Scarlet Fever Kills 2 in Hong Kong, Undiagnosed Disease Strikes Bihar, and More Breaking News

Scarlet Fever Kills Two Children in Hong Kong
A new strain of Scarlet Fever is spreading through Hong Kong. In the past three weeks, two children, a 15-year-old boy and a 7-year-old-girl, became the city’s first fatal victims in the last 10 years. Since January, 419 cases have been confirmed in Hong Kong with 142 cases in the first weeks of June.

Scarlet Fever is caused by the Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria and mostly affects children ages 2-8. The disease causes a fever, sore throat and a rash on the neck, face and tongue, and eventually spreads across the entire body.  Scarlet Fever is typically treated with antibiotics that are very effective, but this new strain is actually a mutation of the Streptococcus bacteria and is resistant to several antibiotics. A physician from the Hong Kong Medical Association encourage doctors who are treating children infected with the disease to try alternative antibiotics before the disease spreads even more.

Japanese Encephalitis Suspected as Unknown Disease in Bihar
A team of experts from the Union Health Ministry and Regional Malaria Research Institute (RMRI) team is investigating an “unknown disease” killing children in the Muzaffarpur region of Bihar, a state in India. The disease has caused the death of 26 children in the last seven days and affected over 35 others. It is believed to be Japanese Encephalitis. Some of the symptoms include high fever, memory loss, convulsions, falling in and out of consciousness, and eventually coma. Hopefully once the disease can be confirmed, health officials will be able to take the necessary precautions to prevent more children from becoming victims.

Rabies PEP Failure
A patient in Mumbai, India is now in a coma after becoming infected with rabies despite completing the recommended postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) regimen following a dog bite. A 2nd patient is also in a coma with the deadly virus after failing to complete the PEP series of vaccinations. (PEP typically consists of one dose of immune globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine over a 14-day period.) PEP is usually highly effective, however in a small percentage of patients the vaccine series may not build up enough of an immune response. It is also important that PEP be administered promptly after a rabies exposure and that the schedule of doses is followed. According to the WHO, India sees 25,000-30,000 deaths due to rabies each year.

Mumps Outbreaks in Vancouver
The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control has issued a health alert for mumps in Vancouver.  Although the number of cases has not been released, it is reportedly the largest outbreak since 2008 when almost 200 people were diagnosed.  Earlier this year, Whistler saw a mumps outbreak as well.  HealthMap will update this story as more details become available.

Gujarat Residents Fearful of Hemorrhagic Virus, Encephalitis in Honduras and More Breaking News

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20110119/deadly-ebola-like-virus-in-western-india-110119/

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Confirmed in Humans for the 1st Time in India
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) was confirmed to be the cause of a previously undiagnosed outbreak in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India on January 18th. This is the first confirmed report of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in India. To date, 5 cases have been confirmed, including 3 deaths (a female patient, an attending physician, and an intensive care nurse). The two other patients include another nurse and the husband of the first patient. Previously, serious outbreaks through nosocomial infection have been recorded, and therefore proper control measures must be utilized.  

Ticks collected from the Ahmedabad area were collected and testing showed “high quantities” of CCHF virus. It is likely that the virus is present in ticks and other animals (including cattle) throughout Northern India, as they can be infected but do not die from the disease. If the virus is shown to be present in animals such as cattle, the virus could have spread to humans from cutting infected meat. The Gujarat government has been warned to be on the lookout for additional cases.

Encephalitis in Honduras
In the last week there has been an outbreak of Encephalitis in Guarita in Lempira, Honduras. Guarita is located near the Sumpul River close to El Salvador. So far, twenty horses have died from this inflammatory disease and about 20-30 are ill. No humans have contracted the disease yet, but health officials in both Honduras and El Salvador fear that it may be spread.

Rift Valley Fever Re-emerge in South Africa
A case of rift valley fever has been identified in Groot-Brakrivier in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Although only one case has been identified so far, this has raised concern within the region as an outbreak ending in August last year left 26 people and more than 8,500 animals dead. Furthermore, this has dashed the hopes of local wool and meat producers that the international markets will be open again since restrictions were placed following the outbreak last year. As livestock makes up 49% of agricultural output in South Africa, this may have serious financial repercussions on the local economy. Experts believe that the virus may continue to spread via mosquitoes as heavy rain and flooding perpetuate throughout the country and the Department of Agriculture has advised farmers to vaccinate their animals and to refrain from handling or eating sick animals.

African Swine Fever in Angola
African Swine Fever was confirmed in the cities of Kambundi Katembo and Luquembo of Malanje Province, Angola. A report from January 21st state that the fever has already spread through a great number of the pigs in Kambundi Katembo and Luquembo. African Swine Fever is infectious among pigs and causes hemorrhaging and myocardial infarction in the pig. Resident owners of those infected animals that have died are advised to bury them far from their homes.

Avian Influenza nested in Japanese Chicken Farms
In the early morning of January 23rd, Japanese officials confirmed the presence of avian influenza in chickens from a farm in Shintomi, located in the Miyazaki prefecture. The farm has been ordered to euthanize 410 thousand chickens, as a preemptive measure to stop the spread of avian influenza throughout the poultry population. Although it is possible for avian influenza to be spread to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk is small and transmission of the virus generally occurs only after direct and repeated contact with infected poultry.

Spotlight News of the Week

Japanese Encephalitis outbreak causes 215 deaths in India, mostly children:
This year’s Japanese Encephalitis season came earlier and deadlier to India than previous years. Officials report that since July, 215 people have died from the disease, most of them children and occurred in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Local health officials worry that the number of encephalitis patients may reach at least 3,500 with a case-fatality rate of 20% while over 70 million children are at risk of the disease. As Japanese Encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes, the heavy rain and flooding brought in by the arrival of monsoon season have only exacerbated the severity of the outbreak. Hospitals are currently heavily under-staffed and have expressed frustration by the government’s inadequate response.

Additional New Highlights:

UPDATE - Salmonella outbreak in eggs linked to chicken feed:

The source of the Salmonella that led to a massive recall of eggs in the US is now believed to be contaminated feed. However, the feed is believed to have been sent to only the two egg facilities under investigation.

Plague spreads to Bolivia:

The infamous bubonic plague that caused a panic and killed 3 people in Peru has spread to Bolivia. Eight people are suffering from the disease in Apolo, a small town on the border with Peru. Last Tuesday, August 24, Bolivia officially declared a health alert after a 14 year old boy died from the bubonic plague.