E.Coli infection linked to romaine lettuce claims one life

Sadly, on Wednesday May 2nd , the CDC reported that one person has died in California from the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region in the United States.This is the first known fatality from the outbreak.

The CDC also reported 23 additional cases of illness from 10 states, bringing the total number of cases 121 since March. Kentucky, Massachussets and Utah are the new states with reported cases.

There are concerns that the strain of E.Coli identified is particularly virulent and and associated with more complications and hospitalizations.

Read PREVIOUS 

Latest: More E.Coli cases linked to Romaine Lettuce

Thirty-one more persons from 10 states  have been reported ill from the romaine lettuce infection, taking the count to 84 cases (41 hospitalizations) from 19 states since the last update on April 18, 2018.

Colorado, Georgia, and South Dakota make up the 3 additional states with cases.

According to the CDC website, age of infected persons range from 1 to 88 years and most recent illness started on April 12, 2018. 

Due to the time between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported to CDC , illnesses that occurred in the last couple of weeks might not have been reported.

For now, taking necessary precautions and checking the source of your lettuce is strongly recommended.

Read original post HERE

Medic-ALL 2018

Outbreak: Eat your Greens, Beware of Lettuce

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you never blame the lettuce- Thich Nhat Hanh

Fifty-Three cases of Escherichia coli infections across 16 states in the United States, linked to romaine lettuce consumption led to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing warnings to consumers last week.

All the  lettuce contaminated with the E.coli O157:H7 strain has so far been traced to Yuma, Arizona and the public are advised not to buy or consume any lettuce except it has been confirmed that it was not grown there. The warning includes whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce, in addition to chopped romaine and salads and salad mixes containing romaine.

Although no deaths have been reported, 31 of the 53 cases of E.coli infections required hospitalization.  The infected states include Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Alaska.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a Shiga-toxin producing strain which causes hemolytic uremic syndrome with symptoms of bloody diarrhea, decreased frequency of urination, paleness and lethargy.

Meanwhile, the CDC continues to investigate and monitor the outbreak and more information on the warning and latest updates are available on the CDC website.

https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/

Medic-ALL 2018


Ref: CDC Website

POLIO; The "PAN' and the "PAIN

Medic-ALL (09:01:2015) DISEASES

Just a few years ago “P-A-I-N’ was the acronym popularly used among medical students to recall the countries where Polio was endemic, but that changed a couple of years ago when the “I” which referred to the nation with the 2^nd largest population in the world, India, left the likes of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria (P-A-N) on the list of countries that have never stopped Polio.

                              Nigeria aims to follow in the footsteps of India through increased government 

                              commitment and stakeholders support. Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative website

It had been a much-anticipated moment as the World Health Organization notified the national authorities in India on 25 February 2012 that the country was officially removed from the list of countries with active transmission of endemic polio. This came weeks after India marked 12 months in which no Indian child had been paralyzed by polio. India has not seen a case since a 2-year-old girl in the state of West Bengal developed paralysis on 13 January 2011.

It is interesting to note that, as recent as 2009, India had the highest burden of polio cases in the world (741), more than the three other endemic countries combined. But the government resorted to extraordinary measures to reach children with the vaccine so much that the Polio eradication efforts became a most widely-recognized brand in India, with a Bollywood megastar as its public face.

Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries.......CONTINUE READING HERE

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015

Record Drop in Ebola Cases since June

Medic-ALL (01:29:2015)

The health world continues to get the better of the deadly Ebola virus disease with latest reports showing a significant drop in the number of cases of the disease since June, 2014 when the disease began ravaging parts of the African continent  (where many of the countries initially affected have now been declared Ebola-free) and later spread to other parts of the world including the United States and parts of Europe. This Cable News Network (CNN) report puts in perspective the road to achieving this decline in the number of cases of the deadly virus particularly in the largely affected nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Read Here
http://www.cnn.com//2015/01/29/africa/ebola-virus/index.html

Victory over Ebola-Like Virus in Uganda!

Medic-ALL (14:11:2014)

In what can be regarded as another "win" for humans over the recently "more popular" viral haemorragic diseases, authorities in the east African country of Uganda reported that the country was now free of Marburg, a virus similar to Ebola in many respects, after no new cases had been reported for more than a month after a hospital worker died of the disease in the capital, Kampala. The declaration by the United Nations Health Agency comes after a 42-day Surveillance period.

The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids or by handling infected wild animals, Marburg starts with a severe headache followed by hemorrhaging and kills in 80 percent or more cases within about a week. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus.

A total of 197 people were in contact with the healthcare worker, but none of them were found to have been infected, Junior health minister Sarah Opendi told a news conference.

Opendi said 42 days was the minimum period of monitoring before an outbreak is declared contained, and there had been no new cases reported since the death in Kampala on Sept. 28.

"This implies that the Marburg outbreak in the country has been completely controlled," she said.

The worst outbreak of Ebola on record has killed nearly 5,000 people - all but a handful in West Africa's Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - since March.

Marburg disease virus (MVD) (formerly known as Marburg haemorrahagic fever) was first identified in the 1967 epidemics in Marburg (hence the name) and Frankfurt in Germany and Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia following importation of infected monkeys from Uganda.

Uganda, according to the Health Minister of the country, in 2012, endured an outbreak of Marburg that killed 9 of the 18 people infected

Ref: WHO Global Alert and Response

Medic-ALL.Inc 2014