H5N1

DR Congo registers record of 27 new Ebola cases in one day

Via Reuters: Congo registers record of 27 new Ebola cases in one day. Excerpt:

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo registered a one-day record of 27 new confirmed Ebola cases on Sunday, raising last week’s number of cases to 126, the biggest since the current outbreak was declared last August, the health ministry said. 

The previous record was 110 confirmed cases a couple of weeks ago. 

The outbreak in the country’s eastern regions is now spreading at its fastest rate, due largely to a spate of attacks by militiamen and others distrustful of the international response. 

 In the past two months, five Ebola centers have been attacked and a senior World Health Organization official was killed by militiamen 10 days ago.

DRC Ebola: 27 new cases, 26 deaths (15 in community/hospital)

The Ministry of Health has published EBOLA DRC - Evolution of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri at Monday 29 April 2019. At the risk of sounding alarmist, it looks really bad: At the current rate, we could be at 1,000 deaths by the end of this week. But the vaccination campaign continues and the MoH is paying attention to Ebola survivors. Excerpt from the Google translation:

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI 

Monday, April 29, 2019   

The epidemiological situation of the Ebola Virus Disease  dated April 28, 2019:   

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 1,466, 1,400 confirmed and 66 probable. In total, there were 957 deaths (891 confirmed and 66 probable) and 411 people cured. 

• 239 suspected cases under investigation; 

• 27 new confirmed cases, including 10 in Katwa, 6 in Mandima, 5 in Mabalako, 2 in Beni, 2 in Musienene, 1 in Mutwanga and 1 in Butembo;  

• 26 new deaths of confirmed cases, including 

º 15 community / hospital deaths, 8 in Katwa, 3 in Mandima, 2 in Mabalako, 1 in Musienene and 1 in Beni; 

º 11 CTE / CT deaths, including 5 in Mandima, 4 in Katwa and 2 in Butembo; 

• 1 new healed from the CTE of Komanda.   

/! \  The data presented in this table are subject to change later, after extensive investigations and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their health areas.

News of the response 

Eye health of Ebola winners 

• Research over the past few years on people who have survived Ebola Virus Disease has revealed that nearly 20% of Ebola survivors develop eye problems of various forms, including eye inflammation that can lead to total loss of vision. Early diagnosis and treatment of these problems limits the risk of serious sequelae. 

• For example, as part of the National Ebola Survival Program, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization set up an eye clinic in Beni and Butembo to check the eye health of survivors and provide them with information. specialized care where appropriate. The two partners in this project are two American universities, Emory University and the University of North Carolina. During their mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, international ophthalmologists conducted refresher sessions for their Congolese colleagues. Ten Congolese ophthalmologists have been trained on how to diagnose and treat eye problems related to the Ebola virus.  

• This is the first time that ophthalmic monitoring of survivors has been implemented so quickly after survivors have left Ebola treatment centers during an active epidemic. As a reminder, the Ministry of Health and its partners have created a national program to monitor Ebola winners. This program provides monthly clinical, biological and psychosocial follow-up for Ebola survivors.  

Vaccination  

• Since the beginning of vaccination on August 8, 2018, 107,565 people have been vaccinated , including 28,826 in Katwa, 23,107 in Beni, 13,246 in Butembo, 6,964 in Mabalako, 4,862 in Mandima, 3,269 in Kalunguta, 3,070 in Goma, 2,729 in Oicha, 2,699 at Komanda, 1,915 at Vuhovi, 1,889 at Masereka, 1,748 at Kyondo, 1,630 at Kayina, 1,487 at Bunia, 1,357 at Karisimbi, 1,313 at Lubero, 1,047 at Musienene, 1,025 at Biena, 772 at Mutwanga, 690 at Rutshuru, 557 in Rwampara (Ituri), 527 in Nyankunde, 496 in Mangurujipa, 420 in Mambasa, 355 in Tchomia, 342 in Kirotshe, 333 in Lolwa, 254 in Alimbongo, 250 in Mweso, 245 in Kibirizi, 161 in Nyiragongo, 97 in Watsa (Haut-Uélé) and 13 in Kisangani. 

• The only vaccine to be used in this outbreak is the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, following approval by the Ethics Committee in its decision of 19 May 2018.

US officials say measles cases hit 25-year record

Via The Washington Post: U.S. officials say measles cases hit 25-year record. Excerpt:

At least 704 people in the United States have been sickened this year by measles, the highly contagious and potentially life-threatening disease, according to a new report released Monday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s the greatest number of cases in a single year in 25 years and represents a huge setback for public health after measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. More than 500 of the people infected were not vaccinated. Sixty-six people have been hospitalized, including 24 individuals who had pneumonia. More than one-third of the cases are children under 5. 

The biggest and longest-lasting outbreaks are in New York’s Rockland County and Brooklyn, centered in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.  

There have been 13 outbreaks reported in 2019, accounting for 663 cases, or 94 percent of all cases. The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more cases. Half of those outbreaks were associated with close-knit religious or cultural communities that were undervaccinated, accounting for 88 percent of all cases. 

In response to the record number of cases this year, New York City has imposed a mandatory vaccination order, and Rockland County has mandated that anyone with measles must avoid public spaces or face a $2,000-a-day fine. And in California, hundreds of college students were quarantined last week after one student with measles attended classes on three days while contagious at the University of California at Los Angeles, and another contagious person spent hours at the library of California State University, Los Angeles. 

The rare and extreme measures reflect the seriousness of this year’s outbreaks. In a statement Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said: “We have come a long way in fighting infectious diseases in America, but we risk backsliding and seeing our families, neighbors, and communities needlessly suffer from preventable diseases.”

WHO: New report calls for urgent action to avert antimicrobial resistance crisis

A news release: New report calls for urgent action to avert antimicrobial resistance crisis. Excerpt:

UN, international agencies and experts today released a groundbreaking report demanding immediate, coordinated and ambitious action to avert a potentially disastrous drug-resistance crisis.   

If no action is taken - warns the UN Ad hoc Interagency Coordinating Group on Antimicrobial Resistance who released the report – drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050 and damage to the economy as catastrophic as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. By 2030, antimicrobial resistance could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty.    

Currently, at least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases, including 230,000 people who die from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. More and more common diseases, including respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and urinary tract infections, are untreatable; lifesaving medical procedures are becoming much riskier, and our food systems are increasingly precarious.    

The world is already feeling the economic and health consequences as crucial medicines become ineffective. Without investment from countries in all income brackets, future generations will face the disastrous impacts of uncontrolled antimicrobial resistance.   

Recognizing that human, animal, food and environmental health are closely interconnected, the report calls for a coordinated, multisectoral “One Health” approach.    

It recommends countries:  

• prioritize national action plans to scale-up financing and capacity-building efforts; 

•  put in place stronger regulatory systems and support awareness programs for responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials by professionals in human, animal and plant health; 

• invest in ambitious research and development for new technologies to combat antimicrobial resistance; 

• urgently phase out the use of critically important antimicrobials as growth promoters in agriculture.

See also this report in The Guardian.

Rain grounds Mozambique aid flights as cyclone death toll hits 38

Via Thomson Reuters: Rain grounds Mozambique aid flights as cyclone death toll hits 38. Excerpt:

Rains grounded aid flights in northern Mozambique for a second day on Monday, hampering efforts to reach survivors of Cyclone Kenneth as the death toll there jumped to 38. 

Rescuers managed to use a brief break in the downpours to send one helicopter packed with aid to the island of Ibo, where hundreds of homes were flattened by the second cyclone to hit the country in less than six weeks. 

But rains started again and conditions were too dangerous for the next flight to take off, the United Nations said. Roads to rural districts further north were swamped and impassable after torrential rains on Sunday. 

"Unfortunately the weather conditions are changing too fast and threatening the operation," said Saviano Abreu, a spokesman for the United Nations' humanitarian arm OCHA.  

Cyclone Kenneth slammed into the Comoros and then Mozambique's province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday with storm surges and winds of up to 280 kph - stretching resources in a region still recovering from Cyclone Idai which struck further south in March. 

The storm knocked out power and communications. Some rural communities were reduced to mounds of jumbled wood, with only the occasional structure and coconut tree left standing. 

Four people died in the Comoros, the United Nations said. Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management said its death toll stood at 38 on Monday - up from an earlier estimate of five - and just over 168,000 people had been affected. 

After the first hit, heavy rains pounded Mozambique's north, an area prone to floods and landslides. Information about the scale of the flooding in more remote districts remains scant.

Uganda: Kagadi in Ebola scare as one dies

Via allAfrica.com, a report fromThe Daily Monitor: Uganda: Kagadi in Ebola Scare As One Dies.

Kagadi District is on high alert following the death of a suspected Ebola patient. 

The deceased, Benon Ahorwendire, 50, a resident of Kanyegaramire Village in Kyenzige Town Council died at the weekend at Kagadi General Hospital where he had been admitted after presenting signs similar to those of an Ebola patient.  

Mr Selevano Thembo, the district surveillance focal person, said the deceased presented signs of fever, diarrhoea and vomiting blood. 

"Since our district is at high risk, any person who presents signs like diarrhoea, vomiting blood, we take their blood samples to Entebbe (Uganda Virus Research Institute) to ascertain the type of fever. As per now, we cannot confirm what caused the death. In this case, we took precaution of burying the deceased by using the district burial team to protect the residents," Mr Thembo said.  

Dr James Olowo, the district health officer, urged the public to remain vigilant and report such suspicious cases. 

Kagadi borders DR Congo where Ebola has claimed hundreds of lives since the outbreak started in August and more than 1,000 people have contracted the virus. 

Dr Olowo said more than 300 Congolese nationals enter the district weekly via Lake Albert shores due to the escalating virus in eastern DR Congo. 

Measures  

Last week, the Health ministry disbursed Shs146 million to Kagadi health department to help the co-ordination of all activities in preparation of fighting a possible outbreak. 

Government also opened four Ebola screening centres in the district to step up preparedness against the haemorrhagic disease. 

These are Ndaiga, Kabukanga, Kitebere and Songalawo landing sites at Lake Albert shores.

BUTEMBO: 36 young people engaged in the third training session on safe and dignified burials

Via Radio Moto Butembo-Beni: BUTEMBO: 36 young people engaged in the 3rd training session on safe and dignified burials. The Google translation:

Beginning of the training on dignified and safe burials, EDS, in Butembo town this Sunday, April 28th. This third training session is held in the catechetical room at the Butembo-Beni bishopric.  

Joseph MAKUNDI, President of the EDS commission and Head of the provincial division in charge of the civil protection returns on the purpose of this formation. 

"It's 36 people because of 12 per health area. After the training, we will put them at the disposal of the population and think that it will be able to communicate with them to raise the alerts on the deaths, but also proceed in the villages, with the only concern to block or to cut the chain of contamination of Ebola virus disease in the city of Butembo," said JOSEPH MAKUNDI. 

Note that 36 young people from KATWA and Butembo health zones are following this training on dignified and safe burials. This training is closing Wednesday 1st May 2019.

DRC Ebola: 27 new cases today; 126 in the week, 1,466 total

April 28 was the worst day yet in the Ebola outbreak. The MoH/WHO AFRO Ebola DRC KIVU 2018 Dashboard reports 27 new cases, making a total of 126 in week 17 and 1,466 since the outbreak began. Out of 11,800 contacts, only 9,800 are being traced.

Beni: Three health facilities close in Vuhovi following Mai-Mai threats

Via Actualite.cd, an April 27 report: Beni: 3 health facilities close in Vuhovi following Mai-Mai threats. The Google translation:

Three health facilities in the Vuhovi health zone, in the Bashu chiefdom in Beni territory (North Kivu), have been closed for nearly a month. These structures had to retreat after the many threats of the Mai-Mai militia in this region.  

These are the health centers of Isonga, Buhesi and Katanda, whose health care workers and community relays have become targets of armed men. The latter blame them for maintaining good relations with the teams responding to the Ebola virus disease. This situation makes the medical care of the local population difficult, deplores the civil society.  

"It's a disaster for the people who want to be treated, some of them are going to other health facilities that are far from their agglomerations, and a lot of patients are staying in their homes, which we are regretting. This can lead us to community risks," explains Kiptutulu, Vice President of Civil Society, Bashu Chiefdom. 

More than a hundred nurses and doctors from Butembo and surrounding areas demonstrated Wednesday, April 24, to denounce the insecurity they are victims.

UCLA measles update: One student remains quarantined on campus

Via UCLA: UCLA measles update: One student remains quarantined on campus.

Update Sunday, April 28 As of Sunday morning, April 28, the number of UCLA students who remain quarantined is 28. One person is quarantined on campus, while the other 27 are self-isolating in their own residences off-campus.