Bed bug epidemic hits New York City

New York City is suffering from an unprecedented epidemic of blood sucking bed bugs, it has emerged.

The number of infestations has increased more than tenfold in the last three years and no neighbourhood, no matter how upmarket, is immune.

The nocturnal insects once associated with doss-houses and slums are now causing havoc in some of New York's most exclusive districts.

Multi-million dollar Central Park apartments and a Broadway theatre are among the buildings affected.

"In the last six months, I've treated maternity wards, five-star hotels, movie theatres, taxi garages, investment banks, private schools [and] white-shoe law firms," Jeff Eisenberg, owner of Pest Away Exterminating told the New York Daily News.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/31/wbedbug131.xml

Cyclone may pass WA coast, bureau says

The Bureau of Meteorology says Cyclone Melanie may miss the Western Australian coast altogether as it continues to head further west.

A cyclone warning is still in force between Port Hedland and Exmouth for the category 2 storm, which is currently about 400 kilometres north of Karratha, moving west-south-west at 14 kilometres an hour.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/30/2128847.htm?section=justin

130 feared dead in landslides

Up to 130 people are feared dead in western Indonesia after torrential rain triggered devastating landslides.

Two districts in Central Java were hit by the landslides on Wednesday with entire houses submerged or buried by the onslaught while key access roads have been blocked.

And around 40 people are missing after a bridge over an overflowing river in Madiun district in East Java was swept away by floods, a local police officer said.

"This is still an estimate -- there were many people passing the bridge at the time according to witnesses," a policeman at Madiun district police station told the AFP news agency.

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/world/pakistan/countries/indonesia/130-feared-dead-in-landslides-$1182549.htm

Cyclones set to hit east, west coasts

PARKS and wildlife rangers yesterday began evacuating holidaymakers from Fraser Island as an intense low pressure system packing gale-force winds headed for the popular tourist destination north of Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

As the volatile system headed slowly south, threatening to bring huge waves and high winds to much of the Queensland coast, the Bureau of Meteorology said there was a significant risk of a severe tropical cyclone developing on the other side of the country, off Western Australia's northwest coast.

Senior forecaster Andrew Burton said people between Exmouth and Broome could be at risk over the next 48 hours, with the low-pressure system last night being upgraded to the category one cyclone Melanie.

Forecasters are also monitoring a low in the Gulf of Carpentaria, which is expected to develop into a cyclone early next week.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22983078-2702,00.html

Christmas at the U

Acute Respiratory Disease Associated With Adenovirus Serotype 14—Four States, 2006-2007

Adenovirus serotype 14 (Ad14) is a rarely reported but emerging serotype of adenovirus that can cause severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness in patients of all ages, including healthy young adults. In May 2006, an infant in New York aged 12 days died from respiratory illness caused by Ad14. During March-June 2007, a total of 140 additional cases of confirmed Ad14 respiratory illness were identified in clusters of patients in Oregon, Washington, and Texas. Fifty-three (38%) of these patients were hospitalized, including 24 (17%) who were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs); nine (5%) patients died. Ad14 isolates from all four states were identical by sequence data from the full hexon and fiber genes. However, the isolates were distinct from the Ad14 reference strain from 1955, suggesting the emergence and spread of a new Ad14 variant in the United States. No epidemiologic evidence of direct transmission linking the New York case or any of the clusters was identified. This report summarizes the investigation of these Ad14 cases by state and city health authorities, the U.S. Air Force, and CDC. State and local public health departments should be alert to the possibility of outbreaks caused by Ad14.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/24/2859

New bird flu case reported in Germany

BERLIN, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Germany has found a new case of bird flu in a small poultry farm in the northeastern state of Brandenburg, officials said Tuesday.

This is the third case of the deadly virus in ten days in Germany, the German news agency DPA reported.

The H5N1 virus was detected among 15 chickens in the poultry farm in Brandenburg, which surrounds the German capital Berlin.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/26/content_7314103.htm

Vietnamese child dies suspectedly from bird flu

HANOI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A four-year old child from Vietnam's northern Son La province has recently died after showing bird flu symptoms, local newspaper Labor reported Wednesday.

The child from Moc Chau district died in the National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi capital after suffering from severe pneumonia and high fever, the newspaper quoted a representative of Vietnam's Health Ministry as saying.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/26/content_7314640.htm

Santa Clause Radar

http://www.noradsanta.org/ or call in US 1 (877) 466-6723 or overseas 1 (719) 556-5211.

Preventing a flu pandemic: A vaccine in powder form

We are constantly hearing news which reminds us of the need for such a vaccine. On Friday, the Dutch authorities ordered that all poultry be kept indoors. It is the second quarantine measure this year.

The measure was taken after cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza – which can be fatal to humans – were reported in Germany and Poland. Although in rare cases humans can come down with the virus as a result of close contact with poultry, so far the virus has fortunately not mutated into a form in which it can be spread by contact between humans.

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/071222-flu-vaccine

In a northern Italian village, a tropical epidemic

CASTIGLIONE DI CERVIA, Italy: Panic was spreading in August through this tidy village of 2,000 as one person after another fell ill with weeks of high fever, exhaustion and excruciating bone pain, just as most of Italy was enjoying Ferragosto, its most important summer holiday.

"At one point, I simply couldn't stand up to get out of the car - I fell," said Antonio Ciano, 62, an elegant retiree in a pashmina scarf and trendy blue glasses. "I thought 'O.K., my time is up. I'm going to die.' It was really that dramatic."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/21/healthscience/virus.php#end_main

Poland detects new deadly bird flu case

WARSAW, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu has been detected in northern Poland, the PAP news agency reported Saturday.

Tests conducted by the State Veterinary Institute discovered the H5N1 virus in dead chickens in an egg-producing farm in Zuromin region, where bird flu cases have been reported earlier this month, the PAP cited a statement from Poland's Chief Veterinary Office as saying.

About 200,000 chickens from four farms will be slaughtered, the statement said. This is the country's 8th outbreak of bird flu in the month.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/23/content_7297277.htm

Acinetobacter baumanniI

Acinetobacter baumannii is a pleomorphic aerobic gram-negative bacillus (similar in appearance to Haemophilus influenzae on Gram stain) commonly isolated from the hospital environment and hospitalized patients. A baumannii is a water organism and preferentially colonizes aquatic environments. This organism is often cultured from hospitalized patients' sputum or respiratory secretions, wounds, and urine. Acinetobacter commonly colonizes irrigating solutions and intravenous solutions.

Acinetobacter is an organism of low virulence, but it is capable of causing infection. Most Acinetobacter isolates recovered from hospitalized patients, particularly those recovered from respiratory secretions and urine, represent colonization rather than infection.

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3456.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acinetobacter_baumannii

14 African nations face meningitis epidemic: Red Cross

GENEVA (AFP) — Red Cross officials warned Thursday that 14 African countries could face one of the worst meningitis epidemics in recent memory and announced prevention campaigns in the affected areas.

"The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is launching meningitis prevention activities in 14 countries across Africa to get ready for what could be one of the worst meningitis epidemics in a decade," a statement said.

"The first indications of an epidemic could appear as early as February-March 2008," it said.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gA-e_oEoL5OdycB6InVHyteWYB0A

Strong earthquake rocks New Zealand

Emergency services in New Zealand are assessing damage following a major earthquake centred just off the east coast of the North Island.

There has been widespread minor damage and blackouts but so far no casualties have been reported.

The quake, measuring 6.8, struck just before 9:00pm local time and was centred beneath the sea around 50 kilometres south-east of the central north island coastal city of Gisborne.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/20/2124579.htm

Soldiers bringing superbug back from Kandahar

The Public Health Agency of Canada is warning hospitals across the country to be on the lookout for a highly drug-resistant "superbug" that could be brought back by wounded soldiers from Afghanistan and could contaminate hospitals here.

The bug is called Acinetobacter baumannii and is a strain of a fairly common bacterium, acinetobacter.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071218/acinetobacter_071218/20071220?hub=TopStories

49 TB patients escape from S. African hospital

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Forty nine highly infectious tuberculosis patients cut through wire fencing and broke out of a hospital isolation unit, apparently because they wanted to spend Christmas with their families.

The mass escape highlights the problems faced by South Africa as it struggles to cope with an epidemic of virtually incurable TB that feeds off the AIDS virus and kills most of its victims. South Africa has an estimated 5.4 million people living with the AIDS virus.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22315328/

Emergence of Adenovirus Cause for Concern, Not Panic

As if nurses don't have enough to worry about at the start of cold and flu season, U.S. health officials alerted the country last month to one more thing to watch for — a strain of a usually mild virus that sometimes turns nasty.

Adenoviruses commonly cause the symptoms of a cold — runny nose, coughing, mild congestion. But an outbreak of a rare adenovirus variant called AD14 was responsible for nine deaths among 140 people infected in Washington state, Oregon, and Texas last spring and summer, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fifty-three patients were hospitalized, nearly half of them in ICUs.

http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/IL02/712170323

Large bird flu cluster emerges

A team of experts from the World Heath Organization (WHO) is making its way north in Pakistan to investigate a cluster of at least eight cases of avian flu in people living near the Afghan border. They will be seeking to establish whether the disease is spreading, and whether the cases were caused by human-to-human transmission.

Cases of bird flu continue to occur worldwide, mostly in Indonesia, and this is the colder time of year when flu is expected to hit hardest in the northern hemisphere. But this latest outbreak is worrying in that it involves the biggest batch of closely related cases since a cluster of eight infected people was reported in Indonesia in May 2006.

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071217/full/news.2007.383.html

After Second Deadly Storm Strikes Dominican Republic

United Nations relief agencies have activated their emergency response systems in the Dominican Republic for the second time in just over a month after the country was hit this week by Tropical Storm Olga, which has killed at least 27 people as it crossed the Caribbean region.

UN agencies are working at full capacity to help the Government deal with the aftermath of the storm, with emergency technical and assessment teams deployed to the most affected areas, according to information released today by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA).

http://newsblaze.com/story/20071215122810tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

Killer hospital superbug infected 65 patients

Another 15 patients were infected by a killer superbug at Auckland hospital last month, bringing the total number of cases to 65.

Hospital spokeswoman Jessamy Malcolm said 17 patients were being closely watched but the vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) outbreak had been contained.

"We have ongoing screening of all new admissions to adult services," she said. "Once we have permanently stabilised VRE we will go to active surveillance in high-risk groups."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10482586

Nigeria: 'Hundreds' Dead in Measles Outbreak

A measles outbreak has killed at least 200 children in Nigeria in recent weeks according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Nigerian Red Cross is sending teams to affected cities in northern Nigeria to train volunteers and educate communities about prevention, according to a 13 December report by the IFRC, which contained the estimate of deaths.

Hundreds more children are infected, with cases in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states, according to Mahmud Mustapha, director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in charge of seven north-western states.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712150001.html

Bird flu kills one, infects five in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has recorded its first human death from bird flu and five other people have been infected with the deadly H5N1 virus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Health officials are also investigating a second death from suspected bird flu.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=172091

Bird flu resurfaces in Asia, deaths reported

Bird flu has resurfaced in parts of Asia, with human deaths reported in Indonesia and China and fresh poultry outbreaks plaguing other countries during the winter months when the virus typically flares.

Indonesia, the nation hardest hit by the H5N1 virus, announced its 93rd death on Friday. A 47-year old man fell ill December 2 and was admitted to a Jakarta hospital with flu-like symptoms, but he died Thursday, Health Ministry spokesman Joko Suyono said. The man was the 115th Indonesian infected with the disease.

The military in China's eastern Nanjing province banned the sale of poultry this week after a father and son were sickened by the disease earlier. Health officials confirmed a 24-year-old man died from the virus earlier this month, and that his father, 52, also fell sick. The son was the 17th person killed by H5N1 in China.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847342617&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Indonesia confirms 115th human bird flu infection

JAKARTA (AFP) — A 47-year-old Indonesian man has been confirmed as the 115th bird flu case in the nation worst hit by the virus, the health ministry said Wednesday.

The man is being treated in a Jakarta hospital for the disease, which has claimed 92 lives in Indonesia.

Two laboratory tests on the man showed that he was infected with the highly pathogenic virus, a statement from the ministry's bird flu centre said.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGA9CiE7_wp_PvqOkvdQhNtDEeyA

Virus starts like a cold — but can be a killer

Infectious-disease expert David N. Gilbert was making rounds at the Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon in April when he realized that an unusual number of patients, including young, vigorous adults, were being hit by a frightening pneumonia.

"What was so striking was to see patients who were otherwise healthy be just devastated," Gilbert said. Within a day or two of developing a cough and high fever, some were so sick they would arrive at the emergency room gasping for air.

"They couldn't breathe," Gilbert said. "They were going to die if we didn't get more oxygen into them."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22192270/

Ecuador hit by 5.1-magnitude quake

QUITO, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale Monday hit the city of Esmeraldas in northern Ecuador, close to the Colombia border, the nation's Geophysics Institute said.

The institute said the quake hit at 1:10 p.m. local time (1810 GMT) with its epicenter some 12 km below the earth's surface.

No victims or serious damage have been reported so far, but the quake was felt strongly in Esmeraldas and Quito. The institute has reported 11 earthquakes this month.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/11/content_7228390.htm

MIAMI (AP) — A weather system off Puerto Rico has the potential to become a tropical storm, forecasters said Sunday, a little more than a week after the Atlantic hurricane season ended. At 10:30 p.m. EST the system was about 425 miles east of Puerto Rico. It was moving west at about 15 to 20 mph and was expected to continue that general motion over the next day or two, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It could become a tropical or subtropical storm during the next 24 hours, forecasters said. Tropical storms have winds of at least 39 mph.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVWjsPEiqe1tEu2mhBIRaxxGi8owD8TECF800

Superbugs Reaching Epidemic Stage

Med Headlines - A new study from the University of Florida (UF) reports the spread of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections is reaching epidemic proportions in some healthcare centers and in some communities in general.

The potentially lethal drug-resistant strain of the Staph bacterium, known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), is responsible for almost 280,000 hospitalizations in 2005, doubling the 1999 count of 127,000 hospitalizations. Methicillin had been highly effective in controlling staph infections before the drug-resistant strain of the bacterium emerged.

http://www.medheadlines.com/news/11070367.htm

Health Alert: MRSA attack plan

NATIONAL - MRSA keeps making headlines in the schools, but historically, its roots are in our nation's hospitals. Now there's a program to help hospitals cut the risk and spread of infection from the superbug.

This innovative approach, called positive deviance, is making a difference. After breast cancer surgery, Donna Shinn had another battle on her hands, the drug-resistant superbug, MRSA.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7475752

China warns of winter bird flu outbreaks

BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - China has warned of a "very high" possibility of outbreaks of bird flu over winter and spring as the country hunts for the causal link between a son and a father struck by the virus, state media said on Tuesday.

A 24-year-old man surnamed Lu from eastern Jiangsu province died last week of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the first case in China since June.

Late last week, his 52-year-old father was also diagnosed with the disease, raising questions about how the man was infected.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK106909.htm

China says human-to-human transmission not confirmed in latest bird flu cases

BEIJING (AP) - Health officials are trying to determine how a father and son became infected with bird flu in China's east, and warn that outbreaks of the disease in the country's poultry are very likely during the coming months.So far, China has made major achievements in narrowing the scope of epidemics in poultry, reducing the number of birds sickened and decreasing the instances of culling, Vice Agriculture Minister Yin Chengjie was quoted Monday as saying on the ministry's Web site.

But in winter and spring, there is a very high possibility of outbreaks in our country's regions,» Yin said. «It's not easy to be optimistic about prevention efforts.

http://www.pr-inside.com/china-says-human-to-human-transmission-not-r341531.htm

Human to human spread of bird flu suspected in China

Health authorities in China have announced that the father of a man who died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu last week also has the lethal virus.

The man, a 52-year-old from Nanjing the capital of the eastern province Jiangsu, apparently became ill with a fever on Thursday and tests on samples from his respiratory tract have confirmed he has the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Mr Lu's son died a week ago from the deadly virus and there is very real concern that the virus has been transmitted from the son to the father.

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=33262

Clostridium difficile

What is Clostridium difficile?

C. difficile is a spore forming bacteria which can be part of the normal intestinal flora in as many as 50% of children under age two, and less frequently in individuals over two years of age. C. difficile is the major cause of pseudomembranous colitis and antibiotic associated diarrhea.

What are the risk factors for C. difficile-associated disease?

C. difficile-associated disease occurs when the normal intestinal flora is altered, allowing C. difficile to flourish in the intestinal tract and produce a toxin that causes a watery diarrhea. Repeated enemas, prolonged nasogastric tube insertion and gastrointestinal tract surgery increase a person's risk of developing the disease. The overuse of antibiotics, especially penicillin (ampicillin), clindamycin and cephalosporins may also alter the normal intestinal flora and increase the risk of developing C. difficile diarrhea.

http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/954992292.html http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=87412&sc=80

Superbug deaths 'linked to NHS cash crisis'

More hospital patients die in the South of England after being infected with England's deadliest superbugs than any other area of the country, the first mortality map reveals. NHS services threatened by hospital debts The number of death certificates which state the patient had MRSA or Clostridium Difficile is highest in the South East and South West, with the West Midlands and London not far behind.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/09/nhs209.xml

Measles Kill 200 Children in Zaria

Over 200 children have been reported killed in Zaria City and its environ, while hundreds of others are lying critically ill in both public and private hospitals in the area as a result of an outbreak of Measles (Reubola).Zaria Local Government Area Health Co-ordinator, Dr. Aminu Gidado who confirmed the incident to newsmen at the weekend further disclosed that the disease is spreading rapidly to neighbouring local government areas such as Sabon Gari, Hunkuyi, Soba, Makarfi, Giwa, and Kubau.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=97354

Fourth H5N1 bird flu centre found in Poland

WARSAW (Reuters) - A fourth centre of H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in central Poland, about 50 km (30 miles) from three sites found last week, chief veterinary officer Ewa Lech said on Saturday.

The emergency services, following a standard procedure, set up a three-km (1.9-mile) safety perimeter around the site.

"The problem is the farm on which the virus was found is a big one, tens of thousands of birds," Lech told Reuters.

http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=a4abb437-e422-47a5-94dc-94715e0bc0dc&k=75001

Ebola outbreak in Uganda; borders closed

The Democratic Republic of Congo has closed its borders with Uganda from fear that an Ebola outbreak in Uganda’s western districts spreads over the border. The measure was decided after Kampala’s Health ministry announced a hotbed of the virulent haemorrhagic fever in the Bundibugyo district, on the border with DR-Congo, following the same moves by Kenya and Rwanda, for the monitoring of Ugandan citizens entering their respective territories.

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=12819&t=Ebola+outbreak+in+Uganda%3B+borders+closed

Panic spreads as Uganda reports 101 Ebola cases

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda has 101 suspected cases of Ebola fever and hundreds more people being closely monitored, officials said on Friday, as fear grew in Uganda and neighboring countries that the deadly virus might spread.

Twenty two people have so far died of the fever and Minister of State for primary health-care Dr. Emmanuel Otaala told journalists 11 health workers have fallen sick.

"Cumulatively, we have 101 cases," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0691704520071207 Uganda has 101 Ebola cases, 350 more at risk

Ferocious Cyclone Daman Nears Fiji

Hurricane Packs Winds of Up to 155 MPH

Ferocious Cyclone Daman is nearing landfall in Fiji today, and it winds could strike with Category 4 hurricane strength, according to press reports.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated its winds at 120 mph Friday morning, making it a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The center forecast a slight weakening of the storm, to 115 mph sustained winds, by the time it makes landfall. That would still make the storm a strong Category 3 storm.

The Los Angeles Times and Chinese state-run media, however, quoted the South Pacific nation's Nadi Meteorological Center, which put the storm's winds at 155 mph, making it a Category 4 monster.

Regardless of its absolute strength, the storm is big, and bearing down on the island nation.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/cyclone-fiji-47120703

China Reports More Bird Flu

Chinese officials are now reporting that the father of a recent Bird flu victim has also been diagnosed with the dreaded H5N1 strain of the disease.

According to the National Disease Authority, the 52-year-old man surnamed Lu from the Nanjing, capital of the eastern province Jiangsu, was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Thursday.

The man's son died this past Sunday after he contracted the virus, and officials are now wondering how both father and son contracted it.

In other Bird flu news, the west African country of Benin has reported its first suspected cases of the Bird flu virus, resulting in the culling of hundreds of birds as a precaution.

"The veterinary services have cordoned off the affected areas" in the commercial capital Cotonou and in Adjarra, a statement from the ministry said.

"Samples were taken so that analyses could be carried out by an internationally renowned laboratory to either confirm or rule out the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus," Since 2003, the Bird flu virus has killed more than 200 people from around the world.

http://www.dogflu.ca/12072007/12/china_reports_more_bird_flu Father of bird flu victim tests positive: China

Bird flu suspected for first time in Benin: ministry

COTONOU (AFP) — The west African country of Benin has recorded its first suspected cases of bird flu and has culled hundreds of poultry at the two infected sites, the agriculture ministry said Friday.

"The veterinary services have cordoned off the affected areas" in the commercial capital Cotonou and in Adjarra, a statement from the ministry said. The agriculture ministry said that vets had culled and incinerated more than 240 chickens during their disinfection of the two sites, both located in the southern coastal tip of the country.

"Samples were taken so that analyses could be carried out by an internationally renowned laboratory to either confirm or rule out the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus," the statement said.

Several countries in Benin's immediate vicinity have been hit by the virus with one person having died from bird flu in neighbouring Nigeria.

Another neighbour, Togo, reported cases of H5N1 in poultry in June. Togo on Friday said it was banning imports of live poultry and poultry products from Benin.

Ghana, Togo's much larger neighbour, reported H5N1 in poultry earlier this year but the authorities have since declared the country clear.

Benin launched a bird flu prevention programme in February 2005. Two months later it banned imports of live poultry and poultry products from countries affected by bird flu and stepped up controls on imports from other countries.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jYRFOaU-Uf3ovNoFjqzPmk9_NlMQ

H5N1 mutation towards a pandemic strain gathers pace

American researchers have discovered that a key step has been reached in the mutation of the H5N1 virus which could allow it to transform into a human flu virus, thus opening the door to a pandemic.

Dr Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains that mutation on one of the H5N1 viral proteins has been identified in samples taken from sick birds from Europe and Africa. This transformation could allow the avian virus to tolerate our 37°C body temperature (the body temperature of birds is about 41°C) and therefore to develop in our upper respiratory tract.

http://www.afriquechos.ch/spip.php?article2719

FACTBOX - What is Ebola?

Dec 6 (Reuters) - A new strain of the deadly Ebola virus is thought to have infected 93 people and killed at least 22 in Uganda, including a doctor and three other medical staff looking after patients, a health official said on Thursday.

The last time Uganda was hit by an epidemic of Ebola -- a disease in which those infected often bleed to death -- 425 people caught it in 2000. Just over half of them died.

Here are some key facts on Ebola:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06277921.htm

Strong typhoon expected in northern Fuji

Weather forecasters say a strengthening tropical cyclone that will rage in northern Fuji in two days is expected to flood houses.

Cyclone Daman, currently rated at the lowest Category 1 cyclone level, could dump 250 millimeters (10 inches) of rain and pack wind gusts up to 135 kilometers (85 miles) an hour over northern Fiji from Friday morning, duty forecaster Matt Boterhoven said.

That will mean considerable damage to local houses, trees and gardens and flooding from the first cyclone of the season in southwest Pacific region, he said.

http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/06-12-2007/102367-fuji_cyclone-0

North Bergen Student Has MRSA Bug

A third-grade student at the Kennedy School was confrmed yesterday to have MRSA, the penicillin-resistant so-called "Superbug."

The student is being treated at Palisades Medical Center, said North Bergen Mayor and Associate Superintendent of Schools Nicholas Sacco.

Notices were sent home to parents yesterday and the third-grader's classroom was disinfected last night, Sacco said.

No classes were cancelled, Sacco said.

Sacco said a staff member at a pre-school in North Bergen was confirmed with a case of MRSA just before Thanksgiving.

MRSA, an acronym for methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus, is by definition resistant to methicillin, part of the penicillin family of antibiotics.

http://www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow/index.ssf/2007/12/north_bergen_student_has_mrsa.html

Bird flu developments

Dec 4 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on its Web site on Tuesday that a 24-year-old man from eastern China has died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

There have been 207 human deaths globally from the H5N1 strain and 336 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to World Health Organisation data.

Here is a chronology of major recent bird flu developments:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7126156

Superbug infections up 17% in Coastal hospitals

The number of patients who contracted the antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection known as MRSA while in Vancouver Coastal Health facilities jumped about 17 per cent in the 2006-07 fiscal year, according to a report obtained by The Vancouver Sun.

The second annual regional infection control report shows that 581 people -- 96 more than the previous year -- contracted the superbug in Vancouver Coastal facilities in the year ending March 2007.

Another 143 people contracted the superbug in the community, while 26 cases were of unknown origin, for a total of 750 cases, down from 811 the year before.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=6b039236-d169-4c3c-9e6c-7e279a88418c

Nations Examine Pandemic Flu Preparedness at India Conference

New Delhi -- Two days before the December 4-6 New Delhi International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza convened in India’s northern capital, journalists from India and Afghanistan gathered at a two-day workshop to learn how to cover the highly pathogenic viral disease of birds and, in 12 countries so far, people.

The 18 attendees, men and women, came from radio and television stations, magazines and newspapers in the region. Thanks to the timing, workshop presenters included high-level officials and avian flu experts who are part of the U.S. delegation to the ministerial.

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=December&x=20071203184811lcnirellep0.6908533

Pacific Storm Batters Northwest...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Untold numbers of residents found themselves in the dark Monday as hurricane-force winds and heavy rain battered the Northwest for a second day, blocking roads with trees, power lines, high water and mud.

Two flood-related deaths were reported near Chehalis, Wash., and Oregon transportation officials warned drivers not to attempt passage through the Coast Range as the second of two storms blew through.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,314821,00.html

Ebola strikes more nurses

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Katusabe from Kyenjojo district, who had been admitted at Virika Hospital in Fort Portal with suspected Ebola, died yesterday afternoon. If confirmed, his demise would bring to 17 the number of people who have died since the outbreak of the epidemic in August.

The team, that visited Bundibugyo Hospital yesterday, also learnt that four more medical workers were suspected to be infected.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/600344

Ebola spreads in western Uganda: officials

Three people with suspected Ebola were Monday admitted to hospital in western Uganda, where the virus has killed 18 people and is spreading from village to village, government officials said.

"Three cases were admitted today, bringing the total to 64," said Samuel Kazinga, the district commissioner for Bundibugyo, the epicentre of the new outbreak.

With experts from the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) expected on Tuesday, efforts to isolate and intern patients in Bundibugyo, near the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), appeared to suffer setbacks.

"Some people refuse to come of their home to seek treatment, but our social mobilisation team is trying to convince them to come out," Kazinga said, describing the phenomenon as "psychological."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071203193624.vcwnyhqo&show_article=1&image=large

Cholera set to ravage Baghdad

Baghdad is facing a ’catastrophe’ with cases of cholera rising sharply in the past three weeks to more than 100, strengthening fears that poor sanitation and the imminent rainy season could create an epidemic. The disease - spread by bacteria in contaminated water, which can result in rapid dehydration and death - threatens to blunt growing optimism in the Iraqi capital after a recent downturn in violence. Two boys in an orphanage have died and six other children were diagnosed with the disease, according to the Iraqi government. ’We have a catastrophe in Baghdad,’ an official said.

http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=7268

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano erupts

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano on Saturday erupted several times, spewing steam and ash over 2 km high.

The eruption of the volcano, which is located some 70 km southeast to the Mexican capital, started at 6:20 a.m. local time (1220 GMT), and six eruptions occurred in 24 hours, said a statement issued by the National Disaster Prevention Center.

Some ash rained down the capital which can be seen in several streets, said local media. The government advised fewer outdoor activities or wearing gauze mask when going outdoor.

The authorities also said residents in the surrounding areas of the volcano should clean ash from cars and homes as soon as possible to avoid inhaling more ash.

The volcano, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain with a summit elevation of 5,452 meters above sea level, is Mexico's second highest mountain. Its first recorded eruption took place in 1345. In the past 13 years, it has become more active during the month of December.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/02/content_7183281.htm

China reports first bird flu death in months

It is the first case of bird flu in China for almost six months.

A man in the eastern province of Jiangsu is said to have died from the H5N1 virus after having no contact with dead poultry and with no reported outbreak of bird flu in the area.

His was the first case of the disease in China since June and brings the country's death toll to 17. China is at the centre of the fight against bird flu, with the world's largest poultry population and millions of birds roaming free.

Chinese scientists are concerned that the disease could mutate into a form that would allow it to travel easily from person to person.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/03/2108402.htm?section=world

China reports new bird flu death

Indonesian quake but no tsunami threat--officials

JAKARTA--A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the southwestern coast of Indonesia's Java island on Sunday but there was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate word of damage, meteorologists said.

The earthquake, which hit at 06:01am (2301 GMT Saturday), occurred 32 kilometers (17 miles) under the seabed about 80 kilometers southeast of island's southwestern tip, the meteorology office said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=104369

Powerful quake shakes Caribbean, one dead

Moderate quake hits New Zealand -- seismologists

Strong quake hits Martinique -- monitors

A superbug evolves

In September, doctors in New York reported discovering the first germ that is resistant to all drugs approved to treat childhood ear infections. The superbug is a strain of streptococcus (strep) bacteria, called 19A, not included in the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar. The vaccine was introduced in 2000 to protect against bacteria that cause pneumonia, meningitis and deadly bloodstream infections.

Nine toddlers in Rochester, NY caught the bug caused by 19A bacteria. They developed ear infections that did not respond to two or more antibiotics, including high-dose amoxicillin and multiple shots of another drug. Many children required surgery with ear tubes to drain the excess fluid. Some recovered only after treatment with a newer, powerful antibiotic whose safety in children has not been established, according to news reports.

http://www.comanchecountychronicle.com/viewarticle.php?id=285

Turkeys in Poland test positive for bird flu

WARSAW, Poland -- Turkeys at two poultry farms in central Poland have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, authorities said Saturday. It is the country's first reported case of the deadly virus in domestic livestock.

The outbreak occurred on two turkey farms near the city of Plock, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Warsaw, said deputy chief state veterinarian Krzysztof Jazdzewski.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/health/2007/12/02/133207/Turkeys-in.htm