Global Health

CLICK HERE - GPEI - THIS WEEK - Polio this week as of 9 August 2017

outbreaknewstoday.com - August 12, 2017

Additional cases of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) have been reported recently in both Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) this week.

Syria

Three new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were officially confirmed at WHO headquarters in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in this outbreak to 30. Onset of paralysis of these cases is between 3 March and 16 June. Twenty-nine of the cases are from Mayadeen district, Deir Ez-Zour governorate, and one case is from Talabyad district, Raqqa governorate.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Scientific Reports - Systematic Assessment of the Climate Sensitivity of Important Human and Domestic Animals Pathogens in Europe

sciencedaily.com - University of Liverpool - August 2, 2017

The impact of climate change on the emergence and spread of infectious diseases could be greater than previously thought, according to new research by the University of Liverpool.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first large-scale assessment of how climate affects bacterium, viruses or other microorganisms and parasites (pathogens) that can cause disease in humans or animals in Europe.

The results will help policy makers prioritise the surveillance for pathogens that may respond to climate change and, in turn, contribute to strengthening climate change resilience for infectious diseases.

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A cholera-infected man receives treatment at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, in May.  HANI MOHAMMED/AP

statnews.com - by Homer Venters - July 7, 2017

 . . . Today we are seeing another cruel method of warfare emerge on the battlefield: the weaponization of disease, particularly in Syria and Yemen.

Targeting health care facilities during conflict has occurred before. But unlike the attacks on hospital ships during World War I, or even sporadic attacks in more recent conflicts, the pace of attacks on health facilities, workers, and resources in Syria and Yemen is massive and unrelenting . . . 

 . . . We must not make the mistake of thinking of these deaths and illnesses as collateral damage of war. They are not accidental, and the destruction of medical and sanitation infrastructure is part of a cruel, illegal, and intentional strategy . .

 . . . there must be independent investigations of violations of international law when it comes to targeting health and humanitarian resources . . .

 . . . Hundreds of thousands have already died in Syria and Yemen. And without accountability and clear condemnation from the international community, millions more lives are at stake.

Temperature changes around the globe are pushing human pathogens of all kinds into unexpected new areas, raising many new risks for people.

Bathers on the Baltic have recently been confronted with a new threat: dangerous disease that is normally only found in warm water.  PHOTOGRAPH BY PRIIT VESILIND, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

news.nationalgeographic.com - by Craig Welch - June 14, 2017

 . . . It's no secret that climate change can spread illnesses such as West Nile virus, Zika, and malaria, as rising temperatures push disease-carrying mosquitoes into new places, from the highlands of Ethiopia to the United States. But warm temperatures and shifting weather patterns work in subtle ways, too. Changes in precipitation, wind, or heat are shifting the threat posed by other human illnesses, from cholera to a rare freshwater brain-eating amoeba to rodent-driven infections like hantavirus. And the importance of all these changes are only growing more significant.