Archive for editor
PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola update (55): Congo DR (NK,IT) Uganda (KS) ex DRC, case updates, summaries
Ebola -- DR Congo- This Thu 13 Jun 2019, 5 family members were repatriated to the DRC. Returnees are the mother of the index case, the 3-year-old brother (who is a confirmed Ebola case), a 6-month-old baby, the father of Ugandan children, and the nanny. Thus, to date, no more cases of Ebola are found in Uganda.--Communicated by:Mary Marshall- Thu 13 Jun 2019. Situation report 2, Uganda Ministry of Health[WHO Africa, abridged, edited]On 11 Jun 2019, the Ministry of Health of Uganda Read more [...]
Emergency Crews Respond to Chemical Leak in New Haven – NBC Connecticut
Emergency Crews Respond to Chemical Leak in New Haven NBC Connecticut
Emergency crews are responding to a chemical leak on Winchester Avenue in New Haven and a nearby school is under a shelter-in-place order.
PRO/AH/EDR> Japanese encephalitis & other – India (04): (BR)
Japanese Encephalitis -- IndiaShrivastava A, Kumar A, Thomas JD, et al: Association of acute toxic encephalopathy with litchi consumption in an outbreak in Muzaffarpur, India, 2014: a case-control study. Lancet Glob Health. 2017; 5(4): e458-e466. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30035-9; .Until the etiology (or etiologies) of these AES cases is determined, effective and efficient prevention of these cases will not be possible. - Mod.TYMaps of India: and ][See Also:Japanese encephalitis & other - India Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Poliomyelitis update (45): Pakistan (KP)
Polio -- PakistanAnother polio case on [Thu 13 Jun 2019] surfaced in Shangla, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ARY News reported.Sources in Health Ministry said that poliovirus had been confirmed in a 2-year-old boy in Shangla area of KP, bringing the total number of polio cases in the country to [23] this year [2019]. Sources further added that samples of the child were sent for tests on [30 May 2019].It is worth to note here that Poliovirus is creating havoc in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The virus Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Rocky Mountain spotted fever – USA: (KY)
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever -- United StatesAfter her 2-year-old son became ill because of Rocky Mountain spotted fever following a tick bite, the mother is sharing their story to raise awareness of tick-borne illnesses. "The only thing I had ever heard of was Lyme disease," the 24-old from Louisville, Kentucky, told TODAY. "This was the scariest experience of my life. I would never wish this on anyone else."When her son first had a slight fever she thought it was an ear infection. But when he became Read more [...]
Why your in-house legal department should understand hazmat shipping
Used to be, when Dangerous Goods pros heard from a lawyer, it could only mean one thing: bad news. Something went seriously wrong with a hazmat shipment. That mindset is changing. Will Troutman and Jim Shimko are trying to change it even faster. Troutman is a Partner with the Los Angeles office of the law…
25 ‘serious’ violations at U.K. chemical maker’s Delaware River plant – The Philadelphia Inquirer
25 ‘serious’ violations at U.K. chemical maker’s Delaware River plant The Philadelphia Inquirer
The British chemical-maker Croda failed to take required safety measures to prevent, protect, or contain leak of explosive gas at its Atlas Point chemical plant on …
Cleanup continues for hazardous material spill in Hamel – Alton Telegraph
Cleanup continues for hazardous material spill in Hamel Alton Telegraph
HAMEL — Officials say residents who may have been directly exposed to dust that may contain hazardous materials released after an accidental spill in Hamel …
Hazardous materials spill in Hamel prompts quick response – AdVantageNEWS.com
Hazardous materials spill in Hamel prompts quick response AdVantageNEWS.com
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Department of Public Health are working cooperatively with the Madison County Health Department …
PRO/EDR> Undiagnosed deaths – Dominican Republic (02): travelers, resort, poisoning susp
Undiagnosed -- Dominican RepublicMore than two million Americans visit the Dominican Republic every year, making up about a third of the country's tourists. Six have died in the last year during their visits. Because of the seeming similarities among their deaths, their family members have suggested that they are connected and have raised suspicions about the resorts where they died. Here's what we know, and don't know, about the circumstances.Who has died, and how?Yvette Monique Sport, 51, died Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Mercury contamination – India: coal-fired power plant, seafood
Poisoning -- IndiaSubhavana KL, Qureshi A, Roy A. Mercury levels in human hair in South India: baseline, artisanal goldsmiths and coal-fired power plants. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019; 29(1); Mercury comes in many forms. This article does not tell us what form of mercury is involved. However, without regard to the form, mercury is toxic to the body. Neither does the article tell us if the individuals have any clinical signs.This is a study [cited in the news report above] regarding sources Read more [...]
PRO/PL> Ice-ice disease, seaweed species – Philippines
Other Plant Disease -- PhilippinesSeaweed farming faces [a] dilemma with ice-ice disease. The Philippines is known to have more than 800 species of seaweeds, 2 of which are used in farms to extract carrageenan, a food enhancer. These are _Eucheuma_ and _Kappaphycus_, a source of livelihood for Filipinos in coastal areas. However, farmers are shying away because of lower yield caused mostly by the ice-ice disease.Only a small number of researchers in the world have sought to study the disease and Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Varicella update (06): Colombia (Bogota) prison
Chicken Pox -- ColombiaThe Personeria [legal entity] de Bogotá warned that an outbreak in the [El Buen Pastor women's prison] associated with cases of varicella (chickenpox) was found in courtyards 2, 4, and 6, which required about 951 persons deprived of their liberty to be quarantined and, in addition, to restrict visits.According to the complaint, the situation has been occurring since 22 May 2019, the day the 1st case of varicella was reported in courtyard 2.Such was the emergency that Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Typhoid fever – USA (03): (CA) police officer
Typhoid -- United StatesA Los Angeles police detective has been diagnosed with typhoid fever, a rare illness typically spread through contaminated food or water, and at least 5 other officers who work in the same station are showing symptoms, union officials said Thu 30 May 2019. The 6 officers work in the Central Division station, where a state investigation into unsafe and unsanitary working conditions led to penalties and more than USD 5000 in fines earlier in May 2019, documents show.The division Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Rabies (33): Americas, USA (AZ,NJ) cat, dog, skunk, bat, human exp
Rabies -- United StatesSeven Amado [Pima county] residents are going through a series of rabies shots after they were exposed to rabid kittens.A quarantined cat is at the Pima Animal Care Center [PACC]. 15 cats and 2 dogs are in quarantine after being exposed to a rabid skunk and rabid kittens at an Amado home.An Amado resident called the Pima Animal Care Center on 4 Jun 2019 to report several of her kittens had recently died. She said her 2 dogs had been in a fight with a skunk 2 weeks earlier and Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Porcine epidemic diarrhea – North America (04): Canada (MB) pig
Diarrhea -- CanadaThe porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus has appeared west of the Red River for the 1st time this year [2019].Manitoba Agriculture's most recent update on the number of infected premises from 6 Jun 2019 shows the virus has been found in 19 farms in southeast Manitoba and 2 in south central Manitoba in the Morris and Lowe Farm area.However, Manitoba Pork Council's manager of swine health programs Jenelle Hamblin told The Sun that 2 additional cases have been discovered Read more [...]
LFR responds to hazardous materials call – 1011now
LFR responds to hazardous materials call 1011now
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) Lincoln Fire and Rescue is on the scene of a hazardous materials response near the intersection of North 14th and Adams in Lincoln.
PRO/AH/EDR> African swine fever – Europe (20): Belgium (LX) wild boar, control policy
African Swine Fever -- BelgiumAlmost a month before the start of the hunting season on 1 Jul 2019, the Walloon government took a new decision to curb African swine fever [ASF] in the province of Luxembourg. The measures are intended to ensure a total depopulation of wild boar in the different zones defined within the perimeter infected by ASF, says Minister of Nature and Forest Rene Collin.In the core and buffer zones the destruction of wild boar will be carried out by the agents of the government Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Measles update (42)
Measles -- United States"Federal health officials attribute 2019's outbreak to parents who refuse to vaccinate their children..." This concerns me.Reports blaming vaccine hesitancy for low uptake may help drive understanding of how to address vaccine hesitancy. But they have adverse consequences: they make it easier for people to blame vaccine hesitancy when they should be blaming inadequate vaccination services (and funding better services); and, for those people who are hesitant, it may also validate Read more [...]
Wood preserving facility in west Eugene ordered to cleanup after environmental violations – KVAL
Wood preserving facility in west Eugene ordered to cleanup after environmental violations KVAL
EUGENE, Ore. – In west Eugene, there is a neighborhood where the houses are only separated from J. H. Baxter Wood Preserving Facility by a road. The site …
Hazmat situation near New Haven charter school, no danger to public – WTNH.com
Hazmat situation near New Haven charter school, no danger to public WTNH.comEmergency Crews Respond to Chemical Leak in New Haven NBC ConnecticutChemical leak reported at New Haven school WFSBChemical Leak Triggers New Haven School Shelter-In-Place New Haven, CT PatchNew Haven crews clean after haz-mat incident near school FOX61 HartfordView full coverage on Google News Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Campylobacteriosis – Norway: (HO)
Campylobacter -- NorwayNorwegian authorities said Tuesday [11 Jun 2019] they were trying to identify the source of water contamination that has sent dozens of people in southern Norway to the hospital. Since Thursday [6 Jun 2019], 55 people, including 13 children from Askoy, an island north of Bergen, have been hospitalized following the contamination. All have been discharged. Norwegian news agency NTB reported that in all, some 2000 people had fallen sick.A one-year-old child on the island died Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Hepatitis A – USA (21): CDC
Hepatitis A -- United StatesSince March 2017, CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) has been assisting multiple state and local health departments with hepatitis A outbreaks, spread through person-to-person contact.The hepatitis A vaccine is the best way to prevent HAV infection- The following groups are at highest risk for acquiring HAV infection or developing serious complications from HAV infection in these outbreaks and should be offered the hepatitis A vaccine in order to prevent or control Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola update (53): Uganda (KS) ex Congo DR (NK) 1st cross-border cases, MOH, WHO
Ebola -- DR CongoThe Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have confirmed a case of Ebola virus disease in Uganda. Although there have been numerous previous alerts, this is the 1st confirmed case in Uganda during the Ebola outbreak on-going in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.The confirmed case is a 5-year-old child from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who travelled with his family on [9 Jun 2019]. The child and his family entered the country through Bwera Read more [...]
Portland food plant evacuated for chemical leak – Lewiston Sun Journal
Portland food plant evacuated for chemical leak Lewiston Sun Journal
No one was injured when a leak of a poisonous refrigeration chemical caused the evacuation Wednesday of the Barber Foods plant on St. John Street.
Portland food plant evacuated for chemical leak – Press Herald
Portland food plant evacuated for chemical leak Press Herald
No one was injured when a leak of a poisonous refrigeration chemical caused the evacuation Wednesday of the Barber Foods plant on St. John Street.
Fire at Chemical Facility Forces Officials Into Quick Decisions – Government Technology
Fire at Chemical Facility Forces Officials Into Quick Decisions Government Technology
The chemists on hand advised that putting the fire out quickly was paramount, despite the risk that using fire hoses would cause the chemicals to run off.
PRO/PL> Fusarium wilts, cucurbits – Pakistan: (SD)
Other Plant Disease -- PakistanFungus attacks on gourd family crops hit Sindh farmers hard. Increasing salinity, extreme heat, and mysterious diseases together have made farmers reluctant to cultivate this crop. Many farmers say that mysterious "virus" [see comment below] destroys plant and product. Farmers in a coastal region of Thatta district [Sindh] have also witnessed the same problem of "virus" attacks on melon crop. Some have tried to use pesticides, but in vain.Prof Ismail Kumbhar, Sindh Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Japanese encephalitis & other – India (03): (BR)
Japanese Encephalitis -- IndiaAt least 28 children have died in the last one month in Muzaffarpur district of north Bihar, allegedly due to AES, which is locally known as Chamki bukhar (brain fever).Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has expressed concern over the rising deaths of children in Muzaffarpur. He said, "A team of doctors and medical experts have been sent to Muzaffarpur to monitor the situation and also speed up the awareness drive about complexities and preventive measures about AES.""Till Read more [...]
Croda faces OSHA penalties after release of chemical – delawarebusinessnow.com
Croda faces OSHA penalties after release of chemical delawarebusinessnow.com
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to fine Croda Inc. after a chemical release at the New Castle plant exposed …
Chemical spill cleanup continues as EPA, DEP monitor work – 69News WFMZ-TV
Chemical spill cleanup continues as EPA, DEP monitor work 69News WFMZ-TV
Cleanup crews will have their hands full for weeks following a chemical spill at a plant in Berks County.
Cause of serious chemical leak released – newschannel20.com
Cause of serious chemical leak released newschannel20.com
Federal investigators are now releasing the cause of a serious chemical leak that sent dozens of people to the hospital. According to the report, valves on farm …
Spill draws hazardous material personnel to St. Paul Park sanitation company – Star Tribune
Spill draws hazardous material personnel to St. Paul Park sanitation company Star Tribune
Numerous Department vehicles and at least one ambulance is on the scene.
PRO/AH/EDR> Brucellosis – Algeria: (TR) unpasteurized dairy
Foodborne Illness -- AlgeriaA total of 3 cases of brucellosis, known as "Malta fever", a disease that affects farm animals, were recorded at Ksar-Chellala, in the far east of the Tiaret wilaya (province). These are 3 women who consumed curd in the last days of Ramadan, according to doctors at the local hospital. In all, more than 150 cases of brucellosis in humans have been recorded since the beginning of 2019.According to the Department of Health and Population (DSP), the wilaya of Tiaret has recorded Read more [...]
Initial tests show suspicious letter sent to Taylor Co. Courthouse contained no hazardous materials – Big Country Homepage
Initial tests show suspicious letter sent to Taylor Co. Courthouse contained no hazardous materials Big Country Homepage
A suspicious letter sent to the Taylor County Courthouse Monday afternoon tested negative for hazardous substances.
No hazardous materials found in suspicious letter, FBI conducting its own tests – KTXS
No hazardous materials found in suspicious letter, FBI conducting its own tests KTXS
UPDATE: There were no hazardous materials found in the suspicious letter sent to the Taylor County Courthouse Monday. A public affairs officer with the FBI …
25 ‘serious’ violations found at UK chemical maker’s Delaware plant – The Philadelphia Inquirer
25 ‘serious’ violations found at UK chemical maker’s Delaware plant The Philadelphia Inquirer
The findings relate to a Nov. 25 ethylene oxide leak that closed the neighboring Delaware Memorial Bridge, snarling holiday traffic on the nearby New Jersey …
Beach Park chemical leak caused by open valves on ammonia tanks, federal investigators say – WLS-TV
Beach Park chemical leak caused by open valves on ammonia tanks, federal investigators say WLS-TV
BEACH PARK, Ill. — Federal investigators say open valves on farm fertilizer tanks apparently led to a serious ammonia leak that injured 41 people in Illinois in …
OSHA cites, proposes penalties to Croda for Nov. chemical release that snarled holiday traffic – WDEL 1150AM
OSHA cites, proposes penalties to Croda for Nov. chemical release that snarled holiday traffic WDEL 1150AM
OSHA: workers at New Castle Croda plant were put into jeopardy because of lapses in planning and training.
