Flu Scan for Dec 11, 2013

News brief
Topics
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Influenza, General

H7N9 found in samples from Shenzhen live-bird markets

Three environmental samples from live-poultry markets in Shenzhen, China, have tested positive for H7N9 avian flu virus, the South China Morning Post reported today. Two recent cases in Hong Kong have been linked to Shenzhen.

Officials discovered the virus after collecting 70 samples at 13 live-bird markets throughout the city.

One H7N9-positive sample was from blood taken from a chopping board at a stall selling live poultry, and the other two were from urine samples from a stall housing chickens, the story said. The contaminated markets are located in Shenzhen's Longgang district.

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung urged Hong Kong to discontinue all live-poultry imports from the mainland. Currently, Hong Kong has suspended imports only from three Shenzhen farms.

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP), in a brief statement today, said it had been informed of the findings and "will continue to maintain liaison with the Mainland health authorities to monitor the latest developments."
Dec 11 South China Morning Post story
Dec 11 Hong Kong CHP statement

 

WHO: Global flu activity low

Global influenza activity remained low overall but has started to increase slightly in the Northern Hemisphere, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Dec 9 update on virus activity.

During weeks 46 and 47 (which concluded on Nov 23), flu activity increased slightly in the Northern Hemisphere and stayed low in the Southern Hemisphere, the WHO said. As noted in recent regional reports, activity in North America and Europe has increased a bit, with 2009 H1N1 predominating in the United States and Canada and all three major strains circulating in European nations.

Of 1,169 flu-positive samples from national labs, 852 (72.9%) were influenza A and 317 (27.1%) influenza B. Influenza A strains were almost evenly divided, with 331 (51.8%) subtyped 2009 H1N1 and 308 (48.2%) H3N2. Only 14 influenza B viruses were subtyped, with 13 belonging to the Yamagata lineage and 1 to the Victoria lineage.
Dec 9 WHO update

News Scan for Dec 11, 2013

News brief
Topics
Malaria
Plague
Ricin

Report: Recent malaria-control efforts saved 3.3 million lives

Global malaria-control efforts since 2000 have saved an estimated 3.3 million lives and reduced global mortality rates by 45%, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its "World Malaria Report 2013," released today.

A large majority of the lives saved were in the 10 countries with the highest rates of malaria and in preschoolers, who are most effective by the disease, the agency said. Mortality rates since 2000 have dropped 49% in Africa and an estimated 54% in African children.

Increased funding and political commitment helped lower the incidence of malaria 29% worldwide and 31% in Africa, the report said.

"This remarkable progress is no cause for complacency: Absolute numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not going down as fast as they could," said Margaret Chan, MD, MPH, WHO director-general, in a WHO news release. "The fact that so many people are infected and dying from mosquito bites is one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century."

The WHO estimates that in 2012 malaria sickened 207 million people, killing about 627,000. It said an estimated 3.4 billion people are at risk, mostly in Southeast Asia and in Africa, the continent that witnesses about 80% of malaria cases.

The agency said the world is still a long way from universal access to malaria prevention and treatment and that funds continue to be urgently needed, even though global funding increased from $100 million in 2000 to almost $2 billion in 2012.
World Malaria Report 2013
Dec 11 WHO news release

 

Plague outbreak confirmed in Madagascar

Officials have confirmed that a deadly outbreak in a Madagascar village is caused by bubonic plague, BBC News reported yesterday. At least 20 people died in the village, which is near the northwestern town of Mandritsara.

The Pasteur Institute of Madagascar yesterday confirmed that tests on samples from bodies in the village showed that bubonic plague had caused the deaths. The story did not specify the type of testing that was done but said health officials are in the remote region to investigate the outbreak.

In October the International Red Cross warned that the country was at risk of an epidemic of plague, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Madagascar had 60 deaths last year from plague, the highest toll in the world, BBC News said.
Dec 10 BBC News report

 

Texan pleads guilty to ricin mailings to Obama, Bloomberg

A former "Walking Dead" and "Blind Side" actress from Texas pleaded guilty yesterday to sending letters containing ricin to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Associated Press (AP) reported today.

In federal court in Texarkana, Tex., Shannon Guess Richardson pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing and producing a biological toxin, under a deal that her attorney said would mean a maximum of 18 years in prison. Prosecutors said she could have faced life in prison.

Richardson, 35, was arrested in June after she tried to implicate her estranged husband in mailing ricin-tainted letters to the two public officials and to a gun-control advocate. Investigators noted inconsistencies in her statements and later learned she had bought castor beans and other material to make ricin. The letters were postmarked May 20.
Dec 11 AP story
Jun 10 CIDRAP News scan on Richardson's arrest

This week's top reads

  1. FDA significantly limits COVID-19 vaccine recommendations

    Critics said today’s announcement is more evidence of the current administration’s willingness to undermine public trust in vaccines.

    Stephanie Soucheray
    FDA building

  2. USDA suspends southern border livestock imports over New World screwworm threat

    As cattle detections track northward, Mexico recently reported its first human case.

    Lisa Schnirring
    screwworm larva

  3. Woman dies of Creutzfeldt-Jakob almost 50 years after taking prion-contaminated growth hormone

    The patient, who presented with gait imbalance and tremors, wasn't diagnosed until she was in a coma, shortly before she died.

    Mary Van Beusekom
    Woman in hospital bed

  4. Meta-analysis: Zika-infected pregnant moms 4 times more likely to have babies with microcephaly

    Five of 22 studies noted that over 50% of newborns had microcephaly, and the same number of studies observed that over 5% had congenital Zika syndrome. 

    Mary Van Beusekom

  5. HHS expected to discontinue COVID vaccine recommendations for some groups

    When CDC advisers widened their recommendation in 2023, most members were swayed by data, including those for long COVID, showing that no group is at low risk for the virus.

    Lisa Schnirring

  6. Data suggest COVID-19 reinfections less likely to cause long COVID

    The risk of long COVID was two to three times higher after the initial infection (14.8%) than after first (5.8%) or second (5.3%) reinfections.

    Stephanie Soucheray
    LONG COID

  7. WHO advisers say current strains OK for COVID vaccine production

    Current vaccine strains show high neutralization against the latest variants, but the LP.8.1 antigen may provide similar or moderately higher cross-reactive antibody response.

    Lisa Schnirring
    senior vaccination

  8. Texas announces more measles cases, including first in Dallas area

    Two cases near the Dallas area are now included in the large outbreak, which now totals 717 cases.

    Lisa Schnirring

  9. US measles outbreak grows to 1,024 cases

    Texas remains the country's hot spot, with 718 cases. 

    Chris Dall
    Doctor treating child with measles

  10. Saudi Arabia confirms 9 MERS cases, including hospital cluster

    Since 2023, the country has ramped up MERS-CoV testing as part of sentinel surveillance.

    Lisa Schnirring
    hospital isolation

Our underwriters