Tropical diseases updates

waltky · May 22, 2014

Chikungunya spreading through the Caribbean...

Painful and rapid spread of new virus in Caribbean
22 May`14 They suffer searing headaches, a burning fever and so much pain in their joints they can barely walk or use their hands. It's like having a terrible flu combined with an abrupt case of arthritis.

Hospitals and clinics throughout the Caribbean are seeing thousands of people with the same symptoms, victims of a virus with a long and unfamiliar name that has been spread rapidly by mosquitoes across the islands after the first locally transmitted case was confirmed in December. "You feel it in your bones, your fingers and your hands. It's like everything is coming apart," said 34-year-old Sahira Francisco as she and her daughter waited for treatment at a hospital in San Cristobal, a town in the southern Dominican Republic that has seen a surge of the cases in recent days. The virus is chikungunya, derived from an African word that loosely translates as "contorted with pain." People encountering it in the Caribbean for the first time say the description is fitting. While the virus is rarely fatal it is extremely debilitating. "It is terrible, I have never in my life gotten such an illness," said Maria Norde, a 66-year-old woman confined to bed at her home on the lush eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. "All my joints are in pain."

Outbreaks of the virus have long made people miserable in Africa and Asia. But it is new to the Caribbean, with the first locally transmitted case documented in December in French St. Martin, likely brought in by an infected air traveler. Health officials are now working feverishly to educate the public about the illness, knock down the mosquito population, and deal with an onslaught of cases. Authorities are attempting to control mosquitoes throughout the Caribbean, from dense urban neighborhoods to beach resorts. There have been no confirmed cases of local transmission of chikungunya on the U.S. mainland, but experts say the high number of travelers to the region means that could change as early as this summer. So far, there are no signs the virus is keeping visitors away though some Caribbean officials warn it might if it is not controlled. "We need to come together and deal with this disease," said Dominica Tourism Minister Ian Douglas.

One thing is certain: The virus has found fertile ground in the Caribbean. The Pan American Health Organization reports more than 55,000 suspected and confirmed cases since December throughout the islands. It has also reached French Guiana, the first confirmed transmission on the South American mainland. The Pan American Health Organization says seven people in the Caribbean with chikungunya have died during the outbreak but they had underlying health issues that likely contributed to their death. "It's building up like a snowball because of the constant movement of people," said Jacqueline Medina, a specialist at the Instituto Technologico university in the Dominican Republic, where some hospitals report more than 100 new cases per day.

Chikungunya was identified in Africa in 1953 and is found throughout the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere. It is spread by two species of mosquitoes, aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus. It's also a traveler-borne virus under the right circumstances. It can spread to a new area if someone has it circulating in their system during a relatively short period of time, roughly 2-3 days before the onset of symptoms to 5 days after, and then arrives to an area with the right kind of mosquitoes. For years, there have been sporadic cases of travelers diagnosed with chikungunya but without local transmission. In 2007, there was an outbreak in northern Italy, so health authorities figured it was just a matter of time before it spread to the Western Hemisphere, said Dr. Roger Nasci, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "With the increase in travelers the likelihood that something like this would happen goes up and eventually it did," said Nasci, chief of a CDC branch that tracks insect-borne diseases. "We ended up with somebody at the right time and the right place infecting mosquitoes."

The two species of mosquitoes that spread chikungunya are found in the southern and eastern United States and the first local transmissions could occur this summer given the large number of U.S. travelers to the Caribbean, Nasci said. Already, the Florida Department of Health has reported at least four imported cases from travelers to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Dominica. "What we're seeing now is an increase in the number of infected travelers coming from the Caribbean, which is expected because there's a lot of U.S. travel, a lot of vacation travel, a lot of work travel," he said. Around the Caribbean, local authorities have been spraying fogs of pesticides and urging people to remove standing pools of water where mosquitoes breed. An estimated 60-90 percent of those infected show symptoms, compared to around 20 percent for dengue, which is common in the region. There is no vaccine and the only cure is treatment for the pain and fluid loss. One consolation for those suffering from the illness is that unlike dengue, which has several variants, people only seem to get chikungunya once. "The evidence suggests that once you get it and recover, once your immune system clears the virus you are immune for life," Nasci said.

http://news.yahoo.com/painful-rapid-spread-virus-caribbean-040106421.html
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waltky · May 30, 2014

Australia bracing for dengue fever outbreak...

Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever
Thursday 29 May 2014 ~ Queensland researchers studying Asian tiger mosquito, saying it's 'only a matter of time' before it reaches Australia

Australia is preparing for an invasion by an aggressive and exotic pest that threatens to spread dengue fever to southern capitals. Queensland scientists have begun breeding the Asian tiger mosquito, a highly invasive species which is able to bite dozens of times a minute. They are closely studying the country's only colony of the insect, caged behind a series of locked doors in Brisbane's QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

Associate professor Greg Devine says the research is vital given the mosquito's potential to introduce the debilitating chikungunya virus and spread diseases such as dengue to capital cities. What we'd like to understand is the real risk of transmission in urban centres like Brisbane and Sydney, he said. We are also looking at the way it would interact with native mosquitoes so we can determine how rapid its impact will be.

The Asian tiger mosquito is able to bite dozens of times a minute. Photograph: courtesy federal Agriculture Department

But its greatest impact will be on Australia's outdoor lifestyle because it thrives in and around homes and bites all day. It's come to be known as the barbecue stopper, and for good reason, Devine said. The large and aggressive mosquito is capable of spreading several diseases, including Ross River virus, yellow fever and chikungunya. There is no treatment for the Chikungunya virus, common in south-east Asia, which can leave sufferers with severe joint pain for months.

When the Asian tiger mosquito will invade Australia is not known but Devine said it would be a case of when, not if. It's definitely only a matter of time, he said. It arrived in the Torres Strait about 2005, but of course that's not the only route at which it can come in. There is no doubt it is coming eventually because it's been picked up so many times at Australia's borders.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...o-australia-its-bite-loaded-with-dengue-fever
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waltky · Jun 20, 2014

Chikungunya has found its way to Georgia...

First case of mosquito-borne disease confirmed in Georgia
Thursday, June 19, 2014 ~ The mosquito-borne illness Chikungunya has found its way to Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) reported Thursday morning the first human case of the virus in the state has been confirmed. The patient reportedly picked up the disease during a recent trip to a Caribbean nation. Though this is the first reported case in Georgia, the CDC reports more than 60 cases in the country, and counting.

The virus is usually not fatal, according to the DPH, but it can cause severe symptoms including fever, extreme joint pain and swelling, rash and headache that begin three to seven days after infection. It is spread through mosquito bites, not through human to human interaction. Though there is not yet a vaccine or preventative medicine for chikungunya, most infected people feel better in about a week, but the DPH reports joint pain can last for months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported as of Tuesday, the disease has been reported in 19 Caribbean countries including the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. Haiti and Saint Martin. Those traveling to Africa, Asia and islands in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans are also at risk. Anyone with symptoms following travel should seek medical attention.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/first-cases-of-mosquito-born-disease-confirmed-in-/ngN4p/
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waltky · Nov 14, 2014

possum likes the idea of needle-free vaccines...

Researchers Develop Needle-Free Ebola Vaccine
November 12, 2014 ~ Researchers have developed a single-dose, needle-free Ebola vaccine that protects monkeys against infection for more than four months. The vaccine is administered through the nose, protecting the primates via the respiratory tract.

One key advantage, according to researcher Maria Croyle of the University of Texas at Austin, is that the vaccine could potentially prevent transmission of the virus from unintentional needle sticks through the unsafe handling of medical waste. News of the vaccine is reported in Molecular Pharmaceuticals, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

A researcher holds a vial of an experimental Ebola vaccine in Oxford, England

The inhaled vaccine uses a harmless adenovirus, which causes the common cold, to deliver the vaccine. In a study involving macaque monkeys, none of the three primates that received the vaccine become infected when exposed to the Ebola virus at least 21 weeks later. The researchers also gave the vaccine to the macaques through intravenous injection, which also protected the animals.

The investigators say more work is needed on the formula. An under-the-tongue formulation of the vaccine is also in development. At least two other candidate vaccines against Ebola are in clinical trials in the United States and Africa.

Researchers Develop Needle-Free Ebola Vaccine
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See also:

Dengue Fever Epidemic Neglected Amid Ebola Scare
November 13, 2014 ~ As the Ebola epidemic rages on in western Africa, there’s concern that another disease - which sickens and kills more people globally - is largely being ignored. Dengue fever, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, continues to spread in countries, including India and Malaysia, where nearly half of the world’s population resides. But a long-sought vaccine offering some protection against dengue may soon become available.

Dengue fever causes debilitating flu-like symptoms, rashes, headaches and severe muscle and joint pains. For that reason, the infection is sometimes called “breakbone disease.” Like Ebola, dengue is considered a hemorrhagic disease, resulting in death in the worst cases. Scott Halstead is senior scientific advisor to the Dengue Vaccine Initiative, an international consortium of scientists and lay people dedicated to the development of a vaccine.

Unlike Ebola, which - in the current epidemic - has so far infected more than 14,000 people in West Africa, Halstead says the scope of dengue is enormous, with up to 100 million infections every year, mostly across Asia. “I think people in the dengue field feel, 'Golly, ooh, we’re going to be pushed into the shadows.' But because hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people require clinical care, it’s a problem. It’s in your face but it’s all over the place," said Halstead.

Family members stand next to a patient suffering from dengue fever, in an isolation ward at a local hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

There are four dengue viruses, all spread by mosquitoes. Surviving infection by one strain provides lifelong immunity against that type but does not protect the person from future infection by the other strains. Two years ago, a candidate vaccine developed by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur was tested in a group of 4,000 Thai schoolchildren and did not perform as well as hoped. Only 30 percent of the children were protected against infection. The researchers' goal was a vaccine that was 70 percent effective against all types of the dengue virus. Now, in advanced clinical trials conducted in five Latin American countries involving almost 21,000 healthy children, the company is reporting promising results with the same vaccine.

In an article published early this month in the New England Journal of Medicine, Sanofi reports the vaccine offered 60 to 80 percent protection, resulting in fewer hospitalizations. The children were followed for two years to see if they came down with the disease. Halstead says the drug seems to work best in those who have already been infected with one of the dengue viruses. “So this seems to be what this efficacy is largely due to, which is boosting the immunity of people who are already partially immune," he said.

Halstead says the vaccine failed in Thailand because most of the treated kids who became infected were stricken with dengue type 2, the strain of the virus that’s proven to be the most difficult of the four to prevent. With future clinical trials planned, Sanofi researchers hope to learn more about how the vaccine protects against dengue fever, with an eye toward improving its effectiveness.

http://www.voanews.com/content/dengue-fever-epidemic-neglected-amid-ebola-scare/2519519.html
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Global Campaign to Eliminate Measles Stalls
November 13, 2014 — The World Health Organization (WHO) says the global campaign to eliminate measles is in trouble as progress toward that goal has stalled. WHO reports about 145,700 children died from measles in 2013, an increase of 23,700 from the previous year.

WHO says a decline in routine measles vaccine coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease in recent years. It also has stalled global efforts to eradicate measles by 2015. The U.N. agency says measles immunization efforts are hampered by lack of money, weak health systems and not enough awareness of the importance of vaccinating children against this killer disease. It notes it only costs about one dollar to vaccinate a child. WHO estimates 15.6 million deaths have been prevented through vaccination between 2000 and 2013.

Dr. Robert Perry of the WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, says these huge reductions in mortality are tapering off because of poor vaccine coverage. “So, now we are in a crossroads," he said. "We need adequate funding. We need to find ways to increase the first dose coverage and to increase the uptake of a second dose in routine as well as conducting high quality campaigns or we are likely to see more outbreaks like we have seen in the last few years.”

The World Health Organization reports in 2013 large outbreaks occurred in China, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. It reports more than 70 percent of global measles deaths occurred last year in just six countries - India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Syrian girl cries after being vaccinated against the measles at a U.N. registration center in Zahleh, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

Perry says conflict-ridden Iraq and Syria and neighboring countries are having serious problems with measles outbreaks. “These are countries, especially like Syria and Jordan that had very good coverage, had essentially eliminated measles and blocked any measles transmission," he said. "Because of the conflict in Syria, there has been huge population movement, so now there is - the population that used to be all vaccinated now is not vaccinated in Syria and they have moved to other countries. So, now these countries have big populations of kids that are not being reached. And, the conflict in Iraq and Syria is having a bad effect on the ability of teams to reach children. So, there is a lot of measles in those countries.”

Perry notes conflict in Africa is having a similar effect on efforts to reduce death from measles. He says the conflict between the government and Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria is creating great instability and making large vaccination campaigns virtually impossible. Although Central African Republic also is hard hit by conflict, he says it was possible to mount a successful measles vaccination campaign there last year. But he adds a number of areas were off limits because of fighting, so many children have been missed.

http://www.voanews.com/content/global-campaign-to-eliminate-measles-stalls/2519282.html
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waltky · Aug 29, 2015

Cholera season breaks out in Africa...

WHO: Tanzania Cholera Epidemic Worsens
August 28, 2015 The World Health Organization and Tanzanian Ministry of Health are stepping up efforts to contain and discover the source of a cholera epidemic that so far has killed eight people and infected more than 400 others.

WHO data indicates the fast-spreading epidemic broke out in the Dar es Salaam and Morogoro regions nearly two weeks ago; the Dar es Salaam region has been most adversely affected with 354 cases and seven deaths. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier tells VOA the outbreak caught health officials by surprise. The spike is an unusual spike right now because it jumped in short time from a few hundred cases to the 404 cases," he said. "Yet cholera is endemic in Tanzania, so, as such, it is not a worrying situation, but it needs to be addressed."

After assessing needs on the ground in affected areas, WHO officials have begun procuring laboratory reagents for diagnosis. Lindmeier also says the agency is outfitting five operational treatment centers in the affected region with medical supplies and chemicals to treat water and disinfectants.

WHO officials have said they see no connection between the current outbreak and a prior, more serious outbreak in western Tanzania's Kigoma region, which border portions of Lake Tanganyika and Burundi. The cholera outbreak in Kigoma region reported between May and July related to the refugees coming from Burundi at that time has been brought under control with no new cases from that area for nearly a month," Lindmeier said.

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza's April announcement to seek a controversial third term triggered political violence that prompted tens of thousands of Burundians to flee to Kigoma. The epidemic among refugees resulted in more than 4,800 cases and claimed dozens of lives.

Source
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Single Cholera Vaccine Dose May Slow Cholera Epidemics
August 26, 2015 : When it comes to a vaccine to prevent cholera, one dose may be as good as two. That is the finding of a new study whose authors say the strategy would make a new vaccine that is in short supply go further.

The World Health Organization is stockpiling 2 million doses of a recently licensed oral cholera vaccine to prevent the severe diarrheal illness. An estimated 1.4 billion people around the world, according to the WHO, are at risk for contracting the water-borne illness, making the stockpile woefully inadequate to meet the need. An outbreak of cholera often follows a natural disaster, when drinking water becomes fouled with human waste.

Single-dose effectiveness

In a new study, researchers looked at the cholera epidemic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the 2010 earthquake. Roughly 120,000 people contracted the bacterial disease and more than 800 died. But writing in the journal PLOS Medicine, they say if a single dose of the oral vaccine had been administered to the population within a year of the earthquake and the first reported cases, more than 78,000 cases of cholera might have been prevented and 783 deaths averted.

Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Universitys Bloomberg School of Public Health, led the study looking at the effectiveness of a one-dose strategy. He compares it to the current vaccination protocol, which calls for giving a dose of the drug to those at risk, followed by a second dose, two weeks later. Even if a one dose isnt 50 percent as efficacious as a two dose, its still the better strategy because when responding to an outbreak, the important thing is to get as much vaccine into the population as quickly as possible," he said. Using a mathematical model, the researchers found that a vaccination campaign in Haiti using two doses would have protected five percent fewer people than the single-dose strategy.

Additional factors

Lessler said that outcome would be due to problems with refrigeration, as well as the effort of tracking down those who had received the first dose. Investigators also analyzed the 2008-2009 cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe, saying almost 71,000 cases and 3,000 deaths might have been prevented. By using a one-dose campaign, you can protect the same number of people and protect them earlier, so you ultimately prevent more cases of the disease than if youd used the two dose protocol, he said.

Cholera, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causes severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death without immediate, supportive care. Children under five years of age are most vulnerable. There is currently an outbreak in Juba, South Sudan, and only 250,000 doses of the oral vaccine are available. Officials are testing the one-dose strategy in that region to see if they can limit choleras toll.

Source
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waltky · Sep 17, 2015

Dengue fever breaks out in India...

India Grapples with Dengue Fever Outbreak
September 16, 2015 As the Indian capital battles its worst outbreak of dengue fever in five years, health authorities have announced a series of measures to ensure treatment for patients. This follows reports that two schoolboys died after being turned away by hospitals.

Delhis Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatened to cancel the licenses of private hospitals if they denied admission to patients suffering from dengue fever. He said they would bring about a special law in the Delhi Assembly to deal with hospitals that turn away people. The outbreak of the mosquito-borne fever in the Indian capital hit the spotlight after the families of two schoolboys said their children died after a number of private hospitals refused to admit them.

The parents of one of them jumped off a four-story building on September 10 citing the death of their seven-year-old son, Avinash Rout, as the reason in a suicide note. Media reports said he was turned away by five private hospitals and by the time he was admitted to one, his condition had deteriorated. Eleven people have died in the city due to dengue in recent weeks. More than 1800 cases of the tropical disease have been reported, which usually strikes during the monsoon season and peaks around October. That is the highest number since 2010.

Indian patient, Aishwarya Gupta (4) lies on a bed in the dengue ward of a government hospital in New Delhi

Hospitals overwhelmed

Public and private hospitals have been overwhelmed by the influx of patients there are reports of patients sharing beds. As the dengue scare gripped the capital, Delhis Health minister, Satyendra Jain, asked people not to panic and assured them that they would not be denied treatment. He said the government has ordered 1000 more beds to treat dengue patients. He said hospitals have been instructed not to turn away people in serious condition and even if they did not have beds, they should stabilize the patient. Authorities have ordered surprise inspections, doctors' leave requests have been cancelled and hospitals have been asked to hire more nurses to cope with the influx of patients.

The government also announced that laboratories should not charge more than $9 for dengue tests the charges in private labs are up to four times higher. Health experts say the dengue outbreak has exposed the inadequacy of public health measures in India. The number of hospital beds, for example, has not kept pace with the countrys rising population. Delhi has 2.7 beds per 1000 people, much higher than the national average but only about half of the five per 1000 population recommended by the World Health Organization.

http://www.voanews.com/content/indian-capital-grapples-with-dengue-outbreak/2965865.html
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waltky · Sep 23, 2015

... first major cholera outbreak since 2012...

Cases in Iraq cholera outbreak rise to 121, but no new deaths: ministry
23 Sept.`15 - Iraq's first major cholera outbreak since 2012 has risen to at least 121 cases and spread to southern provinces along the Euphrates River, though no new deaths have been reported in days, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The illness was detected last week in the town of Abu Ghraib, about 25 km (15 miles) west of the capital, where at least four deaths were recorded. Most of the new cases are in Babel province south of Baghdad. Cholera is spread mainly through contaminated water and food and, if untreated, can lead to death by dehydration and kidney failure within hours. Iraq's water and sewerage systems are outdated and infrastructure development has been hindered by years of war and neglect. Poor public services were a catalyst for street protests last month in Baghdad.

Health ministry spokesman Rifaq al-Araji has blamed the cholera outbreak on low water levels in the Euphrates, from where locals extract water for drinking or farming, and winter flooding that contaminated the river and shallow wells with sewage water. He said high summer temperatures may also have activated the bacterium that causes cholera. Temperatures topped 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) during July and August.

Araji said public awareness has helped keep the current outbreak under control. "If treatment is received within the first 24 to 48 hours of infection, there is no peril to the patient," he told Reuters by phone. The ministry said it certified four fatalities from cholera in Abu Ghraib last week. Medical sources previously put the death toll at six. Around 300 people were diagnosed with the illness in 2012 in the northern city of Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region. Five years earlier, at least 24 people died and more than 4,000 cases were confirmed.

http://news.yahoo.com/cases-iraq-cholera-outbreak-rise-121-no-deaths-122420278.html
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waltky · Sep 25, 2015

Not bad for a peanut farmer turned politician...

End of Guinea Worm in Sight for Carter Center
September 24, 2015 Dracunculiasis is a parasitic infection that once afflicted millions primarily in Africa and parts of South Asia. Thanks to the efforts of former President Jimmy Carter and the Atlanta-based Carter Center working with government health ministries, the disease historically known as Guinea Worm is on the verge of becoming a historical footnote.

During Carters August announcement he was battling cancer, he made it clear he has plenty left to do. One big wish: I would like for the last Guinea Worm to die before I do," he said. Guinea Worm is relatively unknown in the developed world. But elsewhere, it is a feared parasite that infects humans through contaminated drinking water. It grows and causes excruciating pain when emerging through the skin.

The global campaign to wipe out the disease started at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1980 CDC proposed that if we wanted to assess sustainable development, clean water systems around the world, the eradication of Guinea Worm would be an indicator of whether weve been able to do that," said CDC Director Tom Frieden.

In 1986, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the complete eradication of Guinea Worm. Thats when the Carter Center stepped in. We started out with 3.6 million cases. And I think we have two cases in South Sudan and one case in Ethiopia and one case in Mali and seven cases in Chad. Thats all the guinea worms in the world, and we know where all of them are," said Carter.

The path to complete eradication depends on Carter Center initiatives to monitor and filter drinking water. Its just an historic effort to be able to drive the incidence of disease from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to only 14 cases today as of today," said Director of Guinea Worm Eradication Program, Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben.

If those 14 cases are the last ones on earth, Guinea Worm would join smallpox as only the second human disease in history to be eradicated. To think that because of President Carters leadership and work, and the CDC and our partners around the world, 80 million people will not have to go through that torture. That is a legacy that is just unbelievable and inspiring," said Frieden. For the World Health Organization to declare Guinea Worm eradicated, there must be zero cases of the disease for three calendar years. The pressure is on us to try to finish what remains to be done as soon as possible," said Ruiz-Tiben.

http://www.voanews.com/content/end-of-guinea-worm-in-sight-for-carter-center/2977461.html
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Brett Nortje · Sep 25, 2015

waltky said: ↑

Dengue fever breaks out in India...

India Grapples with Dengue Fever Outbreak
September 16, 2015 — As the Indian capital battles its worst outbreak of dengue fever in five years, health authorities have announced a series of measures to ensure treatment for patients. This follows reports that two schoolboys died after being turned away by hospitals.
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http://www.politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=416250&page=2&p=1065396479#post1065396479 maybe this will help?

waltky · Oct 3, 2015

Filtering out disease from contaminated water...

Innovative Nano-Tech Water Filter Prevents Disease
October 02, 2015 - Access to clean water is a problem for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Now, a scientist and chemical engineer in Tanzania [East Africa] is working to change that by creating an innovative water filter that makes dirty water safe.

Askwar Hilonga said the filter can combat various water problems. He is concerned that in Tanzania 70 percent of households, of 9 million households, are not using any kind of filter. The filter can absorb contaminants like copper, bacteria, viruses and pesticides, said Hilonga, who has been successfully trying out his product in Arusha.

It uses nanotechnologymanipulating matter to control individual atoms and molecules. Dirty water in buckets, connected to tubes, flows through sand to trap debris and harmful bacteria. A layer of good bacteria on top of the sand eats microbes that cause disease. Additional nanomaterials remove chemicals and other pollutants. Before I had this filter, said housewife Catherine Nanyaro, I used to fetch water from the river, and sometimes I used it without boiling it because it is very time consuming to boil the water. I had many problems, like typhoid, and other diseases from the water.

At a primary school, one filter is cleaning many liters of water. We have a river 50 meters from here, and we saw that it is not healthy, teacher Elena Ramos said. Then we took water from the government supply, but we also saw that is was not going to be healthy. And we wanted the best things for our kids, so we decided to buy the filter. Currently, each filter costs about 140 U.S. dollars. But Hilonga has received a U.S. government grant to help make his product more affordable and available commercially.

VIDEO
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waltky · Oct 5, 2015

Developed Ivermectin, the world's leading malaria-fighting drug...

3 share Nobel medicine prize for tropical disease drugs
Oct 5,`15 -- The Nobel prize in medicine went Monday to three scientists hailed as "heroes in the truest sense of the word" for saving millions of lives with the creation of the world's leading malaria-fighting drug and another that has nearly wiped out two devastating tropical diseases.

Tu Youyou - the first-ever Chinese medicine laureate - turned to ancient texts to produce artemesinin, a drug that is now the top treatment for malaria. Inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, Tu discovered that a compound from the wormwood plant was highly effective against the malaria parasite, while working on a project for the Chinese military during the Cultural Revolution. She will share the 8 million Swedish kronor (about $960,000) award with Japanese microbiologist Satoshi Omura and William Campbell, an Irish-born U.S. scientist.

Omura and Campbell created the drug avermectin, whose derivatives have nearly rid the planet of river blindness and lymphatic filarisis, diseases caused by parasitic worms and spread by mosquitos and flies. They affect millions of people in Africa, Latin America and Asia, leaving sufferers blind or disfigured and often unable to work. The Nobel committee said the winners, who are all in their 80s and made their breakthroughs in the 1970s and '80s, had given humankind powerful tools: "The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable," the committee said.

The Carter Center called the three laureates "heroes in the truest sense of the word, saving lives through medicine." Campbell, 85, is a research fellow emeritus at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He told the AP he made his main discovery in 1975 while working at pharmaceutical company Merck. "It was a great team effort," said Campbell, who now lives in North Andover, Massachusetts. He said the award came as a "huge surprise."

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waltky · Oct 10, 2015

“Subduing the enemy without fighting is the highest form of generalship...

Fight dengue fever with Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’
Wed, Oct 07, 2015 - With the number of dengue fever cases in Tainan having passed the 15,000 mark, after Typhoon Dujuan a number of local residents are concerned that there may be mosquito larvae growing in the rainwater, which may exacerbate the epidemic and lead to a sharp increase in the number of cases.

Some communities have tipped rock salt into drains and ditches, while others have distributed free anti-mosquito hats and improvized　mosquito repellent to deter the mosquitoes. However, mosquito expert Chen Chin-sheng says the best form of deterrent is to tidy up the environment. It is well known that the breeding source for dengue fever is water containers, says Chen. If proper cleaning is carried out, then mosquitoes will not mature into adults. Just as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War states: “Subduing the enemy without fighting is the highest form of generalship,” says Chen.

Dengue fever pesticide fogging work continues during a drizzly morning in Tainan

A community in the north of Tainan has distributed improvized mosquito repellent and vanilla bean paste to deter mosquitoes, however Chen believes preventing a dengue fever epidemic does not have to be that difficult. Chen says the spread of dengue fever in Taiwan mainly comes from the yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito. Since mosquitoes like to lay their eggs in water containers, there only needs to be a thorough purge of these items and the battle can be won without a fight.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2015/10/07/2003629428
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waltky · Oct 17, 2015

Ebola, Marburg vaccine formula found?...

Formula Developed for Vaccines Against All Hemorrhagic Viruses
October 16, 2015 | WASHINGTON The World Health Organization reported two more cases of Ebola in Guinea Friday, ending a two week period with no new infections of the deadly virus in West Africa.

While the news is disappointing, experts did not think the outbreak was over, and even if it were, Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health said there will be more Ebola outbreaks in the future. "We are going to have other Ebola outbreaks. History tells us that Ebola doesnt just disappear and go away," Fauci said. To prove his point, Fauci pointed out that there have been 24 outbreaks of Ebola since 1976. But it wasn't until this year that a vaccine thats 100 percent effective was available. That's because scientists in the public and private sectors, even those from competing pharmaceutical companies, worked together to produce a safe and effective vaccine in record time.

The vaccine combines a piece of the Zaire strain of Ebola with a weakened cold sore virus. The result is vaccine that doesn't make people sick, but protects against Ebola-Zaire. There are four different strains of Ebola virus that can affect people. "The available evidence is that a vaccine against one strain will not protect against other viruses of a different strain," according to Dr. Mark Feinberg, the chief scientist for Merck Vaccines, a branch of the pharmaceutical company that produced the vaccine for trials in West Africa. Merck is also known as MSD. Although the current vaccine only protects against Ebola-Zaire, Feinberg said the cold sore virus, or VSV, can be combined with proteins from other strains of Ebola. He said, "The VSV approach for the Zaire Ebola strain that was tested in this study has been successfully and very effectively applied to all the other known strains of Ebola" in studies involving monkeys.

Fauci, who heads the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, said marrying the weakened cold sore virus with a piece of other hemorrhagic viruses could produce vaccines against the deadly Marburg virus or the less deadly but more prevalent Lassa virus. Well before the first case of Ebola broke out in West Africa, scientists were working on vaccines for other deadly hemorrhagic viruses. Marburg, which is just as deadly as Ebola, and Lassa, a virus that is far more common in Africa than Ebola or Marburg. Up to half a million people in West Africa get Lassa fever every year and about 5,000 die from it, according to data from the World Health Organization. Lassa fever is a major health problem throughout West Africa. Fauci said. "Our original purpose before the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, was to... have VSV as a vector and to have Marburg, Lassa and Ebola in there."

He said the research on producing vaccines against hemorrhagic viruses will go forward. The goal is to never have an Ebola epidemic again. "Our original purpose before the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, was to do just that: to have VSV as a vector and to have Marburg, Lassa and Ebola in there. That was the original plan. When Ebola had this historic outbreak in West Africa, we put aside the plans for the others and we focused on developing just the Ebola," Fauci said. The next time Ebola breaks out, Fauci said, public health specialists want to be prepared. Meanwhile, research continues on vaccines for all hemorrhagic viruses. The goal is to end the suffering from all hemorrhagic fevers in West Africa.

http://www.voanews.com/content/hemorrhagic-virus-vaccines-formula/3009317.html
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waltky · Oct 22, 2015

Cancer causing parasite could also help heal wounds...

Parasitic worm causes cancer, may also help heal wounds
Oct. 21, 2015 - Researchers may also come away with a vaccine for cancer that affects 26,000 people a year.

Researchers found the Oriental liver fluke, a parasitic worm that infects people who have eaten raw fish and can cause liver cancer, has a growth factor that could be used to help heal wounds. Further research on the worm could actually have two positive results: the factor may be able to be used for wound healing, and could help to develop a vaccine against the worm-induced cancer. The researchers believe the growth factor shows specific promise for healing diabetic ulcers, which often are difficult to help heal.

The oriental liver fluke comes from eating raw fish, which often come from fisheries such as this one in southeast Asia.

"Diabetes is a big problem as we live longer and get heavier," said Dr. Michael Smout, a researcher at James Cook University, in a press release. "There are increasing numbers of inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and associated non-healing wounds. A powerful wound healing agent designed by millennia of host-parasite co-evolution may accelerate the impaired healing processes that plague diabetic and elderly patients"

Researchers found a growth factor in the worm sped up the healing of wounds in vivo and in the skin of mice. While the parasite appears to heal wounds, over time it also causes liver cancer, often living in the body for decades. Smout said scientists are still researching how the growth factor can control healing, and said the factor's use in clinical situations and development of a vaccine are still years away. The study is published in PLOS ONE.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015...-help-heal-wounds/2851445457973/?spt=slh&or=1
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waltky · Nov 10, 2015

23 Confirmed Cases Of Dengue Fever In Hawaii...

State launches Fight the Bite campaign to stop dengue fever in Hawaii
November 9, 2015 - The Hawaii State Department of Health Monday launched Fight the Bite, a statewide public education campaign that seeks to end the spread of dengue fever in Hawaii.

Its launch was announced in partnership with the County of Hawaii in Kailua-Kona. So far, there have been 27 confirmed cases of dengue fever on Hawaii Island. One unrelated case of dengue fever was also confirmed on Oahu. The health and safety of our community and visitors is paramount, and the Department of Health is working collaboratively with all of our partners including fellow state agencies, the Counties, healthcare providers, business leaders, nonprofit service providers and more to address this important situation and end the spread of dengue fever in Hawaii as quickly as possible, said Virginia Pressler, M.D., director of the Hawaii State Department of Health.

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi announced a series of public information meetings that will offer the community an opportunity to learn more about Fight the Bite and engage with county and state officials. The first meet took place Monday evening at Yano Hall with dozens in attendance. Im a Kona coffee farmer here in Captain Cook and Im interested in making sure if I have mosquitoes on the property, I can get rid of them and to find out exactly whats going on with dengue fever, said farmer Mark Schultise. I think the community needs to be involved and any time you can have people educated about a subject, theres less panic and less worry, and I think thats an obligation to the town and public is to be informed, said Waimea resident Gary Jarvill. The County of Hawaii has been working closely with the State Department of Health to respond quickly and efficiently to the cases of dengue fever in Hawaii and we are dedicated to minimizing its impacts on Hawaii Island and the state, Kenoi said.

At a press conference Monday attended by Kenoi, Pressler, and state epidemiologist and chief of the health departments disease outbreak control division Dr. Sarah Park, Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said all parties involved had their first briefing Wednesday, Nov. 4, and to start setting up an emergency operating center to alleviate and mitigate any further outbreak of dengue fever. We are getting a lot of reports of Well, I might have this, from the public who says, I didnt see my doctor but it sounds like I might have this,' Park said, and right now our threshold is low to test these people because we are in the middle of an outbreak investigation.

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waltky · Dec 1, 2015

Mosquito-borne chikungunya may cause Encephalitis...

Mosquito-borne chikungunya may cause fatal brain infection
Nov. 30, 2015 -- Encephalitis in patients infected with the chikungunya virus is far more common than previously thought, according to a new study of an outbreak.

The outbreak on Reunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean, lasted from 2005 to 2006, and affected about 300,000 people. Researchers said they mounted the study to find out if people who suffered neurological problems when they contracted the virus were still afflicted three years later. Chikungunya, which originated in Africa, was first seen in the Western Hemisphere in the Caribbean island of St. Martin, however has since spread to other islands in the region, as well as Central and South America, and been seen as far north as Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The virus is spread by mosquitoes, causing fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash. Most people recover from the painful illness, but joint pain may become chronic. Infants and the elderly already were thought to be at higher risk of death from the virus, even before the higher rates of potentially deadly brain inflammation were found by researchers. The risk of encephalitis is especially high for infants and people over 65, researchers reported in the study, published in the journal Neurology. The overall rate of encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, was also reported by researchers as higher than the rate of occurrence in the United States due to West Nile or any other cause between 1999 and 2007.

With cases of chikungunya continuing to increase, researchers are advising travelers to effected countries be more vigilant at trying to prevent mosquito bites.

A total of 24 people had encephalitis linked to chikungunya, which equates to an incidence rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people. The rates are much higher for infants and the elderly, however, as 187 per 100,000 infants and 37 per 100,000 people over age 65 experience brain inflammation because of the virus. The death rate for people with chikungunya-associated encephalitis was 17 percent, and between 30 and 45 percent of patients who had encephalitis had persisting disabilities after recovering.

More than 600,000 cases of chikungunya, and 76 deaths, have been reported this year, according to the Pan-American Health Organization. Overall, there have been more than 1.7 million reported cases in 45 countries. "Since there is no vaccine to prevent chikungunya and no medicine to treat it, people who are traveling to these areas should be aware of this infection and take steps to avoid mosquito bites, such as wearing repellent and long sleeves and pants if possible," said Dr. Patrick Gérardin, a researcher at Central University Hospital in Saint Pierre, Reunion Island, in a press release.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015...l-brain-infection/5381448917779/?spt=slh&or=1
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waltky · Dec 23, 2015

Philippines & Mexico clear use of Dengue Vaccine...

Two Countries Clear Use of Worlds First Dengue Vaccine\
December 23, 2015 The Philippines has granted approval for the sales of a new dengue vaccine, following Mexico as the first two countries to allow a treatment that could prevent the flu-like illness that threatens half the worlds population.

The recombinant, live, attenuated tetravalent vaccine (CYD-TDV) is the first to hit the market targeting dengue, which is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito and can cause crippling fevers, along with muscle and joint pain. Dengvaxia, as it has been named by its maker France-based Sanofi Pasteur, comes at a time when a safe and effective vaccine is urgently needed, according to the World Health Organization. The new vaccine has demonstrated clinical efficacy and a good safety profile, according to medical researchers at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in a paper recently published in the Southeast Asia Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit dengue fever.

Sanofi Pasteur said the vaccine has been demonstrated effective against all four dengue virus types. The vaccine actually is given in three dose schedules with a six-month interval. It is being given (to people) from nine years of age up to 45 years of age. This is the age range wherein most of the dengue cases are being reported, particularly in endemic countries here in Asia, according to Dr. Joselito Santa Ana, head of dengue vaccine operations in the region for Sanofi Pasteur.

Hopes for dramatic reductions by 2020

The vaccines maker is hailing it as an important tool to reach the World Health Organizations objective on dengue, a potentially deadly disease for which children are at particular risk. Together with vector control it will form an integrated approach in reducing dengue mortality by 50 percent and reducing the dengue morbidity by more than 25 percent by 2020, Dr. Santa Ana, speaking from Manila, told VOA on Wednesday. Clinical tests were carried out on 40,000 people from 15 countries. Some two-thirds of those over the age of nine were deemed to be protected and the vaccine was found to be 93 percent effective against the most severe form of disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue patient Ritika Srivastava, 22, lays on a bed covered with a mosquito net in the dengue ward of a government hospital in Allahabad, India.

While being hailed as a breakthrough, there is concern about vaccinating younger children and an unanswered question about the new vaccines long-term efficacy. A higher incidence of hospitalization in the third year after vaccination among children younger than nine years of age naturally infected with dengue raises a critical question whether this is a short-term or long-term phenomenon noted an editorial in the September 24 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine which suggested booster doses of the vaccine might reduce this risk.

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waltky · Jan 9, 2016

WHO says Cholera Vaccine to Double...

Global Supply of Cholera Vaccine to Double
January 08, 2016 GENEVA — The World Health Organization reports more life-saving cholera vaccine soon will be available to help nations struggling to contain outbreaks of the killer disease.

Two manufacturers currently produce three million doses of cholera vaccine. The WHO says the global supply is set to double this year after it approved a third company to produce the vaccine. The producer, a South Korean company called EuBiologics, is the latest oral cholera vaccine manufacturer to be approved under the WHO’s pre-qualification program, which ensures the quality, safety and efficacy of the product.

Dr. Stephen Martin, an expert in WHO's Emergency Vaccines and Stockpiles Division, calls it good news. He says the doubling of the global stockpile of oral cholera vaccines to six million doses will help address chronic shortages. He says last year, WHO had more demand for the product than it could meet. As a consequence, he says the agency had to turn down requests from Sudan and Haiti for the vaccine. “We have used it largely in outbreaks in humanitarian crises. But, this additional producer will permit us to perhaps go even further and to start using the vaccine in endemic situations, which is predictable. Time and time again, in many countries, you can see the rainy season starting and the cholera cases increasing," said Martin.

A South Sudanese baby suffering from cholera is being attended by medics in Juba Teaching Hospital in Juba

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. Globally, an estimated 1.5 billion people are at risk of cholera. The WHO reports there are up to 4.3 million cases a year, with as many as 142,000 deaths. The disease is endemic in more than 50 countries. Martin says a cholera vaccination campaign is due to begin in Haiti at the end of the month. Unfortunately, he adds, it will be a reduced campaign as the WHO only will be able to supply 240,000 of the 800,000 doses requested by the government.

He says WHO expects more manufacturers will come forward to produce the vaccine. Increased production, he notes, will lead to lower prices. He says he expects the current price of $1.85 a dose will go down to $1.45 a dose. He expects the demand for the vaccine will be particularly high in Africa this year. Martin says climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon are contributing to more frequent outbreaks of cholera and it is likely behind recent outbreaks seen in places, such as Tanzania, Malawi, and Kenya.

http://www.voanews.com/content/global-supply-of-cholera-vacciine-to-double/3137074.html
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Researchers: Malaria Treatment Fails in Cambodia Due to Drug Resistance
January 08, 2016 — Malaria-carrying parasites in parts of Cambodia have developed resistance to a major drug used to treat the disease in Southeast Asia, according to research published on Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

The drug piperaquine, used in combination with the drug artemisinin, has been the main form of malaria treatment in Cambodia since 2008. The combination is also one of the few treatments still effective against multi-drug-resistant malaria which has emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, and which experts fear may spread to other parts of the world. "[Treatment] failures are caused by both artemisinin and piperaquine resistance, and commonly occur in places where dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine has been used in the private sector," researchers said.

Artemisinin resistance has been found in five countries in Southeast Asia - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Resistance to both artemisinin and drugs used in combination with it has developed in parts of Cambodia and Thailand. Experts are particularly concerned that artemisinin resistance will spread to sub-Saharan Africa where about 90 percent of malaria cases and deaths occur. "Because few other artemisinin combination therapies are available, and because artemisinin resistance will probably accelerate resistance to any partner drug, investigations of alternative treatment approaches are urgently needed," the researchers said.

An Anopheles stephensi mosquito obtains a blood meal from a human host in this undated handout photo

They suggest an alternative treatment should be tested, comprising artesunate, a form of artemisinin, combined with mefloquine, a different long-acting partner drug. "The intensive spread of artemisinin resistance in Cambodia is rapidly threatening to reduce the efficacy of all artemisinin combination therapies used in this country and in bordering areas of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand," the article said.

Malaria patients in areas with drug-resistant malaria should be treated in hospital, the researchers said, "... intensified efforts are needed to discourage what appears to be a highly ineffective approach of self-treatment in the private sector." The research was produced by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. About 3.2 billion people - almost half the world's population - are at risk of malaria, according to the World Health Organization.

http://www.voanews.com/content/malaria-treatment-cambodia/3137877.html
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waltky · Jan 12, 2016

Deadly Asian bacterial disease more widespread than previously believed...

Risk of Deadly Melioidosis Rises, Study Finds
January 11, 2016 Melioidosis, a deadly bacterial disease most frequently found in Asia, is more widespread than previously believed and resists a wide range of antibiotic treatments, a just-issued study reports.

The new journal Nature Microbiology on Monday published findings that the little-known disease likely is present in 79 countries, including 34 that have never reported it. Research was conducted at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) here and the University of Washington in the northwestern U.S. city of Seattle, among other institutions. The study estimates the disease kills nearly as many people as measles, which the World Health Organization cited as responsible for almost 115,000 fatalities in 2014. Melioidosis causes more deaths annually than dengue or leptospirosis, both of which are health priorities for numerous international health organizations.

A patient with dengue rests under netting at a hospital in Allahabad, India. The mosquito-borne disease often is a greater priority than melioidosis, which a new study finds is more widespread and dangerous than previously believed.

Its caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a highly pathogenic bacterium commonly found in soil and water. It is contracted through the skin, lungs or by drinking infected water. Symptoms can include fever, weight loss, body aches, coughing and headaches, among other signs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients are frequently misdiagnosed as having pneumonia or suffering from sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection. "Doctors will try to rule out whether [patients] have malaria or dengue infection by rapid diagnostic tests," MORUs Dr. Direk Limmathurotsakul told VOA. If neither is confirmed, "doctors will suspect that any bacterial infection is the cause of the pneumonia and sepsis" and will prescribe antibiotics, he said.

Disease resists many drugs

But this particular bacterium is resistant to a wide range of antimicrobials, including penicillin. Treatment with ineffective antimicrobials can result in fatality rates exceeding 70 percent, according to specialists. "If they die, they die. If they survive, they survive" without the actual ailment being known, said Direk, one of the world's most prominent specialists on melioidosis.

Green spots locate confirmed melioidosis cases in Thailands Ubon Ratchathani province.

The bacterium is especially common in Asia. The study predicts high infections rates throughout Southeast Asia, notably in Vietnam and India, where there is especially low awareness about it among medical practitioners. The tropical zones of Australia are also considered at high risk for melioidosis, as are East Asia and the Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Some areas in Central America, southern Africa and the Middle East are also at risk, according to researchers.

Diabetes, kidney disease raise risks
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waltky · Jan 16, 2016

Granny tellin' Uncle Ferd don't go kissin' dem Hawaiian womens...

Dengue fever prompts Hawaii campground, trail, road closures
15 Jan.`16 — Hawaii officials closed a Big Island road, campground and hiking trail in an effort to stop the spread of a dengue fever outbreak that has sickened 223 residents and visitors as of Friday.

Five of those cases could be potentially infectious, according to the Hawaii Department of Health. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources closed the Muliwai hiking trail on the far cliff side of Waipio Valley and its Waimanu Valley campground on Friday. Hawaii County's Civil Defense Agency blocked all traffic to Waipio Valley Access Road on Thursday and limited access to residents. The road closure comes three weeks after health officials closed access to state lands near Milolii and Honomalino Bay, which were "hotspots" for the mosquito-borne virus.

The agency sprayed the area to kill the insects and met with residents and local tour operators, said Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County's civil defense administrator. So far, health officials have not identified other potential problem areas, he said. "Ideally, if we can prevent people from being bitten for a month or two and go beyond the life of mosquitoes, the virus would die off," Oliveira said, adding that a mosquito can live for up to a month. Health officials are holding weekly community meetings in Kona and Hilo to help educate the public. They also are spraying infected homes and other areas identified as potential sources of infection. Since September, officials have surveyed more than 250 sites and sprayed for mosquitoes 524 times.

Since the outbreak started in September 2015, 201 Hawaii residents and 22 visitors have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus. It is the biggest of three dengue fever outbreaks in Hawaii since 2001. The second-largest outbreak started in Maui in 2001 when 122 cases were reported. It lasted almost a year, beginning in the rural region of Hana and spreading to areas with lush vegetation and heavy rainfall. Another outbreak occurred on Oahu in 2011 when five people got infected. Officials say it's safe to travel to the Big Island, and visitors can reduce their risk of infection by wearing mosquito repellent and covering up with long clothing. "The partnership with the community is going to be key with fighting the virus and eventually eradicating it," Oliveira said.

http://news.yahoo.com/dengue-fever-prompts-hawaii-campground-trail-road-closures-032227904.html
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Vaccine sought for zika virus...

Brazil to fund development of vaccine for Zika virus
Jan. 16, 2016 — The Brazilian government says it is directing funds to a biomedical research center to help develop a vaccine against a virus linked to brain damage in babies.

Health Minister Marcelo Castro says the goal is to develop "in record time" a vaccine for Zika, which is spread through mosquito bites.

Zika infection in pregnant women has been linked to a rare condition called microcephaly, in which the head is smaller than normal and the brain does not develop properly. Brazil's Health Ministry says 3,530 babies have been born with microcephaly in the country since October.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Friday advising pregnant women to avoid traveling to Brazil and several other countries in the Americas where Zika outbreaks have occurred.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0d82...78/brazil-fund-development-vaccine-zika-virus
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waltky · Jan 16, 2016

New test kits for mosquito-borne viruses...

Brazil Zika outbreak: New test kits for mosquito-borne viruses
16 Jan.`16 - The Brazilian Health ministry says it's developed new testing kits to rapidly identify the presence of three viruses - Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya - all carried by the same mosquito.

Health Minister Marcelo Castro said priority for testing would be given to pregnant women. Brazil has the largest known outbreak of Zika, which has been linked to a sharp spike in birth defects. Mr Castro also announced extra funds to speed up finding a vaccine for Zika. He said that the goal was to develop a vaccine "in record time". At the moment the only way to fight Zika is to clear standing water where mosquitoes breed. The aim is that the tests will speed up diagnosis and ensure patients get correct medical treatment fast.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are the transmitters of all three viruses

Since October around 3,530 babies have been born with microencephaly, which can lead to small heads and under-developed brains. Fewer than 150 cases of microencephaly were seen in Brazil throughout 2014. The US State Department confirmed its first case of a baby born with brain damage because of infection by the Zika virus. The baby was born in a hospital in Oahu, Hawaii. The Hawaii State Department of Health said the mother was believed to have contracted Zika while living in Brazil in May 2015 and that the baby was most likely infected in the womb.

Most of the cases of microencephaly in Brazil have been in the poorer north-eastern states

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert on Friday advising pregnant women to avoid travelling to Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries where outbreaks of Zika have been registered. The travel alert applies to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes species mosquito.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35336618
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waltky · Jan 18, 2016

Birth of baby with microcephaly due to Zika virus...

Baby born with Zika virus in Hawaii
Mon, Jan 18, 2016 - DANGER: US officials have warned against travel to 14 nations that have the mosquito-borne Zika virus, and especially for pregnant women, because it can cause birth defects

A baby born with brain damage at a hospital in Oahu, Hawaii, was infected by the Zika virus, US health officials confirmed on Saturday, apparently the first case of the mosquito-borne virus in a birth on US soil. The mother became ill with the Zika virus while living in Brazil in May last year and the baby was likely infected in the womb, Hawaiian state health officials and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Theres no indication at this point that theres any Zika virus circulating in Hawaii, US Centers for Disease Control spokesman Tom Skinner said. But I think its important for us to understand that there are going to be imported cases of Zika to the United States and we wont be surprised if we start to see some local transmission of the virus, Skinner said.

Zika can be transmitted by a mosquito that has bitten an infected person. On Friday, US health officials issued a travel warning for 14 nations and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America where infection with Zika is a risk. The US Centers for Disease Control in particular cautioned pregnant women not to travel to those areas as Zika has been linked to serious birth defects. The travel alert applies to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The centers also advised women who are trying to become pregnant to consult a doctor before traveling to those areas. In the Hawaii case, a doctor recognized the possibility of a Zika infection in the newborn baby with microcephaly and alerted state officials, the Hawaii Department of Health said in a written statement.

The infection was confirmed by a US Centers for Disease Control laboratory test and an advisory sent to doctors statewide. The Hawaii Department of Health emphasized that neither the mother nor baby were infectious and that there have been no recorded cases of Zika virus acquired in Hawaii, although six people have been identified there who were infected outside the US. Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, which also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses and are common in Texas, Florida and elsewhere in the US. The virus is usually a mild illness with fever, rash and joint pain. There is no preventive vaccine or treatment, the Centers for Disease Control said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/01/18/2003637494
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waltky · Jan 21, 2016

Could zika be the next plague?...

Zika Virus May Infect Up to 700,000 People in Colombia, Government Says
January 20, 2016 — The mosquito-borne Zika virus has already infected more than 13,500 people in Colombia and could hit as many as 700,000, the health minister said Wednesday.

According to Pan-American Health Organization figures, the country is second only to Brazil in infection rates, health minister Alejandro Gaviria told journalists. "We expect an expansion similar to what we had with the chikungunya virus last year, to finish with between 600,000 to 700,000 cases," Gaviria said.

A specialist fumigates the Nueva Esperanza graveyard in the outskirts of Lima, Jan. 15, 2016. The Zika virus has quickly spread across South America and the Caribbean in recent weeks.

Some 560 pregnant women are among those infected, the minister said, though so far no cases of newborns suffering from microcephaly, a congenital defect caused by Zika, have been registered in the country.

The government is advising Colombian women to delay becoming pregnant for six to eight months in a bid to avoid potential infection. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention last week warned pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries, including Colombia, and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America affected by the virus.

http://www.voanews.com/content/zika-virus-infect-hundreds-of-thousands-colombia/3155039.html
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Venezuela Short of Crucial Medicines
January 20, 2016 — With scores of medicines in short supply due to a severe financial squeeze, Venezuela is suffering a "humanitarian crisis" and requires rapid international assistance, according to a major pharmaceutical association.

The Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation listed 150 medicines, from those for hypertension to cancer, as well as basics such as prophylactics and antibiotics, which are scarce in the OPEC nation of 29 million people. "The national government must accept we are in a humanitarian crisis in the health sector, with patients dying across our territory for lack of medicines," said association president Freddy Ceballos in a statement. "It's necessary to activate all mechanisms of international health assistance to solve this crisis as soon as possible," he added, without specifying what aid he thought should be sought.

A Farmatodo pharmacy in Caracas, Venezuela

The health ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the pharmaceutical association's statement, but Venezuela's socialist government has bristled at criticism of its health system, which former President Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer in 2013, spent lavishly on during an oil bonanza. It accuses local groups of exaggerating problems and says the widespread shortages in Venezuela - of food as well as medicines - are due to an "economic war" by foes.

Long lines form daily outside pharmacies, and doctors and patients constantly complain of lack of medicines and equipment. Maduro last week decreed an "economic emergency" in the recession-hit nation with the fastest inflation in the world rings up a roughly $10 billion foreign debt bill this year amid plunging oil revenues.

http://www.voanews.com/content/venezuela-short-of-crucial-medicines/3154808.html
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waltky · Jan 22, 2016

Zika virus spreads fear in Latin America...

Virus causes panic in Latin America
Sat, Jan 23, 2016 - DESPERATE: The governments of El Salvador and Colombia advised couples to delay pregnancy in an attempt to avoid birth defects caused by the Zika virus

With the sting of a mosquito bite and a fever, many pregnant women might not know that they caught the Zika virus until it strikes their unborn child. However, thousands of cases of birth defects linked to the disease over recent months are now sowing alarm in the US and in Latin America. Babies have been born with abnormally smaller heads, a condition doctors call microcephaly, which often causes brain damage. The scare has struck hardest in Brazil, which hosts the summer Olympic Games in August.

A worker of the Salvadorean Ministry of Health fumigates a house in Soyapango, El Salvador

It is one of 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries that the US has warned pregnant women not to visit because of the Zika risk. I am very afraid, said Jacinta Silva Goes, a 39-year-old cleaning lady in Sao Paulo who is expecting her third child. For the moment I am not using mosquito repellent because the doctor has not told me to. He has not spoken to me about Zika, she said. Zika used to be thought just a poor relation of dengue fever, another mosquito-borne virus.

The WHO said it is transmitted by the same mosquito that spreads the dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. However, the WHO this week noted a surge in cases of microcephaly in Brazil, the country most affected by the epidemic. It said that the causal link between Zika infection and microcephaly has not yet been proven, though the rise in cases is striking. In the past year there were 3,530 cases of microcephaly reported, compared with a yearly average of 163 over the four preceding years.

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US Health Officials Issue Guidelines to Deal with Zika Virus
January 21, 2016 - U.S. health officials have issued new guidance for women who might have been exposed to the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne infection that can cause brain damage in a developing fetus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday warned that the virus is spread through mosquito bites, and there are no vaccines to prevent the spread nor drugs to treat those infected. The agency issued a warning to pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America affected by the virus. Those countries are Puerto Rico, Martinique, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Colombia, French Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Mexico.

A researcher holds a container with female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in Sao Paulo University, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Jan. 18, 2016. The Aedes aegypti is a vector for transmitting the Zika virus.

It said that while there is no evidence to suggest that pregnant women are more susceptible to Zika virus infection, they can be infected in any trimester. "We are quite concerned about the potential complications to the fetus of a Zika virus infection of pregnant women, and so we really are advising that pregnant women seriously consider postponing travel to these areas if possible," said Dr. Beth Bell of the CDC.

Exposure, repellents, screens

Pregnant women traveling to impacted areas should take precautions to limit their exposure to mosquitoes, the agency said. "Mosquitoes bite not just at night, but also during the day, Bell said. And so the measures that people need to take to prevent mosquito bites, they have to use all the time, not just at night." Travelers also are advised to stay in places with screens on their doors and windows, wear protective clothing and use insect repellents such as DEET.

A health worker fumigates the Altos del Cerro neighbourhood as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Soyapango, El Salvador

The virus has been linked to a rising number of cases of microcephaly, a condition associated with small head size and brain damage. Brazil and Colombia lead the countries with the most reported infections, but it is spreading rapidly in neighboring countries. Last week, U.S. health authorities confirmed the birth of a baby with microcephaly in Hawaii to a mother who had been infected with the Zika virus while visiting Brazil last year. The CDC urged doctors to ask pregnant women about their travel history. Women who have traveled to regions in which Zika is active and who report symptoms during or within two weeks of travel should be offered a test for Zika virus infection.

Zika unknowns
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waltky · Jan 23, 2016

3 cases of zika in New York...

Three people test positive for Zika in New York: authorities
23 Jan.`16 - Three people in New York have tested positive for the Zika virus, which has been blamed for a surge in babies born with abnormally small heads in Latin America, city officials said.

All three had travelled to areas outside the United States where the mosquito-borne ailment is spreading rapidly, the New York State Department of Health said, without specifying where. Officials said one person has completely recovered, while the others are still getting better.

Soldiers check for Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae during a clean-up operation against the insect which transmits the Zika virus, in Sao Paulo, Brazil

US health authorities earlier on Friday expanded a travel warning for pregnant women to avoid 22 places in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the Zika virus. It has been linked to thousands of cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly, when babies are born with abnormally small heads, which can cause brain damage.

New York authorities warned anyone contemplating travel to warmer regions to take care. "We are urging residents, especially pregnant women, to check all health advisories before travelling and take preventive measures when travelling to affected countries," said New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker. Women in these areas are urged to take measures to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves and pants, and applying insect repellent.

http://news.yahoo.com/three-people-test-positive-zika-york-authorities-061134296.html
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