BH : Fish Die-off / Middle-East / Saudi Arabia [0:0]

September 9, 2010 on 6:26 am | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: BH-20100909-27752-SAU
Date / time: 09/09/2010 10:24:25 [UTC]
Event: Biological Hazard
Name of Hazard: Fish Die-off
Area: Middle-East
Country: Saudi Arabia
State/County: Eastern Coastal area (Gulf of Persian)


Description:
A large number of dead fish have been washed ashore on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf and fishermen said the hot weather could have killed them, reported on Thursday. Motorists and strollers in several coastal strips in that area saw dead fish dotting a long distance of the beach after they were washed ashore by waves. “I think the fish died because of ongoing construction work, which involves burying a large area of the sea…….this has caused severe damage to the marine wealth there,” said Jaafar Al Safwani, Head of the Fishermen’s Society in the Eastern region. But the paper quoted other fishermen as saying the death was apparently caused by the sharp rise in summer temperatures. They said they incident takes place annually during this time of the year.

Not confirmed information!

EH : Anthrax / Asia / Bangladesh [0:497]

September 9, 2010 on 6:19 am | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100819-27478-BGD
Date / time: 19/08/2010 16:35:17 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: Anthrax
Area: Asia
Country: Bangladesh
State/County: Shahjadpur Upazila
City: Sirajgang village

Number of Deads: 300
Number of Infected: 250

Description:
At least 26 people including two children have contracted Anthrax disease in a Sirajgang village, the district's civil surgeon has said. Dr Nurul Islam Talukder said on Thursday that those people got sick after consuming beef and coming close to cows at Chithhulia under Kayempur of Shahjadpur Upazila. A team of the civil surgeon office led by Dr Shariful Islam and district sanitary inspector Ramchandra Saha on Thursday morning visited the village and confirmed the infection. Ramchandra said on July 29, a buffalo of Abdus Salam and a cow of Shah Alam — both of which had contracted anthrax — were slaughtered and their meat was sold off to villagers. It is assumed that those who have contracted anthrax had come in close contact with those animals or consumed their meat. All the patients' bodies have swollen and they complained of severe pain. They have also developed lesions on their bodies. Anthrax is an acute disease caused by bacteria. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals. There are effective vaccines against anthrax, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment. Experts team from the Dhaka's institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IDCR) and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) have already reached Sirajganj, the civil surgeon said. "They will visit the village on Friday morning," he added. Public announcements will made from Friday to alert the villagers, he said.

Event updates:
Situation Update No. 17 on 09.09.2010 at 10:19:18.
Situation Update No. 16 on 09.09.2010 at 07:54:15.
Situation Update No. 15 on 2010-09-08 at 12:56:31.
Situation Update No. 14 on 2010-09-08 at 03:38:37.
Situation Update No. 13 on 2010-09-07 at 16:41:05.
Situation Update No. 12 on 2010-09-07 at 02:47:07.
Situation Update No. 11 on 2010-09-06 at 07:21:59.
Situation Update No. 10 on 2010-09-04 at 03:01:06.
Situation Update No. 9 on 2010-09-02 at 12:19:42.
Situation Update No. 8 on 2010-09-01 at 16:32:27.
Situation Update No. 7 on 2010-08-26 at 03:10:57.
Situation Update No. 6 on 2010-08-25 at 16:56:29.
Situation Update No. 5 on 2010-08-25 at 02:50:30.
Situation Update No. 4 on 2010-08-24 at 10:06:51.
Situation Update No. 3 on 2010-08-23 at 10:28:10.
Situation Update No. 2 on 2010-08-22 at 14:54:47.
Situation Update No. 1 on 2010-08-20 at 08:26:11.


Not confirmed information!

EH : Anthrax / Asia / Bangladesh [0:400]

September 9, 2010 on 3:54 am | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100819-27478-BGD
Date / time: 19/08/2010 16:35:17 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: Anthrax
Area: Asia
Country: Bangladesh
State/County: Shahjadpur Upazila
City: Sirajgang village

Number of Deads: 300
Number of Infected: 250

Description:
At least 26 people including two children have contracted Anthrax disease in a Sirajgang village, the district's civil surgeon has said. Dr Nurul Islam Talukder said on Thursday that those people got sick after consuming beef and coming close to cows at Chithhulia under Kayempur of Shahjadpur Upazila. A team of the civil surgeon office led by Dr Shariful Islam and district sanitary inspector Ramchandra Saha on Thursday morning visited the village and confirmed the infection. Ramchandra said on July 29, a buffalo of Abdus Salam and a cow of Shah Alam — both of which had contracted anthrax — were slaughtered and their meat was sold off to villagers. It is assumed that those who have contracted anthrax had come in close contact with those animals or consumed their meat. All the patients' bodies have swollen and they complained of severe pain. They have also developed lesions on their bodies. Anthrax is an acute disease caused by bacteria. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals. There are effective vaccines against anthrax, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment. Experts team from the Dhaka's institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IDCR) and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) have already reached Sirajganj, the civil surgeon said. "They will visit the village on Friday morning," he added. Public announcements will made from Friday to alert the villagers, he said.

Event updates:
Situation Update No. 16 on 09.09.2010 at 07:54:15.
Situation Update No. 15 on 2010-09-08 at 12:56:31.
Situation Update No. 14 on 2010-09-08 at 03:38:37.
Situation Update No. 13 on 2010-09-07 at 16:41:05.
Situation Update No. 12 on 2010-09-07 at 02:47:07.
Situation Update No. 11 on 2010-09-06 at 07:21:59.
Situation Update No. 10 on 2010-09-04 at 03:01:06.
Situation Update No. 9 on 2010-09-02 at 12:19:42.
Situation Update No. 8 on 2010-09-01 at 16:32:27.
Situation Update No. 7 on 2010-08-26 at 03:10:57.
Situation Update No. 6 on 2010-08-25 at 16:56:29.
Situation Update No. 5 on 2010-08-25 at 02:50:30.
Situation Update No. 4 on 2010-08-24 at 10:06:51.
Situation Update No. 3 on 2010-08-23 at 10:28:10.
Situation Update No. 2 on 2010-08-22 at 14:54:47.
Situation Update No. 1 on 2010-08-20 at 08:26:11.


Not confirmed information!

EP : Acinetobacter (antibiotic-resistant bacterium) Fatal / Asia / Japan [27:0]

September 8, 2010 on 11:18 pm | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EP-20100904-27676-JPN
Date / time: 04/09/2010 02:42:55 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic
Name of Hazard: Acinetobacter (antibiotic-resistant bacterium) Fatal
Area: Asia
Country: Japan
State/County: Capital City
City: Tokyo

Number of Deads: 27
Number of Infected: 0

Description:
Teikyo University Hospital said Friday that 27 patients since last year have died out of 46 infected with antibiotic-resistant bacterium called Acinetobacter, including nine whose deaths are possibly attributable to the superbug which the hospital did not report until Thursday. The first death occurred last October, the Tokyo-based hospital said. The hospital launched an in-house investigation panel in July this year but did not make an announcement. Police will likely question a doctor at the hospital on a voluntary basis Monday, suspecting professional negligence resulting in death, investigative sources said. Acinetobacter bacteria are microbes found in many parts of the environment, including sewage, soil and water. They are resistant to most antibiotics. The nine patients, who possibly died due to in-hospital infection with the bacteria, were men and women aged from 53 to 89, the hospital said, adding that they had been suffering from immunological deterioration as a result of such diseases as leukemia and renal insufficiency before they passed away between October last year and August this year. Healthy people are not at a high risk of infection, according to experts. Of the 18 other deaths, 12 were unrelated to the infection while a connection between six deaths and the infection has yet to found. It is still unknown how the 46 patients were infected with the bacteria. Currently, nine are being treated in a special ward, the hospital said. Certain cephem antibiotics are effective in treating Acinetobacter infections, it added. As an in-hospital Acinetobacter infection was found at Okayama University Hospital in January, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has instructed medical institutions across Japan to prevent the infection. The ministry will ask related academic societies to have medical institutions become more alert, officials said. The Tokyo metropolitan government said Friday it had received no report on Acinetobacter infection from the Teikyo hospital when it conducted an on-site inspection jointly with the central government last month. The hospital should have submitted a report no later than July when it set up an in-house investigation committee, the metropolitan government added. The hospital informed the ministry and the Tokyo government of the infection cases on Thursday. ‘‘We have addressed the cases with the treatment of patients in mind but should have made them public earlier,’’ Shigeho Morita, director of the hospital, told reporters.

Event updates:
Situation Update No. 2 on 09.09.2010 at 03:18:15.
Situation Update No. 1 on 2010-09-07 at 16:42:49.


Not confirmed information!

BH : Threat of locusts / Australia / Australia [0:0]

September 8, 2010 on 10:51 pm | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: BH-20100909-27747-AUS
Date / time: 09/09/2010 02:49:54 [UTC]
Event: Biological Hazard
Name of Hazard: Threat of locusts
Area: Australia
Country: Australia
State/County: State of New South Wales


Description:
A three-kilometre long bed of locust eggs has been discovered west of Nyngan in central New South Wales. The Livestock and Health Pest Authority says the bed has been reported near Girilambone. Ranger Lisa Thomas says the recent rain is washing away the soil and exposing the eggs in a number of locations. She says the eggs are expected to start hatching as the weather warms up. "This will allow any of the sunlight and the warm weather to heat those egg beds up and hatch them out rather quickly," she said. "They're also laid on a curve in the surface, more like a hook under the ground, in a hook shape or a J shape and this would indicate that they are laid for early hatching." There have been three reports of locust hatchings in the central and far west of the state so far.

Not confirmed information!

EH : Whooping cough / North-America / USA [0:126]

September 8, 2010 on 10:40 pm | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100909-27745-USA
Date / time: 09/09/2010 02:39:40 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: Whooping cough
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Tennessee


Description:
Fever, congestion, cough – symptoms of the common cold, but symptoms of a bigger problem too: whooping cough. The contagious disease is making a comeback nationwide. Doctors are seeing it in the Mid-South too. “We see one to two cases here at Le Bonheur [Children's Hospital] every month,” explained Dr. John Hill, a pediatrician. In the city of Memphis, 20 cases have been reported so far, said Dr. Kelly Moore, medical director of the state Immunization Program. “The state of Tennessee has received official notification of 126 cases so far this year, this is almost identical to this time last year when we had reported 127 cases,” said Dr. Moore. “But we know that there have been actually many more cases than just those 126. Most people who are adults or teenagers with pertussis don’t know that’s what they have, and are never diagnosed. “It’s definitely the most common vaccine-preventable disease of childhood other than the flu that we see in Tennessee,” she continued. Dr. Moore said Tennessee has not seen a dramatic increase in pertussis, but cases are on the rise in other parts of the country. California has already recorded several infant deaths. Dr. Moore said the numbers nationwide could be greater. “Every year we estimate a million or more people are actually infected with pertussis, and the vast majority of those people are never officially diagnosed,” she said. Diagnosis can be difficult since symptoms mimic the common cold. “They will have some fever, congestion, a cold, a cough that gets worse and worse,” said Dr. Hill. That cough “can last a couple of weeks, and can easily last a couple of months,” Dr. Moore added. “So people who have a very severe cough where they have a spasm of coughing, they just can’t stop coughing,” she said. “They take a deep breath that sounds like a ‘whoop’ if they inhale to try to catch their breath. Those are signs you might be dealing with pertussis and not just an ordinary cold.” Dr. Hill said whooping cough can lead to pneumonia, even brain damage and death. “The smaller the child, the better the chance of pneumonia along with possible brain damage,” he explained. Pertussis is most dangerous in infants younger than six months old, added Dr. Moore. “These babies are too young to have been fully protected by their infant vaccination,” she said. “And if they get pertussis it can actually cause them to stop breathing and die from suffocation because they can’t catch their breath.” So how is the disease spreading? Infant vaccinations wear off by the time a child reaches middle school, said Dr. Moore, so teens and adults need to get re-vaccinated. That can be done at local health departments, or with pharmacists and primary care physicians. “We start vaccinating [children] at two months, four months and six months old,” she said. “We now actually require, in Tennessee, children going into 7th grade to have a booster dose for pertussis to try to cut down on the amount of pertussis we see in middle schoolers and high schoolers.” Adolescents, teens and adults can spread the disease to children without realizing it, Dr. Hill pointed out. “If there is a young child, especially a newborn in the house, then they will catch the whooping cough,” he said.

Not confirmed information!

EH : Food Poisoning / Asia / China [0:24]

September 8, 2010 on 1:23 pm | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100908-27743-CHN
Date / time: 08/09/2010 17:22:35 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: Food Poisoning
Area: Asia
Country: China
State/County: Province of Hubei
City: Yichang City


Description:
Twenty four students felt sick and dizzy following breakfast at a school cafeteria in central China's Hubei Province Wednesday and may be suffering from food poisoning, said local authorities. The faculty of Yichang Commercial School, a vocational school in Yichang City, were informed at around 8 a.m. that some students had become sick after eating breakfast, said the municipal publicity department. The students were treated at local hospitals and are reported to be in stable condition, it said. Food that might have been related to the incident is being checked at a local hospital and lab results will be released in 48 hours. No further details have been provided.

Not confirmed information!

EH : West-Nile Virus (WNV) / Asia / Turkey [3:4]

September 8, 2010 on 9:52 am | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100908-27742-TUR
Date / time: 08/09/2010 13:51:07 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: West-Nile Virus (WNV)
Area: Asia
Country: Turkey
State/County: MultiProvinces


Description:
Three people have died and four more have been infected with the West Nile virus in Turkey, the Turkish Health Ministry has announced. All the victims came from the western Turkish provinces Manisa, Aydin and Isparta. They were all elderly people and had other serious illnesses, the Turkish Health Ministry has announced. Two of the infected people have been hospitalized. The Turkish authorities have announced that there was no danger of a West Nile virus outbreak and no serious threats for the public health. Tiger mosquitoes are reported to be the carriers of the West Nile virus, which begins with a fever, high temperature, nausea and vomiting, which are the symptoms of an ordinary virus infection. However, the symptoms turn very fast into encephalitis and meningitis and the infected need urgent hospitalization. The virus caused the deaths of at least six Russians, four Greeks and two Romanians. No cases of the West Nile flu virus have been reported in Bulgaria yet, and the Bulgarian health authorities have sought to assuage the fears of the people after the first fatalities in Greece earlier in August.

Not confirmed information!

EH : Unidentified disease (Fatal, human) / Africa / South Africa [1:1]

September 8, 2010 on 8:56 am | In Bio Hazards | No Comments
GLIDE Number: EH-20100908-27740-ZAF
Date / time: 08/09/2010 12:41:10 [UTC]
Event: Epidemic Hazard
Name of Hazard: Unidentified disease (Fatal, human)
Area: Africa
Country: South Africa
State/County: State of Gauteng
City: Johannesburg


Description:
Two Johannesburg brothers were admitted to Olivedale Clinic because of a mystery illness. Both of them lost their lives. One brother died on Saturday and the other one passed away on Sunday night, exactly 24 hours after the former’s death. Hospital officials have no clue of their mysterious death. Martina Nicholson, who is the Spokesperson of the hospital, said the case will be investigated properly by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. She further added that the result of the cause of death is slated to come up in the coming week. It is said that the brothers didn’t go outside the country, but were in constant touch with flora and fauna. The different tests that were conducted on them proved negative, but it was assumed that they might be suffering from hemorrhagic fever. Two nurses who were in close proximity with the brothers were also thoroughly checked, but were found to be ok. Hospital authorities have commiserated with the family members and urged people to respect their privacy. It is worth noting that two years ago at least three people died, when they came in contact with the arena virus strain that spread quickly from the Morningside Clinic in Sandton. The hospital is taking all the necessary precautionary measures and so far nobody is in quarantine and no more cases have been registered as well.

Not confirmed information!

BH : Red Tide (Toxic algae) / North-America / USA [0:0]

September 7, 2010 on 11:05 pm | In Bio Hazards | Comments Off
GLIDE Number: BH-20100907-27711-USA
Date / time: 07/09/2010 02:47:52 [UTC]
Event: Biological Hazard
Name of Hazard: Red Tide (Toxic algae)
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of New York
City: New York City


Description:
The U.S. Coast Guard said a “reddish sheen” was reported on the water in the upper harbor of New York that has been identified as a red tide outbreak, an accumulation of bacteria whose dense concentration turns the affected water reddish brown. The reddish color was reported at about 7 a.m. and a Coast Guard investigation team was dispatched to the scene, which stretched from the vicinity of the USS Intrepid Museum to Hoffman Island, a distance of 9.5 miles (15 kilometers). The algae concentration is moving from north to south, down the harbor and out to sea, the Coast Guard said. The algae is a potential health hazard to boaters and swimmers if they ingest tainted water. The concentrated algae also can deplete oxygen in affected waters resulting in fish kills.

Event updates:
Situation Update No. 1 on 2010-09-08 at 03:05:40.


Not confirmed information!
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