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White-nose syndrome reaches Nova Scotia and spreads in the United States
A Hunts County, Nova Scotia bat has tested positive for white-nose syndrome. The finding makes Nova Scotia the 4th Canadian province to see signs of the devastating disease. While spread primarily from bat-to-bat and not harmful to humans, Canadian authorities are urging residents to stay out of caves and old mines that are home to bat populations. Humans may inadvertently carry fungal spores that cause the disease into caves by way of clothing or caving gear.
First seen in caves outside of Albany, New York in 2006, white-nose syndrome has spread rapidly west to Oklahoma, north into Canada, and south to the state of North Carolina. With the recent confirmation of the disease in Trigg County, Kentucky, 16 US states have now been affected.
White nose syndrome has been the cause of over 1 million bat deaths in Eastern North America, and bat declines have exceeded 70 percent in severely affected areas of New England. The total population of the little brown bat has declined so dramatically that the species may become extinct in the region within 20 years.
Foot and mouth returns to South Korea
Just 5 days after South Korea declared the end of their foot and mouth outbreak, six pigs were diagnosed with the disease. All the pigs were on the same farm in Yeongcheon, N. Gyeongsang province. Earlier, South Korea had chosen to vaccinate its animals against foot and mouth in an attempt to control the epidemic. Countries generally prefer to eliminate outbreaks by culling and restricting animal movements because it take longer to regain certification as “foot and mouth free” if vaccinations are used. The detection of the disease is a blow to South Korea; the epidemic has already led to losses totalling 2.6 billion US dollars.
Ostrich meat trade interrupted by flu outbreak
An outbreak of avian influenza on an ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, South Africa had led to a ban on all exports of the product.. South Africa accounts for over 80% of the world’s ostrich meat production. In an attempt to control the outbreak, 5,000 birds have been culled. If the infection is contained, ostrich meat exports may resume next month.
Flooding and Infectious Disease Risk Worldwide
Increased rainfall and flooding in many regions of the world have heightened the risk and concern over the transmission of water-borne diseases. Oftentimes during flooding, population displacement and contamination of water sources can lead to major outbreaks of diarrhea, dysentery and even cholera and typhoid fever. Risk of infection is also increased when victims, especially children, come in direct contact with polluted waters and develop wound infections, dermatitis, or conjunctivitis. In the long term, water disasters can leave pools of standing water that create optimal breeding grounds for mosquitoes and increase the risk of vector-borne illnesses such as dengue, malaria, and West Nile. Currently, the onslaught of rainfall and flooding have wreaked heavy damage and increased risk of disease outbreak in the regions of Brazil, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Brazil
Heavy rainfall in Brazil during this summer season, especially last week, has been extremely problematic causing severe flooding and landslides in Rio de Janeiro’s mountainous region. In just one day the region experienced 95% of the expected rainfall for the entire month of January. Cities like Teresopolis, Petropolis, and Nova Friburgo have been hit very hard with over 400 deaths so far. As of today, January 18, the death toll in the country is at 677 with about 14,000 homeless due to the heavy rains. This is considered the worst disaster in Brazil’s history (in terms of deaths) surpassing the flood in Sao Paulo state in 1967, which killed 436 people. Government officials worry that these heavy rains could bring disease epidemics to Brazil. The Agency of Civil Defense began distributing vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria in an attempt to prevent infections.
Sri Lanka and Philippines
Heaviest rains in nearly a century and flooding in Sri Lanka has so far left 40 dead, 4 missing, and over 325,000 people displaced. More than 27,000 houses were damaged and victims were forced to evacuate to over 200 camps located on higher grounds. Although in the past days water levels have begun to recede and people are returning to their homes, they are faced with the risk of water-borne diseases in these regions. Those living in the temporary relief camps also remain at risk. Sri Lanka’s government is reportedly mobilizing resources and medical supplies to these areas and making an effort to strengthen the disease surveillance system to prevent any potential outbreaks. According to health ministry officials, so far no cases of such disease have been reported.
Severe flooding and landslides in Philippines have so far spanned 25 provinces and have left at least 50 people dead and 1.5 million people affected. In addition to washing away houses and destroying crops, the flooding may result in large-scale disease outbreaks. According to one rescue unit, one region has reportedly had several hundred cases of dysentery, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Queensland
In the aftermath of the worst flooding seen in Queensland in centuries, health authorities warn of the potential of infectious disease infections. Already, several cases of melioidosis, which has not been reported in Brisbane since the 1974 floods, have surfaced and large amounts of pooled water could potentially result in a surge in mosquito numbers, leading to increased risk of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Ross River virus and dengue fever. Fecal contamination of water from sewage and the possible spoilage of food from when the power was cut raises concern over food-borne illnesses such as E.coli and salmonella. Many Queensland clinics have already seen an influx of patients seeking tetanus vaccines as a precautionary measure. Although health officials say there has not yet been a rise in gastrointestinal cases, they expect the number of patients with infections to swell if food, water, and sanitation continues to be compromised.
Foot and Mouth Outbreaks
South Korea’s worst-ever outbreak of Foot and Mouth continued as a new case was discovered at a pig farm in Yesan, 134 kilometers south of Seoul. With meat prices soaring, losses exceeding $1 billion, and extensive culling of livestock representing decades of breeding and care, South Korea is facing a social and economic disaster. There is widespread belief that North Korea is also suffering from a Foot and Mouth outbreak, but details are limited. Bulgaria has reported a second outbreak and Vietnam has detected Foot and Mouth in Ha Giang. An outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease has also been reported in Gwanda, Zimbabwe. Local officials say the cause is the lack of fences, which therefore allow cattle to mix with infected wildlife. A vaccination campaign has begun, however the high cost of the vaccine adds difficulties to this effort to stop the spread of disease.
H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza Spreading in the Balkans
A fatal case of H1N1 has been recorded in Banat, Serbia, and 26 others are reported to be infected throughout the country. Montenegro reported a second death and registered 100 cases of the H1N1 virus. In addition, a woman in northern Bosnia died, bringing the total number of deaths from H1N1 this season to 4. Albania reports 17 cases of H1N1, and Croatia reports 300 cases with 3 deaths. Romania registered a third death of H1N1 since the beginning of the year.
New Collaboration Announcement
HealthMap is now collaborating with the PathoSystems Resource Integration Center (PATRIC). The goal of PATRIC is to develop bioinformatics resources for the research and countermeasures-development communities based on genomics data. This is part of the biomedical research community’s work to integrate vital information on pathogens, to provide key resources and tools to scientists, and to help researchers to analyze genomic, proteomic and other data arising from infectious disease research. PATRIC provides rich data and analysis tools for all bacterial species in the selected NIAID category A-C priority pathogens list.
As part of this new collaboration, HealthMap has created a visualization for each bacterial pathogen in PATRIC that is associated with an infectious disease. The visualizations are available through PATRIC’s Disease Overview pages to provide users with bacterial infectious disease data in proper context. The customized HealthMap visualizations are available for PATRIC watchlist pathogens, which can be accessed via the Organism tab on the PATRIC site.
Influenza on the Increase in Europe
Over 300 people have been hospitalized with influenza in Britain, with a majority of cases being due to H1N1 Influenza A. Northern France continues to see increasing numbers of influenza cases, and on December 22, 2010 two deaths due to H1N1 were announced. France’s Institute for Public Health also stated that influenza activity is near the epidemic threshold.
South Korea Fights Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)
South Korea is working to stem the country’s worst ever outbreak of FMD. Since the 1st outbreak, reported on November 29, 2010, 56 cases have been reported and over 330,000 livestock culled. Two provinces have had confirmed cases (North Gyeongsang and Gyeonggi), and two have reports of suspected cases (Gangwon and Chungcheong). A vaccination campaign has begun in five cities across the country in an effort to halt the spread of disease.
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