The altruistic arm of Internet search engine pioneer Google, Inc. this week said it had given grants of more than $14 million to support physicians working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google.org’s Predict and Prevent initiative is supporting efforts to identify “hot spots” where infectious diseases may emerge, discover new pathogens in animal and human populations, and react to outbreaks before they become global crises.

New lethal infectious diseases crop up every year, Google said, including variants of HIV/AIDS, bird flu and SARS, as well as drug-resistant strains of ancient scourges malaria and tuberculosis.

Google said three-quarters of new diseases are “zoonoses, meaning they’ve jumped from animals to humans.”

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director, and Nancy Bruening, Executive Editor

Posted: October 21st, 2008 under Avian Flu, Clostridium difficile, Developing Diseases, EV71, Ebola Virus, Flesh-Eating Bacteria, HPV, Hendra Virus, Impaired Immunity, Legionnaires' Disease, MRSA, SARS, West Nile Virus.
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An outbreak of the West Nile virus has been discovered in Palm Springs, Calif.  The disease is being carried by adult mosquitoes in a section of the town, and pest-control workers this weekend launched a three-day “fogging” attack on the insects.

Aqua-reslin, an insecticide is being sprayed from a truck around the Palm Springs sewer treatment facility for one hour each day in the early morning. 

The insecticide should pose little or no risk to humans or animals, said Felice Chiapperini of the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director, and Nancy Bruening, Executive Editor

Posted: October 6th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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The Mississippi State Department of Health reports seven new human cases of West Nile Virus, bringing the state’s total number of West Nile Virus cases to 93 with three deaths for 2008.

The new cases are in Hinds, Jones, Leake, Leflore, Lincoln and Madison counties. The agency also reports one new case of LaCrosse Encephalitis in Madison County. The Health Department reports confirmed the probable cases to the public.

Since March 2008, West Nile virus cases have been reported in Calhoun, Clarke, Forrest , George, Grenada, Harrison, Hinds, Jasper, Jones, Lamar , Lawrence, Leake, Leflore, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Neshoba, Panola, Pearl River, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Sunflower, Washington, and Wayne counties.

Deaths have been reported in Forrest, Hinds, and Leflore counties. Six cases of LaCrosse Encephalitis have been reported in Adams, Amite, Harrison, Hinds, Madison, and Yazoo counties.

Six cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and two cases of West Nile virus have been reported in horses.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Posted: September 30th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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The summer is almost over, but the risk of mosquito-borne infections remains potent. According to the state department of public health in Massachusetts, mosquitoes recently tested positive for West Nile virus in Danvers, Mass., and Merrimac, Mass. 

There have been no human cases of West Nile or Eastern equine encephalitis in Massachusetts this year.

Parents of children of all ages have come to their pediatricians with concerns about mosquito bite infections.

“It seems to me there are a lot of kids this is happening to,” one pediatric aide said.

Max Schenk, the city’s public health sanitarian, said there has never been a confirmed case of EEE or West Nile virus in humans or animals in Gloucester. Both diseases are transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, and both can affect all ages.  

Schenk said there have not yet been reports of other mosquito-borne infections in animals, either. Because of the lack of history of infections in the city and the high cost of mosquito spraying, the city health department has never considered starting a mosquito spraying program.

“The cost-benefit analysis for us has shown personal protection works best,” Schenk said. The state department of public health recommends applying insect repellent with DEET and wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors to prevent mosquito bites.  Officials also recommend minimizing outdoor activity from dusk to dawn, which is the primary feeding time for mosquitos.

– by Gene J. Koprowski and Nancy Bruening 

Pathogenesis of Eastern equine encephalitis.

Posted: September 3rd, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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The prognosis for patients infected with West Nile virus is improving, according to a new study appearing in the latest issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians’ journal. This is the largest study of the long-term outcomes of West Nile virus infection.West Nile virus is an infection of the central nervous system which is spread by mosquitoes. Those people infected by West Nile virus rarely get sick, so the disease can be difficult to diagnose. Approximately 20 percent of those patients have symptoms that range from mild flu-like illness to severe neurological problems, like meningoencephalitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid paralysis. 

Research reports that symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and motor abnormalities can persist for months. Little is known about long-term recovery.

“This is the first study to comprehensively look at a large population of infected persons to study the long-term effects of West Nile virus,” said study author Mark Loeb, MD, professor, pathology and molecular medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. “We found that both physical and mental functions, as well as mood and fatigue, seemed to return to normal in about one year.”

Doctors followed 156 patients between 2003 and 2007 to record patterns of physical and mental effects of West Nile virus infection. Doctors anticipated greater severity and a longer course of depression and fatigue in participants with neurological problems. They found symptoms and recovery times to be similar to those in participants without neurological consequences of infection. Pre-existing health conditions were an important factor in long-term prognosis, doctors said.

Doctors say the data might help patients infected with West Nile virus and their health care providers know the expected rate of recovery of physical and mental functioning, fatigue, and mental illness.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Posted: August 19th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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Public health authorities are reporting a new infection with West Nile virus in a 28-year-old woman from suburban Chicago.

The woman reported the emergences of the illness in late July, but she was not hospitalized.

Symptoms of the disease are similar to those of the flu: nausea, fever, headaches, backache, lack of appetite, and even muscle aches. The virus can lead to meningitis or death.

“Although this is our first case of 2008, we know that conditions have been favorable for West Nile virus,” Kane County Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert said.

Local residents should be cautious when going outside at dawn or dusk, wear long sleeves, insect repellent and eliminate standing water that attracts the insects.

The repellents should be applied routinely before going outside, since the virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is extremely important for elderly people to pay more attention, as they are more prone to severe complications due to their weakened immune systems.

A total of 101 human cases, including four deaths, were reported last year in Illinois, according to an IDPH release. The 28-year-old woman was the first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Illinois so far. There is a risk of West Nile virus as long as mosquitoes are active.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Posted: August 12th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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Seven patients have been diagnosed by doctors with the West Nile Virus in California so far this year. The latest victim — a 24-year-old San Diego man. The man was hospitalized with encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, according to county health officials.

West Nile Virus is transmitted by a bite from an infected mosquito. County health authorities warned people to take infection control precautions, such as using insect repellent when spending time outdoors.

Other precautions include not sleeping outside unprotected whilst camping, and wearing long sleeves and pants when conducting daily business.

Last year, the first human case was reported in September, with another 14 reported by the end of the year.

Infected birds have been reported around Southern California this spring and summer, according to media reports.

“We need the public’s help to find mosquito breeding sites throughout the county,” said Gary Erbeck, director of the county’s Department of Environmental Health. “People should check their property weekly to eliminate any standing water sources where mosquitoes can breed.”

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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An emerging version of the deadly West Nile virus is quickly spreading throughout the U.S., and is probably going to thrive this summer, researchers said.

The mosquito-based virus infected an estimated 175,000 people last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week.

Last year, the virus caused an estimated 35,000 cases of fever, was reported to have killed 117 people and caused serious disease such as encephalitis and meningitis in 1,227 people in 2007, the CDC said.

Another team of researchers said the strain of the virus that has completely overtaken the original strain is particularly adapted to hotter weather — which means West Nile outbreaks may worsen in the northern hemisphere.

Thus, North America may suffer more from West Nile virus than other parts of the world, said Lyle Petersen, who helps lead West Nile surveillance at the CDC.

“In Europe, Africa, and West Asia, where the virus was previously endemic, you’d see these big outbreaks and then they’d kind of disappear and then not come back for years on end,” Petersen told a news wire.

West Nile first emerged in the U.S. in 1999 — during a particularly sultry summer in New York City.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, MA, Editorial Director

West Nile virus ravaging the U.S. Image source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Posted: July 6th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, Impaired Immunity, West Nile Virus.
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A middle-aged woman is the first person to be confirmed as infected with the West Nile virus in Oklahoma this year, state health officials are saying.

“We were surprised to get this early start,” said Dr. Becky Coffman, a staff epidemiologist in the Acute Disease Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. “We’ve had mosquito pools that tested as positive as early as June. But this is the first time I can remember a case diagnosed as early as May.”

West Nile virus is a serious disease that is spread through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected birds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mosquitoes can breed in one tablespoon of water, and they usually migrate just a few yards in their lifetimes, Coffman said. That’s why it’s important to pour standing water out of buckets, cans, pool covers, flower pots or a paper cup.

The CDC said symptoms of the disease typically develop three to 14 days after the initial infection.

Generally one in 150 people who have the virus will develop serious illness.

Symptoms include body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back, the CDC said. Severe symptoms can include neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, vision loss, numbness and paralysis.

There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus infections and no vaccine — so proper infection protection is vital.

The latest CDC data show that four cases of the virus in humans also have been reported this year in Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi. – by Gene J. Koprowski, MA, Editorial Director

How to avoid West Nile virus

* Use insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing while outdoors, particularly between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are more likely to bite.

* Repair or install window and door screens.

* Clean pet water bowls and bird baths often.

* Drain buckets, cans, pool covers, flower pots and other items of standing water so mosquitoes don’t have a place to spawn.

West Nile Virus — source National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Posted: June 3rd, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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Those who suffer a severe infection from the West Nile virus must endure symptoms years after infection and many “may continue to experience these symptoms for the rest of their lives,” according to research presented at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta.

“What we are finding is that about 60 percent of people, one year after severe infection with West Nile, still report symptoms,” says Kristy Murray of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the lead researcher on the project.

Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Murray and other research scientists have been conducting a long-term, in-depth study of people in the Houston area who have been diagnosed with West Nile. Doctors monitored 108 patients over a five-year period, checking in every six-months to record both subjective and objective clinical outcomes and rates of recovery.

Persistent symptoms of West Nile infection plagued 60 percent of patients in the study at the end of the first year. But, if one does not continue to experience symptoms after two years, the afflication is not likely to return.

“But, if a patient has not recovered by that time, it is very likely the will never recover,” says Murray.

Approximately 80 percent of people who are infected with West Nile do not experience symptoms, however.

Symptoms range from mild fatigue and weakness to seizures to paralysis and tremors. Half the patients experienced encephalitis due to infection and another third presented with meningitis.

“Those patients with ecephalitis were less likely to recover than those who had meningitis or uncomplicated fever,” says Murray.

Another tragic outcome of severe West Nile infection was depression. At the one-year followup 31% of the patients reported new-onset depression. Using objective measurements, the researchers determined that 75% of those cases met the definition of clinical depression.

– by The Editors

West Nile Virus is a crafty organism — and can cause symptoms for those it infects for a lifetime.

Posted: April 16th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, West Nile Virus.
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