800 dead in 2 months

The article "Nigeria Cholera Epidemic kills 800 in 2 months" is about the cholera epidemic that struck Nigeria in September. This is the worst epidemic to reach Nigeria in 19 years. According to the World Health Organization, 7,654 people died in 1991 from cholera. So far the disease has spread to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, killing hundreds along the way. In Nigeria alone 13,000 people have become ill with this disease. In Cameroon 300+ people have died and 5,000 are ill. In Chad 40 have died and 600 are ill. This article can be found at www.cbsnews.com.stories/2010/09/10/world/main6853420.shtml.

As we have learned from class cholera is a fast-developing, highly contagious infection that casues diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration and possible death. The most common way that cholera is spread is through dirty drinking water. In Nigeria half of the country's 150 million people lack access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation. Poor sanitation "is the backbone of this disease," said Adamu Abubakar, a Red Cross offical stationed in Nigeria. Cholera is easily treatable through rehydration.

So many people have gotten cholera that all the beds in the "hospitals" are filled so the doctors have to place the sick in storerooms and concrete hallways wet with human waste. IV's are scarse so only the really sick get them. Most of the time they go to small childern because they can die from cholera faster than adults. In the "hospitals" with not a lot of money beds do not exsist so people are using torn, yellow mattresses with only a plastic bucket underneath it to catch the waste.

People have volunteered to go out and spreay chlorine, a solution designed to kill the cholera bacteria, through the crowded, narrow, dirt filled streets of NIgeria. Chlorine tablets have also been placed in the wells. The only problem with the chlorine is that it does not last very long, so the people of Nigeria can still get cholera. The local government in Nigeria has informed the public about this disease and how to prevent yourself from contracting the disease.

Villages hit by an Epidemic in Venezuela

The Article “Amazon Indians hit by deadly epidemic in Venezuela” is about a Malaria outbreak that currently is hitting their country. Venezuelan health workers have said that Malaria has killed many people as well as destroying three villages of the Yanomami Indians who live in a remote part of the Amazon rain forest. The Yanomami people are struggling and they have attracted worldwide support. The article can be found at http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/10/30/5381446-amazon-indians-hit-by-deadly-epidemic-in-venezuela
Dr. Carlos Botto said that the initial accounts and tests have shown there was an epidemic and evidence of Malaria in the small group of the Yanomami. When Andres Blanco, a Yanomami health worker in government program for the indigenous communities first got to the remote and hidden area in mid-October the leaders of the tiny trips old Blanco that out of the 200 people in the three trips combined 51 of them had died. That’s more then one forth of their entire populations, wiped out just because of this disease. Isolation has left the people of the Yanomami vulnerable to many other diseases besides Malaria, some of them are Measles, Yellow fever, and hepatitis has been spread by outsiders. The disease will spread rapidly among the people because they live in such close contact to one another. Also they do not have the exposure to many common illnesses so when an outsider comes in contact with one of the members they become vulnerable to infection.

Christina Haverkamp said that the government response has been really slow; they needed to access helicopters to reach the people. Yanomami people are very sheltered from the outside world. President Hugo Chavez suggests they expand a medical care program called the Yanomani Health Plan to help prevent this from happening again.

No Fly Lists: Are They Still Working?

The article "Loopholes in 'Do Not Board' List Let Infected Travelers Fly" by Alison Young talks about the news on people traveling on planes with infectious disease. It explains that recently, people with infectious diseases that were on the No Board List had made it on the flights. Since January of 2010, nine people on the list had tried to board flights, and six were stopped successfully. Three, on the other hand, were allowed on the flight in a sort of "loopho

le" causing lots of problems within the air community. The reason they made the list was to insure the safety of the people flying as well as to stop the spread of infectious disease to other parts of the world. Since this incident, air security has been checking the list more frequently and making sure the list does not prove to be faulty again. Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the public health watchdog group Trust for America's Health was very disappointed on the subject and explained: ""We worry a lot about some man-made terrorist attack; but nature-made terror attacks can be just as deadly and can come in the form of an infectious disease".

I found this article very interesting and related a lot to the class. For one, it shows just how serious infectious diseases are; certain people are put into the same category as terrorists if they have an infectious disease and are not allowed the fly. Levi even stated himself that people look past infectious disease because it is not "as deadly" as terrorist attacks, but thi

s is actually false. Infectious diseases can actually be more deadly, and have been more deadly. Like we learned in class, most epidemic diseases occur because of the travel between countries; travel is how The Plague and Cholera got brought to Europe. This fact is no differe

nt today. If people with infectious diseases were allowed to fly on planes, they would not only infect the people on the plane but they could potentially spread it to a whole new country and infect thousands. This

scary thought is exactly why the "No Board List" was created, and it's even scarier that the list seems to fail at times.

Article can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-12-17-rw_donotboard16_ST_N.htm

New Meningitis Vaccine Gives Africa Hope

This article (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/world/africa/05meningitis.html?_r=1&scp=11&sq=epidemic%20disease&st=cse) titled "New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa", describes how a new vaccine being introduced in Africa is anticipated to save hundreds of thousands of lives. The author of the article is Celia W. Dugger, and it was published on December 4, 2010 in the New York Times. It begins by informing the reader of Africa's previous hardships with meningitis, saying that it "kills with terrifying speed". The article goes on to describe how a new vaccine and its affordability will lessen the severity of the problem. Experts estimate that it will save over 150,000 lives by 2015 across 25 countries. Because of funders like Bill Gates, the vaccine can be offered at about 50 cents per person, an extremely cheap price, considering that vaccination in the states can cost up to 100 dollars. Bill Gates comments on the vaccine and its affordability, saying: “All those [other vaccines] were created because rich people got sick. This is the first vaccine that went through the whole process where there was no rich world market, and it had to be optimized at a very low price.” As he indicates, this vaccination's affordability is really an innovation in health.

What I found most interesting about this article was how far vaccination has come in nearly 300 years. We studied the hesitancies that members of colonial Boston felt inoculating people against the smallpox epidemic in 1721. Now, people are being vaccinated against all kinds of diseases and vaccinations are saving peoples' lives. If the people of 1721 could see how important vaccination has become, there wouldn't have been nearly as much controversy over the subject!

Personally, I think that it must be an extreme relief for Africans to know that help is coming. Being unable to afford vaccination would be extremely frustrating- knowing there was something you could do to save your child or loved one from dying, but not being able to afford it would be awful. The affordability of this vaccine must be incredibly comforting- finally, one less thing to worry about on a continent where there is already so much else going on. From AIDs to genocides, Africa always seems to be dealing with disasters, and it is wonderful to see some hope.

Drop in Flu Vaccinations may lead to Possible Pandemic

The article in question was published by the BBC, the 14th of December. The article titled "Numbers Drop for Flu Vaccination Uptake" can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/humberside/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9287000/9287515.stm for those interested.

In this report, the author calls attention to a percentage drop of people this flu season opting to be vaccinated in various areas in the UK. This is attributed to people who believe they have a low chance of catching the disease among other reasons such as just plain not wanting to undergo the trouble of driving down to get the vaccination. "Flu's a nasty illness. I think people sometimes think it's a bad cold but it's actually very serious," says one doctor. Unfortunately, the article also calls to attention a large percentage of people not being vaccinated to have various health disorders that make them more vulnerable, such as asthma, heart disease, etc. Because of this, a flu pandemic could be possible in the area within the new year.


While reading this article I thought one thing. How could people be so careless? The fact that less and less people are getting vaccinated calls to attention how much we are taking for granted these days. We are even willing to risk our own lives in order to avoid a simple vaccination that takes no more than a drive down to your local pediatrician. What is more concerning is that a significant demographic of these people not being vaccinated are at-risk groups who are more vulnerable to the disease. While I certainly don't enjoy needles, I still choose to be vaccinated because I have a past history of asthma. The concerns of the doctors are certainly not unfounded. Their strategy to avoid a pandemic is certainly thoughtful as well, urging those who are at risk to be vaccinated in order to prevent a rapid spread of the flu through these at-risk groups. This reminded me of the video in class about circle vaccinations where only those who were infected were given priority vaccinations in order to prevent them from spreading the disease to others in the area. While not the same in execution, it is the same in concept.

The spread of disease has always been exacerbated by those who believe they are above catching the illness. Tasks such as simply washing your hands have been ignored and have led to various ailments. Venereal diseases are still around because of people who refuse to take the necessary precautions. Sometimes you cannot predict when or how a disease will strike, or perhaps another condition prevents you from being vaccinated, but when a cure is in front of you, it seems plain negligent to look over it.

Cholera Outbreaks in Haiti Worsen

"Cholera Deaths Up in Haiti with Worst to Come"
By: Randal C. Archibold, New York Times
November 14th, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/world/americas/15cholera.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=cholera&st=cse

This article from the New York Times was written last month about outbreaks of Cholera in different parts of Haiti. There have been many cases of the disease especially since the earthquake, all most likely resulting from the poverty and horrible living conditions existing in the country.

The article goes into detail about how many cases of Cholera have been seen and exactly where they occured; apparantly there have been cases in six out of the ten provinces in Haiti. According to Archibold, the disease hasn't even heightened in other parts of the country and will likely break out in other places before any sort of decline is seen.

Information is also provided on the medical conditions for patients who contract the disease, and a brief description of the hospitals in the country is given. The article also attributes much of the cause of disease in the country to the poverty, lack of sanitation, and poor living conditions that the people living in the region have had to endure since the earthquake. Archibold highlights this by saying, "The rate of severe cases...is far higher in Haiti...because of extreme poverty, unsanitary conditions, and the fact that cholera has not been there for 40 years."

I personally find this information to be terribly disturbing. I've known since the earthquake in Haiti happened that living conditions there have been rough, and as a result sanitation and health in the country have been poor as well. But after learning recently in class that Cholera broke out badly in the 19th century, it seems strange to me that it can still affect and sicken so many people today. It makes me feel horrible that even though there is so much more knowledge and information on how to treat Cholera these days, it is still killing people and still causing so much harm to a country. If only the people living in  Haiti had the money to improve their living conditions, so many deaths could be prevented. We've learned in class that Cholera is so easy to treat (it may not always be effective depending on the severity of the case, but nevertheless it is simple to treat), so why are so many people in Haiti dying? If only they had the money and access to resources that could help them, maybe the death rates from Cholera over there wouldn't be as devastating.

The article did mention some support and aid being provided for sick Haitians, which is soothing. The United Nations, International Organization for Migration, and other organizations are donating money to the country to help them with treatment, sanitation, and medical care. And neighboring countries, such as the Dominican Republic, are restricting trade to make sure that Cholera doesn't spread to their country. It's still horrible to hear about all this devastation in Haiti, but it's comforting to know that steps are being taken to improve conditions.

The article provided this picture of a woman suffering Cholera symptoms.

Over 2300 People Die from Cholera in Haiti

The article (http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2010/12/14/dead-cholera-haiti/ ) talks about how 104,614 people have become victim to cholera and 2,323 people have died from the outbreak in Haiti. The outbreak began in mid-October and has still not been quieted. In the past three days, 130 people have died from the disease all over the country. Over 50,000 people have been hospitalized since the beginning of the recent outbreak. The disease was first noticed in the northern province of Arbinite where, since then, 748 people have died. Another place where there has been many deaths is in the southern province of Grand'Anse. The cause seems to have been from a group of Nepalese soldiers, members of the U.N. mission for stabilization in Haiti, dumping human waste into a river.

There have been many cholera outbreaks in history and we now know how to prevent and cure it but they still keep happening. People know that cholera is caused by drinking water with feces in it but they keep being careless and not thinking about how their actions will affect others. People have always been afraid of disease and being around people with contagious diseases but they don't do anything to lessen the risk of becoming infected with a highly fatal disease. I would think that if people are so worried about their health then they would do anything to prevent the disease from spreading even more.

Obesity on the Rise in Asian Countries

This article was from The Journal of Obesity and written by Ambady Ramachandran and Chamukuttan Snehalatha and can be found at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobes/2010/868573.html. As of February of 2010 obesity seems to be on the rise in Asia countries. The epidemic can be held responsible to leading to many other diseases such as hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. These diseases rise up in the younger of the population and are being seen as much more prevalent. The World Health Organization, as of 2005, estimated 1.6 billion overweight peoples over the age of 15 and at least 400 million were obese. They estimate that by 2015, 2-3 billion peoples will be overweight with at least 700 million obese if the rates keep rising as they are. In Asia, the rate as increased greatly within the past decade. India has the highest amount of obese people in the world followed by China. Within these countries there are also outbreaks of obesity causing epidemics such as Diabetes and CVD. Although the pandemic began in more rich society where food was abundant, it has begun to spread to poorer communities within the countries, and the article explains this as such: "Asia has undergone considerable socioeconomic transition in the last three decades which has resulted in increased availability of food, better transport facilities, and better health care facilities." Although Asia is such a huge continent that it definitely varies from region to region.

This article was truly interesting because obesity seems to be a major issue in America, and no one ever thinks about it in other countries, but in fact, it is the worst in other countries. It was amazing to see that it as developing in not only rich societies but poorer ones as well with the new abundance of food and success of the countries. It is as if the new found success is harming the country in this way. It is also interesting because this epidemic disease is not only bad itself, but can also lead to other epidemic diseases, in turn causing other epidemic diseases to be on the rise as well. It's like the Plague in a way which could begin as simply Bubonic plague and slowly progress into a more harmful and lethal disease and affect the populations even more. And although this epidemic isn't always seen as a disease necessarily, with that simple comparison, it can be brought into retrospect about how harmful it really can be. This article was definitely a wake up call to the danger of obesity and being overweight.

Doctors Without Borders Launch Revolutionary Vaccination Campaign Against Meningitis in Africa

The article, “New Meningitis A Vaccine is a ‘Revolution’” was posted on the Doctors Without Borders website on December 3, 2010.  The author of the article is unknown.  The full text is available online at:  Doctors Without Borders: "Meningitis A Vaccine is a Revolution". The article is an interview with a Doctors Without Borders representative on the subject of the recent Meningitis vaccination campaign being launched in Africa.  There are several types of Meningitis, but the main focus of the campaign is on Meningitis that is caused by a bacterial infection in the fluid surrounding the brain and the spine.  If left uncured, Meningitis can lead to long-term disabilities, such as deafness and mental disabilities, or even death.

Doctors Without Borders has been launching vaccination campaigns against Meningitis in Africa for years; however, this year, the campaign is slightly different.  “The new vaccine is being employed as a preventative measure and not, as in the past, in response to an actual outbreak of the disease,” says a Doctors Without Borders representative.  Waiting for an outbreak and vaccinating a region in an emergency situation can get chaotic, so the new campaign will employ the “herd immunity” technique.  Herd immunity, “means that people who are vaccinated will protect those who are not vaccinated because they won’t pass the bacteria,” explains the representative.  The new vaccine lasts for up to ten years, so it will hopefully wipe out a significant amount of the bacteria that causes Meningitis.  Doctors Without Borders is looking to prevent severe outbreaks of Meningitis, but they realize that eradication is not a realistic feat at this point because there are just too many strains of the disease. 

This article reminded me a lot of the video we watched in class about the eradication of smallpox.  Although the goal of the Meningitis campaign is not to eradicate the disease, the challenges faced and the techniques employed are similar to those from the eradication of smallpox.  In both situations, there were massive populations and not enough resources or time to vaccinate everyone.  The herd immunity technique used in Meningitis vaccination is very similar to the ring vaccination technique that was used in the eradication of smallpox in Africa and India. 

This article also interested me because I did my case study on Meningitis earlier this year.  I already knew a lot about the disease and I enjoyed learning more about the prevention.  Since Meningitis is a disease that is not a huge threat to us in America, it is easy to forget that it is still dangerous and devastating in countries that cannot afford vaccination. 

Spread of AIDS on the Decline

Currently 33.4 million people are living with AIDS world wide right now and an estimated 2.7 million will become infected in the coming year. AIDS has reached epidemic proportions and continues to infect people all over the world. The World Health Organization notes that so many of these people do not have access to HIV treatment and contract AIDS because of it. Recently though, positive steps have been taken to help stop the spread of AIDS, and the United Nations reports that the AIDS epidemic is in decline. The 2.7 million people infected each year is 20% lower than when the AIDS epidemic peaked all the way back in 1999. Even the area where AIDS is most prevalent, the sub-Saharan region of Africa, is reporting a decline in the number of infections. Because of organizations dedicated to sending AIDs relief to poorer countries, like Keep a Child Alive, the number of infections is on the decline. Read the story here: http://www.thecowl.com/world/improvements-in-aids-prevention-1.181643.

It seems to be because of generous people lending assistance in regions like India and South Africa AIDs has been on the decline. Like the smallpox epidemic in the same region, volunteers offered their time to help combat this horrid epidemic. Unlike smallpox the battle is a much more difficult one since HIV carriers can only be identified with tests. Smallpox cases could easily be spotted because of the sores. Also while there is no cure for AIDs at the time perhaps something just as valuable such as educating the denizens of India and Africa. The fact that a dangerous epidemic is on the down fall is very good news. While this is just a stepping stone for when AIDs will no longer be an epidemic it is good news to hear it is on the decline, especially following World AIDs day. It is good to know that the effort of volunteers is paying off.
-Joel S.

AIDS Victims On The Rise In El Paso

The article “Increasing AIDS Cases in El Paso Called an ‘Epidemic,’” by ABC-7 reporter Stephanie Valle, illustrates the significance of AIDS, which has been infecting millions for many years. Written on December 1, 2010, in honor of World AIDS day, health organizers are insisting that everyone get tested. The number of cases has been on the rise in the major city of El Paso, Texas. The treating organization in the state called Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe has stated that the number of AIDS patients have increased in 2010, in comparison to the amount in the previous years. This is the only AIDS care provider in the borderland. On Google news, this article can be found through this link: http://www.kvia.com/news/25970633/detail.html

An important point that the administrator of the organization, Jorge Salazar, makes is that everyone is at risk, disregarding age or gender. Patients of all ages, ranging from 14 to 55, frequently enter offices for testing. This dangerous disease can be acquired by simply not using safety precautions. He believes that there has been a lack of information to the community about the risks. Not only do people who are suffering from AIDS not appear sick, but it is also incurable! These shocking facts alone should scare people into being extra careful, but most just believe it they have nothing to worry about.

El Paso, Texas

Part of the issue is that people are ignorant about how easily AIDs can be contracted. They think that the outbreaks are over, but it is indeed still affecting people all around the world. The public should be more aware of the dangers and consequences involved when having unprotected sex. Not only can this lead to AIDS/HIV, but to other drastic problems as well such as pregnancy.

Getting tested is crucial. Health is the most important thing in life and should be valued. It is a great thing that there are organizations such as the large on in Texas, but is sometimes not enough. The public should be more careful and attentive to the vital information about AIDS.

Cholera Makes its Arrival in Haiti's Capital

The article “Cholera Moves Into the Beleaguered Haitian Capital” by Randal C. Archibold written on November 9, 2010 in the New York Times looks at the the current issue of cholera facing Haiti. Not even a year after Haiti was struck with a devastating earthquake, the developing country is faced with yet another challenge, cholera. Cholera is an infection in the small intestine that is caused by bacterium found in contaminated drinking water or food. Treatment for cholera is simple, rehydration and in really severe cases antibiotics. Cholera is spreading rapidly throughout Haiti and recently made its way into the overcrowded capital, Port-Au-Prince. The article in the New York times can be found here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/world/americas/10haiti.html?_r=1

The one million people who were displaced by the earthquake in January have been living in unsanitary camps which are the perfect breeding ground for an epidemic like cholera. As Jon Kim Andrus said “Cholera is a complex public health emergency under any circumstances. In Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest country, the problem is even more complex.” Cholera is a serious problem that needs to be taken seriously anywhere but in such a poor country like Haiti, it needs to be a top priority. Cholera can spread rapidly to many people. Those displaced people from the earthquake are living in tightly packed tent cities with no real housing. People have limited access to clean drinking water, and often use the same source for bathing and drinking. Because of this contamination can easily occur.

Currently Haiti has 9,100 reported cases of Cholera, and at least 583 people have died because of Cholera. Hospitals and clinics are being overwhelmed with patients and the fear of spread is on every ones mind. Even though cholera is easily treated, it can come on suddenly and not leave enough time to get the proper medical aid.

It just seems like it is one thing after another for Haiti. The already struggling country can't seem to get a break. It makes sense that Haiti would have to deal with cholera because of how horrible living conditions are. As we talked about in class how things like poor population health, contamination of water supplies and food sources, lack of public health programs and environmental changes can contribute to the spread of epidemics. All of these helped contribute to the spread of cholera in Haiti. Because of the earthquake and hurricanes the Haitian people are living in slums without proper health care which the country didn't have much of pre-earthquake.

The question isn't really why Haiti has cholera, that is an easy one to answer, but the real question is what needs to be done to stop it's spread. Haiti can't really handle an epidemic right now with trying to rebuild. Cholera needs to be stopped as soon as possible because in a country like Haiti, people will die even though it can be easily treated.

I liked this article because of the way it talked about Haiti, and Haiti is very close to my heart since my visit in 2008. I think that this article spoke of the need in Haiti right now and its urgency. I also liked his honesty in how bad things are there right now, the author didn't make it seem better than it really is. I found this article to give a good overview of cholera in Haiti and how it has made its way into the capital of Port-Au-Prince.

We're Blogging!

Welcome to our class blog, "Studying Epidemic Disease at RMHS: Infectious Disease in the News." This is a place where we will track recent news stories about infectious disease. You'll not only have the opportunity to write about what's in the headlines but you'll also engage in a dialogue with your classmates about the news stories that are shared.

We're looking forward to hearing about what interests you regarding current issues around epidemic disease and also to seeing how you make the important connections between class topics and studies and the current articles you find. Happy Blogging!