Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Viet Nam - Quang Ngai: Undiagnosed illness, 26 fatalities since April 2011

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI

    Kênh bóng đá trực tuyến Xoilac365.tv✅ nguồn link trực tiếp bóng đá Xoilac TV full HD. Phát sóng trực tuyến Xôi Lạc TV tructiepbongda chất lượng cao.


    Sunday, Apr 22, 2012, Posted at: 12:12(GMT+7)

    Quang Ngai seeks expert advice on baffling skin disease
    Answering an urgent request from the People?s Committee of Quang Ngai Province, asking for assisting in tackling the baffling skin disease affecting large parts of the province, a mission team from the Military Chemical Institute arrived in Ba To District on April 20 and 21.



    The mission team from the Military Chemical Institute under the Ministry of Defence worked with the People?s Committee of the district to find solutions to the cause of the disease.

    Medical experts took samples of water, soil and searched for toxic substances in the area.

    The team members also met with an elderly man, named Pham Van Mai, in Reu Village who had discovered a strange chemical substance. The man provided a clear location of the place where the chemical was buried.

    Later they studied the daily activities of inhabitants as well as the place where the US army troops had been based during the war time.

    After collecting the necessary information and samples, the team will study the environmental effects of the substances and their data before drawing conclusions.

    Le Han Phong, chairman of the People?s Committee of Ba To District, said the local government had compensated each family of a dead victim with VND4.5 million and VND30,000 to each being treated at the local medical centre and the Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital.

    Deputy Health minister Nguyen Thanh Long said the health sector will strive to reduce fatalities and continue to provide treatment for this skin ailment in hospitals.

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI

      Here's yet another new theory:



      Published Date: 2012-04-23 02:39:31
      Subject: PRO/EDR> Undiagnosed illness - Viet Nam (03): (QG) RFI
      Archive Number: 20120423.1110507

      UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS - VIET NAM (03): (QUANG NGAI) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
      ************************************************** ***********************
      A ProMED-mail post
      ProMED is the largest publicly-available surveillance system conducting global reporting of infectious diseases outbreaks. Subscribe today.

      ProMED-mail is a program of the
      International Society for Infectious Diseases
      The International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) brings together a network of individuals from around the world.


      [1]Date: Fri 6 Jan 2012
      Source: eyedrd.org [edited]



      A 4 year old died in Quang Ngai Province on Monday [2 Jan 2012] after suffering palmoplantar keratoderma, which is characterized by an even, thick, symmetric hyperkeratosis over the whole of the palm and sole.

      Following a similar case that happened to a [child less than 10 years old] last year [2011], the 4 year old was the 2nd child in the province to have died of the skin disease for which doctors have yet to find the cause, VnExpress newswire quoted Nguyen Xuan Men, deputy director of the provincial Health Department, as saying.

      The boy, of Ba Dien Commune, mountainous Ba To District, was admitted to Quang Ngai General Hospital on 31 Dec 2011 after developing palmoplantar keratoderma, ulcers on the hands and feet, and serious liver function disorder, doctors said. On 2 Jan 2012, the boy was transferred to the Da Nang General Hospital but he died after one day of treatment.

      As of 4 Jan 2012, 98 people, including 25 children, have suffered from the skin disease, the department reported. In December 2011 alone, 11 children under 10 were hospitalized with ulcers in their hands, feet, mouths, backs, and abdomens. Most of them were in poor health condition and suffered from liver function disorder.

      The department has ordered the Ba To Health Center to treat patients in accordance with the instructions from the Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital in Binh Dinh Province. The center must transfer all patients in critical condition to that hospital or the Quang Ngai General Hospital, where they will be given free meals, the department said.

      On 26-27 Dec 2011, the Quang Ngai health authorities have given medical checkups and provided medicines to 300 people in Ba Dien Commune, where the skin disease broke out. Medical workers also sprayed antiseptic chemicals in the commune.

      "Though the health sector has yet to identify the cause of the skin disease, everybody should not worry excessively. We are continuing with our investigation and discovering some factors that might give rise to the disease, such as pesticide, fertilizer, and chemicals that are being used locally," Dr Tran Hau Khang, director of the National Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology, told VnExpress.

      Doctors should continue treating patients under the hospital's instructions, including requesting patients to spend more time for resting, prescribing them with vitamins of the B group, zinc supplements, suitable ointment, liver tonics, or applying transfusion to patients with liver injuries, he said.

      --
      communicated by:
      ProMED-mail
      <promed@promedmail.org>

      ******
      [2]
      Date: Fri 20 Apr 2012
      Source: eyedrd.org [edited]



      Viet Nam has asked international health experts to help investigate a mystery illness that has killed 27 people and sickened 171 others in an impoverished district in central Viet Nam, an official said on Friday [20 Apr 2012].

      More people are reported suffering from stiffness of the limbs, respiratory problems, and miscarriages, caused by a peculiar and unidentified skin ulceration that has plagued the central province of Quang Ngai since April [2011], said medical authorities from the province.

      The infection has mostly affected children and young people. It begins with a high fever, loss of appetite, and a rash that covers the hands and feet. Patients who are not treated early can develop liver problems and eventually multiorgan failure, said Le Han Phong, chairman of the People's Committee in Ba To District in Quang Ngai province.

      Nearly 100 people remain hospitalized, including 10 in critical condition. Patients with milder symptoms are being treated at home. The illness responds well to treatment if detected early, but 29 patients have been reinfected, Phong said.

      Medical experts suspect the victims are suffering from poisoning from chemical herbicides, as they were affected soon after spraying the chemical in cassava fields. The provincial health authorities have yet to determine the cause of the deaths, but believe use of high contents of chemical herbicides have polluted the water sources in the commune.

      Residents in these communes use an American brand herbicide named Kanup 480 SL, imported by the Viet Thang Company in the northern province of Bac Giang. The chemical was offered for sale on the company's catalog on 5 Nov 2011.

      Samples of water, soil from cassava fields, and herbicide packages have been collected for testing. Preventive medicine centres in the province have warned people not to use the present water source but find an alternative source. Farmers must eat meals before spraying on fields and drink sugar water when experiencing symptoms and visit a medical centre immediately.

      The Ministry of Health's missions paid visits to Ba To district twice last October [2011] and in April 2012 to collect water and soil samples, as well as blood and hair of patients for testing, but until now they have not defined the cause of the strange skin disease. The ministry has since asked the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help investigate.

      The ailment was first detected last April [2011], but the number of cases had died down by October. A fresh spate of infections started last month [March 2012], with 68 cases and 8 deaths reported between 27 Mar and 5 Apr 2012, Phong said.

      Most of the patients are from Ba Dien village in Ba To. It is one of the poorest districts in the province and home to many of the Hre ethnic minority group. According to the Quang Ngai Department of Health, 166 people have been infected with this disease, 8 of them died. However, Ba To district reports up to 19 dead patients.

      "We have decided to ask the Ministry of Health to ask assistance from the WHO and the US Disease Control Agency to research the bizarre skin disease. International experts are very interested in this disease and they are willing to help Viet Nam," says Mr Nguyen Trong Khoa, vice chief of the Agency for Disease Examination and Treatment.

      Experts from the Ministry of Health say that patients were poisoned because they suffered from skin wounds and viscera failure, particularly liver failure. Local residents are panicked because of the strange disease.

      --
      communicated by:
      ProMED-mail
      <promed@promedmail.org>

      ******
      [3]
      Date: Fri 20 Apr 2012
      Source: Saigon Giai Phong (SGGP) [edited]
      Kênh bóng đá trực tuyến Xoilac365.tv✅ nguồn link trực tiếp bóng đá Xoilac TV full HD. Phát sóng trực tuyến Xôi Lạc TV tructiepbongda chất lượng cao.



      Viet Nam is to seek WHO help to diagnose strange skin disease. At a meeting with the Ministry of Health in the central province of Quang Ngai on [18 Apr 2012], medical experts suggested that Viet Nam should now turn to the World Health Organisation to identify the strange skin disease plaguing the people in this region.

      A team of medical experts from the Ministry of Health had gone to Ba Dien Commune on 13 Apr 2012 to study the causes and development of the strange and unidentified skin disease. They took samples of soil, hair, skin, and various foods, to ascertain causes of the disease but all efforts proved futile.

      Consequently, relevant agencies proposed to the Ministry of Health to seek help from WHO and the [US] CDC, at a meeting with the ministry on 18 Apr 2012 to discuss preventive measures and quick eradication of the disease. As of now, the Department of Health in the province needs to increase the number of medics and equip the general hospital with blood filtering facilities for treatment. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been ordered to provide clean water and other assistance, while the education sector has been asked to encourage students to attend schools.

      According to the latest report from the health sector, the province has reported 171 infected cases and 19 fatalities. Since beginning of this year [2012], 63 people are being treated at the Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital, 10 of whom are in critical condition.

      Last year [2011] the province had recorded more than 150 people with similar symptoms.

      [byline: H Minh]

      --
      communicated by:
      ProMED-mail rapporteur Mary Marshall

      ******
      [4]
      Date: Sat 21 Apr 2012
      Source: BBC News Asia [edited]
      Vietnam seeks international help for a mystery skin infection that has already killed 19 people and made 170 others ill.



      Viet Nam says it will ask for international help to find out what is causing a skin infection that has already killed 19 people. More than 170 people in the country's central province of Quang Ngai have reported symptoms.

      The disease begins with a rash on the hands and feet: it can progress to liver problems and multiple organ failure. Vietnamese health ministry tests have failed to pinpoint the cause.

      The mystery illness was first reported between April and December 2011 and then subsided, but broke out again last month [March 2012]. Health workers say it responds well to early intervention but is difficult to treat once established.

      Frightened residents of Reu village in an impoverished, mountainous part of Quang Ngai, have laid branches across the path to the houses of infected people to try to isolate the outbreak. "We have to block the entrances here to stop patients from getting out and spreading the disease," one resident told Vietnamese TV. "Since we don't know what caused the disease, we will have to rely on our rituals and prayers."

      Vietnamese media quoted officials in Quang Ngai as saying that the condition might be caused by chemicals. But the health ministry said it had yet to draw conclusions from its own tests: it hoped to have preliminary results within 10 days.

      Dozens of people are being treated at a leprosy hospital in the neighbouring province of Binh Dinh. The government has said it will ask WHO and the US CDC to join its investigation. Those organisations have yet to comment on the disease: a WHO spokesman told the Associated Press news agency it had not yet received a request from Viet Nam for help.

      --
      communicated by:
      ProMED-mail
      <promed@promedmail.org>

      [The news articles above describe an outbreak mainly in the Bo To district of Quang Ngai province, Viet Nam. Those affected are reported to have developed an acute febrile illness with loss of appetite and respiratory symptoms followed by a rash on the hands and feet, with liver dysfunction, and in some patients multiorgan failure and death. Ulcers on the hands, feet, mouths, back, and abdomen, eye disease, stiffness of the limbs, and miscarriage are also described. The disease is said to affect mainly children and young adults. The disease is said to have started in April 2011, subsided somewhat between November 2011 and February 2012, and picked up pace again in March and April 2012. The numbers of patients affected vary in the news reports, but may be as high as a total of 150 in 2011 and a total of 171, with 27 deaths in 2012.

      Early "treatment" is said to effective, but exactly what this treatment consists of is not specified. However, some patients are said to relapse after an initial response to therapy. Pictures of the rash on the hands and feet are available at http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/4/100698 and http://www.eyedrd.org/2012/04/breako...l-vietnam.html.

      At one point the lesions of the hands and feet are described as "palmoplantar keratoderma", that is, an increased keratin layer on the skin (hyperkeratosis) of the palms and soles; (see http://emedicine.medscape.com/articl...rview#aw2aab6b). Palmoplantar keratoderma may be inherited or acquired. Conditions that can lead to acquired palmoplantar keratoderma include inflammatory and reactive dermatoses such as Reiter's syndrome (arthritis, conjunctivitis or uveitis, and urethritis that follow dysentery or chlamydial or gonococcal genital infection) and infections, such as those due to human papillomavirus, _Treponema pallidum_ (the bacterium that causes syphilis), _Mycobacterium tuberculosis_, and _Mycobacterium leprae_. Encrusted scabies may progress to hyperkeratotic and/or crusted lesions on palmar surfaces. Painful keratotic plaques that involved the skin surrounding the ears, the nose, and the soles in association with polyarthritis has been described in patients with HIV infection (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...00312113492425) and keratoderma of the palms and soles has been seen in glucan-treated patients with AIDS (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2953313).

      Arsenic exposure can lead to multiple, irregular, warty keratotic lesions on the palms and soles, typically decades after chronic arsenic ingestion. Exposure to certain chemicals, namely chloracnegens, has been reported to present as palmoplantar keratoderma (Patel S, Zirwas M, English JC. Acquired palmoplantar keratoderma. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2007; 8(1): 1-11; abstract available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17298101). Chloracnegens are halogenated aromatic compounds, such as chlorinated dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Chloracne is an acne-like eruption of blackheads, cysts, and pustules on the face and neck, associated with overexposure to halogenated aromatic compounds, such as chlorinated dioxins.

      The news articles say that exposure to a herbicide is suspected as the cause of this outbreak, as the patients were affected soon after spraying herbicides in cassava fields. The most toxic dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, became well known as a contaminant of Agent Orange, a herbicide used in the Viet Nam war. Dioxins were incriminated to have poisoned president Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine in 2004.

      Exposure to a toxin such as a dioxin seems a more likely cause of this large outbreak that is occurring in the Ba To district than any of the infections mentioned above.

      The population of the Ba To district is predominantly the Hre ethnic group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H're_people), which may have a genetic predisposition to palmoplantar keratoderma. We await more information on this outbreak.

      Quang Ngai is a Vietnamese province located in the South Central Coastal region along the South China Sea, 883 km south (549 mi) of Hanoi and 838 km (521) north of Ho Chi Minh City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quang_Ngai_province). The province has a large plain along the coast and in the center of the province and has mountains and hills in the west. Ba To is a rural district of Quang Ngai province with a population of 47 268 in 2003 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_To_District).

      A map of Viet Nam provinces can be seen at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ovincesMap.png. Viet Nam may also be found on the interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map at http://healthmap.org/r/2bxT. - Mod.ML]

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

        Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/heal...m-skin-disease

        Girl feared to have caught deadly Vietnam skin disease

        Published: 24/04/2012 at 01:53 AM

        CHACHOENGSAO : A six-year-old girl has been admitted to Chachoengsao Hospital with a serious skin disease, giving rise to concerns that an outbreak of a mysterious skin infection that has claimed many lives in Vietnam may be spreading to Thailand.

        A couple from Chachoengsao?s Muang municipality are afraid their six-year-old daughter might have contracted a deadly skin disease that has killed many people in Vietnam. SONTHANAPORN INCHAN

        The mystery skin infection has killed 19 people and affected more than 170 in Quang Ngai province in Vietnam.

        However, the parents confirmed that their daughter, whose name was not disclosed, had not been abroad...

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

          Originally posted by Shiloh View Post
          Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/heal...m-skin-disease

          Girl feared to have caught deadly Vietnam skin disease

          Published: 24/04/2012 at 01:53 AM

          CHACHOENGSAO : A six-year-old girl has been admitted to Chachoengsao Hospital with a serious skin disease, giving rise to concerns that an outbreak of a mysterious skin infection that has claimed many lives in Vietnam may be spreading to Thailand.

          A couple from Chachoengsao?s Muang municipality are afraid their six-year-old daughter might have contracted a deadly skin disease that has killed many people in Vietnam. SONTHANAPORN INCHAN

          The mystery skin infection has killed 19 people and affected more than 170 in Quang Ngai province in Vietnam.

          However, the parents confirmed that their daughter, whose name was not disclosed, had not been abroad...
          Interesting. The article has a picture of the girl's rash, which seems like typical red blotchiness on the skin and not the crusty white burn-like buildup seem in some of the pictures from Vietnam. The article indicates the girl has not been to Vietnam, so it seems unclear to me what the evidence is linking her case to the Vietnam outbreak.

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI

            Originally posted by Emily View Post
            http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20120422-341228.html


            Is this the only report of this being transmissible in any way? If so health officials must have been misquoted.
            Here it is again:



            Skin Disease Not a Serious Worry

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            23 April 2012 | news Newsdesk
            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Recent reports in the Vietnamese local newspapers as well international media have reported a string of attacks by a mysterious skin disease in Vietnam. A source from the Ministry of Health in Vietnam spoke to ScandAsia and referred to these reports as exaggerations of the actual situation in Vietnam.

            As reported by CBS, Tarik Jarasevic of World Health Organisation (WHO) saying that the organisation is not aware of any reports of similar symptoms elsewhere in Vietnam. The reports would suggest that the disease outburst is localised and restricted to the Ba To district, which is within the Quang Ngai province.

            Although there is no results showing the cause of the disease, it seems like it is a localised problem restricted to the Quang Ngai province which is in the South Central coast region of Vietnam, 883km to the of Hanoi and 838km north of Ho Chi Minh City.

            The main symptoms of the disease includes a rash on the hands and feet and may progress to liver problems and multiple organ failure.

            The Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long as saying that the Ministry would ask the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention experts to help investigate the cause of the disease.

            According to the same newspaper, about one in 10 of those suffering from the condition had serious liver disorder, but the disease is not transmissible except by contact through cut skin.

            -------------

            [The odd thing is that both of these sources are Singaporean, one of the few places outside Vietnam where the patients have been taken for treatment. Do they know something they aren't announcing? - alert]

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

              Well, this is new, especially the timing. Previous reports have put the start of the outbreak in April 2011.



              Last update 24/04/2012 02:23:55 PM (GMT+7)


              High Command of Chemistry investigates bizarre skin disease
              VietNamNet Bridge – The High Command of Chemistry’s experts made a field-trip to Ba To district in the central province of Quang Ngai to learn about the strange skin disease on April 20-21.

              WHO experts to explore bizarre skin disease in Vietnam

              They collected water and soil samples for testing to consider whether environmental impacts cause the disease or not.

              Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has asked for a hand from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Disease Control Agency.

              According to local residents, the disease appeared around five years ago, when they found out an unknown chemical in the region. They buried the chemical.

              Experts from the High Command of Chemistry searched for the chemical under the assistance of local people.

              The Health Department of Quang Ngai province reported that from April 19, 2011 to April 15, 2012, there were 171 patients in six communes of Ba To district. Ba Dien commune had the highest number of patients, with 161 people, including 8 fatal cases.

              The number of patients is increasing, causing worry among local people. Some families left their home to avoid the bizarre disease.

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

                Wouldn't they have known this long ago?



                Hand, foot and mouth disease plagues Vietnam
                Updated 23 April 2012, 18:04 AEST
                An Australian expert says a skin disease which has led to the deaths of 19 children in one Vietnamese province is almost certainly hand, foot and mouth disease.

                .Hand, foot and mouth disease plagues Vietnam (Credit: ABC) .It was first reported in the country's central province of Quang Ngai in April last year but then subsided only to erupt again last month.

                At least 170 people are reported to be suffering from symptoms which start with a rash on the hands and feet but can progress to liver problems and multiple organ failure if left untreated.

                And in lieu of an official diagnosis, locals are resorting to traditional rituals, prayer, and to barricading those infected inside their houses to try to stop the spread of the disease.

                Presenter: Liam Cochrane

                Speaker: Prof John Aaskov, the Insitute of Health and Bio Medical Innovations at the Queensland University of Technology

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

                  Wouldn't they have known this long ago?
                  In the radio interview, Professor Aaskov said that a couple of big city labs have the capability to diagnose HFMD strains, and thinks in a few days they'll confirm the diagnosis. He sounds pretty confident that the clinical signs match.

                  He doesn't discount the threat of chemical contaminants in Vietnam, but he said he'd expect the age range to be different in chemical poisoning, with primarily adults affected. (I think he's thinking in term of occupational exposures while farming.)

                  I'm not sure what the affected age range is, but this indicates children as young as 8 might work in rice fields in Vietnam, and there are other ways even younger children could be exposed to a contaminants in water sources shown here:

                  http://www.apecdoc.org/site/vietnam/...n-rice-fields/
                  _____________________________________________

                  Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                  i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                  "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                  (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                  Never forget Excalibur.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Vietnam combats unknown disease


                    Spanish-English translation

                    Vietnam combats unknown disease
                    By: Agency |Source: AP |2012-04-23 16:16


                    Photo: Thinkstock / GettyImages

                    Vietnam requested help from international health experts to investigate a mysterious illness that has killed 19 people and infected 171 others in a poor district in the Midwest



                    The infection has affected mainly children and young people. It begins with high fever, loss of appetite and rash that covers hands and feet. Patients are treated in the early stage of the disease may develop liver problems and eventually multiple organ failure, said Han Phong Le, president of the popular committee in the Ba To district of Quang Ngai province.

                    Approximately 100 people remain hospitalized, including 10 in serious condition. Patients with mild symptoms are being treated at home. The disease responds well to treatment if detected early, but 29 patients were reinfected, said Phong.

                    Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health sent a team to the area of ​​sector officials, but were unable to determine the cause of the disease. The ministry then asked the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. to help you investigate.

                    A WHO spokesman said the agency based in Geneva, Switzerland, has not yet received the request for Vietnam.

                    "We can not investigate without a formal request," said Tarik Jasarevic.

                    The disease was first detected in April last year, but the number of cases had dropped in October. Last month launched a new outbreak of infections, with 68 cases and eight deaths between March 27 and April 5, said Phong.

                    Most patients are from the village Dien Ba Ba To. This is one of the poorest districts in the province and home to many ethnic minority people here.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand?

                      All the latest top stories and breaking news. Thailand’s most credible source of Thai and international developments. In-depth business and political news, leading Lifestyle trends, broad international sports coverage, plus English language learning


                      Girl does not have deadlyVietnamese skin disease
                      Child has 'rare ailment and is recovering well'
                      Published: 25/04/2012 at 01:56 AM Newspaper section: News 0
                      Share
                      CHACHOENGSAO : The Public Health Ministry says a six-year-old girl believed infected by a mysterious skin disease that has killed at least 19 people in Vietnam, is in fact suffering from a rare yet known ailment.

                      Doctors suspect the girl, who is being treated at Chachoengsao Hospital, is suffering from Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP).

                      HSP, a disease that affects the skin and other organs, was first found in Thailand several years ago. It mostly affects children aged about six and is more common in boys than girls, said Dr Thawatchai Kamoltham, an inspector from the Public Health Ministry yesterday.

                      The girl's symptoms began with small, itchy red spots on her feet which spread to her legs and hands. Her condition did not improve after the spots were treated with medicine which prompted the concern she might have caught the deadly Vietnam skin disease.

                      The Public Health Ministry said the disease the girl has is not contagious and not the same as the mysterious skin infection that has been reported in Vietnam, he said.

                      The incidence of HSP in children is about 22 per 100,000 per year, said the doctor, adding that the infection is caused by the immune system over-producing antibodies.

                      HSP symptoms can also sometimes be triggered by a bacterial infection such as Streptococcus. Aside from the red rashes, other symptoms include abdominal and joint pains and kidney inflammation, said Dr Thawatchai.

                      Patients with HSP are usually given therapy or medicines to control the symptoms, he said.

                      more at above link...
                      Last edited by sharon sanders; April 24, 2012, 03:57 PM. Reason: format & shortened

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand discarded



                        Girl's skin infection identified

                        The six-year-old girl treated at Chachoengsao Hospital with purple spots on her legs that looked like a mysterious Vietnamese skin disease, in fact had a noncontagious autoimmune disease triggered by bacteria infection.
                        Public Health Ministry inspector general Dr Thavatchai Kamoltham yesterday said the girl was recovering from HenochSchonlein purpura, which can be found in 22 persons per 100,000, mostly among children aged 6. It had nothing to do with the far more serious skin disease in Vietnam and the public shouldn't panic.

                        [snip]

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand discarded

                          Doctors identify mysterious killer

                          QUANG NGAI — Fourteen out of 26 blood samples from patients with a mysterious skin disease in the central province of Quang Ngai have tested positive for the rickettsia virus which is transferred from animals to people by lice or fleas, Pham Hong Duong, director of the provincial health department, said yesterday.

                          So far, the disease has affected 172 people and killed 19 in the province's rural communes.

                          The department has asked the province to provide financial assistance to equip medical facilities with blood filters and necessary medications to treat affected patients in a timely manner.

                          The World Health Organisation has also said that it stood ready to support the Vietnamese Government in tackling the disease, but a WHO official said yesterday that the organisation had not yet received any requests for support from the Ministry of Health.

                          The situation has turned more serious since the disease was first noticed last year. Despite the participation of several agencies, no headway has been made in controlling the disease. Local health officials fear they will not be able to control the epidemic without the support of foreign agencies.

                          The initial symptoms of the illness are high fever, loss of appetite and a rash on the palms and feet. If it is not treated early, the disease can affect the respiratory system, causing eye and liver problems, miscarriages and multiple organ failure, local doctors have said. — VNS

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand discarded

                            Originally posted by tetano View Post
                            Doctors identify mysterious killer

                            QUANG NGAI — Fourteen out of 26 blood samples from patients with a mysterious skin disease in the central province of Quang Ngai have tested positive for the rickettsia virus which is transferred from animals to people by lice or fleas, Pham Hong Duong, director of the provincial health department, said yesterday.

                            http://en.baomoi.com/Home/health/vie...ler/258586.epi
                            Wow. By the way, rickettsia are bacteria, not viruses:



                            Can we send that to ProMED? After a year of uncertainty on this outbreak, that is an absolutely huge find. It appears that both suspicions of contagion and of poisoning were incorrect.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand discarded- rickettsia identified

                              Are they saying this is scrub typhus? Why would this age group be so affected?

                              The infection has affected mainly children and young people.
                              _____________________________________________

                              Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                              i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                              "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                              (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                              Never forget Excalibur.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: Undiagnosed illness, 19 fatalities since April 2011 - Viet Nam: Quang Ngai, ProMED RFI- spread to Thailand discarded- rickettsia identified

                                Wednesday, Apr 25, 2012, Posted at: 16:52(GMT+7)
                                ?Ricketsia? virus identified as cause of bizarre skin disease

                                ...
                                As scheduled, the ministry will send a mission team to the province on April 24 to continue finding out the causes of the disease.

                                Meantime, another strange disease occurred in Son Ha District of Quang Ngai Province. Many people are beginning to suffer bruises in feet, hands and face without any clear cause. The disease has hospitalised 19 students so far.

                                Medical workers in district centres examined and gave drugs to the students, but the cause of the disease is yet unknown. As of now, it is suspected to be a skin disease caused by contact with chemical herbicides.

                                Kênh bóng đá trực tuyến Xoilac365.tv✅ nguồn link trực tiếp bóng đá Xoilac TV full HD. Phát sóng trực tuyến Xôi Lạc TV tructiepbongda chất lượng cao.
                                Twitter: @RonanKelly13
                                The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X