Cases of chikungunya virus, a painful, mosquito-borne disease that has spread rapidly through the Caribbean in recent months, spiked higher in New York and New Jersey in the past week, according to new federal data.
The number of cases in New Jersey more than doubled to 25, while New York has recorded 44 cases, the highest number outside Florida, where the disease first established a toehold in the United States, according to data released late Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials in New Jersey and New York do not believe any of the cases originated in their state.
Symptoms, which develop three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, include high fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain and rash. In rare cases it is fatal. Small children and the elderly are more likely to develop severe cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC said the United States averaged 28 cases of chikungunya each year since 2006 but until recently all have been travel related. Three people in Florida contracted the disease from local mosquitoes this month in what the CDC said are the first cases of the disease to originate in the United States.
...
Chikungunya, a virus more commonly found in Africa and Asia and transmitted by the same daytime-biting aedes aegypti mosquito that causes the more deadly dengue fever, was first detected in the eastern Caribbean seven months ago.
Last edited by Isgrimnur on Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
To be clear, all of the cases outside of Florida in the United States were travel related. I'd be more worried about WNV whipping up again (which it already has in NJ) than these cases of Chikungunya. However, now it's just a matter of time before we have domestically sourced infections.
Nature always finds a way.
The name ‘chikungunya’ derives from a word in the Kimakonde language, meaning "to become contorted" and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain
Isgrimnur wrote:Yeah, but WNV is an old hat. We need a new health scare to drive media hysteria.
Isn't the Ebola thing taking care of that?
I'm going to be in the Caribbean for work in October. Since the only mosquito bites I've had in the last decade came the last time I was there, I think I'll be packing some good repellent in my carry-on, and lots of it.
Black Lives Matter. No human is illegal. Women's rights are human rights. Love is love. Science is real. Kindness is everything.
Isgrimnur wrote:Not content to savage people in the Caribbean and Florida, it's moving on the New York and New Jersey.
What's the likelihood of catching this in the US? Unless someone in New York or New Jersey actually bites you, you really don't have much to worry about, right?
Ok, wait...this is scary.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
MHS wrote:Isn't the Ebola thing taking care of that?
That's my impression.
Besides, your mosquito virus reads too much like Chimichanga and that combines all of the goodness of deep frying with all of the goodness of eating Mexican and that's a drunk's perfect food... Unless someone came up with a good way to deep fry sliders...
Deep fried sliders... I've never wanted to own a deep fryer as much as I do at this very moment.
Isgrimnur wrote:Ebola is too remote. No direct connection except for the US health workers catching it.
The guy who died in Nigeria last week was an American citizen who was planning a trip home before he died. For someone like me who hangs out in lots of airports with who knows who traveling through, it's close enough to be nervous-making.
Black Lives Matter. No human is illegal. Women's rights are human rights. Love is love. Science is real. Kindness is everything.
Isgrimnur wrote:Not content to savage people in the Caribbean and Florida, it's moving on the New York and New Jersey.
What's the likelihood of catching this in the US? Unless someone in New York or New Jersey actually bites you, you really don't have much to worry about, right?
Ok, wait...this is scary.
Fetid New Jersey swamps or New York ghettos...the disease jumps to rats and from there, PLAGUE!
Isgrimnur wrote:Ebola is too remote. No direct connection except for the US health workers catching it.
The guy who died in Nigeria last week was an American citizen who was planning a trip home before he died. For someone like me who hangs out in lots of airports with who knows who traveling through, it's close enough to be nervous-making.
Yeah, the lethality of ebola more than makes up for its distance. It's waaaay scarier than something I'm only slightly more likely to contract and that has a prognosis similar to the seasonal flu.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
The latest in scary news that seems to only happen in Florida is a flesh-eating bacteria that has hospitalized 32 and killed 10 along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The bacteria, Vibro vulnificus, thrives in salt water and is related to bacteria that causes cholera. The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County issued an official warning today about the flesh-eating bacteria that leads to a life-threatening blood infection.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the bacteria is naturally found in warm, “brackish” and salt water such as estuaries and coastal channels, but can seriously infect people with open wounds who swim there.
Wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus are usually painful, swollen, and red, according to health officials. Additional symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills, as well as blistering skin lesions. Health officials encourage residents to contact a physician immediately if they are experiencing these symptoms.
If the infection is left to fester, it can breakdown the skin and lead to ulcers, hence, the “flesh-eating” descriptor. Eventually, the infection can enter the bloodstream, which is when it can become life-threatening.
But it’s not just swimmers that should be wary. People can contract this bacteria from eating raw or undercooked shellfish that hasn’t gone through a post-harvest treatment process, especially if they already suffer from a condition that weakens their immune system such as hepatitis C, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or stomach disorders.
This could present a greater immediate danger to the rest of the world than the Ebola outbreak: Drug-resistant malaria spreads through SE Asia. There's tons more travel to and from those areas than western Africa.
As far as the chikungunya virus - I read Cruise Critic forums a lot, and people are definitely talking about it, since none of the cruise lines so far have altered their Caribbean itineraries (since the epidemic is now hitting most of the islands, they can't really avoid them all). Thousands of people are coming back from those cruises every week, so it's an absolute certainty that some of them will come back infected.
I'm sure Smoove can back me up on this: the safest option is to treat New Jersey as if it were an infectious disease.
So, the next time you get slammed by the wall of horrifying odour that is New Jersey, RUN LIKE YOUR ARSE IS ON FIRE. Otherwise, you're liable to run like your arse, and other orifi, are on fire.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
The latest in scary news that seems to only happen in Florida is a flesh-eating bacteria that has hospitalized 32 and killed 10 along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The bacteria, Vibro vulnificus, thrives in salt water and is related to bacteria that causes cholera. The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County issued an official warning today about the flesh-eating bacteria that leads to a life-threatening blood infection.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the bacteria is naturally found in warm, “brackish” and salt water such as estuaries and coastal channels, but can seriously infect people with open wounds who swim there.
Wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus are usually painful, swollen, and red, according to health officials. Additional symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills, as well as blistering skin lesions. Health officials encourage residents to contact a physician immediately if they are experiencing these symptoms.
If the infection is left to fester, it can breakdown the skin and lead to ulcers, hence, the “flesh-eating” descriptor. Eventually, the infection can enter the bloodstream, which is when it can become life-threatening.
But it’s not just swimmers that should be wary. People can contract this bacteria from eating raw or undercooked shellfish that hasn’t gone through a post-harvest treatment process, especially if they already suffer from a condition that weakens their immune system such as hepatitis C, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or
stomach disorders.
This one actually scares me. I go fishing in the Gulf off Florida about once a week and since I'm in a kayak, I'm almost always in contact with the water. Plus, some medication I'm on compromises my immune system. Obviously, I do my best to prevent any open wounds, but it's not uncommon for me to get a small nick or two (from a hook or a fishes spine, etc) while out there.
The latest in scary news that seems to only happen in Florida is a flesh-eating bacteria that has hospitalized 32 and killed 10 along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The bacteria, Vibro vulnificus, thrives in salt water and is related to bacteria that causes cholera. The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County issued an official warning today about the flesh-eating bacteria that leads to a life-threatening blood infection.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the bacteria is naturally found in warm, “brackish” and salt water such as estuaries and coastal channels, but can seriously infect people with open wounds who swim there.
Wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus are usually painful, swollen, and red, according to health officials. Additional symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills, as well as blistering skin lesions. Health officials encourage residents to contact a physician immediately if they are experiencing these symptoms.
If the infection is left to fester, it can breakdown the skin and lead to ulcers, hence, the “flesh-eating” descriptor. Eventually, the infection can enter the bloodstream, which is when it can become life-threatening.
But it’s not just swimmers that should be wary. People can contract this bacteria from eating raw or undercooked shellfish that hasn’t gone through a post-harvest treatment process, especially if they already suffer from a condition that weakens their immune system such as hepatitis C, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or
stomach disorders.
This one actually scares me. I go fishing in the Gulf off Florida about once a week and since I'm in a kayak, I'm almost always in contact with the water. Plus, some medication I'm on compromises my immune system. Obviously, I do my best to prevent any open wounds, but it's not uncommon for me to get a small nick or two (from a hook or a fishes spine, etc) while out there.
Just take along some wound-cleanser and veterinary glue as an emergency first aid kit prior to going fishing, and you should be safe as houses.
Veterinary glue is basically a cheaper equivalent to Dermabond, or surgical superglue, which will seal you up tighter than a drum. As long as you properly cleanse any wounds before applying, you're good to go.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?
Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
Mount Sinai Hospital is performing tests on a patient who had recently traveled to a West African country where Ebola has been reported, the hospital says.
A male patient with high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms came to the hospital's emergency room on Monday morning, officials said.
ABC News' Dr. Richard Besser cautions, "Many things cause fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. The steps they are taking are wise given the travel history, but nothing about the symptoms is specific to Ebola."
I'm not familiar with Colorado, but is the Eagle County area experiencing higher than normal precipitation this year?
“We have not had a case since 2005, so it is a little rare for us to see that in Eagle County,” said Jennifer Ludwig, Eagle County Public Health Director.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
When the locals are attacking health workers because of panic and fear, trying to sell them on taking an experimental drug is probably a non-starter.
You don't put your rescuers at risk when the victim has a chance to take you down with them.
But I'm sure that Rush is the only person in the US that has any care for the poor African people affected by this disease. And I feel stupider for having read part of that transcript.
Smoove_B wrote:I'm not familiar with Colorado, but is the Eagle County area experiencing higher than normal precipitation this year?
“We have not had a case since 2005, so it is a little rare for us to see that in Eagle County,” said Jennifer Ludwig, Eagle County Public Health Director.
Not sure about that (I'll leave it to Isg ), but it has been an abnormally wet summer in Broomfield. So it's very likely that it's been wetter elsewhere as well.
Black Lives Matter
Isgrimnur - Facebook makes you hate your friends and family. LinkedIn makes you hate you co-workers. NextDoor makes you hate your neighbors.
The latest in scary news that seems to only happen in Florida is a flesh-eating bacteria that has hospitalized 32 and killed 10 along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The bacteria, Vibro vulnificus, thrives in salt water and is related to bacteria that causes cholera. The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County issued an official warning today about the flesh-eating bacteria that leads to a life-threatening blood infection.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the bacteria is naturally found in warm, “brackish” and salt water such as estuaries and coastal channels, but can seriously infect people with open wounds who swim there.
Wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus are usually painful, swollen, and red, according to health officials. Additional symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills, as well as blistering skin lesions. Health officials encourage residents to contact a physician immediately if they are experiencing these symptoms.
If the infection is left to fester, it can breakdown the skin and lead to ulcers, hence, the “flesh-eating” descriptor. Eventually, the infection can enter the bloodstream, which is when it can become life-threatening.
But it’s not just swimmers that should be wary. People can contract this bacteria from eating raw or undercooked shellfish that hasn’t gone through a post-harvest treatment process, especially if they already suffer from a condition that weakens their immune system such as hepatitis C, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or
stomach disorders.
This one actually scares me. I go fishing in the Gulf off Florida about once a week and since I'm in a kayak, I'm almost always in contact with the water. Plus, some medication I'm on compromises my immune system. Obviously, I do my best to prevent any open wounds, but it's not uncommon for me to get a small nick or two (from a hook or a fishes spine, etc) while out there.
Just take along some wound-cleanser and veterinary glue as an emergency first aid kit prior to going fishing, and you should be safe as houses.
Veterinary glue is basically a cheaper equivalent to Dermabond, or surgical superglue, which will seal you up tighter than a drum. As long as you properly cleanse any wounds before applying, you're good to go.
Well I risked it today: went out fishing in my kayak and of course cut myself twice, once on the thumb and once on the pointer finger. I didn't have any vet glue but I did douse both cuts in Purell. Hopefully my hand doesn't fall off.
Want an Ebola pandemic? Keep your eyes on Liberia:
Liberian medical chiefs warned that their war-shattered health service was being overwhelmed by the Ebola outbreak, as reports emerged of residents dumping bodies of suspected victims of the virus in the streets.
Tolbert Nyenswah, the deputy chief medical officer and assistant health minister, said the outbreak had forced a number of hospitals and clinics to close because staff were scared to work in them. He disclosed that some 67 health workers had become infected, and that many of the 6,000-strong work force were reluctant to return to their jobs.
...
On Wednesday night, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf declared a state of emergency across the country, and also despatched troops in full combat gear to block people travelling to Liberia’s capital from rural areas hit by Ebola.
In some parts of the country – devastated by civil war during the Nineties – locals had been dumping bodies of family members on the streets rather than taking them to hospitals or morgues, said Liberia’s information minister, Lewis Brown.
What happened with the Liberian who flew to Lagos in Nigeria days before he died from Ebola is the stuff of nightmares. If you start googling around about exactly what happened, you can find stories like this one. Scary, scary, scary stuff.
I forgot to call it "a box of pure malevolent evil, a purveyor of
insidious insanity, an eldritch manifestation that would make Bill
Gates let out a low whistle of admiration," but it's all those, too.
-- David Gerard, Re: [Mediawiki-l] Wikitext grammar, 2010.08.06
Armed men storm Ebola clinic, loot infected bedding and medical materials. As many as 29 potentially infected patients flee. This a day after hundreds of local residents drove away burial teams that were tasked with collecting the corpses of Ebola victims in the slums of Monrovia. And then the same mob forced open an Ebola isolation ward and took patients away.
Looks like if you wanted to start an Ebola pandemic, you couldn't pick a better spot on the globe.
I'm nearly sure it's just someone trying to use a current event as a point of reference, but it does make my eyebrow go up when a former boss forwards me a legal primer on issues surrounding a potential Ebola outbreak in the United States.
