42 pregnant women died in two months
Of these, 11 were due to hepatitis E. Alarmed by this sum total of 42 maternal deaths, the BMC has sought to gather data on the possible causes.
lundi 8 août 2011
Norovirus ebbs in retirement village | Stuff.co.nz
Norovirus ebbs in retirement village | Stuff.co.nz
A norovirus outbreak in an Invercargill retirement village has resulted in 163 people being struck down with the illness in recent weeks, but patients and staff are now on the mend, a health boss says.
Otago-Southland Medical Officer of Health Marion Poore said Public Health South had been working closely with the Rowena Jackson Retirement Village since the first case of norovirus came to its attention at the site on July 15.
Public Health South records showed 48 staff and 115 residents had been affected by the virus. But there were no new cases yesterday and the outbreak was coming under control, she said..
NCSU News :: NC State News and Information » NC State Gets $25 Million Grant to Nullify Norovirus
NCSU News :: NC State News and Information » NC State Gets $25 Million Grant to Nullify Norovirus
North Carolina State University will use a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to strengthen food safety by studying human noroviruses across the food supply chain in an effort to design effective control measures and reduce the number of virus-caused food-borne illnesses.
Human noroviruses are the most common cause of food-borne disease, responsible for more than 5 million cases in the United States each year. Noroviruses spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water, and by touching contaminated surfaces. Molluscan shellfish like oysters, clams and mussels, fresh produce and foods that are extensively handled just prior to consumption are at greatest risk for contamination.
Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, a professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at NC State, is the lead investigator of this five-year project. Her group, called the USDA-NIFA Food Virology Collaborative, consists of a team of more than 30 collaborators from academia, industry and government. The team will work to increase understanding of the viruses; educate producers, processors and food handlers on safe handling and preparation of food; and develop control and management strategies to reduce food contamination before and after harvesting.
“Most public-health professionals, food-industry professionals and consumers continue to believe that bacteria, not viruses, are the most common cause of food-borne disease,” Jaykus says. “This is in large part because human noroviruses are difficult to study – they cannot be cultivated outside of the human body, there are few commercial diagnostic tests available in the United States, and only a few scientists are trained specifically in food virology.
“We anticipate this project will result in enhanced understanding, surveillance and control of food-borne human noroviruses, with the ultimate goal of reducing the burden of food-borne disease caused by viruses.”
The project has six core objectives:
- Develop improved methods of studying human noroviruses and their role in food-borne illnesses.
- Develop and validate rapid and practical methods to detect human noroviruses.
- Collect and analyze data on viral food-borne illnesses – including how they are transmitted – and provide risk and cost analyses.
- Improve understanding of how human noroviruses behave in the food-safety chain in order to develop scientifically justifiable control measures
- Develop online courses and curricula for food safety and health professionals and food service workers, and provide information to fresh produce and shellfish producers and processors on the risks, management and control of food-borne viruses.
- Develop a public literature database, build virus research capabilities in state public health laboratories, and develop graduate-level curricula to educate masters and doctoral students trained in food virology.
Other NC State researchers involved in the project include Drs. Trevor Phister and David Green (food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences); Orlin Velev (chemical and biomolecular engineering); Ben Chapman (4H and youth development); Otto (Chip) Simmons (biological and agricultural engineering); and Chris Gunter (horticultural science).
In addition to NC State, which serves at the lead institution, the core team includes scientists from Clemson University, Baylor College of Medicine, Emory University, RTI International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Georgia, NC A&T State University, NC Central University, and the Institute for Food Safety and Health at Illinois Institute of Technology. Other key collaborators hail from the University of Delaware, the Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, the U.S. FDA and USDA Agricultural Research Service, Arizona State University, New Mexico State University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Rutgers University. Various industrial and government stakeholders will serve the collaborative in advisory capacity.
© North Carolina State University
Hepatitis E leads to 8 maternal deaths in city - Times Of India
Hepatitis E leads to 8 maternal deaths in city - Times Of India
MUMBAI: The government's measures to curb maternal deaths notwithstanding, 10 pregnant women from the city and 30 from other districts in the state died in the last two months. Hepatitis E has emerged as one of the prime reasons behind the deaths.
In the city, the women died either during or after delivery in civic-run or private maternity homes. Besides Hepatitis E, anaemia and infection-related illnesses claimed turned out to be the next big killers.
Statistics show that of the 23 deaths in June, 18 were residents of Mumbai, while the rest were from far-off places. Reports say out of the 18, eight died due to Hepatitis E and other ailments claimed the remaining two.
Gastro outbreak
Parents warned of gastro outbreak
Queensland Health has sent letters to parents in a western Queensland community about an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
The department's public health unit says a number of cases have been reported in Barcaldine and Longreach and it is believed they are being caused by a virus.
Longreach Hospital medical superintendent Dr John Douyere says it is highly infectious.
"The recommendation is that children should not return to school or day care facilities until they've recovered from diarrhoea and vomiting for at least 48 hours," he said.
"Children are still infectious for some time after they are clinically better and after they've stopped vomiting, so if we want to break the cycle of this illness and stop the spread of it, it is one of the best strategies that we can use.
"There's been a significant change in gastroenteritis in children since the introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine.
"This particular current gastroenteritis that we are seeing is thought to be not due to Rotavirus.
"There are a number of other viruses that can cause it. The public health team are currently testing samples from people in Barcaldine."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-04/parents-warned-of-gastro-outbreak/2824106
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