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Bird Flu, Swine Flu … and Now Bat Flu?
Scientists have found a new influenza virus that infects bats.
But don’t pull out the hand sanitizer leftover from the H1N1, or swine flu, pandemic just yet. When asked about the implications of this discovery for human health, one of the researchers, Ruben Donis, said: “It’s still too early to tell.”
We still don’t know that this bat flu virus can infect people, according to Donis, who is chief of the molecular virology and vaccines branch in the influenza division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He and a team of American and Guatemalan researchers isolated the virus from fruit-eating, little yellow-shouldered bats in Guatemala. So far, there is no Read more…
Fears for lambing season as deadly virus arrives in West
A deadly virus sweeping across Europe which could be ‘a catastrophe’ for the farming industry has reached the West, Government scientists revealed last night.
The Schmallenberg virus causes stillbirths and birth defects in sheep, goats and cattle and is so new there is no treatment and no cure.
Yesterday, the Government’s vet agency confirmed that the first case has been reported in Wiltshire, leading to fears that this year’s lambing season could be badly hit.
The chairman of the NFU’s livestock board, Alistair Mackintosh, said the virus, which is named after the German town where it was first spotted and discovered only last year, has “the potential to become a catastrophe in the UK”.
It is believed to be spread by midges and is not thought to be a danger to humans, but farmers have little or no defence against it for their livestock. After the first cases last year in Germany, it quickly spread to Read more…
No way of stopping leak of deadly new flu, says terror chief
The bioterrorism expert responsible for censoring scientific research which could lead to the creation of a devastating pandemic has admitted the information “is going to get out” eventually.
Professor Paul Keim, chairman of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, controversially recommended that researchers be stopped from publishing the precise mutations needed to transform the H5N1 strain of birdflu virus into a human-transmissible version.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he argued it had been necessary to limit the release of the scientific details because of fears that terrorists may use the information to create their own H5N1 virus that could be spread easily between people.
Professor Keim said that it was necessary to slow down the release of scientific information because it was clear that the world is not yet prepared for a strain of highly lethal H5N1 influenza that can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes.
“We recognised that, in the long term certainly, the information is going to get out, and maybe even in the mid term. But if we can restrict it in the short term and motivate governments to start getting busy in terms of Read more…
Hand sanitizers may increase norovirus risk
Of the 45 facilities that reported preferential use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in a recent survey, 53% experienced a confirmed outbreak of norovirus, compared with 18% of the 17 facilities that used hand sanitizers less often than soap and water.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers may not be the panacea for hand hygiene they were once supposed, as mounting research indicates they may not be effective substitutes for soap and water, and in some cases may actually increase the risk for outbreaks of highly contagious viruses in health care settings.
Public health experts, however, say more rigorous investigations will be necessary to trump the convenience of using hand sanitizers, among other benefits, or substantially alter existing recommendations that strongly encourage their use by health care professionals.
It’s widely recognized that improper use of antibiotics contributes greatly to the development and spread of super bugs in health care settings, but the link between hand sanitizers and Read more…
Farm Animal Disease to Increase With Climate Change, Scientists Say
Researchers looked at changes in the behaviour of bluetongue — a viral disease of cattle and sheep — from the 1960s to the present day, as well as what could happen to the transmission of the virus 40 years into the future. They found, for the first time, that an outbreak of a disease could be explained by changes to the climate.
In Europe, more than 80,000 outbreaks of bluetongue were reported to the World Animal Health Organisation between 1998 and 2010, and millions of animals died as a result of the disease. Bluetongue was previously restricted to Africa and Asia, but its emergence in Europe is thought to be linked to increased temperatures, which allows the insects that carry the virus to spread to new regions and transmit the virus more effectively.
Researchers produced a mathematical model that explains how Read more…
Long Island Officials Warn Of Rapidly Spreading Whooping Cough Virus
A bottle of the pertussis vaccine against whooping cough and a syringe are show in a pharmacy in Pasadena, Calif. on Sept. 17, 2010. (Photo credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
SMITHTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A cluster of whooping cough is growing on Long Island, with dozens of people infected by the virus.
As CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez reports, a warning was sent out as children begin to head to summer camp – a certain breeding ground for the illness.
Parents in Smithtown are on high alert, as the highly contagious whooping cough is spreading through their community.
“It’s one of those diseases you don’t think you’ll ever hear about again,” parent Rick Vollkommer said.
Donna Wilson said she’s not taking any chances with her daughter, Kayla.
“She has been coughing a little bit here and there, so I’m Read more…
CDC admits flu vaccines don’t work (which is why you need a new one every year)
I’m always amused by the purchasing process of electronics or appliances at big box stores. On one hand, as their sales associate calmly explains to you, whatever product you’re buying is such high quality that you’ll be extremely satisfied with your purchase. But on the other hand, it’s also such a complete piece of junk that you’d be smart to add on a two-year extended warranty so that when the gizmo breaks five seconds after you open the box, you can get a replacement for free.
The CDC and the vaccine industry are fronting a similar bit of contradictory logic. “Our vaccines work so well that they offer almost total immunity from the flu,” they claim. And yet somehow they also work so poorly that they “wear off” after a year and require you to be re-vaccinated annually.
This is The Great Big Lie of the vaccine industry: The lie that says you have be re-vaccinated each and every year, often with the exact same strains you were vaccinated with the previous year. The coming winter flu vaccines for 2011, for example, are being manufactured with the same Read more…
Another woman dies of mysterious virus in s Korea
Seoul (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) – A pregnant woman has died of pneumonia related to an unidentified virus, nearly 15 days after the same cause brought about the first fatality in South Korea, local media reported Thursday.
The 36-year-old woman died early Thursday morning, about one month after being admitted to the intensive care unit of a large hospital in Seoul, according to the Korea Center for Disaster Control and Prevention (KCDC), Seoul`s Yonhap news agency reported.
She initially showed cold-like symptoms but later was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. The victim was among eight patients who checked into the intensive care unit of the hospital for infection with the unknown virus.
Seven of the eight patients have recently given birth or are expecting, prompting widespread fears among the country`s pregnant women.
The KCDC has been focusing on verifying the origin of the virus by studying the specimen taken from the patient and conducting genetic analysis on it.
New concerns over swine flu jab after children given it ‘hit by sudden sleep syndrome’
A swine flu vaccine which has been given to thousands of children in Britain may cause the sleep disorder narcolepsy.
Symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness and nodding off suddenly without warning.
All packets of the vaccine Pandemrix will have to carry a warning about the risk following a ruling by the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Side effects: Within weeks of having the Pandemrix jab, Joshua Hadfield began sleeping 18 hours a day and his mother says his personality completely changedThe EMA, which is currently investigating the effects of the vaccine, has also told doctors to weigh up the potential risks before injecting children against the deadly H1N1 virus. Read more…
Mosquito borne virus alert for Western Australia
There is a mosquito alert for people living and holidaying in northern and central WA after a high number of reports of encephalitis and Ross River virus. According to Department of Health entomologist Sue Harrington, it is confirmed that a Carnarvon resident has been diagnosed with the potentially fatal encephalitis while several other cases are currently being investigated.
This virus infection is characterized by fever, drowsiness, headache, stiff neck, nausea and dizziness. In severe cases, people can have fits, lapse into a coma and may be left with permanent brain damage or die Read more…
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