Disease outbreaks will increase as per ZetaTalk

[Starr DiGiacomo]

 

Taking Sick

On Jan 15, 1998 ZetaTalk stated that Illness will increase as Planet X approaches.  Zetas right again !!!

ZetaTalk: Take Sick, written Feb 15, 1998.

Increasingly, as the pole shift nears, the populace will take sick. This will take the form of known illnesses occurring more frequently, seemingly depressed immune systems, but will also appear as new and puzzling illnesses not seen before in the memory of man. What is going on here?

The changes at the core of the Earth that have resulted in El Nino weather patterns and white buffalo and deformed frogs also affect man. The germs are on the move. Their carriers are on the move. And thus humans are exposed to diseases that are so rare as to be undocumented in medical journals.

You will see increasing illness, odd illnesses, microbes that travel because an insect is scattering about and spreading germs in places where it normally doesn't travel. 90% of all the illness and distress you're going to see is a natural situation, a natural occurrence. Because of the changing, swirling in the core of the Earth, and this will continue to up-tick until the pole shift.

And reiterated in 1999

ZetaTalk: Next 3 1/2 Years, written Sep 15, 1999.

Sickness will slightly increase from where it is today. There is a lot of illness now because people who are already unstable are unable to take the turmoil caused by the increased emanations from the Earth. Some of them have simply sensed what is coming and have decided to die. This is true of animals as well as humans. Sickness will increase, but not to the point where it is going to get exponentially worse.

On Feb 2, 2000 a Washington report confirmed this increase, and published concerns were subsequently reported.

Diseases From Around World Threatening U.S.
Reuters, Feb 2, 2000

30 New Diseases Make Global Debut
At least 30 previously unknown diseases have appeared globally since 1973, including HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, Ebola haemorrhagic fever and the encephalitis-related Nipah virus that emerged in Indonesia. Twenty well-known infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera have re-emerged or spread since 1973.

  

Is Global Warming Harmful to Health?
Scientific American, August 2000

Notably, computer models predict that global warming, and other climate alterations it induces, will expand the incidence and distribution of many serious medical disorders. Disturbingly, these forecasts seem to be coming true.

And since this time, SARS and increased incidence of flesh eating disease,
and entire cruise ships regularly returning to port with the passengers ill with stomach flu have been reported.
Depressed immune systems?
Zetas RIGHT Again!

After the pole shift, there will be many opportunistic diseases that will afflict mankind. This does not require an imagination, as today they afflict mankind after disasters. The primary affliction will be from sewage laden water, which will pollute the drinking water man is forced to use. We have been adamant about mankind distilling their drinking water after the pole shift for this reason. Distillation removes heavy metals as well as killing microbes by the boiling process. Any disease that flourishes in malnourished bodies and in areas of poor hygiene will take advantage of the pole shift disasters. Scurvy due to lack of Vitamin C will occur, with bleeding gums and even death if not corrected. Many weeds are high in Vitamin C and survivors should arm themselves with knowledge about the vitamin content of weeds. Unprotected sex by survivors either taking advantage of the weak, as in rape, or by simple distraction and grief and a lack of contraceptive devices will spread AIDS and hepatitis. Morgellons, which is caused by a synergy of parasites and microbes when the immune system is low will likely increase. There will be outbreaks of diseases which were endemic in the past, such as small pox or measles, but in those survivor communities where the members have been immunized in the past these will be limited and quarantines can help in this regard.

http://www.zetatalk5.com/ning/20no2010.htm

 

Chile battles youth unrest and typhoid fever outbreak

Posted on September 15, 2011 by The Extinction Protocol

September 15, 2011 – SANTIAGO – Chile’s problems dealing with youth unrest over slow education reforms are being compounded by concerns the capital may be in the grip of a typhoid fever outbreak. The government has battled to enforce restraint on law enforcement agencies amid angry student-led protests, which have disrupted urban centers across the country for more than a month. The reforms demanded by youth groups are nowhere near being implemented and protests continue to simmer with support from teachers and workers unions. Now authorities are faced with the more immediate risk of typhoid. Health authorities issued repeated alerts for tougher hygiene checks and controls after they found several people infected and seriously ill with typhoid in the western metropolitan area of Santiago. At least seven cases were confirmed by the Public Health Institute but there were no immediate reports of fatalities. “Typhoid fever is an acute infectious disease triggered by a salmonella bacteria strain,” Institute Director Maria Teresa Valenzuela said. In most cases the infection is caused by consumption of contaminated food and drink or fruit and vegetables grown in areas where contaminated water is used in irrigation. Typhoid fever produces symptoms of high fever, diarrhea or intense headaches. The Santiago region has been prone to typhoid outbreaks since the 1990s when incidence of the disease caused up to 190 cases a year.

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/chile-battles...

Epidemic Hazard in India on Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 03:16 (03:16 AM) UTC.

Description
The Department of Health and Family Welfare has informed that it had received a message through telephone on 12th September 2011 of an outbreak of fever of unknown cause leading to three deaths at Poilwa village, Peren District. Immediately the State Rapid Response Team (RRT) of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP), Nagaland, comprising of Dr. John Kemp (State Surveillance Officer), Dr. Sao Tunyi (Epidemiologist), Dr. Kevisevolie Sekhose (Epidemiologist), and Venezo Vasa (Entomologist) conducted an outbreak investigation at Poilwa village. The team collected three samples from suspected cases out of which all the three were tested positive for Scrub Typhus. Till date, there are 9 cases with 3 deaths. This was stated in a official press note issued by Dr. Imtimeren Jamir, the Principal Director, Directorate of Health & Family Welfare, Kohima. Scrub Typhus is Rickettsial disease caused Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted by the bite of mite called Leptotrombidium deliense. In Nagaland, it was formerly detected by IDSP with Central Surveillance Team at Longsa village Mokokchung in 2006, and in Porba village of Phek District in 2007. The State RRT team carried out the outbreak investigation along with doing and entomological survey. The patients were treated with appropriate medicines and awareness and preventive measures were communicated with the villagers. The concerned local health authorities and programs are informed for further necessary action. The mop-up operation is being carried out by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program.
Biohazard name:	Typhus (Scrub)
Biohazard level:	3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:	- After bite by infected mite larvae called chiggers, papule develops at the biting site which ulcerates and eventually heals with the development of a black eschar. - Patients develop sudden fever with headache, weakness, myalgia, generalized enlargement of lymph nodes, photophobia, and dry cough. - A week later, rash appears on the trunk, then on the extremities, and turns pale within a few days. - Symptoms generally disappear after two weeks even without treatment. - However, in severe cases with Pneumonia and Myocarditis, mortality may reach 30% Diagnosis - The most commonly used test for diagnosis is Wel-Felix Test, which is available at State IDSP laboratory, Kohima. - More specific serological tests like detection of IgM can also be done for diagnosis.
Status:	confirmed

Turns out, the plague isn't just ancient history. New Mexico health officials recently confirmed the first human case of bubonic plague — previously known as the "Black Death" — to surface in the U.S. in 2011. 

An unidentified 58-year-old man was hospitalized for a week after suffering from a high fever, pain in his abdomen and groin, and swollen lymph nodes, reports the New York Daily News. (Officials declined to say when the man was released from the hospital.) A blood sample from the man tested positive for the disease.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/10/first-case-of-bubonic-plague-...

http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/10/first-case-of-bubonic-plague-...

Epidemic Hazard in USA on Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 03:33 (03:33 AM) UTC.

Description
Umatilla County health officials today confirmed a case of plague in an adult male county resident. He may have been infected while hunting in Lake County, noted Sharon Waldern, clinic supervisor for the county’s public health department. “Lake County had two cases of human plague last year.” The man has been hospitalized and is receiving treatment, Waldern noted. “People need to realize he was never considered contagious and he started treatment fairly quickly.” Plague is spread to humans through a bite from an infected flea. The disease is serious but treatable with antibiotics if caught early, officials said. Plague can be passed from fleas feeding on infected rodents and then transmitted to humans. Direct contact with infected tissues or fluids from handling sick or dead animals can pass the disease, as well as through respiratory droplets from cats and humans with pneumonic plague, officials said in a press release. Some types are spread from person to person, but that is not the case here, Waldern said. Symptoms typically develop within one to four days and up to seven days after exposure and include fever, chills, headache, weakness and a bloody or watery cough due to pneumonia, enlarged, tender lymph nodes, abdominal pain and bleeding into the skin or other organs. Plague is rare in Oregon. Only three human cases have been diagnosed since 1995 and they all recovered. Last year two human cases of plague were diagnosed in Lake County. As far as she knows, this is the first ever incident in Umatilla County. “In this recent case it is important to stay away from flea-infested areas and to recognize the symptoms. People can protect themselves, their family members and their pets,” said Genni Lehnert-Beers, administrator for Umatilla County Health Department. “Using flea treatment on your pets is very important, because your pets can bring fleas into your home.” People should contact their health care provider or veterinarian if plague is suspected. Early treatment for people and pets with appropriate antibiotics is essential to curing plague infections. Untreated plague can be fatal for animals and people. Antibiotics to prevent or treat plague should be used only under the direction of a health care provider. Additional steps to prevent flea bites include wearing insect repellent, tucking pant cuffs into socks when in areas heavily occupied by rodents, and avoiding contact with wildlife including rodents.
Biohazard name:	Plague (Bubonic)
Biohazard level:	4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:	Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Statu The Black Death: Bubonic Plague	confirmed http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=EH...

[lonne rey]

Chinese authorities kill 20,000 birds as avian flu toll rises to 6

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Chinese authorities have killed more than 20,000 birds from a live-poultry trading zone in Shanghai after an unusual strain of bird flu that has so far killed six people in the country was found in pigeons on sale in the city, state-run media outlet Xinhua reported Friday.

Details of the slaughter of chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons come as the city prepares to temporarily close all its live poultry markets. It wasn't clear how long the market closures -- announced Friday on the Shanghai Municipal Government's microblog account -- would last.

The Chinese Minister of Agriculture said Thursday an analysis showed a strong genetic overlap between the strain found in the Huhai market pigeons and the one detected in infected humans.

A growing number of cases

A 64-year-old man died Thursday night in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, the provincial health bureau said Friday. He died hours after doctors had confirmed he had been infected with the H7N9 virus, it said.

He is one of the 14 human cases of H7N9 reported so far -- all of them in the coastal area of eastern China. Authorities there began reporting the first cases on Sunday. Four of the deaths happened in Shanghai, the two others in Zhejiang.

The ages of those infected have ranged from a 4-year-old child, who was reported to be recovering, to an 83-year-old man.

No cases of human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus have been confirmed so far.

A person in Shanghai who developed flu symptoms after coming into close contact with a patient who died of the virus tested negative for H7N9, city authorities said.

Source

[Mario Valencia-Rojas]

CDC warns of deadly super-bug bacteria spread

(CNN) — Hospitals need to take action against the spread of a deadly, antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria kill up to half of patients who are infected.

The bacteria, called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE, have increased over the past decade and grown resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, according to the CDC. In the first half of 2012, 200 health care facilities treated patients infected with CRE.

“CRE are nightmare bacteria,” CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement. “Our strongest antibiotics don’t work and patients are left with potentially untreatable infections. Doctors, hospital leaders and public health must work together now to implement CDC’s ‘detect and protect’ strategy and stop these infections from spreading.”

That strategy includes making sure proper hand hygiene policies in health care facilities are actually followed.

Patients should also be screened for CREs, according to the CDC. Infected patients should be isolated, or grouped together to limit exposures.

The good news is that not only is CRE seen relatively infrequently in most U.S. facilities, but current surveillance systems haven’t been able to find it commonly in otherwise healthy people in the community, says Dr. Alex Kallen, a CDC medical officer.

“Of course, if this were to (spread to the community), it would make it much more difficult to control,” he said.

Each year, hospital-acquired infections sicken about 1.7 million and kill 99,000 people in the United States. While up to 50% of patients with CRE bloodstream infections die, similar antibiotic-susceptible bacteria kill about 20% of bloodstream-infected patients.

http://wqad.com/2013/03/06/cdc-warns-of-deadly-super-bug-bacteria-s...

[Mario Valencia-Rojas]

SARS-linked virus may have spread between humans; 11th case confirmed
In the span of three days, British health authorities have announced two new cases of the novel coronavirus, which is from the same viral family as SARS.

A new coronavirus case in the United Kingdom provides the strongest evidence yet that the virus can spread between humans — although the risk of a widening person-to-person outbreak remains “very low,” health officials maintain.

But the fact that the SARS-related virus is still popping up — the first known infections happened in April 2012 — is concerning. The longer it sticks around, the better chance it has of becoming more contagious, said Dr. Michael Osterholm.

“That’s just kind of Rule 1 of infectious disease epidemiology,” said Osterholm, an infectious disease expert with the University of Minnesota. “You can keep taking swings as long as you’re standing at the plate — and this virus is still standing at the plate.”

In the span of three days, British health authorities have announced two new cases of the novel coronavirus, which is from the same viral family as SARS and can cause severe respiratory illness. The new cases bring the worldwide tally to 11, with five deaths so far.

This latest case, announced on Wednesday, is the third to be diagnosed in the U.K. But whereas previous infections have been acquired in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Jordan, the latest patient had no history of travel to those areas.

But he did come into “close personal contact” with a relative who recently visited the Middle East — that relative fell ill with the virus in late January. The new patient has an underlying medical condition, which may have made him more vulnerable to respiratory illness.

There have been previous cases of the virus breaking out in a cluster. Two family members died in Saudi Arabia, and in Jordan, an outbreak linked to a hospital sickened 11 people with a mysterious respiratory disease in April 2012 — two of them died and retroactive testing confirmed they had the novel coronavirus.

Those clusters suggested human-to-human transmission but the new British case “provides strong evidence,” John Watson with the U.K. Health Protection Agency said in a statement.

But public health officials emphasize that the risk to the public remains low. If the virus were easily transmissible, there would be far more cases by now. And health workers and close contacts of the patients in the U.K. have not shown any symptoms so far.

“In light of what we know — and the fact that there’s only been 11 confirmed cases in the span of 10 months or so — it would suggest that there is very limited transmission between humans,” said Glenn Thomas, a spokesman with the World Health Organization. “This (latest case) is not a significant development but it’s obviously something which we’re watching and monitoring.”

Osterholm said scientists must now analyze the coronavirus to determine if it’s evolving. But more basic information is still needed on the virus’s origins and how it is getting into people, he added.

“There are still a lot of questions that nobody can answer because of what has been generally a lack of transparency (over) what’s going on in the Middle East,” he said. “We don’t really have good detailed information publicly available yet on these early cases.”

He said it is impossible to predict the virus’s next move. It could sputter out and die, or it could continue to smoulder and eventually erupt.

“But we clearly have enough warning here that we have to take it very seriously,” he said.

source- http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/02/13/sarslinked_virus_may_h...

[Mario Valencia-Rojas]

Minnesota cancels moose hunting as population plummets

Scientists suspect some combination of higher temperatures, parasites, disease, a large deer population and changes in forest vegetation are to blame for moose dying out in Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota canceled the state's 2013 and future moose hunting seasons Wednesday, citing a "precipitous" decline in the animal's population.

Department of Natural Resources officials said in a news release that their annual aerial survey to estimate Minnesota's moose population was "extremely disappointing." The survey conducted last month pegged the population at 2,760 animals, down from 4,230 last winter. Minnesota's moose numbers were estimated as high as 8,840 in 2006.

Commissioner Tom Landwehr and other DNR officials called a news conference for Wednesday to discuss the details.

"The state's moose population has been in decline for years but never at the precipitous rate documented this winter," Landwehr said in the statement. "This is further and definitive evidence the population is not healthy. It reaffirms the conservation community's need to better understand why this iconic species of the north is disappearing from our state."

Researchers are conducting studies try to get a better understanding of the reasons why moose are dying out in Minnesota. Scientists suspect some combination of higher temperatures, parasites, disease, a large deer population and changes in forest vegetation in northeastern Minnesota may be to blame.

While Landwehr reiterated the view of some scientists that Minnesota's small, bulls-only hunt has not been a factor, he said it was prudent to suspend the hunt in light of the new data and the animals' uncertain future.

The DNR late last month launched a $1.2 million multiyear effort to capture and put tracking collars on 100 adult moose and 50 calves, and implant instruments in the digestive tracts of 27 of those adult moose to let researchers know when one dies. The researchers hope to be able to get to those carcasses within 24 hours, before wolves and other scavengers make it impossible to determine the cause of death.

Three state senators introduced a bill Tuesday to impose a temporary moratorium on the moose season. The owner of an outfitting service at the end of the Gunflint Trail, in Minnesota's prime moose country, started an online petition drive last month to stop the hunt.

Source- http://news.msn.com/us/minnesota-cancels-moose-hunting-as-populatio...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50710441#.URK2YvJsiSo

Typhoid Fever Case At Purdue University (with Video)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (www.incnow.tv) -- State health officials announced a positive case of typhoid fever in a food handler at Purdue University.

Anyone who ate at the Boiler Bistro, John Pudure Room, the coffee shop, Lavazza or at Marriot Hall on the Purdue campus from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 may be at risk.

Health officials say syptoms may include high fever, weakness, stomach pains, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite. Symptoms usually begin within 8-14 days after exposure.

If you ate at these locations and have the above symptoms, you are urged to see a healthcare provider right away.

Local health officials and Purdue University are working with the Indiana State Department of Health to investigate the case and assess the risk to the public.

[SongStar101]

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us-hit-by-new-stomach-bug-spreadi...

US hit by new stomach bug spreading around globe

NEW YORK (AP) — A new strain of stomach bug sweeping the globe is taking over in the U.S., health officials say.

Since September, more than 140 outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by the new Sydney strain of norovirus. It may not be unusually dangerous; some scientists don't think it is. But it is different, and many people might not be able to fight off its gut-wrenching effects.

Clearly, it's having an impact. The new strain is making people sick in Japan, Western Europe, and other parts of the world. It was first identified last year in Australia and called the Sydney strain.

In the U.S., it is now accounting for about 60 percent of norovirus outbreaks, according to report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Norovirus — once known as Norwalk virus — is highly contagious and often spreads in places like schools, cruise ships and nursing homes, especially during the winter. Last month, 220 people on the Queen Mary II were stricken during a Caribbean cruise.

Sometimes mistakenly called stomach flu, the virus causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhea for a few days.

Every two or three years, a new strain evolves — the last was in 2009. The Sydney strain's appearance has coincided with a spike in influenza, perhaps contributing to the perception that this is a particularly bad flu season in the U.S.

Ian Goodfellow, a prominent researcher at England's University of Cambridge, calls norovirus 'the Ferrari of viruses' for the speed at which it passes through a large group of people.

"It can sweep through an environment very, very quickly. You can be feeling quite fine one minute and within several hours suffer continuous vomiting and diarrhea," he said.

Health officials have grown better at detecting new strains and figuring out which one is the culprit. They now know that norovirus is also the most common cause of food poisoning in the U.S.

It's spread by infected food handlers who don't do a good job washing their hands after using the bathroom. But unlike salmonella and other foodborne illnesses, norovirus can also spread in the air, through droplets that fly when a sick person vomits.

"It's a headache" to try to control, said Dr. John Crane, a University of Buffalo infectious disease specialist who had to deal with a norovirus outbreak in a hospital ward a couple of years ago.

Each year, noroviruses cause an estimated 21 million illnesses and 800 deaths, the CDC says.

For those infected, there's really no medicine. They just have to ride it out for the day or two of severe symptoms, and guard against dehydration, experts said.

The illness even got the attention of comedian Stephen Colbert, who this week tweeted: "Remember, if you're in public and have the winter vomiting bug, be polite and vomit into your elbow."

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.weather.com/health/joplin-tornado-flesh-eating-fungus-20...

Joplin's Tornado Spurs Rare Flesh-Eating Fungus

Published: Jan 1, 2013, 3:11 PM EST weather.com

weather.com/Tornado Hunt 2011

Debris stretched for miles across Joplin, Missouri.

The Joplin tornado took more than 150 lives on May 22, 2011. Now, new studies reveal another killer lurked in Joplin that day:  A deadly, flesh-eating fungus.

The deadly Apophysomyces fungus killed five people in the days immediately following the tornado, according to studies by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

(MORE: Joplin Tornado Scars Those Who Covered Disaster)

Together, researchers tracked 13 people who were infected by the swift-moving, devastating fungus. Typically, Apophysomyces is found in soil, water and wood, TGen explains. Its mere existence in nature doesn't usually infect humans.

Play Video

Remembering deadly day in Joplin

• Remembering deadly day in Joplin
• Raw: The damage left by Joplin tornado
• Raw: Tornado a mile wide tears up town
• Raw: Medical center struck by huge tornado

But the EF-5 twister that hit Joplin launched massive debris through the air.  Some people who survived the initial tornado were left with deep wounds which were infected with the fungus when they came in contact with debris.

It's even possible the tornado carried the contaminated soil or debris for miles along its path, according to findings printed in the journal PLUS One on November 27.

What makes the Apophysomyces fungus so potent is it moves swiftly through the human body, shutting down vital blood flow to tissue, leaving it to rot.

Researchers say the ability to recognize this rare fungal infection quicker is the key to saving lives. You can read more about the findings at TGen's website, as well as in the New England Journal of Medicine.

[Beva]

Sharp Rise in Children Admitted to Hospital with Throat Infections

The number of children admitted to the hospital in England for acute throat infections increased by 76 percent between 1999 and 2010, according to new research published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Acute throat infection (ATI), which includes acute tonsillitis and acute pharyngitis, is one of the most common reasons for consulting a GP. The majority of ATIs are self-limiting and can be managed at home or by the GP, but a small proportion may require hospital admission.

This study investigated admission rates for children up to age 17 with ATI alongside trends in tonsillectomy rates, between 1999 and 2010. The study was motivated by concerns that the decline in tonsillectomy rates in recent years has led to an increase in hospital admissions for tonsillitis of increased severity. It also investigated whether performing fewer tonsillectomies is associated with higher rates of complications such as quinsy, an abscess that can occur when an infection spreads from a tonsil to the surrounding area.

Source

[Sevan Makaracı]

Iconic Moose Hit by Mysterious Virus in Sweden

The Swedish province of Blekinge has been the site of a curious and unexplained disease that has killed multiple moose over the past months.

The mysterious disease has left the iconic large mammals emaciated, apathetic, and paralyzed. One stricken moose was found blind and another suffered from severe hair loss.

The moose that were found in Blekinge in southern Sweden were between 2 and 7 years old—an age at which they normally should have been in top shape. The total number of moose found so far is 15, but it’s unclear how many more might be dead in the wild.

Samples have been taken and a whole moose has been sent in for examination to the National Veterinary Institute in Uppsala, roughly 350 miles further north.  ....

Source

[Howard]

Mysterious New 'Heartland Virus' Discovered In Missouri (August 30) -

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/29/160272241/mysterious-new...

Two Missouri farmers have been infected with a brand-new tick-borne virus that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling the Heartland virus.

The men recovered but suffered serious illness that required hospital care and weeks of convalescence. Symptoms included fever, severe fatigue, headache and nausea. Their platelet counts plummeted, but even though platelets are necessary for blood clotting, the men didn't suffer abnormal bleeding.

A report on the new virus is in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

So far, the Missouri men are the only known cases of Heartland virus in the world. But experts are sure they'll find more.

After all, the men lived 60 miles apart and got infected independently. That means there must be more of the mysterious new virus in the northwest Missouri environment.

"We expect to find new cases," Dr. William Nicholson of the CDC told Shots. "We expect this thing may be wider in geographic distribution than we currently know."

The virus is dubbed "Heartland" not only because that's where it was discovered, but because of who found it: an astute infectious disease doctor named Scott Folk who works at Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mo.

Folk is well-known to the CDC. "Whenever he sends us a sample, we pay attention because we're likely to find something," Nicholson says. In this case, Folk sent samples from 14 patients back in 2009.

Two of them puzzled the CDC experts — and then surprised them when electron microscope studies revealed a novel virus now called Heartland. The other dozen cases involved a more common tick-borne bacterial infection called ehrlichiosis.

"We're pretty excited about it," Nicholson says about the Heartland virus. "It's not every day that you find something new — particularly in the world of tick-borne diseases. We often work with what might be considered antique diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever."

Nicholson says the new virus is in the phlebovirus family, which contains more than 70 members. And here's another twist: Heartland virus appears to be a cousin of another new human virus called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, discovered last year in China. Another possible cousin may be Bhanja virus, a little-studied virus that has been found in some mammals, birds and reptiles in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Nicholson says the CDC, working with Folk, is looking for other people with symptoms similar to the two Heartland victims to see if they're infected with the same virus. The researchers are also analyzing thousands of samples from Missouri ticks, other crawling insects, and animals wild and domestic to see if any harbor Heartland virus.