Bird Flu Confirmed in Indonesia

Via ProMED-mail: Reuters reports that Indonesia has confirmed three deaths from avian influenza.

Last month, Indonesia reported its first human case in a poultry worker, but the man did not develop symptoms and is healthy.
The agriculture ministry has reported sporadic H5N1 virus outbreaks killing more than nine million fowl in 21 provinces, out of a total of 33, across the archipelago since late 2003.
Indonesian policy favours vaccinating animals rather than culling to stop the spread of bird flu, due to lack of funds to compensate farmers.
The World Health Organisaton has questioned the effectiveness of vaccines and say culling is the best weapon.
The virus has already jumped species in Indonesia and was discovered in pigs in May on densely populated Java island.

Tularemia on Martha's Vineyard

Via ProMED-mail: the Vineyard Gazette reports an unusual case of oropharyngeal tularemia contracted by a landscaper on Martha's Vineyard who handled a dead rabbit.

Tularemia is a powerful but rare bacterial disease. Rabbits are the most common carriers in addition to rodents such as squirrels, voles and muskrats, but a bite from a dog tick is the most typical way the disease is transmitted to people.
On the Vineyard, though, the pneumonic cases have dominated, making the Island the only place in the United States to experience an outbreak of pneumonic tularemia.

Q Fever

The AP reports on a mysterious case of Q fever in Texas.

From the Don't Kiss The Chickens department....

Via ProMED-mail: the CDC has revised their bird flu travel warning again.

Avoid all direct contact with poultry, including touching well-appearing, sick, or dead chickens and ducks. Avoid places such as poultry farms and bird markets where live poultry are raised or kept, and avoid handling surfaces contaminated with poultry feces or excretions.

Record Red Tide in Maine

The AP reports that Maine has joined Massachusetts with record red tide levels:

Toxin levels in some shellfish tested in Maine have reached record highs as the red tide maintains its grip.
The red tide outbreak is also reaching into waters where it has never appeared before.
Marine experts say a number of gulls and ducks have been dying along the Maine coast -- possibly from eating tainted clams and mussels.

Boston TB Scare

Via ProMED-mail: Channel 5 reports on a tuberculosis scare involving a surgical intern and possibly 1600 exposed patients at four local hospitals. State health officials are investigating.

Anyone who thinks they may have been exposed should contact their physician, the hospital or the Boston Public Health Commission at 617-534-5611.

Mad Cow News

Via ProMED-mail: Portugal reports its first case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, not surprising for the country ranked third in mad cows. The United States thinks about reporting its second mad cow.

Elephant Ebola

ProMED-mail has some interesting speculation about elephants being the unknown natural reservoir of Ebola, Marburg, and other filoviruses.

The WHO has the lastest numbers on the Marburg epidemic:

As of 5 June, the Ministry of Health in Angola has reported 423 cases of Marburg haemorrhagic fever. Of these cases, 357 were fatal. The vast majority of cases have occurred in Uige Province, where 412 cases and 346 deaths have been reported.

Ebola and Marburg Vaccine

Thanks to Veronica for this breaking news: vaccines have been developed for Ebola and Marburg.

New vaccines against two killer viruses, Ebola and Marburg, have been proven 100 percent effective in monkey tests, scientists reported on Monday.

Red Tide

On the disaster watch, ProMED-mail reports red tides in both Florida and Massachusetts. The record red tide recently spread from Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard.

The toxic algae bloom already has forced officials to shut down shellfish beds from Maine to Cape Cod so that people do not eat infected clams, mussels and oysters.
The closures off Edgartown meant the outbreak, possibly caused by an unusually cold and wet winter and spring, was continuing south, scientists said.
"It's an unprecedented closure," said Shelley Dawicki, spokeswoman at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "We don't know how far it's going to spread." [AP]

Bird Flu Blog

Via ProMED-mail: Avian Flu, a blog devoted to the coming bird flu pandemic, joins Fludemic on the flu-blogging beat.

Ebola in the Congo

The BBC reports nine deaths and a quarantine in effect in the Congo town of Etoumbi. The epidemic has been attributed to consumption of bushmeat, and is not the first in the region. In 2003, 120 people died in one Ebola epidemic.

Marburg Tops 300

The WHO reports a current total of 311 Marburg deaths in Angola out of 337 cases (92% mortality). On the bright side,

No cases have been reported outside Uige for the past five weeks.

Bird Flu Jumps to Pigs

Via ProMED-mail: Reuters and the AP report that an Indonesian researcher found the H5N1 strain of influenza in pigs living near infected birds.

Pigs, which are genetically similar to people, often carry the human influenza virus. Experts worry that pigs infected with both bird flu and its human equivalent could act as a ``mixing bowl,'' resulting in a more dangerous, mutant virus that might spread to people more easily - and then from person to person.

Dog Flu

Yesterday the Metro reported that dog racing at Wonderland (Boston, MA) had been shut down due to a mysterious canine epidemic. Autopsies on three dogs indicated pneumonia.

Today the CDC is on the case as well as the Boston Herald, warning locals that they and their pets may also be in danger.

Plagueblog recommends against living in close proximity to animals. Get some fish instead.

Marburg Numbers Rise

CIDRAP News reports an unexpected increase in the number of Marburg cases and deaths in Angola:

The tally yesterday stood at 313 cases, including 280 deaths, with another 208 people under observation, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Angolan health ministry announced yesterday, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The WHO had reported 275 cases with 255 deaths as of Apr 27, which included only 9 new cases in the preceding week.

More Marburg

The AP reports a death toll of 257 in Angola's Marburg outbreak. The story also mentions the first recovery:

But while the number of fatalities had risen, Espirito-Santo said that for the first time an infected patient had recovered and was discharged from an isolation ward at the Uige provincial hospital.

Exploding Frogs in Germany

Via ProMED-mail: the BBC reports on mysterious exploding German frogs:

Thousands of the amphibians have died in recent days in a pond in Hamburg's Altona district, with their bodies swelling to bursting point.
The toads' entrails are propelled for up to a metre (3.2ft), in scenes that have been likened to science fiction.
Scientists are baffled. Possible explanations include a unknown virus or a fungus in the pond.

Polio in Yemen

The New York Times reports on a polio outbreak in Yemen, possibly related to the current outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

CCHF in Islamabad

The Daily Times reports on a 12-year-old with Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Islamabad.