Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

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China reports human case of H3N8 bird flu

Published 10 hours ago
on March 27, 2023

A woman in southern China has tested positive for H3N8 bird flu, local officials say, making it only the third time that the virus has been found in humans, although a previous strain may have caused the 1889 pandemic.

The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in a brief statement released on Monday, said a 56-year-old woman from Zhongshan City had been infected with H3N8.

The woman, who has multiple myeloma and other underlying health conditions, had exposure to live poultry before falling ill, the statement said. Wild birds are also frequently found near her home.

Details about her condition have not been released.

“No abnormalities have been found in close contacts so far,” the Guangdong CDC said. “Experts believe that this is a sporadic case and the risk of virus transmission is low at this stage.”

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2023/03/c ... -bird-flu/


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Credit: CDC/F.A. Murphy
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Chile detects first case of bird flu in a human

March 30, 202312:18 AM GMT+1

Chile detected the first case of bird flue in a human, the country's health ministry reported on Wednesday.

The case was detected in a 53-year-old man who presented severe influenza symptoms, according to a statement issued by the ministry, but they noted the patient was in stable condition.

The government is also investigating the source of contagion as well as others who were in contact with the patient.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ ... 023-03-29/
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As the weather starts to improve, I'll be going out for walks again soon, in the local forest and nature reserve.

This worries me (a bit).

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Rare encephalitis tick disease found in England

2 hours ago

A virus carried by ticks, which is common in many parts of the world, is now present in the UK and health officials are reminding the public how to avoid bites from the tiny bugs.

They say the risk of tick-borne encephalitis is very low - only one person is confirmed to have been infected in England so far, last year.

But the tick species which carries the virus is widespread in the UK.

Most people do not develop symptoms but swelling to the brain is possible.

The UK Health Security Agency has recommended changes to testing in hospital so that any new cases can be picked up quickly.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65177440
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Avian flu kills 3 California condors in northern Arizona
Source: AP

today
Marble Canyon, Ariz. (AP) — Three California condors have died from avian flu in northern Arizona and authorities are trying to determine what killed five others in the flock, the National Park Service announced Friday.

A sick female condor suspected of having lead poisoning was found dead on March 20 and testing showed it had Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the park service said.

Two other birds later found dead also tested positive, while test results aren’t yet completed for five others, the park service said.

The birds are part of a population that moves throughout northern Arizona and southern Utah, including Grand Canyon National Park, the park service said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/california-c ... ad56254c57
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Report on British Woman Infected with Dengue in the South of France in September 2022
April 13, 2023

Introduction:
(European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases via Eurekalert) Doctors in the UK and France give details of a British woman who was infected with dengue while visiting family near Nice in September 2022, in a case report being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April).

The 44-year-old woman presented to an Emergency Department in the UK following a 3-day history of fevers, headache behind the eyes, muscle pain, and a blanching, widespread erythematous rash (which can occur with a range of infections, see figure in notes to editors). She had no underlying medical conditions.

The woman had returned from the South of France the day before symptoms started and had not travelled to any other countries. She had been staying with family who had all been unwell with the same symptoms.

An urgent sample was sent to the UK’s Rare Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) and confirmed as acute dengue virus infection. The patient did not need any medical treatment and was monitored as an outpatient.

“This individual was part of an outbreak of over 30 locally transmitted cases in the south of France in 2022, which highlights the rapidly changing epidemiology of dengue,” says author Dr Owain Donnelly from The Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, UK. “Surveillance and reporting mechanisms are important in ensuring we have an accurate understanding of dengue spread.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985881
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Top scientists warn ‘the next pandemic is coming and we’re not ready’

8 hours ago

The UK is not ready for the next global pandemic because public services are being dismantled and key research is being defunded, experts have claimed.

More than three years after the global outbreak of coronavirus, top scientists have warned that the UK is no better prepared for a pandemic than it was in 2020.

They say another epidemic on the scale of Covid-19 is inevitable, but that disinvestment in infection-monitoring services, dismantling of key infrastructure, and the state of the NHS mean the country is “losing ground”.

The warning comes as virologists told The Independent that the new Covid-19 variant behind a surge of 10,000 new Covid cases a day in India may turn more aggressive, and could become the dominant strain in the UK.

The variant, first identified in January and known as Arcturus, has been found in 22 countries, including the UK and the US, and has prompted India to resume its production of vaccines.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/heal ... 20912.html
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Wild birds in danger as avian flu measures lifted

1 hour ago

Bird flu restrictions ease across most of the UK on Tuesday but experts say the H5N1 virus is still circulating, posing an ongoing risk to wild birds.

The requirement to keep poultry and captive birds inside ends as the threat to them is considered to have eased.

But the RSPB fears a repeat of last year's "catastrophic" toll on breeding colonies during the world's largest ever bird flu outbreak.

The government said wild birds faced " a significant threat" from the virus.

The lifting of restrictions has been welcomed on animal welfare grounds and means eggs laid by hens with access to outdoor areas can be marketed as "free-range" again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65301241
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Lyme disease 'stay safe' warning issued as cases on rise in UK
13:08, 23 APR 2023

Lyme disease cases in the UK are rising, prompting a warning for people to stay safe this spring. The infection, which can cause severe symptoms for those infected, is reported to be on the rise in this country as we move into the warmer seasons of the year.

Lyme disease, which is caused by a bacterial strain known as Borrelia burgdorferi, is generally spread to humans through tick bites. These burrowing insects most often get lodged in the skin of people wearing clothing that exposes skin to grasses and vegetation in warmer weather.

Multiple infections can sometimes be submitted through a single tick bite, with these cases likely to produce more severe symptoms, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Official government estimates suggest that there are somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales every year. However, the real numbers could be a lot higher, with research from 2019 suggesting government numbers could seriously underestimate the spread.

Ticks are found across the country, having been reported in every county of the UK. While they are traditionally thought to be found in woodland and larger grassy areas and often are found here, they have also been known to reside in urban parks and even gardens.
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Time_Traveller wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:23 pm Lyme disease 'stay safe' warning issued as cases on rise in UK
13:08, 23 APR 2023

Lyme disease cases in the UK are rising, prompting a warning for people to stay safe this spring. The infection, which can cause severe symptoms for those infected, is reported to be on the rise in this country as we move into the warmer seasons of the year.

Lyme disease, which is caused by a bacterial strain known as Borrelia burgdorferi, is generally spread to humans through tick bites. These burrowing insects most often get lodged in the skin of people wearing clothing that exposes skin to grasses and vegetation in warmer weather.

Multiple infections can sometimes be submitted through a single tick bite, with these cases likely to produce more severe symptoms, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Official government estimates suggest that there are somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales every year. However, the real numbers could be a lot higher, with research from 2019 suggesting government numbers could seriously underestimate the spread.

Ticks are found across the country, having been reported in every county of the UK. While they are traditionally thought to be found in woodland and larger grassy areas and often are found here, they have also been known to reside in urban parks and even gardens.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n ... ts-wrapper
Lyme is a horrible plague on us here in the eastern US. It fucks up so many lives, in part because it's easy to get a false negative test for it, and the longer it persists the more entrenched it becomes and some indications are that even after pulsed longer term cycling of antibiotics wiping out cycles of 'spores' and active infections and no ability to tell if it's gone through tests, it can induce autoimmune disease in those who have it longer term.
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