 August announcement from the US National Park Service (NPS), the outbreak includes two deaths last month and a third, non-lethal, case of the virus. A probable fourth case is also reported. 

The link between all the cases is that they involve individuals who stayed in a group of tent cabins at the park this summer. The NPS announced that they have tried to contact approximately 1700 individuals who lodged in the cabins between mid-June to mid-August in hopes that any other cases can be identified. 

Hantavirus is characterized by flu-like symptoms which can appear as late as five to six weeks after exposure.  It’s caused by an RNA virus that’s only transmissible through airborne particles of rodent saliva, droppings, or urine. 

Just 587 cases of hantavirus have been confirmed in the US from its first identification in 1993 to 2011.  ‘Sin nombre’, the most common strain (pictured), can result in a severe respiratory condition; roughly 38% of cases are fatal. Deer mice are the primary hosts for the virus, and high elevation sites, where the mice are more prevalent, can be hot spots. 

“Most cases can be traced to the same house – usually we see groups of two where people were cleaning a cabin together, for example,” says Brian Hjelle, a pathologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. “But it is unusual to have four cases coming from the same geographic location.” 

That’s what has experts puzzled. Hantavirus has only infected humans twice before in Yosemite, each time at higher elevation cabins and only as isolated cases. 

In this instance, all four visitors stayed in different “signature cabins” – wood structures covered by a canvas tent – in a lodging area called Curry Village. After the first death, park officials say they detected the virus in deer mouse droppings in the area. 

“We don’t really know the basis behind this particular cluster of cases – it may reflect the changing geographical distribution of the deer mouse, which typically favors higher elevations than Yosemite Valley,” Charles Chiu, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California in San Francisco, told Nature.  “That’s mostly concerning because it’s such a densely populated area.” 

However,  given the lack of human to human transmission and the rarity of the disease, Chiu doubts the odds of a large outbreak.

Small waves hit south Philippines after earthquake

Via Reuters AlertNet: Small waves hit south Philippines after major quake - agency. Excerpt:

Small waves have started to hit the southern Philippines after a major earthquake struck off the sprawling archipelago on Friday, the seismology agency said, and warned that further bigger waves could arrive soon. 

Renato Solidum, head of the agency, said waves of about 16 cm (6 inches) had hit the Surigao area on the southern island of Mindanao, but warned that second and third waves could be much higher. 

Solidum told local radio that residents should get to a 10-metre elevation until the tsunami alert is lifted.