Archive for Global Disease Alerts
PRO/PL> Swollen shoot, cocoa – Ghana
Other Plant Disease -- GhanaThe Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has urged farmers to fully welcome the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Program as they prepare to clear cocoa affected with swollen shoot. Their checks have revealed that out of a total of 1.9 million hectares [about 4.7 million acres] of cocoa farms surveyed, 315 800 hectares [about 780 000 acres] have been affected by the swollen shoot virus disease. The Western North Region alone had 214 500 hectares [about 530 000 acres] of affected farms.Cocobod Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Streptococcus suis – Thailand: raw pork or pork blood
Strep -- ThailandThe Thailand Division of Disease Control (DDC) with the Ministry of Health (MOH) is warning (computer translated) the public against eating pork that isn't properly cooked due to the risk of _Streptococcus suis_ infection. During the first 3 months of 2019, health officials have reported 50 _S. suis_ infections, including 10 fatalities.The risk to the community is raw pork dishes mixed with raw pigs blood, like spicy minced pork and spicy blood pork soup.Human _Streptococcus suis_ Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Snake fungal disease – USA: (KY)
Other Animal Disease -- United StatesMurray State University student researchers say a recent field study found some snakes caught in far west Kentucky tested positive for an emerging fungal disease that could be devastating to snakes across the state and country.Snake fungal disease (SFD) was first identified by New Hampshire researchers in 2006, when the fungus killed off about half of a timber rattlesnake population. It typically grows on the snake's scales, creating lesions on the snake's body. Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Rift Valley fever – Mayotte (09): animal, human, control, prevention
Rift Valley Fever -- Région d'outre-mer de Mayotte, France1. Ministry of Agriculture and Food, France. Presentation: Rift Valley fever (RVF) situation in Mayotte, a French department in the Indian Ocean. EU - Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCPAFF), 21 Mar 2019 committee meeting; .2. Chevalier V, Pepin M, Plee L, Lancelot R. Rift Valley fever -- a threat for Europe? Euro Surveill. 2010; 15(10): pii=19506; .3. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Rift Valley Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Legionellosis – USA (05): (CA) fatal, prison hospital
Legionnaires' -- United StatesOfficials from the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections are investigating the presence of deadly Legionnaires' disease bacteria at a Central Valley prison. Last month [March 2019], one inmate at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton (CHCF) died of the disease -- considered a severe form of pneumonia -- and a 2nd inmate tested positive for the bacteria but is now in stable condition.Corrections officials had thought the bacteria were isolated Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Hepatitis A – USA (15): (FL) focal fatalities
Hepatitis A -- United StatesLess than a month after his brother and sister-in-law died from complications of hepatitis A, and just days after he visited Palm City where they lived, a man from Burlington, Vermont died. According to Truman, the death is being investigated by the Vermont agency in conjunction with the Martin County Health Department.Truman said the Vermont Medical Examiner's Office still is working to find the cause of death and that a death certificate has not been created yet.The Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Rabies (20): Americas (USA) cat, bobcat, horse, human exp
Rabies -- United StatesHealth officials are warning pet owners after a cat tested positive for rabies in Gadsden county.The Florida department of health says It's just one of dozens of confirmed reports of rabies in Florida in 2019 which is why they are trying to spread the word to vaccinate your pets.It started with a Quincy resident having to put down her cat after learning it had rabies and couldn't be cured.And other pet owners are taking the news seriously."And I hope it does everyone the same Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Equine herpesvirus – North America: USA (12): USA (ID) horse
Equine Herpes Virus -- United StatesHerpesvirus is highly contagious among horses and can cause a variety of ailments in equids, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses), abortion in broodmares, and EHM.In many horses, the 1st or only sign of EHV-1 infection is fever, which can go undetected. In addition to fever, other common signs of EHV-1 infection in young horses include cough, decreased appetite, depression, and a nasal discharge. Pregnant mares typically Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Rift Valley fever – Mayotte (08): increase in cases, human, cattle
Rift Valley Fever -- Région d'outre-mer de Mayotte, FranceIn total, since the beginning of the epidemic (end of November [2018]): Samples taken by veterinarians from sick animals or during abortions have identified 104 foci of sick animals (including 82 bovines). Animal foci are mainly located in the center and north-west of the island. Additional outbreaks have appeared since the end of March [2019] in the communes of Dembeni, as well as on Petite Terre.The CHM [Mayotte Hospital Center] laboratory Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Chronic wasting disease – USA (10): (VA) deer
Chronic Wasting Disease -- United StatesThe Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a male deer (buck) legally harvested in Culpeper county in November 2018.A cooperating taxidermist submitted the sample to DGIF in late January [2019]. At the time this deer was harvested, the hunter did not notice any outward signs of disease and the buck appeared to be in good condition.While CWD has been documented in northwest Virginia for over 9 years, Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Hepatitis A – USA (14): spread
Hepatitis A -- United StatesThe Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) says there is currently a hepatitis A outbreak in several northeast Alabama counties. It says since 1 Sep 2018, there have been 26 confirmed cases of hepatitis A in Jackson county, and 19 confirmed cases in DeKalb county. There have been a total of 51 cases throughout the state in that same time frame. As of 16 Apr 2019, the ADPH says there are 22 active cases in Jackson county and 12 cases in DeKalb county. Unlike similar, Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update (11): Asia (Yemen)
Cholera -- YemenAt least 195 000 suspected cases of cholera have been registered in Yemen since 1 Jan 2019 while more than 3000 people have died of the disease since 2016, according to an international aid NGO. "Some 195 000 people are suspected to have contracted the disease so far this year [2019], of whom more than 38 000 are in districts that are hard for aid agencies to reach," Oxfam, a UK-based umbrella of charity organizations, said in a Thu 18 Apr 2019 statement. "More than 3000 people have Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> African swine fever – Asia (34): China (HA) domestic, spread
African Swine Fever -- ChinaChina said on Friday [19 Apr 2019] that it had confirmed outbreaks of African swine fever [ASF] in 2 locations in Hainan province, an island off its southern coast. The incurable disease was found on 2 small pig farms in Danzhou city and 2 farms in Wanning city.The disease has now been found in every province and region on the mainland, including Hainan Island, since it was 1st detected in August 2018.[Byline: Dominique Patton]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail[The province Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola update (39): Congo DR (NK, IT) cases, summary, response
Ebola -- DR Congo- On Fri 19 Apr 2019, a Cameroonian epidemiologist deployed by the World Health Organization, Dr. Richard Mouzoko Kiboung, died of his injuries during an attack at clinics at the Catholic University of Graben, Butembo. Dr. Richard was the coordinator of the response in the Vutsundo health area. He was chairing a meeting with his team when 3 armed men burst into the room and opened fire on the team members. A local doctor and a driver were also injured in the attack. The attackers Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Mumps update (07): Europe (Ireland), USA (IN, PA, UT)
Mumps -- IrelandThe HSE [Ireland's national health service] says it "had not seen diseases like measles in Donegal, Sligo or Leitrim for a number of years, because 95% of children were vaccinated against them. Last year [2018], the uptake of childhood vaccinations dropped slightly in Donegal, and this resulted in an outbreak of measles in January this year [2019]."The HSE says "There is also an ongoing mumps outbreak across Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. The HSE has been notified of 116 cases so far."As Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> African swine fever – South Africa (02): (MP) domestic, OIE
African Swine Fever -- South AfricaInformation received on [and dated] 18 Apr 2018 from Dr. Bothle Michael Modisane, Chief Director, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Animal Production and Health, Pretoria, South AfricaSummaryReport type: Immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 15 Apr 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 17 Apr 2019Report date: 18 Apr 2019Date submitted to OIE: 18 Apr 2019Reason for notification: Recurrence of a listed diseaseDate of previous occurrence: Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Lassa fever – West Africa (23): Nigeria
Lassa Fever -- NigeriaHighlights- In the reporting week 15 (8-14 Apr 2019), 3 new confirmed cases were reported from 2 states -- Edo (1) and Plateau (2) -- with no new deaths.- From 1 Jan to 14 Apr 2019, a total of 2217 suspected cases have been reported from 21 states. Of these, 540 were confirmed positive, 15 probable and 1662 negative (not a case) (Table 1 [not shown]).- Since the onset of the 2019 outbreak, there have been 122 deaths in confirmed cases. Case fatality ratio in confirmed cases Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Yellow fever – Americas (07): Brazil, WHO
Yellow Fever -- BrazilIn Brazil, seasonal increases of yellow fever have historically occurred between December and May. During the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, the number of yellow fever cases was much larger than in previous years (Figures 1 & 2). The increase in cases was partly due to a geographical expansion of the areas affected by yellow fever to include areas previously considered risk-free (Figure 3).In the current 2018-2019 season (July 2018 to March 2019), a total of 75 confirmed Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> MERS-CoV (43): Saudi Arabia (RI, SH)
MERS -- Saudi ArabiaIn the period since the last update [10 Apr 2019, MERS-CoV (42): Saudi Arabia (SH, JZ) http://promedmail.org/post/20190410.6414811], there have been a total of 4 newly confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection and 12 outcome reports: 3 fatalities of previously confirmed cases and 9 recoveries.Information on newly confirmed cases (4):[1]Date of confirmation report: 11 Apr 2019Case No: 19-1906MERS in Alkharj city: 64-year-old male in Alkharj city, Riyadh regionContact with camels: Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (31): Cambodia (TA) poultry, HPAI H5N6, OIE
Avian Influenza H5N6 -- CambodiaInformation received on [and dated] 18 Apr 2019 from Mr. Phannara Tan, Director General, General Directorate of Animal Health and Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, CambodiaSummaryReport type: Immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 25 Mar 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 27 Mar 2019Reason for notification: New strain of a listed disease in the countryCausal agent: Highly pathogenic avian influenza virusSerotype: Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Listeriosis – USA (02): fatal, deli-sliced meats and cheeses
Listeriosis -- United States- People who are at higher risk for _Listeria_ infection should avoid eating lunch meats, cold cuts, or other deli meats unless they are heated to an internal temperature of 165 deg F [74 deg C] just before serving.- If you develop symptoms of a _Listeria_ infection after eating deli-sliced products, contact a healthcare provider and tell them you ate deli-sliced products. This is especially important if you are pregnant, age 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system.- Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (30): Bangladesh (KH) crow, HPAI H5, OIE
Avian Influenza -- BangladeshInformation received on [and dated] 17 Apr 2019 from Dr. Hiresh Rajan Bhowmik, Director General, Department of Livestock Services, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka, BangladeshSummaryReport type: Immediate notification (final report)Date of start of the event: 15 Dec 2018Date of confirmation of the event: 11 Apr 2019Report date: 17 Apr 2019Date submitted to OIE: 17 Apr 2019Date event resolved: 15 Jan 2019Reason for notification: Recurrence of a listed diseaseDate Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Coccidioidomycosis – USA (02): ex Mexico, volunteer construction service, 2018
Valley Fever -- United States1. Toda M, Gonzalez FJ, Fonseca-Ford M, et al. Notes from the field: Multistate coccidioidomycosis outbreak in U.S. residents returning from community service trips to Baja California, Mexico -- July-August 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019; 68:332-333; .]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts[Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as valley fever, is a fungal disease caused by inhalation of spores of _Coccidioides immitis_ or _C. posadasii_, dimorphic saprophytic Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> African swine fever – Asia (33): China, domestic, epidemiology, control policy
African Swine Fever -- ChinaChina will allow large-scale pig farms and breeding farms to test for African swine fever [ASF] in a bid to help early detection of the disease, overturning an earlier prohibition on commercial firms carrying out their own testing.The agriculture ministry has asked local husbandry bureaus to encourage large farms to obtain testing kits for the deadly virus that has swept through the country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on its website on Tuesday [16 Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease – Comoros: (MO) cattle, st O, OIE
Foot and Mouth -- ComorosInformation received on [and dated] 17 Apr 2019 from Dr Youssouf Ousseni Moutroifi, [responsible for animal health, Directorate of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment, and Urban Planning], Moroni, ComorosSummaryReport type: immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 15 Mar 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 16 Apr 2019Reason for notification: 1st occurrence of a listed diseaseManifestation of disease: clinical diseaseCausal agent: Foot and Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Poliomyelitis update (27): global (Nigeria), Pakistan sewage sampling
Polio -- NigeriaNew wild poliovirus cases reported this week: 0Total number of wild poliovirus cases in 2019: 9Total number of wild poliovirus cases in 2018: 33New cVDPV cases reported this week: 1Total number of cVDPV cases (all types) in 2019: 5Total number of cVDPV cases (all types) in 2018: 104Headlines- Co-chairs of Immunization Management Group (IMG) announced that the global goal set out in 2013 of 126-OPV using countries to introduce one dose of IPV in their immunization programme Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Peste des petits ruminants – Libya: (BG) sheep, goats, OIE
Peste des petits ruminants -- LibyaInformation received on [and dated] 17 Apr 2019 from Dr. Zakaria Mohamed Mustafa Elkhatal, Director General, National Centre for Animal Health (NCAH), Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Marine Wealth, Tripoli, LibyaSummaryReport type: Immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 27 Jan 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 3 Apr 2019Reason for notification: Recurrence of a listed diseaseDate of previous occurrence: 7 Jun 2018Manifestation of disease: Clinical Read more [...]
PRO/ALL> New in IJID (04): April 2019
Staph -- ChinaObservational study of nasopharyngeal carriage of _Neisseria meningitidis_ in applicants to a military academy in the Russian FederationSergey Sidorenko, Sergei Zakharenko, Yuri Lobzin, Konstantin Zhdanov, Elvira Martens, Vladimir Gostev, Alexey Mokhov, Marina Volkova, Olga Kalinogorskaya, Ludmila Gelezova, Alexander Goldstein, Moe H. KyawInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 81, April 2019, Pages 12-16_Streptococcus pyogenes_ infections with limited emm-type Read more [...]
PRO/EDR> Hepatitis A – USA (13): (KY, WV, OH)
Hepatitis A -- United StatesAge range 1-87Median age 37Male 1449 (58%)Hospitalizations 1227 (49.9%)Deaths 21Risk factors------------Co-infection with hepatitis C (information available for 1881 cases): 1053 (56%)Co-infection with hepatitis B (information available for 1881 cases): 193 (10.3%)Reports illicit drug use (information available for 2110 cases): 1478 (70%)Homeless: 235 (9.5%)--Communicated by:ProMED-mail[Date / Cases / New cases per week23 May 2018 / 106 / -29 Jun 2018 / Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed mass mortality, pig – Papua New Guinea: (SL) RFI
Undiagnosed -- Papua New GuineaThe people of Nipa in Southern Highlands are warned not to touch, eat or sell any meat from pigs that have died there mysteriously.The general public travelling to Hela has also been warned not to buy any pork sold at roadside markets.Nipa Station Department of Primary Industries officer Justin Kiap has received confirmation of the death of more than 100 pigs. "This is new and I cannot really tell what caused the deaths," Kiap said.Villagers at Nipa said the pigs died Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Classical swine fever – Japan (06): (GF) domestic
Classical Swine Fever -- JapanToday [17 Apr 2019], a suspected case of hog cholera [classical swine fever, CSF] has been confirmed at a pig farm in Ena city, Gifu prefecture.All required preventive measures against this disease have been applied. The farm stopped all movements of the breeding pigs since the disease was suspected. We expect the public's cooperation in strictly refraining from visits to the location to avoid the spread of this disease.1. Outline of outbreak farmLocation: Gifu prefecture, Read more [...]
PRO/PL> Pantoea leaf blight, rice – Malaysia: 1st rep
Other Plant Disease -- Malaysia_Pantoea_ spp. cause severe diseases [on rice]. In September 2017 and April 2018, bacterial leaf blight of rice (MR269 and CL varieties) was observed in the states of Selangor and Kedah, with 80% disease incidence. Symptoms were water-soaked stripes with yellowing color, which later turned into brown stripes on the upper part of leaves.From symptomatic leaves, 10 representative bacterial colonies were isolated. [For] all isolates, PCR amplification [for] _Pantoea_ species Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> MDR bacteria – UK, Israel: pets
Antimicrobial resistance -- United KingdomA gene that enables bacteria to be highly resistant to linezolid, an antibiotic that is used as a last resort for treating infections in humans, has been found in bacterial samples from cats and a dog at a small-animal hospital in the UK for the 1st time. The new research is being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 Apr 2019).Linezolid is licensed for the treatment Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Dengue/DHF update (09): Asia, Pacific, Africa, research
Dengue -- Sri LankaResearchers in the USA have genetically modified mosquitoes to make humans less attractive to them, a discovery that could dramatically reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and Zika fever.Female mosquitoes have been long known to use an array of sensory information to find people to bite. They can sense exhaled carbon dioxide from as far as 10 m [32.8 ft] away and are also able to detect body odour, heat, and moisture.But new research, published Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Rabbit hemorrhagic disease – Canada (BC): rabbits
Hemorrhagic Fever -- CanadaThe reappearance on Vancouver Island of the deadly rabbit disease which swept across the Lower Mainland last spring has Richmond's rabbit community on alert.The B.C. government and the BC SPCA issued warnings last week that rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) has resurfaced in the Parksville area, with 4 rabbits dying from the highly infectious virus.Last year [2018], Richmond-based no-kill animal charity RAPS had to euthanize its entire 66-rabbit population on the orders Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Anthrax – Argentina: human, livestock, 2018
Anthrax -- ArgentinaSummary--------After 41 years of assessments, we insist that in order to control rural carbuncle "it is necessary to have a certificate of vaccination of susceptible categories and to efficiently eliminate the carcasses of bovines dying all of a sudden." These 2 sanitation activities would provide encouraging results for control of this endemic zoonosis in this stock-breeding country.1. Assessment area of rural carbuncle in the province of Buenos Aires (1977-2018): It was not Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola update (38): Congo DR (NK, IT) cases, summary, WHO, response, research
Ebola -- DR CongoOn Tue 16 Apr 2019, the President of the Republic, Felix Tshisekedi, visited the response teams during his trip to Beni. He visited the Ebola treatment center where he witnessed the release of a cured patient to whom he gave the clearance certificate. He spoke at length with various agents of the team who explained the functioning of the response, including patient care and mobile laboratories of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB). He commended the health workers Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> African horse sickness: Cameroon, Swaziland, OIE
African Horse Sickness -- CameroonInformation received on [and dated] 17 Apr 2019 from Dr Marcel Casimir Ndongo Kounou, Directeur, Services veterinaires, Ministere de l'Elevage, des Peches & des Industries Animales, Yaounde, CameroonSummaryReport type: immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 10 Mar 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 20 Mar 2019Report date: 17 Apr 2019Date submitted to OIE: 17 Apr 2019Reason for notification: 1st occurrence of a listed disease in the countryCausal Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Anthrax – Hungary: (BE) cattle, OIE
Anthrax -- HungaryInformation received on [and dated] 16 Apr 2019 from Dr Lajos Bognar, deputy state secretary chief veterinary officer, Food Chain Safety Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Budapest, HungarySummaryReport type: immediate notificationDate of start of the event: 11 Apr 2019Date of confirmation of the event: 15 Apr 2019Date submitted to OIE: 16 Apr 2019Reason for notification: recurrence of a listed diseaseDate of previous occurrence: 2 Aug 2018Manifestation of disease: Read more [...]
PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed mass mortality, pig – Papua New Guinea (02): (SL) comment