A bus driver in southern China died on Saturday, December 31, after testing positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus. Health authorities said it was the nation’s first reported human case of the deadly disease in 18 months.

The 39-year-old man died of multiple organ failure in the early afternoon after developing symptoms on December 21. China’s official Xinhua news agency reported he had no direct contact with poultry in the month leading up to his death and had not left his home city Shenzhen.

The city of more than 10 million people is in the Guangdong province bordering Hong Kong, where more than 19,000 birds have been slaughtered after three tested positive for the avian influenza virus in mid-December.

The Guangdong health department said 120 people who had close contact with the man have not developed any signs of contraction.the precise source of the disease, however, remains unknown.

“So far, we have not received any reports of any birds being infected,” an official at the Shenzhen agriculture and fisheries bureau said on Saturday. “We will not make any plans to kill domestic birds unless we know that was the source, or if there is any sign of birds being infected.”

High death toll

The H5N1 virus rarely infects humans and is usually only contracted by people in close contact with poultry, yet the disease has proved fatal in about 60 percent of cases. the World Health Organization claim that of 573 confirmed cases, 336 people have died since 2003.

With the world’s largest poultry population, China is considered one of the nations most at risk of a bird flu epidemic. the country’s last reported human case was in June 2010 when a pregnant 22-year-old woman died after being exposed to sick and dead poultry.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, Reuters, AP)Editor: Toma Tasovac

Rabies Prevention, Symptoms and Diagnosis

The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort.

As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms. Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal.

Prevention
You can reduce the chances that your family is exposed to rabies. Vaccinate your pets dogs, cats, and ferrets can be infected by rabies. Report any stray animals to your local health authorities or animal-control officer. Remind kids that animals can be “strangers,” too. they should never touch or feed stray cats or dogs wandering in the neighborhood or elsewhere.

Symptoms and Signs
The first symptoms of rabies may be very similar to those of the flu including general weakness or discomfort, fever, or headache. these symptoms may last for days.

As the infection progresses, someone infected with rabies may develop any of these symptoms:

• irritability
• excessive movements or agitation
• confusion
• hallucinations
• aggressiveness
• bizarre or abnormal thoughts
• muscle spasms
• abnormal postures
• seizures (convulsions)
• weakness or paralysis (when a person cannot move some part of the body)
• extreme sensitivity to bright lights, sounds, or touch
• increased production of saliva or tears
• difficulty speaking

In the advanced stage of the infection, as it spreads to other parts of the nervous system, these symptoms may develop:

• double vision
• problems moving facial muscles
• abnormal movements of the diaphragm and muscles that control breathing
• difficulty swallowing and increased production of saliva, causing the “foaming at the mouth” usually associated with a rabies infection

Rabies Diagnosis
Though the behavioral symptoms of rabies are classic, a diagnosis based solely on the symptoms can be difficult because they are similar to other diseases, conditions, and complications. The inability to swallow, for example, could be caused by an object lodged in the throat. many factors can trigger aggressive, strange behavior and many animals are easily provoked when injured.

The only way to be 100% sure that an animal is rabid is to perform a direct fluorescent antibody test (dFA) on the brain tissue, which requires that the animal be euthanized. This is the most rapid and reliable test for rabies and it has been used for more than 40 years.

The dFA test is based on the principle that infected animals have rabies virus antigen (a protein) in brain tissue that reacts to antirabies antibodies (proteins produced by the immune system to fight disease and infection). The test involves inserting fluorescently labeled antirabies antibody molecules into the brain tissue, which bind to the rabies virus antigens and give off a bright glow when viewed through a special fluorescent microscope. A dFA test can also detect the presence of rabies antigens in the skin.

Tests that do not require euthanasia can be used to examine serum, spinal fluid, and saliva, but none of them can rule out rabies with 100% certainty. these tests are used only in humans and animals that cannot be euthanized.

Venezuelan Health authorities say 37 people have been treated for cholera after attending a family celebration last week in the Dominican Republic. moreVoice of America ( 1/28/2011 4:33:20 AM -08:00 )

Cholera hits Dominican Republic resortA lavish party at a luxury resort with golf, horse riding, swimming pools and lobster: not the typical setting for a cholera outbreak. moreThe Guardian ( 1/28/2011 12:13:45 AM -08:00 )

Massachusetts man is diagnosed with choleraA 30-year-old Massachusetts man who traveled to the Dominican Republic for a wedding has been diagnosed with cholera after returning to moreBoston Globe ( 1/27/2011 9:28:01 PM -08:00 )

Dominican Republic reports 14 cases of cholera for lobster consumptionSANTO DIOMINGO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — Dominican Republic’s Health Minister Bautista Rojas said Thursday that at least 14 people were infected with cholera moreXinhua ( 1/27/2011 4:48:54 PM -08:00 )

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Guests at lavish wedding in Dominican Republic test positive for cholera; mostSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Health officials say contaminated lobster has given cholera to dozens of guests who attended a lavish wedding in the moreThe Canadian Press ( 1/27/2011 11:40:00 AM -08:00 )

Venezuela’s Confirmed Cholera Cases Increases To nearly 40CARACAS (Dow Jones)–The number of confirmed cholera cases in Venezuela reached 37 Thursday, according to the country’s health minister. moreWall Street Journal ( 1/27/2011 8:44:02 AM -08:00 )

Venezuelan Vacationers Contract Cholera in Dominican RepublicCARACAS (Dow Jones)–Venezuela’s health minister confirmed Wednesday 21 cases of cholera brought back to the moreWall Street Journal ( 1/26/2011 5:05:44 PM -08:00 )

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Cholera alert reaches VenezuelaMore than 20 Venezuelans have contracted cholera after visiting the Dominican Republic, the Venezuelan health ministry has said. The patients were taken to moreBBC News ( 1/26/2011 3:13:48 PM -08:00 )

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Hepatitis is a serious liver disease. It is estimated that currently 20 million people in countrys are suffering from hepatitis B and C did not most of the show hepatitis symptoms until 20-30 years of disease progression. During this time the infection is slowly eroding into the heart so that it will lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. So far no natural remedies that are scientifically proven to cure hepatitis. But after some medicinal plant research after a promising natural remedy for hepatitis:1. Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

Studies have shown that Milk Thistle hepatitis cure, but prevent damage and liver function in patients with liver cioróis improvement. In Germany, where herbal medicinal products are regulated as drugs, health authorities Milk Thistle as a complementary treatment for liver cirrhosis, liver hepatitis and other diseases have approved.Milk Thistle has come from Europe, but now similar in many other areas of the operating climate. The result of the plant, experts believed that a substance called silymarin. Animal studies show that silymarin effectively:

* To promote the growth of various types of liver cells.* As an antioxidant that helps fight the oxidation. In an oxidizing pollutants free radicals known to damage cells. A number of studies have shown silymarin to prevent damage to liver cells due to free radicals.* Does not block these types of toxins and damage the liver cells.* Prevent Liver inflammation (inflammation).

In 1989 conducted the first study cioróis 170 liver patients with various causes, including alcoholism. Got about half (87) of patients silymarin three times daily for 2 years. The others (83 patients) received only placebo. Of 24 patients who discontinued the study, 146 patients completed (73 in each group) of the 2-year study. The researchers noted that the number of patients who died within 4 years of the study 31 per cent lower in the silymarin group than in the group of patients who received placebo. Beneficial effects of silymarin primarily in patients with liver cioróis due to alcohol abuse appear. The doctors reported that patients experienced the side effects of silymarin treatment.

2. Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Licorice root can be used to manage the impact of hepatitis on the liver. Active component is called glycyrrhizin acid showed anti-viral properties and anti-inflammatory. The acid taste is sweet cause in licorice (50 times sweeter than sugar) and a similar function as the body’s natural hormone, aldosterone regulates, salt and water in the body.

Glycyrrhizin has been in Japan for over 20 years as a drug for chronic hepatitis. In a study in 1998 researchers reported that glycyrrhizin promoting repair heart tissue damaged by hepatitis.Some of the subjects showed improved liver function also in performing his duties. A 1997 experiment showed that glycyrrhizin prevents advanced liver cancer in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Unfortunately, the side effects of licorice root potential. With regular use (more than 3 grams per day licorice root for more than 6 weeks or more than 100 milligrams of glycyrrhizin on the day), Herb’s is there, high blood pressure, sodium and water retention, causes low blood sodium, calcium depletion and electrolyte disturbances in the body. There should be signs and symptoms of excessive consumption of licorice root, headache, fatigue, swollen ankles and even heart failure or myocardial infarction (heart suddenly stopped beating.) Persons, glaucoma, heart disease, high blood pressure and avoid licorice hemochromatosis .

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — a contingent of U.N. peacekeepers is the likely source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed at least 2,000 people, a French scientist said in a report obtained Tuesday by the associated Press.

Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux concluded that the cholera originated in a tributary of Haiti’s Artibonite river, next to a U.N. base outside the town of Mirebalais. He was sent by the French government to assist Haitian health officials in determining the source of the outbreak, a French Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.

“No other hypothesis could be found to explain the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in this village … not affected by the earthquake earlier this year and located dozens of kilometers from the coast and (tent) camps,” he wrote in a report that has not been publicly released.

The report also calls for a further investigation of the outbreak, improved medical surveillance and sanitation procedures for U.N. peacekeeping troops and better support for Haitian health authorities.

The AP obtained a copy of the report from an official who released it on condition of anonymity. Piarroux confirmed he had authored the report but declined in an e-mail interview to discuss his findings. Copies were sent to U.N. and Haitian officials, the foreign ministry confirmed.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters in new York that there is still no conclusive evidence that its base was the source of the outbreak. He said the organization “remains very receptive to any scientific debate or investigation on this.”

The report’s revelation comes on a day of high tensions in Haiti, as people anxiously await the results of the disputed Nov. 28 presidential election and potential resulting violence.

Piarroux could not prove there was cholera inside the base or among the soldiers, a point the U.N. has repeatedly used to deny its soldiers brought the disease to Haiti or that its sanitation procedures were responsible for releasing it into the environment. He writes that military doctors said there were no instances of cholera within the unit.

But he also hinted strongly at a cover-up.

“It can not be ruled out that steps have been taken to remove the suspected fecal matter and to erase the traces of an epidemic of cholera among the soldiers,” he wrote.

The report also notes that septic tanks and pipes that would have helped to confirm sanitation problems and the presence of the bacteria were no longer at the base when he visited.

Nepalese troops earlier confirmed they had replaced a leaking pipe, which contained a foul-smelling runoff that the U.N. denies was human waste, between two visits by an AP reporter in October. the AP also found the local contractor dumped waste into overflowing pools dangerously close to a hillside that drains into the river.

Piarroux’s is the first scientific report linking the base to the epidemic, though many other epidemiologists and public health experts have said for weeks that the soldiers are the most likely source of the infection.

Other scientists and experts say it is possible that ocean currents or other climate-related events carried the bacteria to Haiti. Further studies on bacterial samples that could address those questions are ongoing.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in October that the strain of cholera bacteria in Haiti matched one from South Asia, a region that includes Nepal, but said it had no further information about the cause of the outbreak at the time.

Many Haitians have long suspected the Nepalese base was the source of the disease, and anger at the troops sparked a week of riots in which U.N. soldiers were injured and several Haitians were killed.

The report says that the first cases of the disease were from the village of Meille, where the base is located. the first confirmed case, a 20-year-old man from the village, developed symptoms on Oct. 14 and was found by Cuban doctors at a hospital in nearby Mirebalais.

Haitian investigators “indicated that the first patients were obtaining drinking water from a tributary of the Artibonite River flowing just below the (U.N.) base,” he said.

It notes that the rotation of soldiers began arriving days before those first cases from Nepal, where there were cholera outbreaks over the summer.

It goes on to describe how the disease flowed into the Aribonite River before “exploding” in the delta where the river meets the sea. Hundreds of cases were reported within days, before the outbreak spiraled out of control to infect the entire county.

Until this outbreak there had not been a diagnosed case of cholera in Haiti as far back as records go in the mid-20th Century, Claire-Lise Chaignat, head of the global task force on cholera control at the World Health Organization, said in October. There were suspected cases a century before, but experts say it would have likely been a different strain than the ongoing El Tor pandemic.

The disease was totally unknown to today’s Haitians, who had developed no immunity against it and had no information on how to fight it until aid workers mobilized after the outbreak. Terror over its fast-killing power has triggered attacks on cholera treatment centers and a witch-hunt in rural Haiti. At least 12 people were killed on accusations they used magic to spread the disease.

For the first critical month of the outbreak, the United Nations, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and others said that an investigation into how the disease arrived in Haiti was not necessary and could in fact be harmful. Those who asked questions about it were accused of playing “the blame game.”

It was not until AP reports of sanitation problems at the base and calls by experts including Paul Farmer, a physician and U.N. official, for a thorough investigation that the matter was seriously discussed in public.

Farmer said there were compelling public health reasons to find the source of the infection, including finding information to help prevent its further spread, and that avoiding the questions was a matter of politics.

The U.N. mission confirmed to AP last month that a French epidemiologist had met with met with U.N. peacekeeping mission chief Edmond Mulet in Port-au-Prince to discuss his findings. At the time the mission denied that he had implicated the peacekeepers, but acknowledged that it was now taking the allegations about its base more seriously than when rumors first arose.

On Tuesday the mission said the report was still not definitive.

“We have neither accepted nor dismissed his findings, as it’s one report among others,” U.N. mission spokesman Vincenzo Pugliese said. “The Nepalese contingent in Mirebalais is just one piece of the cholera puzzle, since there is no conclusive evidence at this point that the Nepalese camp was or was not the source of the epidemic.”

In roughly six weeks the disease has spread to every region of the country and sickened nearly 100,000 people. the U.N. says the death toll could be twice the official count and that up to 650,000 people in Haiti could get cholera over the next six months.

Copyright 2010 the associated Press. All rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

40 creds cred discred

Nairobi, Kenya – Local health authorities reported that at least 29 people have succumbed to cholera while hundreds more are undergoing treatment for cholera-like symptoms in Turkana and in certain areas of Samburu in the Rift Valley and Garbatulla in Eastern Province.

Public health officials in northern Kenya said that 18 people have died in Turkana Central, five in Laisamis, three in Turkana North, two in Garbatulla and one in Turkana South.

The affected areas are not only experiencing an acute water shortage triggered by a prolonged drought but also have poor toilet systems.

The United Nations humanitarian news agency IRIN said last week that about 246 cholera-related cases have been documented and were being treated as cholera following official confirmation of the disease.

Meanwhile, an outbreak in the district of Mutomo has killed seven people in recent days, with more cases being reported each day. The victims died at the Mutomo Mission Hospital where they were receiving treatment. The fatalities came as health officials revealed that 1,134 people have contracted the disease in the district.

Medical Officer of Health John Logedi reported that the outbreak has spread to Yatta District, where he confirmed that some 180 people were being treated.

Dr Vinod Moudgil, 64, had not told patients why they were receiving the ‘unusual’ drug for their symptoms and did not seek ethical approval from the health authorities, it is alleged.

In one case the GP gave the allergy pills to a woman with a blocked ear, the General Medical Council heard.

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Moudgil also faces an allegation of deficient professional performance after failing a test of his knowledge and skills.

The doctor, who has worked at the Alton Practice in Wimbledon, south east London, since December 2002, was investigated when patients queried their prescriptions.

Christopher Hamlet for the GMC said: “Dr Moudgil was prescribing a drug called Fexofenadine, which is an antihistamine, to a number of patients whose symptoms did not accord with the licensed use of that drug and where there was no other clinical reason to prescribe that drug.

“Dr Moudgil admits that allegation and he admits that he did so by way of a clinical trial for which he received no patient consent, and for which he had not received proper authority or ethical authority that was required to conduct such a trial.”

Moudgil was prescribing twice as many allergy tablets as other clinics in the Wandsworth Borough, the GMC was told.

He would prescribe the drug out of season for ‘unrelated’ conditions such as laryngitis, neck and back aches, it is claimed.

Chief pharmacist for the area, Nicholas Beavon, became concerned after the practice manager Amar Alissa and GP husband Dr Ali Alissa alerted him.

In a statement to the GMC mr Beavon said: “The number of prescriptions issued was approximately twice that of the highest number issued in any other practice.

“Dr Alissa said he noticed Dr Moudgil prescribing fexofenadine out of season and for problems such as laryngitis.

“Patients had been coming to see him because they had not understood why they had been prescribed it.

“Dr Alissa told me that he had approached Dr Moudgil about this matter and he said he was doing research into head and neck pain.

“I ran some further checks and it was clearly apparent that Dr Moudgil’s prescribing was far out of line with other practices in the area.

“I carried out a search for fexofenadine prescriptions and the results ran for several hundred prescriptions.”

But Moudgil had not applied for ethical approval for his clinical trial and had not informed the patients they were taking part, it is claimed.

Practice manager and patient Amar Alissa first went to see the GP with blocked ears.

But despite asking for ear drops she was given the antihistamine.

Moudgil was asked to undergo a GMC performance assessment between August 2008 and may 2009.

But in seven of the tests his score was ‘unacceptable’. In a further four it was ‘cause for concern’, it is claimed.

Moudgil, of Wimbledon, qualified in India in 1971 and came to the UK in 1978.

He has admitted all 12 charges against him, including running a clinical trial without ethical approval.

He has admitted that his professional performance was deficient.

The hearing continues.