Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Egg prices spike amid worst US avian flu outbreak in 7 years
Source: ABC

As consumers continue to feel the crunch at the grocery store checkout, eggs are the latest product predicted to surge in price.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 21 states have confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly referred to as bird flu, causing disease in both commercial and backyard poultry.

While no humans have tested positive for the disease,
it (bird flu) has led to the death of more than 17 million birds, the USDA said.

Supermarkets around the country have alerted shoppers that prices are likely to continue going up.
Eggs now average $2.88 per dozen, up 52% since the first confirmed case of avian influenza in February, the highest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

According to the World Health Organization and the CDC, properly cooked poultry is perfectly safe to eat. Additionally, the CDC said there's no evidence to suggest that the virus can be transmitted to humans from poultry that is cooked properly.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/egg-pri ... d=83859058

[wjfox]

Zika virus may be one step away from explosive outbreak

Published
2 hours ago

A new outbreak of Zika virus is quite possible, warn researchers, with a single mutation potentially enough to trigger an explosive spread.

The disease caused a global medical emergency in 2016, with thousands of babies born brain-damaged after their mums became infected while pregnant.

US scientists say the world should be on the lookout for new mutations.

Lab work, described in the journal Cell Reports, suggests the virus could easily shift, creating new variants.

Recent infection studies suggest those variants may prove effective at transmitting the virus, even in countries which have built up immunity from previous outbreaks of Zika, say the team from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61078867

[Yuli Ban]

Sad thing is that people are so pandemicked out that I wouldn't be surprised if when the next major disease spread takes off, there'll be millions screaming about it being part of an "foreverdemic" ala the Great Reset and thus disregard health warnings. Which in turn makes the disease worse.

[erowind]

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[Xyls]

N.C. becomes second U.S. state to report unusual cases of hepatitis in kids

https://www.statnews.com/2022/04/21/n-c ... s-in-kids/

Health authorities in North Carolina say they are investigating two cases of hepatitis in young children, making the state the second to report cases that appear to be linked to an outbreak that is being seen in a growing number of countries.

Bailey Pennington, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, told STAT of the cases in an email on Thursday, saying the state is both conducting surveillance for other possible cases and working with its poison control center and epidemiologists to try to determine the cause of the illnesses.

[Xyls]

What is this shit?

At least one child has died from mystery strain of severe hepatitis, WHO confirms

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... o-confirms

[wjfox]

Ebola: New outbreak declared as officials warn 'time is not on our side'

Sunday 24 April 2022 00:59, UK

An outbreak of Ebola has been declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - four months after the last one ended.

A case was confirmed in a 31-year-old man on 5 April. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on Thursday, but died hours later.

The World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said: "Time is not on our side. The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up."

Overall, this is the 14th Ebola outbreak that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen since 1976, which is when the virus was first discovered.

Efforts to stem the current outbreak have already begun, with officials confirming that the patient who died has received a safe and dignified burial.

More than 70 of his contacts are also being traced - and vaccinations in the city of Mbandaka are going to be stepped up.

https://news.sky.com/story/ebola-new-ou ... e-12597624

[weatheriscool]

Over 120,000 lbs of ground beef products recalled due to E. coli contamination fears
Source: CNN

(CNN)A US company is recalling more than 120,000 pounds of ground beef products over fears they may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) can cause diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, vomiting and other symptoms and is spread by ingesting food or water contaminated by human or animal waste or through contact with people or animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a notice issued Monday, FSIS said the recall affected approximately 120,872 pounds of raw ground beef product from Lakeside Refrigerated Services -- a company in Swedesboro, New Jersey. The beef was carried by brands including Thomas Farms, Nature's Reserve and Marketside Butcher.

The potentially contaminated products were manufactured from February 1 through April 8 and distributed to retailers throughout the US. Those with labels carry the establishment number "EST. 46841" inside the USDA mark of inspection, the FSIS said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/us/groun ... index.html

[wjfox]

Two people diagnosed with monkeypox in London, health officials confirm

It comes after a person who had recently travelled to Nigeria tested positive for the disease after arriving in England. Health officials say they are now investigating where the two latest cases picked up the infection.

Saturday 14 May 2022 10:23, UK

Two people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in London, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

The pair live in the same household and are not linked to another person who was diagnosed with the disease in England earlier this month.

The viral infection is similar to human smallpox and usually causes mild illness, with most people recovering within a few weeks.

One of the latest people to test positive is being treated at the expert infectious diseases unit at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London.

https://news.sky.com/story/two-people-d ... m-12612633



Credit: WHO/Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

[erowind]

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[wjfox]

Only a matter of time before a highly transmissible bird flu makes the jump to humans and creates an epidemic. If the epidemic becomes a pandemic then it could radically alter the course of the 21st century. Most of the bird flu cases in humans since 1997 had 40-60% mortality rate.

[raklian]

Only a matter of time before a highly transmissible bird flu makes the jump to humans and creates an epidemic. If the epidemic becomes a pandemic then it could radically alter the course of the 21st century. Most of the bird flu cases in humans since 1997 had 40-60% mortality rate.

When it comes to pandemics, the first thing I worry the most about how the supply chain is going to be affected. Unless it is mostly automated, I'm afraid that with such high mortality rate, which I'm certain will affect the supply chain workers, it will collapse to an extent not seen in this Covid pandemic. A lot of people are going to die from starvation and lack of access to life-saving medicines.

[wjfox]

Two people diagnosed with monkeypox in London, health officials confirm

It comes after a person who had recently travelled to Nigeria tested positive for the disease after arriving in England. Health officials say they are now investigating where the two latest cases picked up the infection.

Saturday 14 May 2022 10:23, UK

Two people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in London, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

The pair live in the same household and are not linked to another person who was diagnosed with the disease in England earlier this month.

The viral infection is similar to human smallpox and usually causes mild illness, with most people recovering within a few weeks.

One of the latest people to test positive is being treated at the expert infectious diseases unit at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London.

https://news.sky.com/story/two-people-d ... m-12612633



Credit: WHO/Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

Monkeypox: Four more cases detected in England

1 hour ago

Four more people in England have been diagnosed with monkeypox.

The UK Health Security Agency says the risk to the public remains very low, although it appears the individuals caught it in the UK.

Monkeypox is usually associated with travel to West Africa.

The new cases - three in London and one in north-east England - do not have any known links with two other cases confirmed on 14 May or another case announced on 7 May.

The UKHSA says investigations are under way to establish links between the latest four cases, who all appear to have been infected in London.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61470940

[wjfox]

Portugal finds 5 monkeypox cases in men as outbreak spreads

18 May 2022, 13:58

LISBON, Portugal -- Portuguese health authorities on Wednesday confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa.

Portugal's General Directorate for Health said they were also investigating 15 suspected cases and that all were identified this month in the area around the capital, Lisbon.

All the Portuguese cases involve men, most of them young, authorities said. They have skin lesions and were reported to be in stable condition. Authorities did not say if the men had a history of travel to Africa or any links with recent cases in Britain or elsewhere.

British health authorities said earlier this week they had identified four cases of monkeypox spread in London among gay and bisexual men. Spain’s Health Ministry said it had detected eight suspected cases of monkeypox that still needed to be confirmed.

The disease belongs to a family of viruses that includes chickenpox and smallpox.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory ... s-84803304


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Monkeypox alert in Spain after eight men show symptoms

Wed 18 May 2022 12.54 BST

Health authorities in Spain have issued an alert over a possible outbreak of monkeypox after eight men showed symptoms compatible with the viral infection, which has already been detected in the UK and Portugal.

In a statement, the health ministry cautioned that the eight suspected cases – all in the Madrid region – had yet to be confirmed, but said a nationwide alert had been issued “to guarantee a swift, coordinated and timely response”.

A spokesperson for Madrid’s regional health department said the suspected cases were being analysed by the National Microbiology Centre to obtain a definitive diagnosis.

“Generally speaking, monkeypox is spread by respiratory transmission, but the characteristics of the eight suspected cases point towards fluid contact,” the spokesperson said. “The eight suspected cases in Madrid are among men who have sex with men. They are doing well but this illness can require hospital treatment.”

Fernando Simón, an epidemiologist who heads Spain’s health emergencies centre, said while it was unlikely that monkeypox would spread significantly, “that can’t be ruled out”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... w-symptoms


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[erowind]

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[wjfox]

Monkeypox: Two more people infected to take total to nine in UK

2 hours ago

Two more people with monkeypox have been identified, taking the total number of cases in the UK to nine.

Both live in the South East of England - where most of the cases have been identified - and it is thought they got the infection through spread in the community, rather than travel.

[...]

Prof Kevin Fenton said treatments for monkeypox included vaccines and antiviral agents, and the current strategy was to "vaccinate the highest priority people", such as household contacts of those infected.

"We're watching closely to see how this spreads over the next week or two and then we'll get a better sense of how to project and plan for the month ahead," he added.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: "These latest cases, together with reports of cases in countries across Europe, confirms our initial concerns that there could be spread of monkeypox within our communities."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61501679

[Ken_J]

everything I've seen so far talks about how difficult it is to spread monkey pox from person to person, and the low incidence of bad outcomes, and the fact that immunity can already be had via existing vaccines for other pox.

so, while I could be wrong, I feel like this isn't even on par with the measles outbreaks of the last decade.

But it does sort of seem alarming that we are getting multi continent infectious disease outbreaks again. have we learned nothing? how are we still so easily getting these to happen?

[raklian]

But it does sort of seem alarming that we are getting multi continent infectious disease outbreaks again. have we learned nothing? how are we still so easily getting these to happen?

Not to come across as very cynical, the way we are reacting to turn of events such as this is very inexorably human. Despite the history lessons and knowledge we've gained, we tend to revert back to our basic instincts when we face something quite inconvenient.

[Xyls]

Monkeypox cases under investigation in Canada as outbreak spreads in Europe, U.S.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/monkeypo ... -1.6458523

Health officials in Quebec are investigating more than a dozen cases of suspected monkeypox in Canada, after U.S. and European health officials confirmed rising cases of the rare infectious disease — suggesting a wider outbreak may be happening globally.

Radio-Canada reported Wednesday that Montreal public health officials are investigating at least 13 cases flagged by doctors in the city, following diagnoses made in three clinics specializing in sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. Laboratory confirmation of the cases are in progress and an announcement is expected in the coming days.

[wjfox]