The Democratic Republic of Congo has been alerted to an outbreak of Ebola. In the past five weeks, there have been 21 cases of the infection reported, and 17 of those are now deceased.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo declared the outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a rare and deadly disease, on Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported. The declaration of an outbreak came after laboratory results confirmed two cases of the disease in the province of Bikoro in the northwestern part of the country. Bikoro is situated on the shores of Lake Tumba near the border with the Republic of the Congo. The new cases were reported from a small health facility about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Bikoro.
The average case fatality rate for Ebola hemorrhagic fever is around 50%. The deadly virus most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) and is caused by one of five Ebola viruses.
“We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response.”
Upon learning of the confirmed cases, the WHO alerted neighboring countries and set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate staff and resources to the response. A government statement released Tuesday stated that the Ministry of Health has “taken all necessary measures to respond promptly and effectively to this new epidemic of Ebola in the DRC’s national territory.”
Unfortunately, the DRC has a history with the Ebola virus. This is its ninth outbreak of Ebola virus disease since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976. The last outbreak, in 2017, was quickly contained. There are hopes that a quick response will all see this recent outbreak contained rapidly as well. WHO has also released $1 million from a contingency fund to support its activities in the containment efforts of this outbreak for the next three months.
Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Congo Minister of Health, Lambert Matuku, the Minister of State and Labor, said, it is “a worrisome sanitary situation.”
According to a World Health Organization doctor, a global pandemic is imminent, and no one will be prepared for it when it hits. Dr. Tedros Adhanom, director-general for WHO, has said that the next outbreak that will hit us will be a “terrible” one, causing a large death all over the world.
“Humanity is more vulnerable in the face of epidemics because we are much more connected and we travel around much more quickly than before,” said WHO specialist in infectious diseases Dr. Sylvie Brand. “We know that it is coming, but we have no way of stopping it,” said Brand. According to Dr. Tedros, the flu is extremely dangerous to everyone living on the planet. This fear was also promoted by experts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month.
“This is not some future nightmare scenario. A devastating epidemic could start in any country at any time and kill millions of people because we are still not prepared. The world remains vulnerable. We do not know where and when the next global pandemic will occur, but we know it will take a terrible toll both on human life and on the economy,” said Dr. Tedros.
“Hidden underneath this fear-mongering message of a global pandemic is a far more sinister W.H.O. agenda,” warns Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, publisher of Medicine.news. “The real agenda is a global push for blind, fear-based acceptance of unsafe, unproven vaccines that will be rolled out alongside the next global pandemic,” Adams warns. “Fear circumvents rational thinking, which is why the vaccine-pharma cartels routinely turn to irrational fear propaganda to demand absolute and unquestioning acceptance of risky medical interventions that should always be scrutinized for safety and efficacy.” –Natural News
The US government may now fund research that looks into engineering a virus to be more deadly and transmittable after lifting a ban they previously placed on themselves.
According to Science Alert, the moratorium, which was imposed three years ago, froze funding for what’s called “gain of function” research: controversial experiments seeking to alter pathogens and make them even more dangerous. Now, the money is back on the table, giving those trials the green light once more.
The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis S. Collins,announced the lifting of the moratorium on Tuesday. Collins said “gain of function” or GOF research with viruses like influenza, MERS, and SARS could help us “identify, understand, and develop strategies and effective countermeasures against rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health.”
But not everyone thinks this is a good idea. In fact, most are concerned. It isn’t that this research wasn’t being conducted before, there’s a good chance it was. But once the federal government shows interest in something of this magnitude, it’s time to worry. Some are concerned that the new flow of funding heightens the risk that unseen breeds of deadly engineered pathogens could escape lab containment, which would then make their way to the public, or into the wrong people’s (the government’s) hands.
The NIH has revealed the new framework to regulate funding approval for pathogen research. Now, panels will consider the scientific merits and potential benefits of proposed studies, “as well as the potential to create, transfer, or use an enhanced potential pandemic pathogen.” Collins said that the improved framework for regulation of funding approval is the right thing to do. “We see this as a rigorous policy,” Collins told The New York Times. “We want to be sure we’re doing this right.”
To secure funding through the new process, researchers will have to demonstrate that they have the capacity to conduct their pathogen research in safe and secure facilities. They will also be required to have backup plans to mitigate issues stemming fromthings like “laboratory accidents, lapses in protocol and procedures, and potential security breaches.” But that still doesn’t calm the nerves of most.
Critics are correct in assuming that no matter how rigorously designed the new policy is supposed to be, the weakest link in all this (human error) remains unchanged. “A human is better at spreading viruses than an aerosol,” epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health told STAT. “The engineering is not what I’m worried about. Accident after accident has been the result of human mistakes.“
Face masks are placed on children in Antananarivo, Madagascar (AP Photo/Alexander JOE)
The pneumonic plague has already infected 2,000 in Madagascar and killed 143 in the country’s worst outbreak in 50 years. But health officials are now warning the deadly bacteria could mutate and become untreatable as it spreads across the globe.
Coupled with the high likelihood that this disease could spread globally by an infected traveler getting on a plane to Europe or America, health officials are now warning that the strain of plague which has already killed more than 140 Madagascar could mutate and become untreatable.
Professor Paul Hunter has warned that, while it would be rather easy for an advanced country to contain the disease in its current form, he fears that it could evolve into something far more dangerous. Hunter, who is a disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told the Daily Star: “If it reaches the UK, Europe or the US it would be similar to the Ebola outbreak. We would have a few isolated cases but it shouldn’t spread like it has in Madagascar.” But he had more to add. “As with any disease, it’s a real worry that it mutates and become untreatable,” Hunter said.
Symptoms of the plague include a very high fever, coughing (potentially coughing up blood), and headaches. Ten African nations have already been put on alert that the plague could easily spread to their region of the globe. The plague can be fatal 24-48 hours after infection, but antibiotics will take care of the infection.
Schools and universities have been closed with a ban issued on public gatherings, such as the tradition of “dancing with the dead” which has been partially blamed for the disease’s spread. The current outbreak is also highly unusual as it has affected urban areas increasing the risk of transmission, according to the World Health Organization. WHO has delivered 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to fight the disease while the Red Cross has been training hundreds of volunteers on the island to publicize preventative measures.
HUMANITY’S move to Mars may be off after researchers discovered bacteria on the Red Planet which could kill humans
Space boffins have been stepping up their efforts recently to get humans to Mars with a view to eventually colonizing it, but any plans may have to be scuppered after it was revealed the planet is covered in bacteria which are toxic to humans.
The discovery echoes the plot of H G Wells’ 1897 novel War of the Worlds, where aliens land on Earth only to die off as they are poisoned by bacteria humans are immune to.
The University of Edinburgh research looked at a mix of oxidants, iron oxides, UV energy and chemical compounds called perchlorates and found that they are likely highly damaging to Earth-based living cells.
When the perchlorates are mixed with iron oxides and hydrogen peroxides they muster a “toxic cocktail” which leads to a 10-fold increase in the death of cells.
Chagas disease, or “kissing bug disease,” could have a higher mortality rate than previously thought. Why? Because it often goes unreported, and more than half of the U.S. is reporting new cases. [1] [2]
Source: Good Housekeeping
Chagas is largely asymptomatic, so most people don’t know they have it. Chagas, which is transmitted by the so-called “kissing bug,” can cause heart and intestinal problems, but too often the damage isn’t realized until it’s too late, or doctors don’t associate symptoms with the disease. [1]
Dr. Ester Cerdeira Sabino, a co-leader in the study, explained:
“Most people who get infected, carry on with their lives … unaware they were bitten. A lot of mortality data doesn’t account for Chagas, so you underestimate the effect of the disease. What the parasite does to the body takes a long time; [it] slowly goes into the heart and destroys it.”
Chagas disease is 1 of 5 parasitic infections the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is currently targeting for public health action. [2]
Kissing Bugs and Their Deadly Parasites
The scientific name for kissing bugs is Triatomine bugs, but they’re also sometimes called assassin bugs and vampire bugs. The blood-sucking insects usually bite humans when they’re asleep, either on the eyes or the lips. People can also accidentally scratch or rub the bugs’ feces into their eyes or mouth, or accidentally consume contaminated food. [1] [2]
After feeding on a person, parasites in the kissing bug’s feces can enter the body through breaks in the skin. [2]
When people do show symptoms, it is during the acute phase, the first few weeks after infection. An infected person might experience mild symptoms, such as fever, aches, and fatigue. The most noticeable sign of infection is called Romaña’s sign – when the eyelids near the point of infection start to swell.
During the chronic phase, cardiac or intestinal complications can develop.
Controlling the Kissing Bug Population
There are antiparasitic drugs on the market that can treat Chagas, but considering how rarely the disease goes detected, the best offense is a good defense. The most effective way to do this is by controlling the kissing bug population.
Kissing bugs like to hang out under porches, in dog houses, and under piles of rocks and wood. To prevent infestation, seal cracks and gaps, remove wood or rock piles near your home, and don’t let pets sleep outdoors. Roach hotels and other bait-like traps don’t work against kissing bugs.
Your chances of being bitten by a Triatomine bug are relatively low, but if you suspect you have been bitten, don’t ignore it – talk to your doctor immediately. [3]
In a May, 2017 study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, infection with Chagas was found to increase risk of death by 2 to 3 times from all causes.
Dr. Ligia Capuani, an infectious disease researcher at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, in Brazil, who led the research, said:
“In every age category, people who had Chagas died more than people who didn’t have Chagas. So if you’re infected early in life, you should be treated.” [1]
Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.
The number of cases of Candida auris (C. auris), a dangerous multidrug-resistant fungus, in the U.S. has grown from 7 to 122 over the past 9 months, the CDC says in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. [1]
C. auris can cause severe illness and high mortality (60%), especially among patients who are in intensive-care units, those with a central venous catheter, and people who have received antibiotics or antifungal medications. [1] [2]
Sharon Tsay, lead author and an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the CDC, says:
“It seems to affect the sickest of the sick patients, particularly those in hospitals and nursing homes with other medical problems.” [1]
There have been 77 confirmed cases of C. auris in U.S. hospitals. Upon examining the patients’ close contacts, another 45 cases were identified, for a total of 122 U.S. patients with the fungal infection as of May 12. Among the original 77 patients, the patients’ average age was 70, and 55% were men.
Of the 122 total cases, the majority were reported in healthcare facilities in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. Most of the patients were chronically ill and spent long stretches at high-acuity skilled nursing facilities. [2]
According to the CDC:
“In Illinois, 3 cases were associated with the same long-term care facility. In New York and New Jersey, cases were identified in multiple acute care hospitals, but further investigation found most had overlapping stays at interconnected long-term care facilities and acute care hospitals within a limited geographic area. The case in Massachusetts was linked to the Illinois cases.”
The good news: none of the infections reported in the U.S. were resistant to all available antifungal drugs. However, according to Paige Armstrong, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the CDC, the fungus is “acting a lot like some super bacteria that we’ve seen previously.” [1]
CDC analysis of the first 35 clinical isolates showed that 86% were resistant to fluconazole, 43% were resistant to amphotericin B, and 3% were resistant to echinocandins. [2]
Invasive candidiasis – when the yeast gets into the bloodstream – is the most dangerous type of fungal infection. But C. auris can also make its way into respiratory tract, urine, bile fluid and even bone, leaving doctors scratching their heads as to why the fungus seems to linger, and what other infections it might cause. [3]
“The fact that it has been found in other sites may also reflect its ability to persist on a patient’s body and be spread in the environment around them – one of (the) reasons that C. auris is causing outbreaks.”
The CDC is monitoring the situation. New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said during a recent press conference:
“It is important for New Yorkers to understand C. auris poses no risk to the general public. We’re taking aggressive actions to contain its spread in hospitals and nursing homes.”
Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.
After working in the garden or taking a walk in the woods, it’s a good common practice to check your body for ticks; but it’s not just Lyme disease you have to worry about anymore. Experts are warning that the Powassan virus, a tick-borne virus that can cause dangerous inflammation in the brain, may be transmitted even faster than Lyme. [1]
Powassan is still considered a rare disease; but a recent study of ticks in Maine, as well as a few widely-reported cases of human infection, suggest that the virus may becoming more common.
The Powassan Threat
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Powassan virus neuroinvasive disease cases reported by state, 2004–2013
The Powassan virus can cause encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, and it kills approximately 10-15% of people who become sick, according to the CDC. Half of those infected are left with permanent neurological problems. [1] [2]
Dr. Jennifer Lyons, Chief of the Division of Neurological Infections and Inflammatory Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, says:
“About 15% of patients who are infected and have symptoms are not going TO? survive. Of the survivors, at least 50% will have long-term neurological damage that is not going to resolve.” [2]
First identified in 1958, Powassan was recognized in the type of deer ticks that bite humans and also carry Lyme disease in the mid-1990s. Over the past decade, the CDC has received about 75 reports of the virus in humans, primarily in the Northeast and Great Lakes region. [1]
Scientists at the Maine Medical Research Center decided to test ticks at various sites from across the state after a Maine woman died a few weeks after being bitten by a tick and contracting Powassan virus in 2013. Two other cases were also identified.
The researchers said they “were kind of surprised” that they found as much of the virus as they did. Out of 203 different pools of adult ticks – meaning all of the ticks collected from a given area – 15 tested positive for Powassan. The researchers also found that populations of deer ticks were increasing in several areas of the state.
Now scientists are especially concerned because experts are predicting that 2017 will be an especially bad year for ticks in the Northeast. Not only is the virus transmitted much faster than Lyme, it’s also deadlier. Animal studies show that Powassan virus could be passed from tick to host after only about 15 minutes of attachment. It takes 24 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted.
Symptoms
Source: Valley News Live
Not everyone who is infected with Powassan will show symptoms. Those who do typically become sick a few days to about a week after being bitten by an infected tick. For the most part, people who become ill experience flu-like symptoms. Lyons says that these can include:
“muscle aches and pains; maybe you have a little rash on your skin, but almost certainly, you’ll have a fever and the headache.” [2]
Those who become seriously ill will do so “very quickly over the next couple of days,” Lyons explains, adding:
“You start to develop difficulties with maintaining your consciousness and your cognition. … You may develop seizures. You may develop inability to breathe on your own.” [2]
There is no way of preventing or treating Powassan virus. Says Lyons:
“There are some experimental therapies we try when somebody comes in and they get here early enough and we get the therapy started early enough, but we have no idea if any of that works.” [2]
Prevention
The best way to avoid Powassan (and Lyme, for that matter) is to prevent being bitten by a tick. Avoid highly brushy areas when you’re in the woods. Wear long sleeves and pants whenever possible, use natural tick repellent, and check your entire body for the blood-sucking insects after being outdoors.
Don’t be afraid of “catching” Powassan virus. Your chances of being infected are very low. Take the right preventative measures and you should be fine.
Dr. Susan Paskewitz, Chair of the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says:
“I don’t think people need to be fearful of it because it is so rare, but it is out there and it is one more reason for people to do those careful tick checks at the end of the day, or try to reduce your contact with them to begin with.” [3]
Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.
