Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/12/news-scan-dec-18-2013
News Scan for Dec 18, 2013
CDC on chikungunya; Meningitis, rotavirus grants; Polio in Pakistan
Filed Under:
Chikungunya; Meningitis; Rotavirus; Polio
CDC issues travel advisory over chikungunya in Caribbean
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel health notice because of recent cases of chikungunya on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, the agency said today in a news release.
Those traveling to St. Martin should protect themselves against mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and using air conditioning and screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out, the CDC said. It added that travelers returning from the Caribbean who experience fever, joint pains, headache, muscle pains, rash, or other symptoms of chikungunya should seek medical care.
The CDC also cautioned healthcare providers to be alert for the disease.
"Microbes know no boundaries, and the appearance of chikungunya virus in the Western hemisphere represents another threat to health security," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, in the release. "CDC experts have predicted and prepared for its arrival for several years and there are surveillance systems in place to help us track it."
The World Health Organization has confirmed 10 cases of chikungunya on St. Martin, and testing is under way on further suspected case-patients.
Dec 18 CDC news release
Gates Foundation grants target CDC meningitis, rotavirus projects
A foundation that raises funds to support the CDC's work has received three grants worth a total of $13.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support meningitis and rotavirus vaccination, according to a statement yesterday from grant recipient the CDC Foundation.
The grants are targeted to the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases projects. One, worth $10 million, will help support a 5-year project to improve the quality of meningitis surveillance across the African meningitis belt. The efforts will allow the CDC and its global health partners to gauge the impact of a meningococcal vaccine targeted to the area.
Two other grants targeting rotavirus vaccination include a 4-year project to establish intussusception surveillance, which will help experts weigh the risks and benefits of the rotavirus vaccine. The other project is a 2-year grant that will evaluate new diagnostic tools for identifying pathogens that cause diarrhea and analyzing different strains of rotavirus.
Dec 17 CDC Foundation statement
Police prevent attack on Pakistan polio workers
Police thwarted a militant attack on a polio vaccination team in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday, killing one militant and arresting another, Agence France-Press (AFP) reported today.
The two attackers belong to a Taliban group and tried to harm a polio team in the city's northern outskirts. Police escorting the vaccination workers retaliated, but the vaccination effort was then called off, the story said.
The country has witnessed scores of attacks on polio workers, many by Muslim extremists who view the campaigns as a Western plot to spy on the population or sterilize children.
Dec 18 AFP story
In related news, Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, today announced the start of his own polio campaign in Pakistan and deplored violence against polio workers, according to the country's Express Tribune newspaper.
Khan said his visibility would boost the morale of polio workers who face constant threats. He said leaders owe polio vaccine to the country's children, and that the disease is entirely preventable.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria are the only nations in which polio is still endemic.
Dec 18 Express Tribune story
News Scan for Dec 18, 2013
CDC on chikungunya; Meningitis, rotavirus grants; Polio in Pakistan
Filed Under:
Chikungunya; Meningitis; Rotavirus; Polio
CDC issues travel advisory over chikungunya in Caribbean
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel health notice because of recent cases of chikungunya on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, the agency said today in a news release.
Those traveling to St. Martin should protect themselves against mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and using air conditioning and screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out, the CDC said. It added that travelers returning from the Caribbean who experience fever, joint pains, headache, muscle pains, rash, or other symptoms of chikungunya should seek medical care.
The CDC also cautioned healthcare providers to be alert for the disease.
"Microbes know no boundaries, and the appearance of chikungunya virus in the Western hemisphere represents another threat to health security," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, in the release. "CDC experts have predicted and prepared for its arrival for several years and there are surveillance systems in place to help us track it."
The World Health Organization has confirmed 10 cases of chikungunya on St. Martin, and testing is under way on further suspected case-patients.
Dec 18 CDC news release
Gates Foundation grants target CDC meningitis, rotavirus projects
A foundation that raises funds to support the CDC's work has received three grants worth a total of $13.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support meningitis and rotavirus vaccination, according to a statement yesterday from grant recipient the CDC Foundation.
The grants are targeted to the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases projects. One, worth $10 million, will help support a 5-year project to improve the quality of meningitis surveillance across the African meningitis belt. The efforts will allow the CDC and its global health partners to gauge the impact of a meningococcal vaccine targeted to the area.
Two other grants targeting rotavirus vaccination include a 4-year project to establish intussusception surveillance, which will help experts weigh the risks and benefits of the rotavirus vaccine. The other project is a 2-year grant that will evaluate new diagnostic tools for identifying pathogens that cause diarrhea and analyzing different strains of rotavirus.
Dec 17 CDC Foundation statement
Police prevent attack on Pakistan polio workers
Police thwarted a militant attack on a polio vaccination team in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday, killing one militant and arresting another, Agence France-Press (AFP) reported today.
The two attackers belong to a Taliban group and tried to harm a polio team in the city's northern outskirts. Police escorting the vaccination workers retaliated, but the vaccination effort was then called off, the story said.
The country has witnessed scores of attacks on polio workers, many by Muslim extremists who view the campaigns as a Western plot to spy on the population or sterilize children.
Dec 18 AFP story
In related news, Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, today announced the start of his own polio campaign in Pakistan and deplored violence against polio workers, according to the country's Express Tribune newspaper.
Khan said his visibility would boost the morale of polio workers who face constant threats. He said leaders owe polio vaccine to the country's children, and that the disease is entirely preventable.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria are the only nations in which polio is still endemic.
Dec 18 Express Tribune story