MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Here’s an update on this story reported last week …

By Associated Press – “SEATTLE — Washington state’s worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge residents to get vaccinated amid worry that cases of the highly contagious disease could spike much higher.

It’s the first state to declare a whooping cough, or pertussis, epidemic since 2010, when California had more than 9,000 cases, including 10 deaths. Washington has had 10 times the cases reported in 2011, and so has Wisconsin with nearly 2,000 cases this year, though that state has not declared an epidemic.

California responded to its crisis two years ago with a public information campaign, readily available vaccines and a new law requiring a booster shot for middle- and high-school students. Doctors were urged to spot whooping cough early, send infected babies to the hospital and promptly treat those diagnosed. In 2011, the number of cases there dropped significantly.

In Washington, about 1,280 cases have been reported in 2012, and officials believe the state could see as many as 3,000 cases by year’s end. Health Secretary Mary Selecky declared the epidemic April 3, and since then officials have bought up the vaccine and made it available for free for people who don’t have insurance.

State officials have asked hospitals to vaccinate every adult who goes home with a new baby, and urged businesses to encourage their employees to get the adult booster shot. Washington already requires a booster shot for middle- and high-school students.” Read more.

AFP – “The World Health Organisation said Monday it was ‘concerned’ about an outbreak of a mysterious skin disease in central Vietnam which has killed 19 people, mostly children.

More than 170 people have fallen ill with the unidentified illness, which causes stiffness in the limbs and ulcers on victims’ hands and feet that look like severe burns.

‘We are concerned about this. WHO is very aware of this case,’ said Wu Guogao, the organisation’s chief officer in Hanoi, adding Vietnam had not asked for help with an investigation into the outbreak.

The WHO has not been given access to any official reports on the issue.

‘It is difficult to say the exact cause at this stage,’ he told AFP.

The disease appears to have been concentrated mainly in Ba To district in central Quang Ngai province and the WHO said it had not heard of similar outbreaks elsewhere in the country.

Local doctors said they were waiting for the results of a recent Ministry of Health probe.

‘The results of the investigation (are) not yet available. Therefore, we don’t know anything more concerning the disease,’ said doctor Dang Thi Phuong, director of Ba To district healthcare centre.

‘As far as I know, the Ministry intends to invite foreign experts to the area to help us know more,’ she told AFP, adding that many of the victims were under 10 years old.

Media reports said about one in 10 of those infected had developed serious liver disorders, but said the infection does not appear to be highly contagious.” Source – Tuoitrenews.vn.

By Jason Gale and Adi Narayan, Bloomberg – “Lill-Karin Skaret, a 67-year-old grandmother from Namsos, Norway, was traveling to a lakeside vacation villa near India’s port city of Kochi in March 2010 when her car collided with a truck. She was rushed to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, her right leg broken and her artificial hip so damaged that replacing it required 12 hours of surgery.

Three weeks later and walking with the aid of crutches, Skaret was relieved to be home. Then her doctor gave her upsetting news. Mutant germs that most antibiotics can’t kill had entered her bladder, probably from a contaminated hospital catheter in India. She risked a life-threatening infection if the bacteria invaded her bloodstream — a waiting game over which she had limited control, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.

‘I got a call from my doctor who told me they found this bug in me and I had to take precautions,’ Skaret remembers. ‘I was very afraid.’

Skaret was lucky. Eventually, her body rid itself of the bacteria, and she escaped harm from a new type of superbug that scientists warn is spreading faster, further and in more alarming ways than any they’ve encountered. Researchers say the epicenter is India, where drugs created to fight disease have taken a perverse turn by making many ailments harder to treat.

India’s $12.4 billion pharmaceutical industry manufactures almost a third of the world’s antibiotics, and people use them so liberally that relatively benign and beneficial bacteria are becoming drug immune in a pool of resistance that thwarts even high-powered antibiotics, the so-called remedies of last resort.” Read more.

MNN – “More than 1,100 cases of whooping cough have already been diagnosed this year in the state, nearly doubling the number seen in typical peak years.

Washington state is gearing up for one of the worst epidemics of pertussis in nearly 70 years. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes a nasty cough. It is particularly dangerous for young infants.

Public health officials have confirmed more than 1,100 cases of whooping cough so far this year in the state. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported this year, but 20 infants have been hospitalized with the illness.

Washington’s Gov. Christine Gregoire announced May 3 that state emergency funds would be available to provide free vaccinations and help spread awareness about the disease and the importance of getting vaccinated.

In the U.S., most kids receive a series of vaccines against whooping cough at the age of 2 months. But some kids don’t get immunized, either because their parents object or they are unaware of the importance of vaccines.

Outbreaks of pertussis are not uncommon, but they do tend to run in cycles. Tim Church, a spokesman for the Washington state Health Department, said the current epidemic is running well above typical peak years in the past, when 500 to 600 cases might be reported in a year.” Source – MNN.

Canada: Whooping cough outbreak sparks vaccination campaign – “The province of New Brunswick will vaccinate nearly 12,000 students in Saint John and Moncton following an outbreak of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. Typically, there are 40 cases of whooping cough in the province each year. But this year, 370 cases have been reported so far, said Dr. Eilish Cleary, chief medical officer of health.” Read more.

“CAIRO, March 18 (UPI) — Foot and mouth disease has spread throughout Egypt, claiming more than 3,100 animals, government officials said this weekend.

The General Authority for Veterinary Services said the Sat 2 serotype of the livestock disease had turned up in governates nationwide with well over 33,000 cases reported.

The state MENA news agency said the outbreak appeared to be most serious in the Gharbiya and Dakahliya governates.

Egypt last week suspended a vaccination program so that it could be adjusted to be more effective against Sat 2. Farmers were also required to bury dead animals rather than disposing of them in drainage canals.” Source – UPI.

Foot and Mouth Disease creating havoc on Egypt’s livestock industry – “The North African country of Egypt is already suffering through reported food shortages and food inflation and now a severe, rapidly spreading virus is infecting thousands of cows as Egyptian farmers accuse the government of incompetence. A strain of the highly contagious viral disease, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is spreading through dozens of provinces in Egypt infecting and killing thousands of cows.” Read more.

“PATNA: Over 1,500 chickens have died due to a mysterious disease at Thepaha and Jimsikri villages in Siwan district in the past 15 days triggering fear of a possible outbreak of bird flu among the poultry owners.

District animal husbandry officer (DAHO) in-charge Dr Ravindra Kumar said that deaths were reported from two poultry farms at Jamsikri village under Zeeradei block and Thepaha under Siwan Sadar block. Kumar said that a four-member medical team was constituted and it carried out post-mortem examination of the dead chickens. He said that the medical team found no symptoms of bird flu. The chickens had died due to bacterial infection and apparently due to unhygienic conditions in which they were kept and fed by their owners, DAHO said.

Kumar said he had sent separate reports to Siwan DM and director, AHD, Patna, in this connection. The serum of the dead chickens would be first sent to Patna and then to Kolkata for further investigation, he added.” Source – Times of India.