South Korean wild geese test positive for H5N8
The H5N8 strain of avian flu has been found in wild geese in the same South Korean province that has seen H5N8 outbreaks in domestic ducks, according to a story today in The Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper.
Three bean geese that died at a reservoir in North Jeolla province tested positive for the virus, the same strain that was also found this week in dozens of Baikal teals, a wild duck species, in the same location.
The discovery of H5N8 in the geese, however, leads officials to fear the virus may have spread throughout the country, according to a story yesterday in The Korea Times. Bean geese winter on the whole peninsula, unlike the teals.
The Times also reported that eight farms in North Jeolla province are now affected by avian flu, up from five earlier in the week. It said poultry on five farms have tested positive for H5N8 but didn't specify the avian flu strain responsible for outbreaks on the other three farms. Six other farms are awaiting test results, the report said.
So far, about 274,000 ducks and ducklings at 18 poultry farms have been culled to stop disease spread and another 140,000 are slated to be slaughtered, the Times reported.
Jan 23 Chosun Ilbo story
Jan 22 Korea Times report
Cholera bacteria found in environmental water samples in Haiti
Researchers monitoring 14 environmental sites near Haitian towns battling a cholera epidemic since 2010 detected outbreak Vibrio cholerae strains only when water temperatures were 88°F or warmer and say their findings may indicate long-term reservoirs of cholera-causing bacteria in Haiti, which may complicate elimination efforts.
Writing in Emerging Infectious Diseases yesterday, the University of Florida team found the outbreak strain—O1 El Tor biotype—in 3 (1.7%) of 179 water samples collected from April 2012 to March 2013. They also found three isolates of nontoxigenic O1 V cholerae.
They noted that all O1 isolates were found in water temperatures of 31°C (88°F) or warmer.
The researchers conclude, "These isolations may reflect establishment of long-term environmental reservoirs in Haiti, which may complicate eradication of cholera from this coastal country."
Jan 22 Emerg Infect Dis study
Report: Fatal 2012 dengue case involved rare blood disorder
A case report today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describes only the third dengue-related US death, in a woman who had acquired a rare blood disorder but was not diagnosed as having dengue till after her death.
The 63-year-old Texan, who had a host of underlying medical conditions, developed an acute illness with fever while vacationing in Santa Fe, N.M., in August 2012. Upon return home she was initially diagnosed as having West Nile virus infection, and within a month she developed pancytopenia (low red cells, white cells, and platelets in the blood), liver failure, and widespread blot clots and died.
Before her death she was found to have the rare blood disorder hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which can be familial or acquired after an infection. HPH is a potentially fatal hyperinflammatory syndrome characterized by persistent fever, pancytopenia, enlarged spleen and liver, and increased blood levels of ferritin, a protein that stores iron.
Dengue (the DENV-3 strain) was detected in a premortem bone marrow biopsy that was tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after she died. A CDC editorial note on the report said the woman might have contracted the disease in Sante Fe, upon her return to Texas, or from a blood donor while in the hospital.
The authors conclude, "This case underscores the need for clinicians in the United States to be vigilant for dengue and request diagnostic testing for suspected cases, which should be reported to public health authorities."
Jan 24 MMWR report
