Staph-Infection.org

I reported earlier that Uganda was struggling to contain an outbreak of Ebola. It has now been confirmed that 25 people have died from Ebola. This includes 4 health care workers. There is also another 93 suspected cases through-out the western Uganda.

The four health care workers became infected after carrying for patients without gloves, gowns or respirators. Officials have reported that such equipment has been made available to all hospitals.

It has now been determined that Uganda is dealing with a new strain of Ebola. Normally Ebola takes it’s victims through massive bleeding. However, this new strain causes a measles-like rash and high fever. It also seems to be less deadly.

Officials have recommended that people refrain from hand shakes, kissing and have closed down venues were a lot of people could easily become infected at once.

International aid is present in the country at this point in time. Fact sheets and radio public service announcements are being used to spread awareness.

Ebola killed 170 people in Northern Uganda seven years ago. Experts are attempting to find the source of this outbreak, so they can prevent such an outbreak from happening again.

Earlier this week Staph-Infection.Org reported that a Chinese man had died of bird flu. It has now been discovered that the man’s father is also sick with bird flu. He came down with a fever, that was later reported to be the notorious H5N1 strain of bird flu.

This brings China’s total to 27 human infections. The, higher then average number, is in-part credited to China’s very high bird population. So far the only way to be infected is by close contact with infected poultry. It is feared that the bird flu may changed into a version that can be easily transfered from human to human. It’s predicted that if this happen it could spark a global flu pandemic.

Early reports say, that neither man had known contact with infected poultry. Obviously, this only elevates the investigation into how the pair became infected. As usual it’s not time to panic. Most likely both were infected by birds.

As more information is made available, I’ll get it up.

China has been interested in creating an AIDS vaccine for 16 years. The country didn’t own intellectual property rights to the vaccine until 2006. This is the second vaccine that the country has entered into phase one testing. The first phase of testing focuses on safety.

It has been given to 36 volunteers. I can’t imagine how it must feel to be one of those volunteers. In one hand, your helping solve a global problem. But the consequences of testing a new drug can be serve. All I have to say is, my hats off to those 36. Tests on mice and small animals have shown that the drug is safe for humans.

This vaccine is different then any other vaccine that has ever been tested. It replicates itself to fight HIV infection. To this date there have been around 120 tests of HIV vaccines on humans.

The vaccine seems promising. However, if it were found to work, years of work still lies ahead. It’s not time to declare victory, this test is just one of many that will add to our knowledge of the disease.

China’s first vaccine passed phase one. Meaning the vaccine was found to be safe for human use. This vaccine is still waiting to be moved into phase two. Officials have said, that we would have to wait for future announcements before we know the fate of this first vaccine. Most likely it will eventually be moved to phase two. This will test the vaccine’s ability to fight an HIV infection. The third phase will test the HIV vaccine’s ability to protect high risk groups.

China has around 700,000 people infected with Aids or HIV. China is being some-what closed-mouthed about both vaccines. But, I guess you can’t expect them to tell us everything.

It will be at least a few months before we know the results of the test currently be conducted in China. I guess we will just have to wait…

Agricultural economists at Kansas State University predict that a large scale Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak could cost, 945 Million. If an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth did occur, all cattle movement and processing would come to a halt. In a state were cattle is king, that’s not a good thing. Thousands of cows would have to be killed to prevent the spread causing even more damage. The economic damage would be eminence.

The team looked at three different scenarios. One situation, dealt with a very large scale intentional outbreak. If foot-and-mouth disease was to be intentionally released on five large feed lots the regional economic damage would total $685 million. Large feed lots consist of over 40,000 heads of cattle. Researches predict that 1.7 million heads of cattle would have to be destroyed to prevent the spread of Foot-and-mouth disease. It’s predicted that this large scale type of intentional infection could last up to three months.

As a rule of thumb, the more cattle infected at once, the better chance of foot-and-mouth spreading to other cattle which is directly related to the economic loss. The smallest scenario, with just one cow and calf initially infected, would cost 23 Million and 123,000 cattle would have to be destroyed. The outbreak could last as long as 29 days. In the last scenario, a feedlot with between 10,000-20,000 cattle becomes infected. It would lead to the destruction of 407,000, cause 140 million in damages and last about 39 days.

I think the numbers speak for themselves. It’s very important that we do as much as possible to prevent such an outbreak. The report also details how vulnerable Kansas is. Over 100,000 cattle are brought in contact with eachother on a weekly basis. The disease defiantly has the potentially to spread quickly and cause massive economic damage to the region. Lets hope we never get to know how accurate these predictions are…

Ebola has already killed 18 people in Western Uganda. The total number of cases has reached 64 confirmed. The outbreak is just now receiving international attention. Several experts from around the world will be on site in the next couple of weeks. These experts will determine how many people are affected, were the disease is headed and how its spreads. After that knowledge is gained they will put together a plan to best counter-act the spread of Ebola.

It’s been reported that some people are refusing to come out of their houses for treatment. This is often the case with third-world countries. Negotiators are doing their best to get these people to treatment centers.

Ebola has no cure and is spread mostly by blood contact. Not much is known about the disease itself and even little is known about the strain of Ebola in Uganda. It was discovered in 1976 and has remained relativity rare from then on. The disease is so deadly that Ebola usually doesn’t have a chance to spread before the patient is killed. This is what prevents outbreaks of this disease from becoming common.

More info is defiantly on the way…

A man from the coastal province of Jiangsu has died of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The 24-year-old man was hospitalized on Tuesday and once in the hospital he deteriorated very fast.

Around 200 people have died from the bird flu sense it became prevalent in 2003.

It is feared that the H5N1 strain of bird flu may mutate into something that can easily be transfered from human to human. This could spark a global pandemic.

Health officials said that the Mutated Cold virus has killed 10 people in the last 18 months. Adenoviruses are usually not considered deadly and for the most part just cause a common respiratory infection. However a new variant, Ad14, has lead to 10 deaths.

Most people have absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s a very uncommon infection.

It may be known by to some as the “boot camp flu”. Earlier this year it was responsible for infecting hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. It lead to the death of one 19 year old and sent five to ICU.

It’s alarming that healthy young-adults easily became infected. As with most infections, those with weak immune systems are at more risk.

If anything comes up in the news about this strain all be sure to get it posted…