http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/outbreak/ en-us Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:16:01 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103774/posts Hunting Virus XBELINDA BERESFORD | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Oct 12 2008 06:00 A virus new to humanity, or an old acquaintance dressed up in slightly new clothes, the disease that so far appears to have achieved a 100% kill rate in Johannesburg, is now up against the full might of humanity's scientific detectives. So far three people have died from the mysterious disease, which has retained its anonymity through an extensive first round of laboratory testing for viral haemorrhagic fevers. Based on the pattern of disease and a suspected tick bite on the first patient, the pathogen -- let... News & Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103774/posts#comment Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:16:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103252/posts The U.N. health agency says it is investigating a mystery disease that killed three people in the South African city of Johannesburg. The World Health Organization says the disease appears to be a form of hemorrhagic fever. It says tests have proved negative for Ebola, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Marburg fever and other main types of hemorrhagic fever. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the first death on Sept. 13 was a tour guide who had fallen ill in Zambia before being evacuated to South Africa. Two further deaths on Sept. 30 and Oct. 4. involved a paramedic and a... AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103252/posts#comment Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:03:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1785723/posts STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - A mysterious illness is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across the country, threatening honey production, the livelihood of beekeepers and possibly crops that need bees for pollination. Reports of unusual colony deaths have come from at least 22 states. Some affected commercial beekeepers — who often keep thousands of colonies — have reported losing more than 50 percent of their bees. A colony can have roughly 20,000 bees in the winter, and up to 60,000 in the summer. The country‘s bee population had already been shocked in recent years by a tiny, parasitic bug... Herald Daily News / Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1785723/posts#comment Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:29:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096564/posts Ontario health officials are searching for 27 people who may have been exposed to tuberculosis while travelling on a Greyhound bus from Toronto to Windsor on Aug. 31. There's a "moderate risk" they contracted the disease, public health officials said Thursday. A passenger on the bus was sick with the tuberculosis and may have spread it by coughing while in close proximity to the other bus passengers. The passenger, identified only as a woman with a Canadian passport, was detained by American custom officials at the border between Windsor and Detroit. Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams... CTV.ca http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096564/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 12:54:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071486/posts Hazmat crews are investigating separate incidents at two area hospitals. Sources say several people came into contact with a chemical and drove themselves to DePaul and St. Anthony’s hospitals. Both emergency rooms were placed on lockdown and ER patients were quarantined. There is no word yet on the origin of the chemical or the incident that sent the victims to the hospital. FOX 2 has crews at St. Anthony’s and at DePaul and will have more information as it develops. MyFox http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071486/posts#comment Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:17:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071483/posts Just breaking on Fox. Not much info yet. People walking into are hospitals in St. Louis sick, skin turning blue and with breathing problems. Hospitals on Lock down. ??? They just mentioned it on Fox News....sounds very scary folks! FOX NEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071483/posts#comment Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:15:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2068684/posts Rural Kanpur is fighting its most frightening scourge — a mystery disease that has left a long line of bodies in its trail and doesn’t seem anywhere finished. What started from one village two weeks ago has now spread to 350 and has so far claimed 160 lives. Thousands more are bed-ridden. On an average, 15 to 20 people have been dying every day; Saturday saw the highest toll in a day: 24. The district’s health department is somewhat confused about the nature of the disease that has struck. At the beginning, the diagnosis was viral fever. Then doctors concluded... Hindustan Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2068684/posts#comment Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:55:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067935/posts WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Twelve people have now died out of 26 confirmed cases of food poisoning linked to deli meats produced at a plant owned by Maple Leaf Foods Inc, Canadian health officials said Monday. There are another 29 suspected cases of listeriosis, officials told reporters, and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the government expected more cases in coming days. Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada's biggest meat processors, had said it hoped to reopen the Toronto plant associated with the outbreak on Tuesday, but health officials said they will test and hold all meat produced there until they... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067935/posts#comment Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:16:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066348/posts More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Many of these parents say they believe vaccines cause autism, even though multiple studies have found no reputable evidence to support such a claim. In Britain, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, measles outbreaks have soared, sickening thousands and causing at least two deaths. NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066348/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:50:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049068/posts <p>Search the web, you'll see, Drudge too, what the FDA doesn't want you to know.</p> ME http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049068/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:31:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037591/posts Source of Largest Salmonella Outbreak in U.S. History May Never Be Found, Says FDA The salmonella outbreak in tomatoes isn't over and it's already the largest salmonella outbreak the CDC has ever tracked, in terms of lab-confirmed reported illness. Since the outbreak began in April, the CDC has gotten reports of 810 people in 36 states and Washington, D.C., sickened by Salmonella saintpaul, the outbreak's rare strain of salmonella. The most recent onset of illness was June 15, and that may not be the last case, since the CDC gets reports of illness about 16 days after an illness starts,... WebMD Health News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037591/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:34:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031192/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - Food and Drug Administration detectives had a hot lead, narrowing down on a grower who just might have supplied salmonella-tainted tomatoes. Then the patient changed her story: She'd eaten a round tomato, not a Roma one after all. "We basically had to throw it all out and start over," says Dr. David Acheson, the agency's food safety chief. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031192/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:54:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031027/posts Parts of Florida and Mexico were supplying "the vast majority" of tomatoes sold when the salmonella outbreak began in April and thus remain leading suspects, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. But the FDA hasn't narrowed its hunt to just those two places, said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's food safety chief. "The logical assumption would be that Florida or Mexico are the most likely source" because of the outbreak's timing, he told The Associated Press. "But we have not simply shifted the focus to those two places. ... It's wide open for anybody not on that exclusion list."... FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031027/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:47:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029761/posts A possible tornado has struck the Litle (spelling from site?) Sioux Scout Camp in Iowa. Very large response is being reported by media. Large number of injuries. NWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029761/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:39:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014399/posts What initially looked to be a frightening infectious disease outbreak that led to the death of one woman aboard a Via Rail train turned out to be a remarkable series of unconnected coincidences, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, explained during a Friday afternoon press conference. The elderly woman died during the train ride from Vancouver to Toronto, but health officials say she likely didn't have an infectious disease. Six other passengers also fell ill, with the most serious being rushed to hospital with a respiratory illness of some sort. Officials, however, believe that passenger was suffering... CityNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014399/posts#comment Sun, 11 May 2008 14:02:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013584/posts A Via Rail train, carrying more than 260 passengers to Toronto, has been quarantined in Foleyet, Ont. after one person died and several people fell ill. "Currently there are a few people who are seriously ill on the train and one person is being airlifted right now," OPP Sgt. Laura Nichols told CTV.ca from the North Bay Communications Centre. The train was quarantined at the train depot in Foleyet, a community near Sudbury, Ont., after officials notified police that someone was feeling ill. More than 260 people were aboard the train when it stopped in Foleyet. Police believe there are... CTV.ca http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013584/posts#comment Fri, 9 May 2008 15:04:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011220/posts BEIJING (AP) - A highly infectious virus that has killed 24 children in China is unlikely to be a threat to the Beijing Olympics, although it is too early to tell whether it has peaked, the World Health Organization said Sunday. The death toll from the virus, which mostly sickens children, rose to 24 Sunday as two more deaths were reported in a new province amid heightened efforts by China's Health Ministry to contain it. The outbreak of enterovirus 71—which causes a severe type of hand, foot and mouth disease—is another headache for the Communist government as it prepares for... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011220/posts#comment Sun, 4 May 2008 23:48:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010118/posts BEIJING (Reuters) - A deadly virus has spread rapidly in eastern China, killing at least 21 children and infecting nearly 3,000, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010118/posts#comment Fri, 2 May 2008 07:26:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003296/posts New Details Presented In Outbreak In Pork Processing Plant Workers ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2008) — New details on the neurological illness that has affected workers at several pork processing plants were presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 16, 2008. Neurologists have identified the illness as a new disorder which causes symptoms ranging from a transverse myelitis syndrome, inflammation of the spinal cord, in one patient to mild weakness, fatigue, numbness and tingling in arms and legs. Researchers are classifying this condition as an immune polyradiculoneuropathy, (a disease of the peripheral nerves and... Science Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003296/posts#comment Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:16:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997478/posts Authorities testing for deadly strain as new bird flu outbreak hits South Korea AP - Saturday, April 5 SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea reported another bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm Saturday, days after confirming the return of the deadly H5N1 virus following a yearlong absence. ADVERTISEMENT Ducks at the farm tested positive for a general bird flu virus, but more tests are needed to determine if it is the specific strain that has caused worldwide concern, said Kim Ung-sang, an Agriculture Ministry official said. Results are expected by Monday. Several strains of bird flu typically circulate in... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997478/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 06:23:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996490/posts Reagan National Airport (web|news) officials say fire and rescue crews have been busy with a number of ill people, after they attended a conference at Gaylord National at the National Harbor. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokeswoman Courtney Prebich says the authority's Fire and Rescue Department received calls for five people who had become ill in different areas of the airport Thursday evening. She said they had come to the airport separately. A spokesperson with Gaylord National says around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, they were informed by Airport Authorities that several guests, who attended a convention, became sick at Reagan National Airport.... wjla DC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996490/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 03:02:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990929/posts Mystery food poisoning traced to salads 24 March 2008 NewScientist.com news service Analysis of 2006 spinach poisoning outbreak in the US The rate of food poisoning from salad greens in the US is hugely outstripping increases in their consumption. Three large outbreaks in 2006 that between them made 300 Americans sick were traced to bulk-prepared greens. "For most outbreaks, investigators are unable to pinpoint where contamination occurred," says Michael Lynch of the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. Whatever the cause, increased consumption is not it. Between 1986 and 1995, Americans ate 17 per cent more leafy greens... New Scientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990929/posts#comment Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:45:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979331/posts The number of deaths linked with hospital superbug Clostridium difficile has soared in England and Wales, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. Between 2005 and 2006 the number of death certificates which mentioned the infection rose by 72 per cent to 6,480. Elderly people were most at risk from the bacteria, which caused more than 55,000 infections in NHS hospitals last year. It is thought that some of the increase may be due to more complete reporting on death certificates, but there has been a fiftyfold increase in C. difficile infections since 1990. Deaths citing C. difficile as... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979331/posts#comment Sun, 2 Mar 2008 23:47:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971293/posts ATLANTA — The flu season is getting worse, and U.S. health officials say it's partly because the flu vaccine doesn't protect against most of the spreading flu bugs. The flu shot is a good match for only about 40 percent of this year's flu viruses, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The situation has even deteriorated since last week when the CDC said the vaccine was protective against roughly half the circulating strains. In good years, the vaccine can fend off 70 to 90 percent of flu bugs. Infections from an unexpected strain have... FOXNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971293/posts#comment Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:01:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969636/posts COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Hundreds of students have been diagnosed with the flu in recent weeks at the University of Maryland College Park campus. Officials are calling it the most severe outbreak in 10 years, News4's Cheryl Butler reported. More than 400 students have been diagnosed with the flu on campus, and that number is rising. Students are lining up at the university's health center for diagnosis and relief. Junior music major Rachel Israel said the flu has made her miss clarinet rehearsals and classes. "It started with a really severe cough and then a fever. It got worse from... NBC4 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969636/posts#comment Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:39:29 GMT