Influenza is Flying High!

This article is called “Where Germs Lurk on Planes” and was written by Scott McCartney. It was published in the Wall Street Journal on December 20, 2011.

Research has showed that travelers on airplanes are at a higher risk of getting infectious diseases, such as influenza, than every day people are. One specific study shows that there is a 20% higher risk of catching the flu on airplanes than regularly on land. This percentage also rises significantly around the holidays when a lot of people are packed into planes, flying here and there.

Researchers blame the air that is continuously circulated throughout the airplane during its travel. However, the high-efficiency particulate air filters, also known as HEPA filters, can capture 99.97% of the bacteria and virus-carrying particles aboard the planes. The problem occurs when planes are being boarded and exited, or when planes have long waits on the ground. In 1979, a plane was sitting for 3 hours without circulating the air. Within two days of this happening, about 38 of the 54 passengers had flu-like symptoms.

The danger of flying in an airplane comes when you are in the ‘hot zone’ of someone who is sick. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “The hot zone for exposure is generally two seats beside, in front of and behind you.” For instance, if someone in your hot zone sneezes, that single sneeze can make up to 30,000 droplets which can reach as far as six feet.

In addition, the virus thrives in the low-humidity climate offered in airplanes at 30,000 feet off the ground. Your mucous membranes dry out at such an altitude, and viruses can therefore enter your system much more easily.

The public health measures now offered to the spread of influenza on airplanes include: drinking a lot of water throughout their flight, using hand-sanitizer and disinfecting wipes throughout your trip, and not touching the seat pockets on the chairs.

In my opinion, this article relates to many of the units and concepts we have studied in class. For example, the public health measures given do exactly what the definition we learned says. They offer great suggestions to passengers to prevent illnesses, the influenza, from spreading. In addition, this article talked a lot about the air which I connected back to the Miasma Theory which came up in some of our units. People used to believe that diseases were spread due to poison in the air. I think this article is a good modern day connection to the units we have studied so far this year.

This article really showed me just how easy it is, if people are not careful, to spread germs and viruses. The image of someone sneezing in and airplane and spreading germs to everyone around them reminded me of our Cholera unit and how once you dirtied the water with your germs and feces, everyone around you could get sick.

To read more about this article, please check out:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204058404577108420985863872.html

image: http://photolibrary.usap.gov/Portscripts/PortWeb.dll?query&field1=Filename&op1=matches&value=AIRBUS_INTERIOR1.JPG&catalog=Antarctica&template=USAPgovMidThumbs

by: Christine Johnson

Experimental malaria vaccine shows early promise

Reuters) - British scientists have developed an experimental malaria vaccine that may have the potential to neutralize all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite.

Results from very early tests of the vaccine in mice and rabbits show it induces an antibody response able to halt many strains of the P. falciparum parasite, the form that causes almost all of the 655,000 malaria deaths worldwide each year.

The researchers, whose work was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, plan to take the vaccine into early stage human trials in two to three years, but it may be a decade or more beyond that before it is fully developed.

"Vaccines against malaria are notoriously difficult to develop," said Adrian Hill of Britain's Oxford University, who worked on the vaccine research team.

This vaccine builds on work published last month by the same team, who pinpointed a single receptor for a protein called RH5 that is critical for the malaria parasite to gain entry into red blood cells where it multiplies and spreads.

The researchers said in November they thought that by blocking this process, they could halt the disease in its tracks - and Tuesday's results confirm their thinking.

"What's exciting about RH5 is that we've shown that antibodies against this protein have so far knocked down every parasite we've been able to test in the laboratory," Simon Draper of Oxford's Jenner Institute, who also worked on the study, said in a telephone interview.

"We haven't found one yet that the vaccine isn't able to stop."

Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasitic disease that killed around 655,000 in 2010 according to latest World Health Organisation data. The vast majority of malaria deaths are among children and babies in sub-Saharan Africa.

The blood stage of the parasite's life cycle begins when it invades human red blood cells, and it is this stage that is responsible for malaria illnesses and deaths.

Scientists have been working for decades on trying to develop an effective vaccine against the disease, but this has proved particularly tricky because the parasites' antigens - the target of vaccines - tend to be genetically too diverse.

Researchers say RH5 doesn't show this diversity, making it a particularly good target for a vaccine to exploit.

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline published data in October showing its experimental vaccine, RTS,S, halved the risk of children getting malaria in a large trial in Africa, making it likely to become the world's first licensed malaria vaccine.

Other teams of researchers around the world are also working on other approaches to a malaria vaccine.

Experts agree that wiping out the disease - a goal the scientific community says could be achieved in the next few decades with the right tools - will need a vaccine that is more effective than RTS,S.

"Unlike RTS,S, which aims to stop the parasite getting into the liver, this RH5 vaccine is trying to kill the parasite in the blood," Draper explained. "So it may be possible that the RH5 vaccine could complement RTS,S."

"Ultimately we don't know until we test our vaccine in humans whether it will be more efficacious than RTS,S. But these data on RH5 are some of the most exciting in the field at the moment."

(Editing by Peter Graff)

Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/20/us-malaria-vaccine-idUSTRE7BJ17W20111220

This article shows the progress that science is making. Malaria is an epidemic that has been around for many years and has killed many people. This article states that it killed 655,000 people in 2010! That is a staggering number and it is sad that so many people have been killed from a disease that we know the cause of. However, it is clearly hard to prevent this mosquito-borne parasite from claiming more victims. Creating a vaccine, that has so far been positive, is a huge step for scientists who work to fight Malaria. This vaccine has been tested on mice and other animals and hasn’t had any complications. However, I think that there still could be potential for problems and it is a good idea for the scientists to continue there research. The article says that it could be ready in two or three years. These scientists should be very proud of their findings, and hopefully they will be successful and discover a vaccine to combat a major epidemic disease.

Catching More Than Just Your Flight

The article “Where Germs Lurk on Planes” by Scott McCartney was published in the Wall Street Journal on December 20, 2011 and can be found by visiting http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204058404577108420985863872.html

In this article, McCartney claims that infectious diseases are spread in airplanes when the air circulation systems are shut down, which is common during long waits before takeoff. In a 1979 study where an airplane was without air circulation for three hours, 72% of the passengers contracted the same strain of the flu, which then was traced back to one of the passengers on board.

The other factors that contribute to the high rate of infections spreading on planes are the high altitude, extremely dry air, and germs hidden on places such as tray tables, seat pockets, pillows and blankets. Moreover, some viruses can live up to one day on a plane, which makes disease contraction much easier.

McCartney writes about the infectious disease SARS and states, “On one flight studied, one passenger spread a particular strain to someone seated seven rows away, while people seated next to the ill passenger didn't contract the disease.” This account shows how unpredictable the spread of infectious diseases is on airplanes. One would think that a passenger sitting next to someone with SARS would be much more likely to contract the disease than a passenger seven rows away would.

McCartney’s tips on how to avoid getting sick while traveling on an airplane include washing your hands frequently, changing seats if someone around you is coughing or sneezing, avoiding using airline pillows and blankets, and using a disinfecting wipe to clean your tray table before using it.

As I was scrolling through Google News, this article struck me because I had always placed a lot of faith in airlines in that they would try their hardest to avoid hidden germs from multiplying. Luckily, I have never gotten sick after traveling but this article made me realize that I should be more cautious about germs while on a plane. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I thought this was an appropriate article to get the word out that people should keep their health in mind while on airplanes.

As we leaned in the Black Death unit in class, travel is a contributing factor to the spread of infectious and epidemic diseases. However, I had never thought about the fact that a disease that only one passenger had could be rapidly spread while on a plane, and then the other passengers who contracted the disease could spread it even further from there.

Reading this article made me wonder if passengers in the First Class section of the airplane are less likely to contract diseases than passengers in other parts of the plane. It would be very interesting if a study was conducted to determine this answer, because it might show that airline employees sanitize the First Class sections of the plane more than the other sections. If this was found to be true, I think an uproar would ensue.

I think that airlines should make a bigger effort to keep their airplanes as sanitary as possible. Airlines should be aware that travel is such a big factor in the spread of infectious diseases. Something as simple as providing hand sanitizer for passengers could make a difference between stopping a disease from spreading and allowing a disease to be spread.

Picture: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/01/30/article-1132198-033E3448000005DC-482_468x286.jpg

Don't Let the Jigger Bugs Bite!

On October 22, 2010, MSNBC writer, Godfrey Olukya, reports the growing epidemic of the rot of flesh (medically known as Tungiasis) by small insects colloquially referred to as 'Jiggers' in Uganda Africa. According to James Kakooza, Uganda's minister of state for primary healthcare, Jiggers kills many young children, and shortens the life of many adults, by burrowing into the skin, sucking their blood, and causing the flesh to rot. This article consists of comments from the natives of Uganda, and public health, and government officials.

Tunga penetrans, commonly known as Jiggers, are small insects with similar characteristics to that of the common flea. They are the reason so many Ugandans, and people from parts of Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa are infected with the flesh rotting disease each year. The Jiggers burrow into a person's body, suck the blood, wax and multiply by the hundreds, and cause parts of the body such as the feet, the hands, buttocks, lips, and even the eyelids rot away.

"For the last three years I have been suffering from Jiggers. I lost two children killed by Jiggers," said a sixty year old Ugandan man. The disease killed at least twenty Ugandan people, and infected over twenty-thousand in the short time span of two months. Ministry of Health official in eastern Uganda writes, "It is common the find graves of whole families wiped away by Jiggers."

Though such a horrific disease seems to have symptoms written by Stephen King himself, there is hope. Kakooza says, "It is an epidemic which we are fighting against and I am sure over time we will eradicate the Jiggers." Like many problems that occur in dense poverished areas, the recurring factor is the lack of sanitation. "We are also telling them to use medicated soap. They can apply petrol and paraffin in places infested by Jiggers and they die," said Kakooza.

Unfortunately, the disease continues to spread throughout Africa and other continents, by way of travel and trade. The Jiggers like to live in dirty and dusty areas, and can easily survive on ships and transport trucks. The Ugandan government set aside one-million US dollars to fight the growing epidemic. It require topical medication, and the removal of the insects.

Personally, this article reflects the startling pain Africa feels everyday. The author describes images of people walking around on all fours and wailing in agony. I find it very interesting that the Ugandan government has only set aside one million dollars to contribute to the eradication of the insects. It absolutely makes me question the worth of material things against the simple health of our geographical brothers and sisters.

Something Batty is Happening in West Africa

Many different creatures are found around the world, from fish to frogs, to bears and bats and they all can carry diseases that can be spread to humans. But how do diseases jump from one species to another?
During the past few years researchers have been trying to find an answer to this question. In West Africa bats have been the cause of the spread of Ebola hemorrhagic fever and SARS.
Researchers believe that the cause of this species jump between bats and humans is because bats natural habitats are being destroyed causing them to move into West African homes and even some hospitals.
Another cause is because people in the area are beginning to eat bats because more traditional food like apes and antelope are either a protected species now or are simply not as available anymore to the people in the area.
The relation to bats living closer to humans is similar to the Black Plague and people living with rats. The plague was a result of rats moving in with people at the time and leaving behind their fleas for the host families to be bitten by making them sick and dying eventually.
Another example in history is smallpox. When the Columbian exchange began with all the new goods being brought to the new world disease was also brought infecting the natives. Europeans had built up immunity to Smallpox because they lived so close to their animals, but this was not the case for the natives.
There have been many examples though out history with disease jumping from species to species.
Researchers fear that one day it will be out of their control and there will be no way to stop it.
“We are concerned the solution will be to just kill the bats to control the virus. We need to find another way that protects bats and people at the same time.” Says Andrew Cunningham; bats play a key roll in the pollination of plants and to kill them off would effect the growth of many plants. With killing one species it affects many other species as well. All the species in an ecosystem play a part to make it work but if you remove one part others don’t work.
Not only has there been a problem with bats spreading disease in West Africa but pigs have been spreading disease as well. “It looks like there is a spill-over from bats to pigs in Ghana. This is the first step along the line to a public-health threat.” States Andrew Cunningham a wildlife epidemiologist. The great deal of pigs and their meat that is exported in Ghana causes for a fear of the diseases to be spread even further than the continent of Africa.
Recently there has been a movie made about this species cross over “Contagion”, shows just how fast a disease can be spread from species to species. In the movie bats live in the barns with pigs leading to bat droppings getting into the pig food and soon into humans.

Source: Nature News

Read the Article: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110922/full/news.2011.545.html

Dengue Fever in Trinidad

My family and I are from Trinidad and Tobago, two sister islands approximately 8 miles off the coast of Venezuela. In Trinidad, Dengue Fever is very common, though the most recent outbreak was not declared an outbreak until August of 2010 when over 300 people had been diagnosed with dengue. This article is of interest to me mainly because over the past year since I last visited, there have been over 3000 reported cases of Dengue and yet the Ministry of Health has yet to properly deal with the situation despite this article.

Knowing what I know about how the Ministry of health works, I would say that the article is somewhat misleading. The Ministry has been down playing the serious of the disease since the start of the most recent spread. They waited nearly two months before declaring an outbreak, despite the numbers which had been steadily increasing since July of 2010. People were getting the disease without knowing it, and becoming seriously ill without really understanding that it was dengue.

I can also say that the Ministry overall ( this includes the Health sector) was very aware that the newer mosquitos had evolved and were resistant to strong and the rather harmful flit

(Trinidadian word for Bug spray) such as this one above. Trinidad is also in a massive breeding ground for the mosquitos that carry Dengue because of the Rain Season and the forever hot climate. Mosquitos thrive in wet areas, and since the Ministry of Public Safety seems oblivious to the never ending pot holes that are never filled in. This is especially unusual because Trinidad has what is called pitch lake...the very material we use to make roads.... These pot holes are almost always filled with rainwater and an abundance of mosquito eggs. Knowing that this is only aiding the spread of the disease and taking no action has led to a great anger with the already shaky Parliament. More recently our newest Prime Minister was sick with a mild case of Dengue Fever.

Really, I posted this particular article out of amusement because I know how disorganized Parliament (Trinidad's Government, also known as the Ministry) is, and this article makes it seem as though they clearly understood the dangers, AND were being proactive in their fight against Dengue, even though really, they're only really on trying now because children are becoming infected left and right. There aren't enough hospitals or space, and the medical help is poor, and or dealings with the public health and safety are poor, but Trinidad is certainly on top of things...right. Check out the article I refer to here.

Also if you're interested in our Honourable Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. And lastly, an article written by a not ministry representative here.

The Fight Against The War on (Micro)Terrorism

U.S.: 1, Future Terrorists: 0. Researchers in Arizona might have finally discovered a possible vaccine to combat the Ebola virus. The Ebola virus is of African origin. Though it is very rare to contract (1,850 cases since 1976), it is extremely deadly (1,200 deaths). Victims of the Ebola virus experience organ failure after the immune system is overtaken by the virus.

Researchers found the vaccination after testing a vaccine consisting of a tobacco plant and an antibody combined together. The vaccine was then given to ten lab mice, which were then infected with Ebola. Out of the ten mice given the vaccine, 8 were able to overcome the disease. Though more research needs to be conducted, it is a positive sign for prevention from the thirty five year old disease, which has no current vaccination.

“The virus has a natural reservoir in several species of the African fruit bat. Gorillas and other non-human primates are also susceptible to the disease.” Researchers believe the virus is zoonotic and found in African primates. Not enough is known about the reservoir and it is one of things scientists need to further investigate.

The virus has long been feared as a biological weapon. The disease’s deadliness and discreetness have caused officials to be concerned about the Ebola virus. The government has attempted to store samples of the disease to use in case of a biological attack, but none of which survived. With an incubation period of 2-21 days, the virus can be spread through contact with an infected person’s blood or secretions. Also, with no current vaccine or standard treatment, a bioterrorist attack could be catastrophic.

This article relates to the Black Plague being used as a weapon of war. When bodies of infected soldiers were thrown over the walls of Caffa, no vaccine or treatment for the plague existed, thus, nearly wiping out the population.

I found this article interesting due to the fact that I had never heard of the virus before. With every 2 in 3 people dying from the disease, I assumed it would be more commonly known. I also found it interesting due to how effective the disease can be to use in a terrorist attack. The disease has no vaccine or well developed treatment. A terrorist attack using Ebola could be devastating.

From reading this article, I wondered if the United States is prepared for a biological attack. Do we have the resources in place to deal with the disease? Will an attack affect our civil rights and liberties? And if we are prepared, what is our response plan? Would there need to be another 9/11 type incident for us to fully realize the threat of bioterrorism?

I believe that, though we cannot fully prepare ourselves for an attack, we can focus on having measures planned out to be put in place in case of an attack and more research on diseases that can used by terrorists against us.

Source: New York Daily Times (12/12/11)

Read the Article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/vaccine-ebola-works-mice-study-rare-notorious-african-virus-feared-future-weapon-bioterrorism-article-1.990277

Learn More About Ebola Virus:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm

Image Source: http://www.miller-mccune.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mmw_Bioterror_article.jpg