Students line up at the Princeton University student center on Monday to receive shots of an imported vaccine aimed at stopping a dangerous meningitis outbreak. Princeton University
Meningitis Scare at Universities
Tag Archives: Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
60 years in an iron lung: US polio survivor worries about new global threat
Martha Ann Lillard, of Shawnee, Okla., in an iron lung as a child. Lillard has been in an iron lung since she was paralyzed by polio in 1953 at age 5….
Meningitis Outbreak at Princeton University
A group walks on a tour at Princeton University Wednesday, May 9, 2012., in Princeton, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Emergency meningitis vaccine will be imported to halt Ivy League outbreak
New Bird Flu Infects Human for First Time
The TINY foot wound that killed a man in just 28 hours as part of the flesh-eating bacterial infection that is sweeping Florida
SOURCE – At first he thought it was a ‘harmless insect bite’.
But little did Henry Konietzky know that, 28 painful hours after noticing a small abrasion on his foot, he would become the ninth person this year to be killed by the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.
Pictures have emerged of the tiny legion that appeared on the Florida father’s right foot on Sunday, the day after he went crabbing in the Halifax River in Florida with his wife, Patty.
This was the first sympton that manifested on Henry Konietzky after he was infected with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria in a Florida river at the weekend. Mr Konietzky died on Monday after the infection overtook his body
Mr Konietzky had stepped on some ants before getting into the water, sustaining small bites.
Doctors believe this was the gateway that allowed him to become infected by the flesh-eating bacteria, which is considered one of the deadliest strands of bacterium in the world and usually forms every year in the warm saltwater swimming holes of Florida.
Measles Outbreak
Tied to Texas megachurch sickens 21 where ministers have questioned vaccination sickens at least 21, expected to grow
An outbreak of measles tied to a Texas megachurch where ministers have questioned vaccination has sickened at least 21 people, including a 4-month-old infant — and it’s expected to grow, state and federal health officials said.
“There’s likely a lot more susceptible people,” said Dr. Jane Seward, the deputy director for the viral diseases division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sixteen people — nine children and seven adults — ranging in age from 4 months to 44 years had come down with the highly contagious virus in Tarrant County, Texas, as of Monday. Another five cases are part of the outbreak in nearby Denton County.
Diarrheal disease sickens 372, may be linked to salad
More than 370 people in 15 states have fallen sick due to a cyclospora outbreak, possiblly the result of a contaminated packages of salad mix.
USA TODAY
An outbreak of a diarrheal disease that has sickened 372 people in 15 states since June may be linked to a bagged salad mix.
“The evidence points to a salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, as well as carrots and red cabbage, as the source of the outbreak reported in Iowa and Nebraska,” Steven Mandernach, chief of the Food and Consumer Safety Bureau of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, said in a release Tuesday.
The investigation by Iowa and Nebraska health officials found that at least 80% of people in those states infected in the cyclospora outbreak had eaten a prepackaged salad mix.
Stomach bug linked to produce sickens 285 in 11 states
Cases of cyclosporiasis have affected residents in 11 states, with symptoms including watery diarrhea, vomiting and body ache.
FDA investigating breakout of intestinal bug: Cyclosporiasis
At least 285 people in 11 states have been sickened by a parasitic infection commonly linked to fresh produce, and the exact cause of the outbreak has yet to be pinpointed, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
Most of the cyclospora infections have been clustered in the Midwest, with 138 cases reported in Iowa and 70 in neighboring Nebraska. The remainder have been identified in Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio.
The cause of the illness has not yet been identified, but the parasite is most commonly found in fresh produce, including fruits, vegetables and herbs, grown in tropical and subtropical regions, according to Dr. Barbara Herwaldt, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC.
WHO calls Middle Eastern virus, MERS, ‘threat to the entire world’ as death toll rises
The SARS-like virus has so far killed 24 people, more than half of those diagnosed.
China’s Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, WHO, delivers a speech during the 66th World Health Assembly at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, May 20, 2013. AP Photo/Health Protection Agency
Calling it a “threat to the entire world,” the head of the World Health Organization sounded the alarm over the Middle Eastern virus that has so far killed 24 people.
Speaking on Monday in Geneva at the global health monitor’s annual conference, Dr. Margaret Chan did not mince words about the SARS-like novel coronavirus that researchers call MERS.
Most Americans: I’m immune from disaster
Poll finds few see need to prepare for emergency
Whether it be the threat of terrorism, an electro-magnetic pulse attack, a flood, a tornado or fire, most Americans apparently believe they are immune.
That’s according to a new poll by Zogby Analytics said that only one American in four is concerned that a disaster of some kind will affect his or her community.
Just 36 percent, the survey said, have an established emergency response plan in place.
The poll by State University of New York Institute of Technology and Zogby was conducted online May 8-9 and reached out to 1,000 adults nationwide. It has a sample error rate of 3.2 percentage points.
It was released in conjunction with the “Safety and Security in the Global Age” conference on the SUNY campus.
“When asked of the likelihood if a series of emergency situations were to occur in their community, the following percentages said the emergency was ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’: 26 percent a general emergency, 24 percent an industrial accident, 23 percent a natural disaster, 20 percent a mass shooting, 19 percent a terrorist attack, and 15 percent a health pandemic,” the report said.
“If such an emergency situation were to occur, the most likely locations cited were a shopping mall (46 percent), an airport or train station (43 percent), a stadium or arena (42 percent), on a bus/plane or train (38 percent), an outdoor sporting or community event (35 percent), a school (30 percent), a roadway (28 percent ) or office building (28 percent), a bridge (27 percent), a hospital (25 percent), or at home (22 percent),” said the report.
Also, 55 percent said they were “confident” that they knew safety procedures, but only 36 percent said they have a plan for emergencies “in place.” That’s despite a number of websites that provide guidance and resources for emergencies.
Zogby reported that in case of a neighborhood emergency, more Americans said their family (53 percent) was prepared than their local government (44 percent).
Airports (41 percent), schools (39 percent) and employers (31 percent) were estimated to be even less prepared.
“In case of a national emergency, Americans are most trusting in local law enforcement in case of a shooting (58 percent), the FBI in case of a terrorist attack (53 percent), the Centers for Disease Control in case of a pandemic (49 percent), and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in case of a natural disaster (45 percent),” the report said.
But the poll shows Americans still are concerned about privacy and not always supportive of “security” measures.
“In several situations tested, Americans gave little support to retinal scans and searches of personal items – but there were some differences depending on the specific situations. A majority (58 percent) supported bag searches at airports and train stations. Armed security was more acceptable at airports and train stations (49 percent) but not at office buildings (23 percent), hospitals (32 percent), schools (34 percent), and shopping malls (38 percent),” the poll reported.
The idea of a national ID card was rejected with only 27 percent supporting the idea. But microchips for felons who served time for violent crimes were supported by 34 percent, ID cards for adults 42 percent, public road security cameras 46 percent, registration of bomb ingredients 47 percent, national fingerprinting 47 percent and background checks for firearms and large ammunition purchases 64 percent.
Pollster John Zogby said Americans “feel they are knowledgeable about preparation for emergency/disaster situations but only one in three have actual preparedness plans.”
“When it comes to such situations, all emergency relief is local – i.e. Americans trust family and local law enforcement more than government or larger institutions,” he said. “We seek and trust the familiar more than the agencies we support by taxes. This country was founded on personal liberty and more than a decade after the events of 9-11 and only weeks after the Boston Marathon Bombings, Americans are not too willing to give up many of those liberties.”
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