Health officials announce first Zika-related death in Puerto Rico.

A patient with Zika virus infection in Puerto Rico has died of complications related to severe thrombocytopenia, according to a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). It is the first Zika virus-associated death to be reported in the country. “Although Zika virus-associated deaths are rare, the first identified death in Puerto Rico highlights the possibility of severe cases, as well as the need for continued outreach to raise health care providers’ awareness of complications that might lead to severe disease or death,” Emilio Dirlikov, PhD, of the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s Office of Epidemiology and Research and the CDC’s Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, and colleagues wrote. Zika virus infections continue to rise the researchers reported that weekly case counts of Zika virus infection have gradually increased in the country since late November. As of April 14, health officials from the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC Dengue Branch in San Juan, identified 6,157 patients with suspected arbovirus infections. Among them, 11% of patients, including 65 symptomatic pregnant women, were identified as probable or laboratory-confirmed Zika virus cases. The most common symptoms among these patients included rash (74%), myalgia (68%), headache (63%), fever (63%) and arthralgia (63%). Seventeen patients required hospitalization, including five with suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome. culled from healio.com

Baby Born To Mother With Fatal Rabies Survives Without Infection.

This April in the Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, Chinese doctors reported an extremely rare case of rabies — one that ended with a remarkable, if bitter-sweet, story of survival. In May 2013, a 25-year-old woman living in a rural region of the Henan Province was bitten by a dog she didn’t know was rabid while she was four months pregnant. Although the bite was quickly treated by her local village clinic, the woman never received the vaccine needed to prevent rabies and eventually developed symptoms right as she entered labor. Two days after she successfully delivered her child via cesarean section, she died from the viral disease. Somehow though, her newborn son made it through without having caught the infection, as did her husband. The doctors couldn’t be certain how the baby escaped transmission, but they theorized that the mother’s placenta may have played a protective role. Though there was ample opportunity for the virus to spread to the child during her final moments of labor, it’s possible it hadn’t spread widely enough throughout the mother’s bloodstream for that to happen. The son and husband were also given a preventative rabies shot following her death, another possible factor. In China, it’s thought that dogs attack hundreds of pregnant women annually. And while most receive a rabies shot afterwards, the vaccine is oftentimes too expensive a precaution for those living in less developed areas. Indeed, it’s the poorest people who make up the majority of deaths caused by rabies; a toll that reaches in the tens of thousands globally every year. According to the authors, there have only been six other documented cases of a pregnant woman with full blown rabies delivering a baby, with five out of six newborns surviving. As with the current case, the mothers themselves weren’t so lucky. However rare they are, preventing these needless tragedies will require the same sort of dedicated public health measures seen elsewhere, like widespread dog vaccinations and monitoring centers in areas where rabies is known to exist, the authors wrote. Previous successful experiences suggest that it is possible to fight the disease by means of virus control and prevention. Source: Qu Z-Y, Li G-W, Chen Q-C, et al. Survival of a newborn from a pregnant woman with rabies infection. BMC Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases. 2016.

RABIES IN A HORSE IN SANTA CRUZ.

The Arizona Department of Agriculture said a horse in Santa Cruz County has become the state's first case of rabies in a domesticated animal in nearly seven years. The horse, whose owner lives in the Nogales area, was hospitalized but did not respond to treatment, according to a news release. The horse was later euthanized, state agriculture officials said. Rabies among domestic animals is extremely rare, with this being the first case in almost seven years, we are reminded of the importance of keeping our animals' vaccinations current," said Dr. Susan Gale, the acting state veterinarian. Rabies is a virus that attacks the nervous system of mammals, causing erratic behavior and eventually death, according to the Centers for Disease Control . Rabies is most often found in wild animals, including bats, skunks and foxes. The state Department of Agriculture urges livestock, horse and pet owners to speak with their veterinarian about how to protect their animals. Read more http://www.abc15.com/news/state/santa-cruz-horse-is-first-arizona-domestic-animal-rabies-case-in-nearly-seven-years

ANTHRAX FOUND IN A PIG IN UKRAINE.

A backyard pig that was slaughtered in Chuguyiv, Ukraine, tested positive for the presence of anthrax. The State Veterinary and Phyto-sanitary Service of Ukraine, in a report submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), stated that the pig’s owner had notified a veterinary officer that while he was slaughtering the pig three days earlier, he noticed the animal had an enlarged spleen. Pig had been slaughtered for consumption but no human illnesses resulted. Samples were taken from products from the animal, which tested positive for the presence of anthrax. No other animals were reported by the OIE as susceptible to anthrax. All people that had contact with products from the infected pig were evaluated by a physician, according to an April 6 report from the OIE, and none of those people were found to be infected. All of the products from the infected animal have since been destroyed. The incident marks the first time anthrax has been detected in the Ukraine since 2012, and the source of the latest infection remains uncertain. Control measures used include movement control inside the country, vaccination, disinfection, quarantine and surveillance outside the protection zone. OIE stated that it will submit weekly updates on the Ukrainian anthrax situation until it considers it to be resolved. The Ukrainian pig industry has also dealt with concerns of African swine fever (ASF) in recent weeks. The disease was found in a small backyard herd in Kirovograd, affecting 29 animals. source; WattAgnet.

Antiviral favipiravir successfully treats Lassa virus in guinea pigs.

Favipiravir, an investigational antiviral drug currently being tested in West Africa as a treatment for Ebola virus disease, effectively treated Lassa virus infection in guinea pigs, according to a new study. Lassa fever is endemic to West Africa and affects about 300,000 people annually, killing roughly 5,000. In some parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is believed nearly 15 percent of people admitted to hospitals have Lassa fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No vaccine or licensed treatment exists for Lassa fever, although ribavirin, licensed for hepatitis C treatment, has been used with limited success. In the new study, published Oct. 12, 2015, in Scientific Reports, favipiravir not only effectively treated guinea pigs infected with Lassa virus, it also worked better than ribavirin. Two days after infecting groups of guinea pigs with a lethal dose of Lassa virus, the scientists treated the rodents daily for two weeks with either ribavirin, low doses of favipiravir, or high doses of favipiravir. They also evaluated the effect of high-dose favipiravir in the rodents that began treatment five, seven or nine days after infection. All of the animals that received high-dose favipiravir were completely protected from lethal infection; animals treated seven or nine days after infection had begun showing signs of disease, but their conditions quickly improved when treatment began. Those animals in the low-dose favipiravir group showed mild to moderate signs of disease, but those symptoms resolved after about one week of treatment. The animals treated with ribavirin appeared normal during the treatment phase but developed severe disease shortly after treatment ended. Further testing and human clinical trials are needed to determine if favipiravir, also known as T-705 and Avigan, could effectively treat Lassa virus infection in people. Story source;NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

PSEUDO-RABIES!!!

A large number of swine-producing 
countries have eradicated the presence of pseudorabies, also known as Aujeszky’s Disease. Aujeszky’s Disease can be found throughout the world, especially in regions with dense swine populations including South America, Asia and Europe. Countries such as Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have eradicated the disease from their domestic swine populations in the late nineties. China on the other hand has experienced an unprecedented outbreak since 2011. Vaccination proves to be an important tool to control PRV. Pseudo rabies virus (PRV), the causing agent of Aujeszky’s Disease, is an extremely contagious herpes virus that causes respiratory disease and reproductive problems, including abortions and stillbirths in breeding swine. In piglets, PRV can cause coughing, sneezing, fever, constipation, depression, seizures, ataxia, circling and excess salivation, with mortality in piglets less than one month of age being close to 100%. Occasional death losses in breeding and finishing pigs can also occur. The virus is transmitted through nasal and oral secretions, food, water, and the environment. It can also be carried on vehicle wheels, including tyres or buggy wheels, boots and clothing. The incubation period is commonly two to five days, with nasal and oral excretion and, in adult swine, vaginal, preputial, and/or milk secretion coincident or just preceding any primary symptoms. Additionally, adult Aujeszky positive swine may harbour the virus without showing clear signs. The virus can live in humid air and non-chlorinated water for up to seven hours; and in the soil, on clothing, and faeces for up to two days. Dogs, cats, and racoons can physically transmit the virus between farms, but usually the virus causes death in these animals. PR viruses comprise a single serogroup. However, both vaccine and wild-type viruses can be differentiated into groups by using combinations of physical and biological markers. Vaccination with modified live marker vaccines is a useful tool in controlling the disease and PRV has been eradicated in many countries by the use of modified live vaccines.

SWINE FLU OUTBREAK IN IRAN .

An outbreak of swine flu in two south-eastern provinces of Iran has killed at least 33 people over the last three weeks. Iran's Deputy Health Minister Ali-Akbar Sayyari told the official IRNA news agency 28 had died in Kerman province and five in Sistan-Baluchistan. He warned that the outbreak was likely to spread to other areas of the country, including Tehran.Swine flu is a strain of the influenza virus known as H1N1. The strain first appeared in Mexico in 2009 and rapidly spread around the world. Another Iranian news agency, ISNA, reported that around 600 people had received hospital treatment after contracting the virus in Kerman province. Story credit;BBC.

FRANCE HIT BY FIRST BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN 8 YEARS.

The highly pathogenic bird flu virus H5N1 has been discovered on a farm in Dordogne,where it killed 75% of birds on the farm . A 10km surveillance radius has been established around farm to prevent spread to other poultry farms.The agriculture minister confirmed the outbreak,and south Korea has banned importation of poultry from France. The virus is deadly and spreads easily if bio security protocols are not enforced, hand washing after handling birds is very important.read more here; http://www.globalmeatnews.com/Industry-Markets/France-hit-by-first-bird-flu-outbreak-in-eight-years/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=30-Nov-2015&c=KviYxCjZMiXfdfZP1fvhvMG3x5RsDoMO&p2=

EQUINE GRASS SICKNESS.

Equine grass sickness is fatal condition in horses on pasture, the condition results in colic and prognosis is guarded.The condition affects all age groups,can occur at any time but very common in wet conditions/seasons. The cause of the condition has been pinned as Clostridium botulinum,this bacteria lives in moist soil and when it spreads on grass its eaten by the horse,resulting in severe poisoning. The bacteria toxins affect the horses's intestinal tract which affects the nerves causing a dysfunction resulting in severe colic. The onset of the equine grass sickness could be per acute, acute and chronic.In per acute cases the horses are found dead.The prognosis in the chronic and acute cases are guarded. The acute case, the onset is sudden, with severe abdominal discomfort, high pulse rate and restlessness. The treatment is colic surgery.While the chronic case ,the horse slowly develops a persistent low grade colic with rapid weight loss.The upper eye lid is droopy and there is sticky nasal discharge, and fecal balls are hard and small.The treatment is pain relief and supportive therapy. Equine grass sickness can be prevented with pasture identification; if an area has record of such sickness avoid letting horses in area.Where there has been recent work lately, that involves soil works or turning should be avoided.Areas where dead animals are commonly found in pasture should be avoided.Horses that do not depend solely on grasses for nutrition hardly come down with grass sickness,thus feeding hay at pasture and bringing horses in to stable at night may help reduce its occurrence.

A VIRUS IN CATTLE LINKED TO HUMAN BREAST CANCER.

A study has revealed the link between bovine leukemia virus and breast cancer; researchers analyzed breast tissue from 239 women, comparing samples from women who had breast cancer with women who had no history of the disease for the presence of bovine leukemia virus (BLV). They found that 59 percent of breast cancer samples had evidence of exposure to BLV, as determined by the presence of viral DNA. By contrast, 29 percent of the tissue samples from women who never had breast cancer showed exposure to BLV. Bovine leukemia virus infects dairy and beef cattle's blood cells and mammary tissue. The retrovirus is easily transmitted among cattle primarily through infected blood and milk, but it only causes disease in fewer than 5 percent of infected animals.This is another reason to handle animals,organs and blood with utmost care. Read more about the study here;http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150915105004.htm

Horse sickness shares signs of Alzheimer's.

Horses with a rare nerve condition have similar signs of disease as people with conditions such as Alzheimer's, a new study has found. The findings shed new light on the causes of the rare but predominately fatal horse condition and could help to develop new tools for diagnosing the illness. Scientists say that horses affected by the disease -- called equine grass sickness -- could also hold clues to human conditions.Grass sickness attacks nerve cells in horses but the causes of the disease are unknown. It causes gastric upset and muscle tremor and can kill within days. If diagnosed quickly, animals can sometimes be nursed back to health.They found that the horse tissue contained proteins that are commonly seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease -- such as the build-up of amyloid protein.This knowledge could help to develop tests for detecting the condition in horses, which can be tricky to diagnose. read more here;http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151005121140.htm

Evidence of probable transmission of bird flu virus between two unrelated individuals.

The study describes two patients who shared the same ward in a district hospital in Zhejiang Province, China in February 2015.Hospital acquired (nosocomial) infection most likely route of transmission, The first (index) case was a 49 year old man who became ill after buying two chickens from a live poultry market for the wedding ceremony of his elder daughter. He developed a fever, cough, and sore throat and was admitted to a district hospital on 18 February. He was diagnosed with H7N9 virus on 24 February and was admitted to a specialist hospital ward with intensive care facilities. He died of multi-organ failure on 20 April. The second case, a 57 year old man with a history of chronic lung disease (COPD), developed flu-like symptoms after staying on the same ward of the district hospital as the index case for five days (18 to 23 February). He was diagnosed with H7N9 virus on 25 February and died of respiratory failure on 2 March. A total of 38 close contacts of both cases, including family members and health workers, were tested for the virus. Two samples taken from the chickens purchased by the index patient as well as five of 11 samples from the live poultry market he visited were positive for H7N9 virus.The second patient had no history of poultry exposure for 15 days prior to his illness. Samples from his home, from chickens raised by his neighbours, and a local chicken farm were all negative for H7N9 virus. Yet the genetic sequence of H7N9 virus from the second patient was nearly identical to that from the index patient, and genetically similar to the virus samples taken from the live poultry market visited by the index patient. The researchers stress that they cannot completely rule out an unidentified environmental exposure that might explain the H7N9 infection in the second patient.They say these results "should raise our concern about the increasing threat to public health" and they call for better training and hospital hygiene as well as enhanced surveillance of both patients with influenza-like illness in hospitals and chickens in live poultry markets Read more about unconventional routes of birdflu virus transmission and how to prevent transmission.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151119095824.htm

XYLITOL DANGER TO DOGS.!!!

The inclusion of xylitol in some peanut butter has raised the red flag on the use as dog treats. Read more here;http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1392/A-New-Ingredient-In-Some-Peanut-Butters-Is-Deadly-To-Dogs-Here-s-What-You-Need-To-Know

EARLY DETECTION OF TUBERCULOSIS..

Tuberculosis a zoonotic disease and debilitating disease characterized by cough,muscle wasting,immuno suppression e.t.c.The prognosis of case is based on early detection,availability of drugs and frequency of use. The early detection of tuberculosis is vital to the success of treatment. A new study has shown a new method for early detection,read more; http://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/respiratory-infections/news/online/%7Bc3837a71-6a73-437d-8175-993ccd395e5a%7D/novel-assay-detects-tb-in-early-stages-of-disease?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=infectious%20disease%20news

HOW RABIES KILLS

' Rabies claims the life of one person every 10 minutes,This is a sad story of how a bat snuffed out the life of Zach Jones. A bird had flown into his room and he got bitten without knowing it, He had the window screens down . He'd woken to find a bat fluttering around his face and a friend who was around just dropped a towel over the bat and threw it out of the window – luckily she didn't come into contact with it at the time or we may have lost her as well. At the time they had no idea that rabies could occur in bats and so we thought nothing more of it.Read what led to his death. Zach was very athletic and loved sport. He was a swimmer and played football regularly. He was very healthy and careful about what medications he put into his body. Looking back, he showed some minor symptoms early on – he had a slight cough and a runny nose – but I put that down to springtime allergies. On May 4 though, he displayed some rabies symptoms. He came home from school and said: "Mom, there's something very wrong with my mind, I can't explain it." He told us that he'd been coming home on the bus and that he'd felt very frightened by the loud noises it was making. He seemed very agitated but the really classic symptom he showed was what we now know as hydrophobia – he tried to drink but he couldn't swallow. He said if he drank the water, he wouldn't be able to breathe. He went to bed that night and at 2.30am he woke up and came to tell me again that there was something very wrong. I switched on the light in the kitchen and he cowered away from it. He said he'd been awake all night and he'd been hallucinating. We took him to the emergency room at around 4am. We had no idea what could be wrong. Zach was transferred to the children's hospital in Houston, where they did some tests. Because he was a teenager they decided he must have taken drugs, but we knew Zach was a good kid and we knew he was not the type to do that. He was then transferred to a mental facility, where they then told us that he was not a mental patient but a medical patient and he did not belong there, so it was back to the hospital. That is why, to this day, I always a led to his death.dvise people to get a second opinion. Unfortunately medical staff are not always right. Early the next morning, the same neighbour of mine who had thrown the bat out of Zach's room came to the hospital. She had suddenly remembered the bat and wondered if it had any significance. The doctor said there was very little chance it had any relevance, but I asked if they could do a rabies test and, two days later, it came back positive. A few days afterwards, on May 12, we lost our son Zach. We know there are many others whose lives have been saved because of Zach. In my husband Larry's family alone, eight members including cousins and nieces have been bitten by bats since Zach died, and because of his story they all knew to get vaccinated. It's so important to educate others about rabies because people, including health officials, don't know that it still exists where we live. Aside from this a lot of doctors tend to play down the threat and try to say the risk is low, and then because of that people do not get vaccinated. The sad thing is that it is completely preventable if people know the facts and get the right medical advice. Larry and I are trying to raise awareness about this in our community. We've set up the Zach Jones Memorial Fund and we have annual fundraisers. The community donates items to be sold for auction, and we also do a golf tournament. Last year we raised $85,000 and we want to use this money to educate people about the dangers of contracting this disease. At the moment we're funding the Texas State Health Department's poster competition about rabies which will help people, especially school children, to be more informed. We have also set up a scholarship in Zach's name to enable kids in the area to go to college. Doing this makes us feel better about what has happened. If we knew then what we know now, Zach would still be alive, but if we can save even one more life by doing this, it makes the pain of losing him a little easier to bear. Rabies is fatal but preventable, vaccinate your pets. stay away from wild animals//stray animals. Bat-proof your homes.