Tag Archives: Disease

New York Legionnaires Death Toll Now Seven

New York health officials held a public meeting Monday on the current Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak and admitted the death toll has reached seven.

In addition to the seven deaths, more than 80 others have been confirmed to have the deadly bacteria.

Health officials made a point to say those who died were older and had other health problems.  They were also confident they found the source of the outbreak. Health officials are currently investigating five cooling towers in the South Bronx. All five towers tested positive for legionella bacteria, but health officials believe one of the towers is the source of the outbreak. Since the investigation, all five cooling towers have been cleaned and flushed to remove the bacteria.

 

“The five sites we have found, we’re confident based on scientific evidence we have identified only sites that are causing this outbreak,” New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio told reporters.

“This is the largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that we are aware of in New York City,” Health Commissioner Mary Bassett told NBC. “Although we will continue to see cases, we expect the case rate to decline and the number of cases to fall over the coming weeks.”

One infectious disease expert said it’s surprising we don’t see more outbreaks.

“What surprises me more is that we don’t see it more often, it’s common in cooling towers or central air conditioning systems,” Dr. Stephen Morse, an infectious disease expert at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said to ABC News. “You’re going to find it in a lot of places where there are no reports of people being sick.”

Head of CDC Heads to Sierra Leone

Concerns about the new Ebola scare in Sierra Leone has the head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) flying to that nation.

The report of the trip comes on the heels of Sierra Leone officials admitting they have two more new cases of the virus connected to the first victim who died last week.

“We now know where the virus is and we are tracking its movement, by surrounding, containing and eradicating its last remaining chain of transmission,” ational Ebola Response Centre’s OB Sisay said.

CDC Head Dr. Tom Frieden reportedly will help assess the situation and provide advice on steps needed to control the new outbreak.

Officials say the problem with controlling the virus early is that the initial symptom of fever is similar to that of other diseases such as malaria and typhoid.  That would lead some folks who have Ebola to not seek treatment or isolate themselves because they don’t know they have the deadly virus.

The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 11,200 people worldwide although the overwhelming number of deaths were in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Ebola Setback in Sierra Leone

Officials in Sierra Leone admitted Thursday that 500 people have been placed under quarantine after a man died from Ebola in a part of the nation where the disease was believed to have been eradicated for months.

Hassan Abdul Sesay, a member of the Sierra Leone parliament, told reporters that the victim had contracted the virus in the capital city of Freetown and then brought it to his home village where he want to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A troubling aspect of the revelation of the outbreak was that the patient was not immediately diagnosed with Ebola and the national hotline for cases was not called until later in the disease’s progression.  The patient only presented a fever when they went to the hospital.

The victim’s entire home village and at least 30 medical professionals are part of the quarantine.

Authorities are also concerned because the victim’s father is a taxi driver who used his car to take his son to at least two hospitals.  The victim was also not buried using the special instructions to keep victims from spreading ebola after death.

The news of the quarantine was a black mark on an otherwise good week for news on the Ebola fight.  The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that they have the lowest number of new Ebola cases in a year in West Africa.

Sierra Leone officials remain confident they will eradicate the disease despite the recent blow up.

“Sierra Leone is on the last lap to get to zero number of cases, and we are bringing in the Sierra Leone police and military to enforce the Ebola by-laws and get people to comply with the restrictions,” said retired Maj. Alfred Palo Conteh, head of the Ebola response centre.

Floridians Warned To Avoid Armadillos Because of Leprosy

Leprosy cases are on the rise in Florida and officials say most of the cases appear to be connected to armadillos.

The Florida Department of Health says that 9 cases have been confirmed so far this year, almost matching the state’s yearly average of 10 cases.

The head of the Duval County Medical Society told WKMG-TV that all of the cases could be tracked back to contact with armadillos.

“It is a devastating illness if you do get it,” said Dr. Sunil Joshi said.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that armadillos are the only animal that carries leprosy and that they can spread it through their saliva.

“We catch more armadillos than we do any other species,” said wildlife trapper Kyle Waltz to CBS Jacksonville.  “Especially if they’re trying to get out of a cage they can spit on you.”

“What’s happening in Florida is not necessarily concerning but what’s interesting is those cases were all with people who were in direct contact with armadillos,” Joshi said.

Florida has a large armadillo population although most of them live in the woods.  However, residents have found the animals living in their yards where they pose a danger to animals and children.

One reporter for CBS Jacksonville found six armadillos living under her home.

“It is still very, very unlikely to cause problems but be aware of armadillos and stay away from them,” Joshi said.

While armadillos are mostly nocturnal, it is currently their mating season and they can be out during the day, complicating the situation.

Government Research Shows Lyme Disease Spreading

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows an astronomical rise in Lyme Disease in the United States.

“Over time, the number of counties identified as having high incidence of Lyme disease in the northeastern states increased more than 320 percent,” researchers write in the report.

The researchers also noted that the disease has now appeared in states where cases had never previously been recorded by the CDC.

The study also shows that there are now twice the number of counties in the United States where contraction of Lyme Disease is twice the national average.  Most of those counties are in the New England states and in Wisconsin.  The entire state of Connecticut is considered high risk for the disease.

More than 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the CDC each year.  The disease is the most common tick-borne illness.  However, the CDC says that number of cases could be significantly higher than the amount reported, up to ten times the number or 300,000 infected people.

“This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States, and clearly highlights the urgent need for prevention,” says Dr. Paul Mead, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program, based in Ft Collins, Colo.

Up to 20 percent of patients who contract Lyme disease have long term symptoms according to the CDC.

Liberia Confirms New Ebola Death

Liberian officials confirmed today a woman has died in Monrovia from the Ebola virus.

The death makes the sixth confirmed case of the virus since it re-emerged last month following a seven week period without any new cases.

“There is one new case. This time, the response area is Montserrado county. The person died in Monrovia,” Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francis Ketteh told Reuters.

A report on the case stated the woman died just hours after being admitted to the hospital and showed a failure in the government’s process of surveillance of those who had contacts with other Ebola patients is not effective.

Doctors are speculating the virus was lying dormant during the seven week period with no infections and that it passed from a disease survivor to another person through sexual contact.

Ebola has killed over 11,200 people since the beginning of the outbreak in December 2013.  Liberia had been declared “Ebola free” by the World Health Organization on May 9th.

Minnesota Teen Dies from Brain Eating Amoeba

A 14-year-old Minnesota boy is the nation’s second confirmed 2015 death from a brain eating amoeba.

The family of Hunter Boutain, who died Thursday at University of Minnesota Medical Center, said that it’s likely he caught Naegleria fowleri while swimming at Lake Minnewaska in Pope County, Minnesota.

“Hunter’s condition deteriorated throughout the night and he was declared brain dead this morning. Hunter died surrounded by his family. It is a deeply emotional time for all us. We ask for privacy and prayers as we remember our beloved Hunter,” family spokesman Bryan Boutain said in a statement.

“I thank you all for praying for Hunter,” the teen’s brother Lee Boutain posted on Facebook. “The Lord didn’t want him to stay on earth. As much as I am hurt I know I can’t love him as much as God.”

Hunter’s death is the third in Minnesota from the amoeba.  Officials are concerned because the two previous cases, one in 2010 and one in 2012, happened in smaller lakes and in much warmer conditions than where Hunter was believed to have contracted the parasite.

As previously reported, a 21-year-old California woman died in late June from the amoeba after officials say she caught the amoeba “on private land.”

Only three people are known to have survived an infection with Naegleria fowleri.

California Woman Dies From Brain Eating Amoeba

A 21-year-old California woman is dead after falling victim to a brain eating amoeba.

Health officials would not release the name of the woman but said she likely contracted the infection while swimming on private property.  They do not believe that anyone other than family and friends who used the same body of water could be at risk.

The amoeba, known as Naegleria flowleri, thrive in warm freshwater lakes, ponds and hot springs.  The infection can take hold of a human when the amoeba travels through the nasal passages and into the brain.  Once in the brain, the amoeba will destroy the brain tissue.  The victim usually dies within 3 to 18 days.

The Centers for Disease Control says that of 133 cases in the U.S. in the last 52 years, only three people have survived infection.  The victim in this case was admitted to Northern Inyo Hospital in Bishop, California on June 16th and was diagnosed with meningitis.  When she didn’t improve, she was flown to Reno, Nevada where the CDC confirmed the deadly amoeba.

The interesting thing about the amoeba is that while it is widespread, it does not seek a human host.

“It is unknown why certain persons become infected with the amoeba while millions of others exposed to warm recreational fresh waters, including those who were swimming with people who became infected, do not,” Richard Johnson, M.D., of Inyo Public Health said in the report.

The CDC recommends that people avoid poorly maintained or unmaintained freshwater sources including pools, hot springs and ponds.

Ebola Re-Emerges in Liberia

Liberian officials confirmed a third case of Ebola on Thursday, two months after the country had declared itself Ebola free.

A case management leader for the country’s Ebola Task Force says that the three villagers with the disease “have a history of having had dog meat together.”  Dog meat is common in the diet of Liberians.

The first confirmed case, a 17-year-old boy, died Sunday about 30 miles from the capital city of Monrovia.  The other two cases are in the same village as the dead teen.

“The two (latest) live cases are 24 years old and 27 years old. They are stable,” Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said on Thursday.

Scientists say that there is no proof yet that dogs can carry the Ebola virus.  Humans have been infected in past outbreaks by eating contaminated monkey meat.

“There is no need to panic. Our health team is on top of it. It will be contained,” Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Reuters.

At least 175 people are being monitored because of contact with the three confirmed cases.

Washington Woman Dies From Measles

Washington state officials have confirmed a woman’s death from measles, the first person in the U.S. to die of the disease in 12 years.

The Washington State Department of Health said it was likely the woman became exposed during an outbreak in Clallam County, just northwest of Seattle.  The disease was reported in six people in the county versus a total of 11 in the state.

The woman visited a medical facility at the same time as a person later diagnosed with measles.  She had a variety of health issues that depressed her immune system which caused death via pneumonia from measles.

“This tragic situation illustrates the importance of immunizing as many people as possible to provide a high level of community protection against measles,” the state health department’s statement read. “People with compromised immune systems often cannot be vaccinated against measles.”

The CDC said that measles were effectively eliminated in the United States in 2000 but are making a comeback due to adults who are delaying or avoiding vaccinations for their children.

The CDC said that 178 people have been diagnosed with measles in the United States this year with many connected to an outbreak at Disneyland during the 2014 holiday season.