West Nile virus on the rise in U.S.

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) — With 241 cases of West Nile virus and four related deaths reported so far this year, the United States is experiencing the biggest spike in the mosquito-borne illness since 2004, health officials report.

Eighty percent of these infections have occurred in three states — Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma — which have seen earlier activity than usual. Overall, 42 states had detected West Nile virus infections in people, birds or mosquitoes as of July 31, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

“It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years,” Dr. Marc Fischer, medical epidemiologist with agency’s Arboviral Diseases Branch, said in a CDC news release. “Regardless of the reasons for the increase, people should be aware of the West Nile virus activity in their area and take action to protect themselves and their family.”

Typically, the greatest risk for infection with West Nile virus occurs from June through September, with cases peaking in mid-August. But changes in the weather, the number of infected mosquitoes and human behavior can all influence when and where outbreaks of the virus occur, the CDC noted.

The best way to protect yourself from West Nile virus is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. CDC officials recommend the following protective measures:

Use insect repellents when outside.

Wear long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk.

Install or repair window and door screens.

Use air conditioning whenever possible.

Do not leave standing water outside in open containers, such as flowerpots, buckets and kiddie pools.

People infected with the West Nile virus can develop fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. In more extreme cases, the virus can lead to serious neurologic illness, such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues), or death. People older than 50 and those with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and organ transplants, are at greater risk for serious illness.

Although most people with mild cases of West Nile virus will recover on their own, the CDC recommends that anyone who develops symptoms of the illness should see their doctor right away.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health provides more information onWest Nile virus.

Huge East Coast ground beef recall and Salmonella outbreak

Before you throw that burger on the BBQ check it closely to make sure it’s not ground beef involved in this East Coast recall! The USDA just announced Cargill Meat Solutions, a Wyalusing, Pa., establishment, is recalling 29,339 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with SalmonellaEnteritidis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall, sold wholesale and for further processing:

• 14 pound chub packages of “Grnd Beef Fine 85/15”, packed 3 chubs to approximate 42-pound cases.

The products subject to recall bears the establishment number “EST. 9400” inside the USDA mark of inspection. While the use-by date has passed and these products are no longer available for retail sale, FSIS and the company are concerned that some product may be frozen in consumers’ freezers. These products were produced on May 25, 2012, and were shipped to distribution centers in Connecticut, Maine and New York for further distribution.

It is important to note that the above listed products were repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under different retail brand names. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on FSIS’ website.

FSIS became aware of the problem during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis involving 33 case-patients from 7 states (MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VA, VT-preliminary data, subject to change). Working in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Vermont Department of Health, New York State Department of Health, and New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, FSIS was able to link illnesses in five case-patients to the ground beef products produced at this establishment based on epidemiologic and traceback investigations, as well as in-store reviews. Illness onset dates among these five case-patients ranged from June 6, 2012 to June 13, 2012. Two of the five case-patients were hospitalized. Leftover product with no packaging information collected during the course of this investigation by the Vermont Department of Health tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis with the outbreak strain. This outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis is drug sensitive, meaning antibiotics can be effective in treating patients who need them. FSIS is continuing to work with CDC and public health partners on the investigation.

Consumption of food contaminated with Salmonella can cause salmonellosis, one of the most common bacterial foodborne illnesses. Salmonella infections can be life-threatening, especially to those with weak immune systems, such as infants, the elderly, and persons with HIV infection or those undergoing chemotherapy. The most common manifestations of salmonellosis are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours. Additional symptoms may be chills, headache, nausea and vomiting that can last up to seven days. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160° F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.

Consumers who have questions are encouraged to call the company’s consumer information line at (888) 812-1646. Media with questions regarding the recall can contact Michael Martin, the company’s media contact, at (316) 291-2126.

Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. “Ask Karen” live chat services are available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

Taiwan finds H5N1 virus in birds smuggled from China

TAIPEI — Dozens of pet birds smuggled from southern China into Taiwan tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus and were destroyed, Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday.

The smuggler bought the 38 birds in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and was caught at the Taoyuan international airport in northern Taiwan when he returned via Macau earlier this month, said the Centers for Disease Control.

The birds later tested positive for the H5N1 virus and were killed, it said, adding that nine people who had contact with the birds had not shown any flu symptoms during a ten-day screening.

Taiwan has no recorded cases of the deadly H5N1 strain, although in 2005 health authorities said eight pet birds smuggled from China tested positive for the strain and destroyed.

The island has reported several outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu, a less virulent strain of the virus, in recent years.

China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.

Dallas Man Dies From West Nile Virus

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A man in his sixties has died from the West Nile virus in Dallas, the city’s first fatality connected to it this year.

Dallas County officials said the man lived in the 75204 zip code, about a 2.5 square mile swath northeast of downtown that includes Uptown and parts of East Dallas.

The city will spray south Oak Cliff and North Dallas for mosquitoes overnight Wednesday. North Oak Cliff will be sprayed overnight Monday. So far this summer, the Dallas County Health Department has confirmed eight cases of West Nile in a human and 42 cases found in mosquito pools within the city limits.

The county’s racked up 16 human cases.

They’re reiterating the need for prevention: Stay inside at dawn and dusk or wear pants and long sleeves, use mosquito repellant with the insecticide DEET and get rid of any pools of standing water outdoors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, severe symptoms caused by West Nile are rare. Residents older than 50 are most susceptible to the virus, which can cause fever, headache, neck stiffness, muscle weakness and tremors.

CDC Pushes Measles Vaccine Ahead of London Olympics

Melissa Melton
Planet Infowars
July 16, 2012

Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com have reported at-length on potential false flag concerns centering around the 2012 Olympics, most recently in a whistleblower interview with acclaimed director Ben Fellows who revealed startling plans to evacuate London during the games. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using the event to push vaccines.

This week, the CDC released a digital press kit entitled “Traveler’s Health: 2012 London Olympics” urging everyone to get their vaccinations before they leave for the Olympics. Of the three tips the CDC has for ensuring your visit to London is “healthy, safe, and memorable” — which include learning how to access medical care and looking both ways before you cross the street — making sure you are up-to-date on your vaccines is listed first. Measles is specifically singled out, followed by the vague statement “In 2011, some U.S. residents who traveled abroad got measles.” The CDC notes that these travelers caused 17 outbreaks of measles in the United States last year.

The measles vaccine, however, is no longer produced for standalone sale in the United States. The only way to get a measles inoculation is to take a combination vaccine: either a measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot or an MMR and varicella (MMRV) shot. The only company that currently produces these shots for sale in America is Big Pharma fraud Merck and Company, Inc.

The CDC’s measles vaccine advertisement comes at an interesting time. Just last month, a federal antritrust class action lawsuit was filed against Merck for selling bogus vaccines. The suit followed the unsealing of a 2010 False Claims Act complaint against the vaccine manufacturer. Two Merck virologists alleged the company may have actually incited mumps and measles outbreaks with its vaccines by knowingly falsifying efficacy data. In a devious effort to maintain lucrative FDA approval and exclusive license to sell the vaccines, the complaint goes on to assert test samples were spiked with animal antibodies so Merck could claim “95% effective” rates when the vaccines were anything but.

Of all the advice the CDC could give to potential American tourists, why is the organization suddenly focusing on promoting widespread measles vaccination two weeks after some of the worst PR the vaccine has ever had?

Outbreak claims 112 in China

A Chinese province urged parents on Sunday to seek immediate treatment for children showing symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease after official figures showed 112 people died from the illness last month.


File photo – A Chinese mother comforts her son undergoing treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease, at a hospital in Hefei, eastern China’s Anhui province on April 3, 2009.


The disease, which children are especially vulnerable to, also infected more than 381 000 people, the Ministry of Health reported last week.


“The disease incidence rate in June was much higher than that of last June, which has much to do with the high temperatures this summer,” said Liu Fuqiang with the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).


The province urged parents and teachers to send children to hospital as soon as they showed symptoms of the disease, including mouth sores, skin rashes or fever.


In June, 34 768 cases were reported and 17 people died from the disease in Hunan, the statement said.


According to the Ministry of Health, over 460 000 people were infected by the disease in May, leading to 132 deaths.


In recent days, health departments in numerous Chinese provinces and regions, including Gansu, Fujian, Jiangsu and Xinjiang have issued warnings over the outbreak of the disease, state press reports said. – AFP

TB strain found in 18 counties outside Duval

The tuberculosis strain that has rocked Florida politics and raised questions of undue government secrecy is referred to as FL 046 by epidemiologists, the professionals who track disease outbreaks.

Last year, in the shelters and halfway houses where Jacksonville’s homeless congregate, it bloomed into the nation’s most extensive, fastest-growing TB outbreak, one described by a visiting official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as among the worst his group had seen in 20 years.

Although state health officials maintain the outbreak is now mostly contained within the Jacksonville homeless, a state database obtained by The Palm Beach Post on Friday showed sick people with FL 046 have also popped up in 17 other Florida counties. About 23 percent of all FL 046 cases have occurred outside Duval County, analysis suggests, and most of those have been identified in the past two years.

North Florida has logged the most cases, while Miami-Dade, Pinellas and St. Lucie counties have confirmed two cases each. In response to questions about whether the outbreak is truly contained, the health agency issued a statement saying relocation of a sick individual does not equate to a spread of the disease.

“There is no other epidemiological evidence indicating transmission outside of the Duval cluster,” the agency wrote.

Dr. Steven Harris, deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Health, said last week in an video interview with the News Service of Florida that his agency had the resources needed to manage the outbreak.

“The CDC has assigned a public health specialist to the Duval County Health Department to assist us locally, and we have, from our own Bureau of Tuberculosis and Refugee Health, sent staff members to Duval County,” Harris said. “We have been doing that since April to assist their local coalition and partners on the ground. We have also identified health department employees from surrounding health departments around Duval County to assist in testing for this strain.”

The Post also has learned the state has also asked the CDC for a $250,000 supplemental grant, with an additional request contemplated for 2013, to help it find and treat people exposed to TB. The grant proposal, compiled with the help of the state’s CDC specialist, would add an additional surveillance team of a doctor, nurse, epidemiologist and support staff. They would be charged with seeking out the close contacts of people who develop active tuberculosis, so they can be questioned about symptoms, and tested if necessary.

Other recommended items included fast-food gift cards and free Boost dietary supplement drinks, intended to reward the homeless for staying on their medications. The City Rescue Mission in Duval County should get 23 UV-light air cleaners, and the team should have a van outfitted with an air filtration system, the expert recommended.

A CDC spokesperson confirmed the agency is considering a state request for money “to address programmatic gaps and for strengthening Duval’s local infrastructure and capacity to address this TB outbreak.”

Tuberculosis has been a disease in decline in most of the United States, and Florida. In 2011, 10,521 cases of active TB were recorded in the United States. Florida had 753 cases of TB, down from 835 in 2010.

But across the nation, areas that serve the homeless have had a more difficult time controlling the disease. Treatment for an uncomplicated case can require six months on a cocktail of multiple antibiotics, while drug-resistant strains can take two years to treat, often with drugs that are much more expensive and difficult to find. People without a fixed address and those with substance abuse and mental health problems pose significant problems for public health authorities trying to contain an outbreak. Complicating matters, infected people can have a latent form that can lurk for years before surfacing.

In Jacksonville, health officials are treating 234 people with latent disease with preventive antibiotics. They are also making progress at reaching contacts of people with active TB to test them. Since January, Duval County Health Department officials have screened nearly 2,100 people who may have come in contact with people with active tuberculosis, an agency spokeswoman said.

In April, the CDC’s team’s assessment that called Florida’s outbreak the worst in 20 years also projected that more than 3,000 people had been in close contact with the sick, but only a few hundred had been evaluated at that time.

The report had not been widely circulated until The Post published it July 8. Key legislators who had pushed for the downsizing of the Department of Health and the closure of the state’s only tuberculosis hospital in March said they hadn’t been briefed.

Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, said Saturday he’s been on the phone with Health Department leadership several times asking about who knew of the outbreak and when. He said that

Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/tb-strain-found-in-18-counties-outside-duval#ixzz20iwNFhdm

Local hospitals react to Exeter’s Hepatitis C outbreak

New Hampshire health officials suspect an outbreak of Hepatitis C at Exeter Hospital was caused by an employee who stole and injected hospital drugs and used contaminated needles on patients in the hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab and recovery room.

So far 30 patients have tested positive for the same strain Hepatitis C — a blood-borne viral infection that causes liver damage and potentially chronic health problems.

Many local hospital said the outbreak at Exeter unfairly casts their profession in a negative light, said Cristina Galli, spokeswoman for Parkland Medical Center in Derry, N.H.

“This is a really isolated and rare incident,” said Galli. “We’re extremely cautious when it comes to patient safety.”

But several officials interviewed last week admit what occurred at Exeter Hospital could happen anywhere, given that it appears the outbreak was caused by an individual employee.

“I do think this is something that could happen in most hospitals,” said Delia O’Connor, president and chief executive officer of Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport. “Unfortunately, there are stories like this around the country. … Nothing is a sure thing when it comes – apparently — to addiction and the behaviors it stimulates.”

The Exeter outbreak is reportedly being investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office and U.S. Attorney’s office.

First reported in June, the hospital had found four patients with the virus. The number climbed to 30 last week with 45 more patients to be tested.

With strict protocols in place for storing and administering medicine and sanitizing medical instruments and equipment, area hospital officials said their patients’ safety is already a priority.

“There are intensive procedures for infection control,” said Galli at Parkland. “We haven’t made any changes because we feel what we have in place is adequate.”

All 1,000 employees at Anna Jaques Hospital must pass a drug test before they are hired. But after the Exeter outbreak, O’Connor said the hospital board is considering continued employee drug testing.

O’Connor said the hospital also counts on employees to report potential problems with their coworkers.

“We have very vigilant employees,” said O’Connor. “They are very attuned to picking up if their coworkers have issues … Employees are empowered to protect patients and go out of the chain of command.”

In Massachusetts, the state Department of Public Heath requires that communicable diseases be reported to the department within 24 hours of diagnosis.

To prevent the transmission of blood-borne pathogens, health care workers must adhere to standard precautions and fundamental infection-control principles � including safe injection practices and appropriate aseptic techniques — according to information provided by the department.

At Lawrence General Hospital, Vice President Theresa Sievers said employees follow all “safe injection practices” put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That includes using needles and syringes one time only and using single-dose vials. CDC guidelines are also followed for cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing medical instruments, patient care equipment and employees’ personal protective equipment, Sievers said.

Mary O’Neil, regional spokeswoman for Steward Health Care System — which operates Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill — said “all of our infection control policies follow CDC guidelines. We do this for the safety of our patients and our staff.”

At Parkland Medical Center, Galli said workers follow the same safety guidelines established by hospitals across the country. She said protocols and procedures are monitored regularly to ensure patient safety.

Among the checks in place are regular audits by the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy and The Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations, she said.Galli said Parkland also regularly conducts “rigorous” internal audits.

The investigation at Exeter Hospital went public in late May when it was announced that four patients had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Now, in addition to the 30 patients and one hospital employee found to be infected, 12 people have been diagnosed with a strain of Hepatitis C that does not match the outbreak strain.

Exeter Hospital “is a 100-bed tax exempt, community-based hospital and one of five affiliates of Exeter Health Reso

urces,” according to the hospital’s website. The hospital employs approximately 1,500 people and accepts around 35,000 emergency room visits and more than 5,000 admissions each year, according to the site.

So far, state health officials have tested more than 1,000 blood samples from patients treated at Exeter Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab and recovery room between Oct. 1, 2010, and May 25, 2012.

Exeter Health Resources Spokesman Ryan Lawrence said the testing is nearing completion, though approximately 45 patients who received treatment within that time frame have yet to come forward.

“We remain focused on supporting identified patients and their families, along with all patients who have required testing,” said Lawrence. “Exeter Hospital is continuing to do everything it can to help support the identified patients and a few weeks ago established a dedicated clinical response team to care for these patients.”

On Friday, the Associated Press reported a number of lawsuits have been filed against Exeter Hospital. At the start of July, almost 60 former patients of the hospital had filed suit. Of those, at least 47 patients have signed on to a class-action lawsuit, as well as 12 others who have each filed individual lawsuits.

Lawrence declined to comment on pending litigation.

When asked whether a worker’s misuse of drugs led to the outbreak, Lawrence said the employee has been let go.

“The investigation into the potential cause is still ongoing,” said Lawrence. “The individual is no longer employed at Exeter Hospital. The individual had been previously placed on an administrative suspension since the middle of May. We cannot provide any further comment due to the ongoing investigation.”

West Nile Virus found in Rancho Cucamonga mosquitoes

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – The West Nile Virus has been found in mosquitoes collected here near Base Line Road and Beryl Street in the first reported incident of West Nile this year, officials said.

The mosquitoes were found on Monday but confirmed with the virus on Friday, according to a West Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District news release.

A trap was used to collect female mosquitoes looking for water sources to lay eggs, according to the release.

“This year we have just been waiting for the first positive mosquito to show up,” said Min-Lee Cheng, the district’s manager in a news release. “Weather patterns and the availability of mosquito breeding sources have made it almost a certainty the (virus) would be back again this year. We urge our residents to take precautions against mosquitoes this year to avoid a potentially tragic situation.”

The district’s website says the virus is spread through mosquito and ticks and is a potentially serious illness that occurs in the summer and into the fall.

According to the release, residents should empty any standing water sources around property, be certain window and door screens are repaired and fit tight and use a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended repellent when outdoors at dusk and hours following.

Mosquito problems, standing water and green pools should be reported to 909-635-0307 or http://www.wvmvcd.org.

Florida Accused Of Keeping Tuberculosis Outbreak Secret

All signs point to Florida being the most likely ground zero for a future zombie apocalypse. The Palm Beach Post reports:

The CDC officer had a serious warning for Florida health officials in April: A tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville was one of the worst his group had investigated in 20 years.

As health officials in Tallahassee turned their focus to restructuring, Dr. Robert Luo’s 25-page report describing Jacksonville’s outbreak — and the measures needed to contain it – went unseen by key decision makers around the state.

That report had been penned on April 5, exactly nine days after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill that shrank the Department of Health and required the closure of the A.G. Holley State Hospital in Lantana, where tough tuberculosis cases have been treated for more than 60 years.

Had they seen the letter, decision makers would have learned that 3,000 people in the past two years may have had close contact with contagious people at Jacksonville’s homeless shelters, an outpatient mental health clinic and area jails. The public was not to learn anything until early June, even though the same strain was appearing in other parts of the state, including Miami.

Tuberculosis is a lung disease more associated with the 18th century than the 21st, referred to as “consumption” in Dickensian times because its victims would grow gaunt and wan as their lungs disintigrated and they slowly died.

It was early February when Duval County Health Department officials felt so overwhelmed by the sudden spike in tuberculosis that they asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to become involved. Believing the outbreak affected only their underclass, the health officials made a conscious decision not to not tell the public, repeating a decision they had made in 2008, when the same strain had appeared in an assisted living home for people with schizophrenia.

Treatment for TB can be an ordeal. A person with an uncomplicated, active case of TB must take a cocktail of three to four antibiotics — dozens of pills a day — for six months or more. The drugs can cause serious side effects — stomach and liver problems chief among them. But failure to stay on the drugs for the entire treatment period can and often does cause drug resistance.

At that point, a disease that can cost $500 to overcome grows exponentially more costly. The average cost to treat a drug-resistant strain is more than $275,000, requiring up to two years on medications. For this reason, the state pays for public health nurses to go to the home of a person with TB every day to observe them taking their medications.