Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Mississippi hit by 900% increase in newborns treated for syphilis
NBC News via Yahoo News
JACKSON, Miss. — The number of babies in Mississippi being treated for congenital syphilis has jumped by more than 900% over five years, uprooting the progress the nation’s poorest state had made in nearly quashing what experts say is an avoidable public health crisis. The rise in cases has placed newborns at further risk of life-threatening harm in a state that’s already home to the nation’s worst infant mortality rate.

In 2021, 102 newborns in Mississippi were treated for the sexually transmitted disease, up from 10 in 2016, according to an analysis of hospital billing data shared by Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the medical director for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Crossroads Clinic in Jackson, which focuses on sexually transmitted infections.

Dobbs, the state’s former health officer, said he’s spoken with health care providers who “are absolutely horrified” that babies are being born with the disease, and in rare instances dying from it.

“This seems like something that should have happened a hundred years ago, not last year,” said Dobbs, who is also a dean at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “There’s really kind of a shock.”

The Mississippi State Department of Health does not formally track congenital syphilis deaths but said there was at least one baby who died in 2021.
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caltrek
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Another better late than never citation:

Iowa Leads Numbers in Ongoing Outbreak of Bird Flu
by Suzanne Behnke
February 2, 2023

Introduction:
(Investigate Midwest) In the U.S., 58.2 million birds in 47 states have been affected by the ongoing avian flu outbreak, according to the latest data released by USDA.

The data collected by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) as of Jan. 27 shows 312 commercial flocks have been affected.
Iowa, a leading egg and poultry producing state, remains the state with the highest numbers at 15.9 million birds, including 25 commercial flocks and six affected backyard flocks. It is followed by Nebraska and Colorado.

In this case, “affected” does not mean all the birds had the disease — every bird in a facility with a known case is considered “affected” under the USDA’s definition.

In June 2022, APHIS reported more than 40 million birds had been affected.
Read more of the Investigate Midwest article here: https://investigatemidwest.org/2023/02 ... bird-flu/

For a USDA report on the matter: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfoc ... rd-flocks

For more on what was reported in June 2022: https://investigatemidwest.org/2022/06/ ... -in-iowa/
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Bird flu: UK health officials make contingency plans

11 hours ago

UK health experts are sharing details of their Covid-style plans against bird flu, including modelling for the unlikely scenario that it could mutate and cause a pandemic in people.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says there is no evidence H5N1 virus is an imminent threat or can spread between people, despite some getting sick after contact with infected birds.

But there is no room for complacency.

One expert told the BBC "we must prepare for the worst" just in case.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging heightened vigilance from all countries, following the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia from H5N1.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64763625
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Norovirus levels at the 'highest in over a decade' for this time of year
Friday 3 March 2023 09:41, UK

Norovirus levels across the UK are "the highest we have seen at this time of year in over a decade", a doctor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned.

Cases of the highly infectious stomach bug have surged in recent weeks, with hundreds of NHS hospital beds filled by people with symptoms.

Lab reports of norovirus are more than double the five-season average before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the UKHSA.

It said reporting has increased across all age groups, most notably those aged 65 and older.

The virus is known as the "winter vomiting bug" because it is notorious for spreading rapidly during the colder months.
https://news.sky.com/story/norovirus-le ... r-12824197
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wjfox
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New disease caused by plastics discovered in seabirds

Fri 3 Mar 2023 11.19 GMT

A new disease caused solely by plastics has been discovered in seabirds.

The birds identified as having the disease, named plasticosis, have scarred digestive tracts from ingesting waste, scientists at the Natural History Museum in London say.

It is the first recorded instance of specifically plastic-induced fibrosis in wild animals, researchers say.

Plastic pollution is becoming so prevalent that the scarring was widespread across different ages of birds, according to the study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Young birds were found to have the disease, and it is thought chicks were being fed the plastic pollution by parents accidentally bringing it back in food.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... n-seabirds
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Estimated 20,000 people possibly exposed to measles at Kentucky religious event
Around 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at a large religious event in Kentucky, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said. In a statement to the Guardian, the CDC said it was “aware of a confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated and contagious individual who attended a large religious gathering in Kentucky on 17 and 18 February.

A screen capture of a telecast showing Karan Rai, of Louisville, Kentucky, singing on the Nepali version of the Voice, which he won, the culmination of a remarkable journey that began with his birth in a Nepali refugee camp. “Large numbers of people that attended the gathering from across Kentucky and from other states and countries may have been exposed.

“An estimated 20,000 people attended the gathering on the days that the patient attended. The Kentucky department for public health is actively working with CDC and clinicians to help identify if there are additional cases.” The event was a multi-week religious gathering held by Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. The “revival”, which began on campus on 8 February, saw between 10,000 and 20,000 people descend on the 6,000-person town. The event was moved off campus around two weeks later.

On 24 February, Asbury University released a statement saying state officials confirmed a case of measles in a Jessamine county resident. According to the university, the resident was unvaccinated and had attended the revival on 18 February. The university urged those not fully vaccinated against measles who attended services on 18 February to quarantine according to CDC guidelines.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... t-exposure
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wjfox wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:27 am
I saw this about a week ago. It could be mammal to mammal transmission but we don't know that yet. Sea Lions are predators of sea birds, it is actually possible that these sea lions ate the infected birds directly. What is concerning is that it shows that these new strains of bird flu can hop to mammals rather easily from birds.
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weatheriscool
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Marburg Virus Spreading in Equatorial Guinea
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease ... 023-DON449

March 22, 2023

Since the first Disease Outbreak News on this event was published on 25 February 2023, eight additional laboratory-confirmed cases of Marburg virus disease (MVD) have been reported in Equatorial Guinea. This brings the total to nine laboratory-confirmed cases and 20 probable cases since the declaration of the outbreak in February 2023. There are seven deaths among the laboratory confirmed, and all probable cases are dead. Of the eight new confirmed cases, two were reported from the province of Kié-Ntem, four from the Litoral, and two from Centre- Sur provinces. The areas reporting cases are about 150 kilometers apart, suggesting wider transmission of the virus.

WHO has deployed experts to support national response efforts and strengthen community engagement in the response.

MVD is a highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, and is among the viral haemorrhagic fevers that require assessment under the International Health Regulations.

WHO assesses the risk posed by the outbreak as very high at the national level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level.
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