MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Marina Sysoyeva – “Russia spent 120 million rubles ($4.3 million) to fight locusts this year and protect crops, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The money was used to spray the insects on 760,000 hectares (1.88 million acres) of land, the ministry said today on its website. Some 8.6 million hectares were inspected and locusts were found to have landed on 2.2 million hectares.

The ministry estimated the potential damage to be as much as 50 billion rubles.

‘Grains did not suffer in Russia,’ Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said on the department’s website.

Locust incidents rose significantly in Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Saratov and other southern regions this year as a result of last year’s drought and a relatively warm winter, Interfax cited Skrynnik as saying in Kalmykia earlier today.” Read more.

“Another patient linked to a C. difficile outbreak in Ontario’s Niagara Region has died, bringing the total number of deaths in recent weeks to 16.

The deaths have been reported at three hospitals in the region in recent weeks: four at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, 10 at St. Catharines General Hospital and two at the Welland Hospital.

‘We truly recognize the loss that the family and friends of this patient are experiencing and on behalf of our staff and physicians we extend our sincere condolences,’ Dr. Joanna Hope, interim chief of staff for the Niagara Health System, said in a release Monday acknowledging the death of the 10th patient at St. Catharines General.

‘” Read more.

By Gerard Walsh – “EQUINE Veterinarians Australia president and local vet Dr Chris Reardon has urged horse owners to be vigilant in the wake of three outbreaks of the Hendra virus in the past week.

The outbreaks have been at Beaudesert, Boonah and near Lismore.

In recent years, seven people have contracted the virus, of whom four have died – including two vets.

Dr Reardon warned no one should expect the virus to spread like equine influenza (EI).

‘It is not spread by air or wind like EI,’ he said.

‘It is always a concern when one of my colleagues is involved in a case. We need to know more about how it is transmitted to humans.'” Read more.

By Shivani Mehra – “LUDHIANA: There’s a mystery fever that has gripped the city of Ludhiana and with even doctors failing to pinpoint the cause or type of the illness, residents have begun panicking. Those complaining of the baffling fever are also more by the day as doctors say the cases pouring in have increased by 60%. The symptoms include high fever, stomach pain and low platelet count.

While the patients and their families have failed to understand the cause of this fever, doctors too are not clear about what is causing it. From next to no case till a few months ago, as many as seven people are daily being now diagnosed with this fever these days.

A doctor is Apollo Hospital’s medicine department, Gautam Aggarwal, said, ‘I am treating as many as eight such patients every day. Monsoons have brought some viral and bacterial infections and this one seems unclassified.'” Read more.

By Lynn Herrmann – “Hong Kong – A scarlet fever outbreak in Hong Kong, thought to be a mutant strain resistant to antibiotics, claimed the life of a second child on Tuesday and health officials there state they are dealing with ‘an epidemic.’

Hong Kong officials have recorded 494 cases of scarlet fever this year, more than triple the total for 2010. It is the city’s highest annual total. Thomas Tsang, controller for Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection, said: ‘We are facing an epidemic because the bacteria that is causing scarlet fever is widely circulating in this region — not only in Hong Kong but in mainland China and Macau,’ according to Asia Pacific News (APN).

In mainland China, more than 9,000 people have been infected this year, double the numbers of recent years. Increased transmission of the disease is believed caused by a unique gene fragment in the bacteria’s genome, a health protection centre statement said, APN notes.” Read more.

“The Ministry of Health has declared a yellow alert for 60 days for the health centers in the departments of Loreto, Madre de Dios, San Martín and Amazonas, due to the persistence and extent of dengue fever.

According to the technical report, the prevalence of dengue may be due to climate factors, as well as difficulty in controlling the virus.

The General Bureau of National Defense, through the Regional Directorates of Health, will disseminate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of this resolution, Andina reports.

Dengue is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti and among its symptoms are high fever and headaches, as well as muscle and bone aches. In some cases, when the disease is severe, there may be bruising and bleeding.

In February health authorities declared a red alert in Peru’s northern Amazon jungle region following the outbreak of an ‘very aggressive’ dengue strain that lead to the death of 14 people and affected thousands.” Read more.

“Officials are warning of an outbreak of scarlet fever among children in Hong Kong.

There have been more than 400 cases of the disease this year, including the death of a six-year-old last month.

Initial tests suggest a five-year-old boy may also have died from the bacterial infection, which is spread by coughing and sneezing.

Scientists in Hong Kong believe the bacteria may be spreading more quickly than usual due to a genetic mutation.

Cases have also been seen in mainland China and Macua.” Read more.

“At least 28 children in India’s Bihar state have died in the past week from an unidentified illness, officials say.

Officials said that all of the children were between two and eight years. They died in Muzaffarpur town, 80kms (50 miles) from the state capital, Patna.

Bihar Health Minister Ashwani Choubey told the BBC that a team of doctors from Delhi is visiting Muzaffarpur on Tuesday to diagnose the disease.

Local doctors say the symptoms are similar to Japanese encephalitis.

But, they say, an important symptom of Japanese encephalitis is a stiffening of the neck, which is absent from the Bihar cases.” Read more.

“NEW DELHI: NDM-1, the enzyme associated with extensive antibiotic resistance that was found in India last year, has jumped to new bacteria strains and infected a Canadian, who had no travel history to India.

For the first time, scientists in Canada have reported local acquisition of an organism producing NDM-1 in Ontario, Canada. NDM-1 has been found in bacterial species other than E coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The findings are in tune with a TOI report a few weeks ago that had pointed out about NDM-1 gene, which has been jumping between various species of bacteria at a ‘superfast speed.’

British scientists from the Cardiff University, who first reported on the existence of NDM-1, told TOI that when it was first detected in 2006, the bacteria were found only in E Coli.

‘We have found NDM-1 gene in more than 20 different species of bacteria. NDM-1 can move at unprecedented speed, making more and more species of bacteria drug resistant,’ said Dr Mark Toleman told TOI.” Read more.

By Stephen Adams – “The new strain with high resistance to antibiotics was found by accident by a team from Cambridge University and has already infected humans.

Dr Mark Holmes said dairy farmers under ‘relentless financial pressure’ from supermarkets were forced to use powerful antibiotics which could well have led to the emergence of resistant bacteria.

He and a team of fellow Cambridge University scientists have identified this new strain, which has been found in milk, cows and humans.

In a handful of cases humans have become seriously ill, although it is not known if anyone has died of it.

At the moment the scientists estimate there are probably less than 100 cases which is a small fraction of the total number of MRSA cases.

However, they appear to be growing rapidly.” Read more.