(Credit:AP Graphics Bank) (CBS News) On August 5, 2011, 50 passengers and three person flight crew on an Atlanta-bound flight were in for a shock, when an unexpected passenger joined them on board: a potentially rabid bat.

Vampire bat rabies death prompts warning from health officialsRabies miracle? California girl survives dread disease without vaccine

A bat on a plane? Samuel L. Jackson jokes aside, the Centers for Disease Control took the case seriously, and released a new report on the incident in the April 13 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. According to the report, the bat flew from the rear of the plane several times shortly after takeoff, before being trapped in a lavatory.

Reuters reports the flight in question was a Delta Airlines plane that took off from Madison, Wis.

Once the bat broke loose, the pilot returned to Madison where the plane was met by a maintenance crew who sought to remove the wayward guest. The elusive bat thwarted the crew’s attempts, escaping throw the cabin door – and eventually through the entire airport terminal, where it was seen exiting the building through automatic doors.

Without the bat being captured, its rabies status remained unknown. The crew searched the plane for more bats but couldn’t find any so the flight resumed. fifteen passengers re-boarded the flight while 35 chose alternate arrangements (Can you blame them?).

Three days following the incident, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health asked the CDC for help in performing a risk assessment to see if the passengers and in-flight and ground crew were exposed to rabies.

Rabies is a preventable but potentially deadly viral disease that’s spread through the bite of an infected animal. The virus attacks the central nervous system, ultimately spreading the disease through the brain and causing death. Early symptoms are similar to other illnesses and include fever, headache and discomfort but as the disease progresses, specific symptoms such as agitation, insomnia, confusion, paralysis, hallucinations, hydrophobia (a fear of water), an increase in saliva and difficulty swallowing. Death typically occurs within days of those symptoms. there is a preventive rabies vaccine and also a “postexposure” vaccination for people who have bitten.

After obtaining the names of all the passengers, the CDC conducted interviews and found no one on the plane or in the ground crew had any physical contact with the bat or its saliva. The CDC also inspected the airport terminal, gates, and baggage handling areas looking for signs of bat droppings to test, but found no evidence.

“I would say there is no evidence (of rabies exposure),” CDC veterinarian Dr. Danielle Buttke told Reuters. But she said, “I don’t think we can be certain.” she commended everyone involved for remaining calm, since airports aren’t exactly stress-free places to begin with.

According to the CDC, there have been a few bat sightings at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, and the agency recommends preventive safety measures such as adding netting to cover crevices where bats might roost. no bat sightings have been reported since last summer’s incident.

Rabies outbreaks in the U.S. are rare: there have been 42 reported cases of human rabies from 1995 to 2010, with only 21 reported cases over the past 10 years. of those recent cases, 15 or – 71 percent – were caused by bats. Approximately 6 percent of bats captured for testing in 2010 were infected with rabies, the CDC says. more than 2.5 billion passengers fly commercial airlines every year.

The CDC has more on rabies.

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White Nose Syndrome is a disease killing off the North American Bat population but two bats at the Virginia Wildlife Center are on the road to recovery after coming down with what vets think were symptoms of the disease.

Meet Two and One-eleven.

They’re a pair of little brown bats that were brought into the Virginia Wildlife Center earlier this year with some disturbing symptoms.

Their wings looked like swiss cheese.

A deadly fungus, Geomyces destructans, discovered in 2006 thrives in the same temperature the bats hibernate in.

“What ends up happening is these guys get a white fungus growing on their noses and their bodies and it wakes them up just enough out of hibernation that they try to groom it off,” said Veterinary Fellow at the Virginia Wildlife Center Miranda Sadar.

This causes them to use all of the energy they stored for their hibernation cycle and many of them die as a result.

“Bats mostly eat insects in our country. And for us that’s not the only impact. our well being of, oh we have a lot of bugs in our yard but also a lot of our crops.”

Nearly 80-percent of bats on the East Coast are affected by white nose syndrome. recent studies show the disease is moving over to the west.

When that happens, it could prove disasterous for agriculture across the nation.

Despite the fact that here is no exact treatment yet, and the fungus is easily spread throughout bat colonies, the staff at the Wildlife Center have had good luck with good old fashioned tender love and care.

“What we do is we provide them with adequate nutrition. we rehydrate them, make sure that their wing membranes are kept nice and supple.”

For Two and One-eleven, it’s all panning out. They’re expected to make a full recovery and be released back into the wild this spring.

If you do happen to find a bat, you should contact the Wildlife Center and try and get it into a box. they want to save as many as possible to sustain the population.

You should also wear gloves when handling a wild bat as it may have rabies.

© Copyright 2012 WHSV / Gray Television Group, inc. All Rights Reserved.

What to do if you’re bitten  

A recent case of rabies diagnosed in a Marstons Mills man and confirmed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to be the first human case contracted in the state since 1935 proved fatal last month. the reported cause of death was rabies encephalitis.

Kevin A. Galvin, 63, was hospitalized in critical condition after beginning to show symptoms in late December, about one month after being bitten by a small brown bat at his home.

Rabies is a neurological virus that causes death by interrupting commands from the brain to vital organs, including the diaphragm and heart. the cause of death may vary from abnormal heartbeat to inability to breathe normally, usually within a few days of the appearance of symptoms like headache, fever, acute pain, uncontrollable excitement, violent movements, depression, mania and hydrophobia.

Chatham Animal Control Officer Meg McDonough regularly responds to calls from concerned individuals and tests up to eight bats each year for rabies.

“I was just as surprised to hear about this rabies diagnosis as you,” McDonough said. “In my 19 years here, testing bats every year, I’ve never had a positive test result indicating that the animal had rabies.”

McDonough advises anyone who wakes up to discover a bat in their bedroom or who discovers a bat in the room of a child to capture the animal if possible and call to have it tested. the method of capture, however, is important. Contact with the animal must be avoided, yet the animal must be collected intact for testing.

“In many cases the bat is smacked with a tennis racquet, and what remains is not viable for examination,” McDonough said. “I recommend using a trash can and a piece of cardboard over the top, or you can simply throw a towel over the top of the bat or contain it in a room with towels under the door before calling animal control or a pest control company.”

Many times McDonough arrives on the scene, sometimes at 3 a.m., only to discover that the bat contained in a room has exited as mysteriously as it appeared.

“Talk to your physician in that case,” she advised. “the way the state looks at it is if the bat gets away or the brain can’t be looked at, the person who suspects exposure should get post-exposure vaccines. In any case I deal with, I tell people to consult with their own personal physician. It’s up to the person, his or her doctor and the state epidemiology lab. I don’t think rabies is as common in bats as we fear, but you always have to err on the side of caution.”

Only a handful of rabies cases are diagnosed in humans in the United States each year, most of which are the result of exposure to infected bats. since rabies was discovered in bats in Massachusetts in 1961, approximately 5 percent of bats tested by the Department of Public Health Hinton State Laboratory Institute test positive for rabies.

Raccoon rabies was discovered in Massachusetts in 1992. In the past decade, over 5,000 animals have tested positive for this strain of rabies, including bats, foxes, raccoons, skunks and woodchucks. Pets, especially cats, and other domestic animals may contract this strain of rabies, but only one case has been confirmed in a human.

Since 1994, the Cape Cod Oral Rabies Vaccine Program, conducted by the Cape Cod Rabies Task Force with support from the US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, has distributed rabies vaccine baits in an effort to reduce rabies infections in local wildlife. at first, the fishy-smelling baits were distributed only in areas alongside the Cape Cod Canal in an attempt to keep rabies off the Cape entirely. the baiting area expanded after the first case of raccoon rabies was found in Bourne in 2004, and by 2006 both rabies cases and rabies baiting expanded to towns Cape-wide. Baits are now distributed bi-annually throughout Cape Cod.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health advises individuals who believe they have been bitten by a bat or other animal to wash the wound with soap and water for ten minutes and call a physician to determine whether or not a treatment for rabies exposure is recommended.

Information about rabies is available at mass.gov/dph/rabies.

This article first appeared in The Cape Cod Chronicle.

WEST HAVEN, Conn.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–NanoViricides, inc. (OTC BB: NNVC) (the “Company”) announced today that its President, Dr. Anil Diwan, will present an overview of the company at the 14th Annual BIO CEO and Investor Conference. The Conference is being held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City (bio.org/events/conferences/14th-annual-bio-ceo-investor-conference).

NanoViricides, inc. presentation is scheduled for 1pm today, February 13th.

NanoViricides, inc., is developing a broad range of anti-viral therapeutics against a number of different viruses. this is enabled by its novel nanoviricides® platform technology. a nanoviricide is designed to look like the cell surface to the virus, complete with the “landing sites” that the virus seeks on the cell surface to bind to the cell and thereafter enter the cell. These “landing sites” are designed into the nanoviricide by chemically incorporating “ligands” to which the virus is expected to bind. The Company strives to develop ligands that closely mimic the native landing sites of the virus. even as a virus mutates constantly, these landing sites to which the virus binds remain the same. The Company therefore believes that its drugs would be effective against a large range of strains and mutations of a given virus.

The Company has recently declared a clinical drug candidate against influenza in its FluCide™ program, namely, NV-INF-1. The Company has also requested a pre-IND Meeting with the US FDA to discuss the development plan for NV-INF-1.

in addition, the Company has developed drug candidates against HIV, Dengue, and Adenoviral Epidemic Kerato-Conjunctivitis (EKC) that have all shown extremely high efficacies in pre-clinical animal studies. The Company has also developed drug candidates against Herpes that have shown strong efficacies in pre-clinical studies. These additional four commercially important programs are at pre-clinical candidate optimization stage. The Company has several R&D programs against many other viruses including Ebola/Marburg and Rabies viruses.

The Company thus has an extremely broad drug pipeline, enabled by its novel, first-in-class, platform technology.

The Company is planning on two separate indications for NV-INF-1: High strength dosage form for hospitalized patients with severe influenza, and a single course therapy for the out-patients with less severe influenza.

in the USA alone, there are approximately 300,000 severe influenza cases that require hospitalization every year resulting in approximately 40,000 deaths. Expert physician advice suggests that the dosage form should be a high strength solution suitable for “piggy-back” incorporation into the standard IV fluid supplement system that is commonly used in hospitalized patients. Since current influenza treatments have limited effectiveness in these patients because of the severity of the infection and the stage of progression, there is a significant unmet medical need for the treatment of hospitalized influenza patients, which include immunocompromised patients.

NV-INF-1 promises to be a highly effective anti-influenza drug, based on the extremely high efficacy observed in animal studies, and the Company believes that it would receive rapid and widespread acceptance for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe influenza.

The Company is planning the out-patient treatment as a single injection that a medical office can easily administer when the patient goes for the first clinical visit. The Company believes that in most instances no follow-on treatment would be necessary. this expectation is based on the following results from its animal studies: (1) the extremely high treatment effectiveness in inhibiting the cycle of infection, virus expansion and spread of infection and, (2) the significantly long lasting effects of the drug treatment after the drug is discontinued.

a single course treatment for out-patients is a highly sought after goal in influenza therapeutics. During the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic, approximately 61 million cases of out-patient influenza were estimated in the USA alone.

The Company’s anti-influenza clinical drug candidate is expected to be effective against a majority of strains and types of influenzas including novel epidemic influenza strains such as the one encountered in 2009-2010 (so called “swine flu”); seasonal flu such as H1N1, H3N2; highly pathogenic types such as H7N and H9N; as well as the highly lethal type, so called “bird flu” or H5N1. all influenza viruses use the same common receptor to bind to human cells. Therefore the Company believes that its influenza drug candidate should work against most of the influenza viruses.

The market size for anti-influenza drugs is currently estimated to be approximately $4-$7 billion worldwide. The Company believes that if its FluCide™ drug becomes available, the influenza drug market size could expand substantially. The market size for OTC medications for control of influenza symptoms is approximately $2.1 billion dollars annually in the USA, and about £0.6 billion (about $1 billion) in the UK (source: mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/410/consumers-cough-up-for-remedies-as-flu-season-starts-early). Similar large market sizes are reported for other countries across the globe.

The Company has previously reported on the extremely high efficacies of its optimized FluCide™ drug candidates. The Company is now advancing one of the tested optimized FluCide candidates as the clinical drug candidate after performing substantial further analysis.

About NanoViricides:

NanoViricides, inc. (nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company’s novel nanoviricide® class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others.

this press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, inc. are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in pre-clinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.

Eicosanoids are products of arachidonic acid (AA), an essential fatty acid. They include prostaglandins (PGs), prostacyclin (PGI2), thromboxanes (TXs), leuko-trienes (LTs) and hydroxy fatty acids. AA is derived enzymatically from membrane phospholipids and to a lesser extent the diet. Eicosanoids self-regulate every cell,including those synthesizing serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine and thos esubserving immune function, such as T-cells, B-cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells. There is objective evidence that prostaglandinsregulate the physiology of the hypothalamic –pituitary – adrenal axis (HPA).

Elucidation of the structure and metabolic pathways of eicosanoids galvanizedresearchers into illuminating their role in physiology, pathology and pharmacology.Striking contradictions arose: eicosanoids were shown to activate and suppress microorganisms, potentiate and suppress immunity and possess pro- and anticancer properties. as prostaglandins are the most heavily studied eicosanoids in the contextof mood and immunity I will focus on them in this article. I will present evidence of the immunostimulating and antimicrobial properties of lithium and antidepressants and propose that these properties are linked to the antiprostaglandin actions of these compounds.

(© 2004 The British Infection Society. Published by Elsevier ltd. all rights reserved.)

Eicosanoids, the metabolic products of arachidonicacid, include prostaglandins (PGs), leukotrienes (LTs), prostacyclin (PGI2) thromboxanes (TXs) andlipoxins. Eicosanoids self-regulate every cell including those subserving immune function and those subserving mood. They self-regulate all cells insynapses, in neuro-immune interfaces and in the hypothalamic – pituitary– adrenal axis (HPA).

Bacteria, parasites and fungi synthesize eicosanoids.

Bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses have the ability to induce eicosanoid synthesis in host cells. The ability of the host to resist such induction in?uences the outcome of exposure. an increase in production ofPGs in the immune system may lead to the activationof a dormant virus. While in vitro studies show that lithium and antidepressants have direct antimicrobial properties their actions on the brain may be responsible for their immunostimulating properties.

PGs are highly active in the brain.[1] Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is elevated in the platelets of manics and reduced in those of depressives, while prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is increased in the platelets of depressives.[2] PGE2 and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) are elevated in the plasma of depressives,[3] PGE2 in their cerebrospinal ?uid [4] and saliva.[5] When administered intravenously to alleviate Raynaud’s syndrome or phenomenon prostacyclin can precipitate acute depression.[6] A prostacyclin analogue caninduce depressive effects in mice.[7]

The literature on the role of eicosanoids inimmune regulation and the physiology of micro-organisms mainly involves PGs. PGs have diverseactions on humoral and cellular immunity, including modulation of natural killer cell activity,[8] delivery of signals leading to T-cell activation,[9] induction of dendritic cells,[10] control of suppressor cell and B-cell activation and modulation of macrophage-T lymphocyte interactions.[11]

The relationship between PGs and viruses has been studied with many viruses,[12] most intensively the human immu-node?ciency virus (HIV). PGE2 creates a selectionpressure favouring HIV at many host/virus inter-faces. where HIV comes into contact with AA itconverts it into PGE2.

Monocytes from drug-addicts with AIDS elaborate elevated concentrations of PGE2.[13] A soluble factor of transformed B-lympho-cytes in patients with HIV infection stimulatesmonocytes to produce PGE2.[14] an HIV glycoproteininduces monocyte AA metabolites [15] and promotesapoptosis in rat brain by deranging the AA cascadein favour of PGs.[16] Secretion of PGE2 by macro-phages induces signalling events resulting in acti-vation of pro-viral DNA in T-cells latently infected with HIV-1.[17] Humans with AIDS dementia have a marked increase in PGE2 in their spinal ?uid;[18] this PG may be responsible for the immuno-suppression that is the hallmark of AIDS.

PGs are present in high concentrations in thesaliva of such blood-sucking arthropods as ticks. PGs are involved in parasite metabolism and physiology. They facilitate feeding by increasing local blood ?ow and prolong attachments of ticks by suppressing immune mechanisms.[19] Release of PGs by protozoa and metazoa play a role in penetration, immune suppression, in?ammation and modulationof haemostasis.[19]

Induction of two-series PGs bysuch parasites as Schistosoma,[20] Leishmania dono-vani, [21] Amoeba, [22] Fasciola, [23] and Trypanasoma [24]suppress immune responses in favour of thepathogen.

Induction of PGs and their synthesizing enzymes are responsible for many of the symptoms of bacterial infection including the immunosuppression.[25 – 31] Pathogenic fungi such as Cryptococcusneoformans and Candida albicans produce and respond to immuno-modulatory PGs.[32 – 35] PGs regulate the physiology, immunity, reproduction and toxicity of microorganisms and the resistance of their hosts. The virulence of a pathogen and the resistance of the host determine how negatively the host will be affected.[36 – 46]

As aspirin inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), the primary PG synthesizing enzyme, it was inferred that this mechanism accounts for its analgesic, anti-in?ammatory and antipyretic properties. Compounds that inhibit COX were synthesized, inparallel with research showing that PGs causemany in?ammatory, infectious, neoplastic and reproductive disorders. The failure of prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, also known as non-steroidalanti-in?ammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in infectious disorders led to the conclusion that PG inhibition has limited clinical application in infection.

Isolation of the COX isomer, COX-2, and the synthesis of selective COX-2 inhibitors have stimulated considerable investment by the pharmaceutical industry in such inhibitors. COX-2 inhibitors are claimed to have a reduced risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage when compared to NSAIDs. all the while the PG inhibiting properties of lithium and anti-depressants have been neglected, along with their unique immunopotentiating and antimicrobialactions.

Lithium carbonate inhibits the synthesis of PGE1,[47 – 50] decreases phospholipase A2 activity [51 – 53] and the turnover of AA in several brain phospholi-pids,[51] and reduces brain concentrations of COX-2 and PGE2. [53] Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) inhibit PGE2 synthesis by limiting the mobilizationof AA. [54 – 56]

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are weak PG agonists and powerful PG and TX antagonists.[57]

TCAs uniquely and powerfully activate the PG degrading enzyme, 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase. [58] Fluoxetine, a speci?c serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), inhibits the synthesis of two-series PGs. [59] The MAOI tranylcyprominereduces the levels of prostaglandin D2 in the brainsof mice.[60] given the PG-opposing properties of these agents, reports of their immunopotentiating and antimicrobial actions are not surprising. ThePG-opposing actions of lithium and antidepressants support the role of PGs in mood disorders.

In the early 1950’s clinicians observed that patientstreated for tuberculosis with the MAOIs isoniazid and iproniazid were energized. This observation was the foundation of the pharmacology of depression and became part of its folklore. that MAOIs have dual antimicrobial and antidepressant properties failed to have an impact on the pharmacology of infectious disorders. Remission of such manifestations of viral infections assinusitis, sinobronchitis, frequent colds, sorethroats, cold sores and genital herpes in patientstaking lithium carbonate has been reported.[61 – 65]

In a retrospective study of the antiviral activity of various psychotropic agents, chronic lithium administration reduced the mean rate of recurrent labial herpes infections. Lithium and antidepressants reduced the mean yearly rates of common, ‘?u-like’colds.[63,64] In a randomised, double blind, placebo [64] controlled study lithium reduced the frequency andduration of recurrences of genital herpes.[64]

The polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) of a 29-year-old woman with eczema and recurrent staphylococcal and streptococcal skin infections were unresponsive to standard chemotactic stimuli.

In vitro addition of lithium to her PMN preparations restored their chemotactic response. After receiving lithium carbonate, 1 g per day for 5 weeks she became free of infection and relapsed when lithium was withdrawn.[66]

Lithium chloride prevents replication of type 1 and 2 herpes virus in baby hamster kidney cells. Virus particle production, polypeptide and antigen synthesis were unaffected while viral DNA synthesis was inhibited. The replication of two other DNA viruses, pseudo rabies and vaccinia virus was inhibited but two RNA viruses, EMC and in?uenza virus were not inhibited.[67] Lithium augments several in vitro immune reactions. It increases rosette formation and thymidine incorporation by lymphocytes and phagocytosis by macrophages.[67] It reverses the PGE1 inhibition ofthe lymphocyte response to phytohemag glutinin,and enhances immunoglobulin synthesis by human lymphocytes.[68]

MAOIs can remit tuberculosis, aphthous ulcers,[69,70] cold sores, genital herpes, [71] upper respiratory tractinfections and plantar warts.[72] Furazolidone, the veterinary antibiotic, is a MAOI.[73]

TCAs can remitaphthous ulcers, [74] reduce the frequency of recurrences of herpes zoster, remit the pain of this disorder and prevent post herpetic neuralgia.[75] such TCAs as clomi-pramine and imipramine can destroy in vitro leishmania minor and major, the agents of kalaazar and Old World cutaneous leishmaniasis,[76] and inhibit the growth of the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.[77] The TCA’s desipramine, imipramine and amitriptyline have antimalarial properties.[78] Many antidepressants enhance in vitro susceptibility to chloroquine in resistant Plasmodiumfalciparum.[79 – 82] Various antidepressants are lethal in vitro against Trypanasoma parasites.[83]

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)can destroy such fungi in vitro as Candida and Aspergillus species.[84] Sertraline can remit recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in vivo.[85] Munoz-Bellido and colleagues have shown that such antidepressants as sertraline, ?uoxetine and paroxetine have antimicrobial activity especially against Gram-positive microorganisms. These anti-depressants also show synergistic activity when combined with some antibiotics against several bacteria.[86] In a separate study Munoz-Bellido andcolleagues tested the in vitro activity of various antibiotics and psychotropic drugs against 32 strains of Corynebacterium urealyticum. Sertraline was the most effective psychiatric drug and it enhanced the activity of cipro?oxacin and tetracycline against all strains.[87]

The depressive effect of bereavement and other stresses on immune function is well documented.[88] Impaired lymphocyte function, reduced natural killer cell activity, reduced lymphocyte responses to mitogens and decreased natural killer cellpopulations have been demonstrated in depressives.[89,90] Antidepressants augment natural killer cell activity in vivo and in vitro.[91] The MAOI tranylcypromine enhances cell-mediated immunity.[92]

PGs play a key role in mediating the HPA axis response to immune insults.[93] PGs are involved innicotine and carbachol-induced [94] ACTH and corti-costerone secretion in control and stressed rats.[95] In rats interleukin-1 beta stimulates PG synthesis inthe HPA axis by acting on receptors located chie?y on endothelial cells.[96] The autonomic nervoussystem innervates lymphoid organs and is an important regulator of immune function in ani-mals.[97,98] every cell in the sympathetic system andin lymphoid organs is self-regulated by PGs. In self-regulating every cell and signalling between them PGs regulate every site at which neurons make contact with the immune system.

While lithium is effective against some bacteria and viruses evidence for effectiveness against parasites and fungi is lacking. Antidepressants, on the other hand, are effective against various bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. as lithium and anti-depressants have immunopotentiating as well as antimicrobial properties they stand to be effective against a gamut of microorganisms. The response of infection to lithium and antidepressants mirrors depression with subjects responding to TCAs, to SSRIs, to MAOIs or to lithium. an infection should not be labeled refractory to antidepressants untilmany, if not all have been tried. Many comparison studies with antidepressants are biased by the generalization that ‘antidepressants’ lack a speci?c property when the study involved only one. Anti-depressants are highly speci?c and humans remarkably variable.

Excessive synthesis of PGs depresses brain and immune function. When depressives with an infection respond to lithium or an antidepressant the response is invariably simultaneous, suggesting that the central actions of the drugs are important.

The immunostimulating actions of lithium and anti-depressants are systemic and suggest central orchestration. While antivirals are not necessarily immunostimulants, the actions of lithium and anti-depressants suggest that immunostimulants are antivirals. The SARS epidemic was a clarion call for immunostimulants. The immunostimulating properties of lithium and antidepressants couldtransform the prevention and treatment of many such infections.

Tachyphylaxis may complicate the treatment of depression[99 – 101] and paradoxical reactions induce or intensify symptoms. These phenomena may interfere with the treatment of infection with lithium and antidepressants. Antidepressants are, paradoxically, capable of activating dormant viruses.[102] Remission of depression in subjectstreated for tuberculosis ushered in the pharmaco-logical treatment of depression.

The wheel will turn full circle when lithium and antidepressants areintegrated into the pharmacology and therapeutics of infection.

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From the Current-Argus

CARLSBAD — After a slew of confirmed rabies cases in the first month of 2012, local police are encouraging residents to get their animals vaccinated against the fatal disease at a low cost clinic tomorrow.

According to Carlsbad Police Department Lt. Jennifer Moyers, Eddy County had 11 confirmed rabies cases during 2011 and nine confirmed cases in January 2012 alone.

the latest case involved a dog that tangled with a rabid skunk in the 600 block of North 11th Street in Carlsbad.

at the beginning of January, a female dog was bitten by a wild skunk three weeks before developing symptoms of rabies and was euthanized as a result. Samples were sent in for testing.

at the time of the incident, the NM Department of Health was interviewing individuals who had contact with the dog and/or her puppies to determine if they were exposed to the disease.

Several family members, including two young children, were given a series of rabies vaccinations to prevent them from developing rabies, which is a 100 percent fatal disease.

“This outbreak of rabies in skunks in the Carlsbad area needs to be taken very seriously by everyone in the community and surrounding area,” said Dr. Paul Ettestad, the Department of Health’s public health veterinarian. “Everyone should encourage their family and their neighbors to have their pets vaccinated against rabies to protect their community.”

Community members will receive another opportunity to get their pets vaccinated at the low-cost clinic, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at Desert Willow Veterinary Services, located at 512 E. Fiesta.

Puppies and kittens must be at least 14 weeks old to receive the vaccine and in order to obtain a three-year vaccine, a certificate of previous vaccination must be provided, otherwise a one-year vaccine will be given.

Officials ask that dogs be on a leash and cats be in carriers.

apart from being a safety measure for pets and families, having up-to-date rabies vaccinations is required by law.

what: Rabies Vaccination Clinic

when: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11

Where: Desert Willow Veterinary Services, 512 E. Fiesta

Cost: $10 per vaccine, cash only

January 28, 2012

MARSTONS MILLS — for weeks, Marstons Mills residents wondered about the identity of the Barnstable man suffering from rabies in a Boston hospital.

At the tiny Liberty Hall community center in this picturesque village, people wondered, “Doesn’t anybody know who it is?” said Al Baker of the Marstons Mills Historical Society.

This week they learned the sad truth.

It was one of their own, Kevin A. Galvin, 63.

President of the Marstons Mills Historical Society and owner of a historic home on a pond in the center of the village, Galvin passed away Monday at Massachusetts General Hospital.

His death certificate, obtained at Boston City Hall Friday, said he died of rabies encephalitis after fighting the neurological virus for a month.

His death is the first time since 1935 that a Massachusetts resident has died of rabies acquired in the commonwealth. In 1983, a state resident died of the deadly virus after being exposed in Nigeria.

“It’s shocking,” Baker said Thursday. “Very sad and disheartening.”

The Cape Cod Times reported on Friday about Galvin’s legacy to the village where he had lived for 11 years. It did not mention the cause of death because reporters could not confirm it with state or local public health officials.

But for days it had been an open secret in Marstons Mills.

One woman who did not want to be named said she received an email about Galvin’s passing that said it was rabies.

“I was shocked because I’ve been following the story all along,” she said.

While Galvin was in the Boston hospital fighting for his life with his wife, Judith, by his side, few knew he was the anonymous Cape rabies victim making headlines after being bitten by a small brown bat.

“It was very top secret,” a board member at Liberty Hall, to which Galvin also belonged, said. The hall’s flag is flying at half staff.

“To the best of my knowledge, nobody knew,” Baker said. he said looking back, he now realizes why Galvin didn’t return his phone calls about printing some raffle tickets.

A computer software developer who marketed a product for catalog companies, Galvin was usually ready to help out any time, Baker said.

A man he identified only as an official “who’d be in the know,” told him Galvin was busy, Baker said.

Officials at the state Department of Public Health have maintained a news blackout recently on the rabies case they first publicized late last month.

Phone calls to DPH spokeswoman Jennifer Manley went straight to voice mail Friday, and neither she nor commissioner John Auerbach returned calls or emails.

Asked Thursday if the rabies victim had died, Manley said by phone, “We would never confirm that. At this time we don’t have to confirm it because of privacy.”

DPH officials first announced at the end of December that a Barnstable County man in his 60s was in critical condition with the deadly virus.

Then, a local public health official confirmed the victim was from the town of Barnstable.

Early this month state public health officials confirmed that the disease had been transmitted by the bite of a small brown bat of the Myotis species.

Although rabies is rare in the U.S., in most cases it is caused by bats.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says only six cases were reported last year, of which five were fatal (a victim in California lived).

Galvin apparently was bitten in his Marstons Mills home, but didn’t know it until symptoms started showing.

Usually at that point, it’s too late to recover because the virus has invaded the brain, disrupting signals to vital body parts such as the heart and diaphragm, health officials say.

As of Jan. 14 — the date of the Times’ last published update on the case — the rabies victim remained in stable but critical condition in a comalike state at an unidentified Boston hospital, according to Barnstable Health Director Thomas McKean.

McKean did not return phone calls Friday. He’d said earlier in the week that family members had requested privacy.

Lee Mannillo, of the Cape Cod Rabies Task Force, confirmed recently that Galvin had undergone an innovative treatment called the “Milwaukee protocol.”

The treatment involves administering a cocktail of sedatives while allowing the body to produce natural antibodies to fight off the infection.

The protocol, developed by Dr. Rodney E. Willoughby at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, is credited for saving six lives since 2004.

But it is far more effective to give people bitten by rabid or suspicious animals a series of rabies shots before symptoms ever appear, health officials say.

Galvins’ siblings said they did not want to talk to the press about their brother’s death, and his wife indicated the same through a friend.

Galvin, who ran Galvin Associates software development company in Hingham for years, threw himself into the community life of Marstons Mills after moving there a little more than a decade ago.

He and Judith purchased the William Marston House, which dates from 1780 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

They turned it from an inn back into a private residence, but still allowed civic celebrations and an Easter church service to be held on the grounds.

Galvin served on the board of the Barnstable Land Trust until a few years ago and put his computer expertise to work digitizing records for the Marstons Mills Historical Society.

He kept a blog on the Marstons Mills River Herring Counting Project.

His funeral is being held today in South Weymouth. Burial will be at Mosswood Cemetery in Cotuit.

Michaela Harrington, Michelle Ng and Lian Parsons contributed to this story.

Ads by Google

Vivian Robins said her worst nightmare was realized Sunday evening when a loose pitbull attacked and killed her nine-pound terrier, Lola, outside her apartment building near 24th Street and Avenue A.“we just closed the door to go outside and then this pitbull lunged at Lola and started thrashing her back and forth in its mouth as Lola cried in agony,” Robins said through tears. “And then this second pitbull started to circle around as if it was trying to prevent someone from interfering.”While Lola was being attacked, Robins said she jumped on the pitbull’s back in an attempt to save her dog.“I was pounding on him and grabbing his jaw to try and open it, but he wouldn’t let go. he was just too strong,” she said.after a brief struggle, a passerby, Cecilia Tobar, noticed the commotion and came to Robins’ assistance.The two women eventually freed Lola and a relative of Robins’ transported the severely injured pet to a local veterinary clinic, but it was too late.“Lola meant everything to me. she was my support animal; my precious companion who kept me from being sad,” Robins said. “And now I have lost her.”both women received minor bite wounds during the incident and were treated and released from Yuma Regional Medical Center.The attack on Lola was the final in a series of three episodes involving the two pitbulls Sunday evening, according to the Yuma Police Department.“The male and female pitbulls, (who belong to Amber Hughes, 28, of Yuma) escaped from a home on the 800 block of East 24th Street by digging a hole under the fence,” said YPD spokesman Sgt. Clint Norred. “they then went to a nearby housing unit and attacked a chihuahua. The owners of the chihuahua were nearby and they were able to save it, although the dog did suffer some injuries.”after attacking the chihuahua, Norred said the two dogs then chased after an unidentified woman who was walking nearby. she was able to reach the safety of her apartment unharmed. The attack on Lola was the third episode, before the city’s Animal Control Services and YPD officers captured the dogs later that evening without further incident, Norred said.The two pitbulls are now quarantined for 10 days at the Humane Society of Yuma while being watched for symptoms of rabies.Norred said charges of dogs at large and license violations were submitted to the city prosecutor and are currently under investigation.Darren DaRonco can be reached at (928) 539-6857 or ddaronco@yumasun.com. you can follow him on Twitter @YSDarrend or on Facebook at faceboook.com/YSDarrenD.

we are currently updating Patch.com. Everything should be back to normal shortly.

thanks for your patience!

Monthly E-News from CHAT of Wakulla, Keeping You Informed:  September 2011

Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog MonthOctober is Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog month and CHAT would like to invite you to come to the Adoption Center to adopt a homeless pet to share your life and home.  for the month of October, CHAT is reducing the adoption fees for our dogs.  Fees always include initial health examination, spay/neuter, microchip, rabies and other vaccinations up to date, a small bag of dog food, and a month of free pet insurance!!

Our Pet of the MonthLucky wasn’t so lucky.  She had been adopted from the CHAT Adoption Center as a puppy and recently returned because her adopters could no longer care for her.  She is an active dog and needs a fenced-in yard, or someone who enjoys exercise!  She is a Labrador/Catahoula mix and is almost 3 years old.  can you help her find a forever, loving home?

And–we are pleased to announce another way for you to support CHAT of Wakulla and our homeless 4-legged friends!  we have now teamed up with Petfinder’s “Sponsor a Pet” program.  Follow this link:  petfinder.com/shelters/FL479.html

Select an animal from our adoptable pets list and click the “sponsor me” tab.  Sign up, then pick a donation amount, and submit.  Simple!  Donations through the Petfinder Foundation “Sponsor Me” program will be sent to CHAT on a quarterly basis, and will make a great difference for our animals.  we thank you in advance for your generosity and support!

Mark your Calendar!!

Canine Poker Walk/CHAToberfest is coming up on October 29th at the CHAT Adoption Center.  Please check our website for details.  Tons of fun!!  Hope to see you there!!

Parvovirus

What is Parvo?

Parvovirus is a viral disease of dogs.  It affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dogs.

What are the symptoms of Parvo?

Parvo is a virus that attacks the lining of the digestive system.  It causes dogs and puppies to not be able to absorb nutrients or liquids.  Puppies are especially prone to it because they have an immature immune system.  It is characterized by severe, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, high fever and lethargy.  Parvo can also attack a dog’s heart causing congestive heart failure.

How is Parvo transmitted?

Canine parvovirus is carried by dogs.  Adult dogs may be infected carriers without showing any clinical signs.  It can last a long time in the environment, perhaps as long as nine months or longer.  Generally, it takes 7-10 days from the time of exposure for dogs and puppies to start showing symptoms and to test positive for parvo.

Parvo is highly contagious to unprotected dogs and the virus can remain infectious in ground contaminated with fecal material for five months or more if conditions are favorable.  Extremely hardy, most disinfectants cannot kill the virus, however, chlorine bleach is the most effective and inexpensive agent that works.

Is there a Parvovirus vaccination?

Yes!  many vets recommend vaccinating puppies every three to four weeks for this virus starting at six weeks of age and continuing until they are at least 16-20 weeks of age.  many veterinarians continue to recommend yearly vaccinations for it.  It seems prudent to at least get the vaccination at one year of age.

How is Parvo treated?

Without intense treatment, the victims of parvo die of dehydration.  Treatment generally consists of IV or sub-cutaneous fluids and antibiotics.  there is no cure.  Veterinarians can only treat the symptoms palliatively and try to keep the dog alive by preventing dehydration and loss of proteins.

How do I prevent the spread of Parvo?

The surest way to avoid parvo infection in your dog is to adhere to the recommended vaccination schedule which begins when puppies are 6-8 weeks of age.  Puppies should not be allowed to socialize with other dogs or frequent areas where other dogs have been until two weeks after they have had their last vaccination.  Immunization for parvo is usually included in your dog’s distemper vaccine.

Adapted from workingdogs.com

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CHAT of Wakulla is a nonprofit 501©3 status, tax deductible organization.  A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free 1-800-435-7352 within the state.  Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State. < Prev   Next > You need to login or register to post comments.Discuss this item on the forums. (0 posts)