Prophecy, Drought, Earthquakes, Famine, Pestilence, War, and Strange Weather.

[Shammu]

Biologist battles killer pythons in Florida park

By Tom Brown Wed Apr 12, 8:36 AM ET

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Florida (Reuters) - The man leading efforts to eradicate giant Burmese python snakes from Everglades National Park sounds almost fearful, and certainly not optimistic, when he talks about the chances of wiping out an invasive species he calls "the enemy."

That is partly because Skip Snow, a 54-year-old veteran wildlife biologist with the U.S. National Park Service, says he doesn't know how many of the slithery monsters are in the swampy Florida park.

"It could be literally thousands," Snow told Reuters. "It could be a number I don't want to know. It could be scary."

It's scary indeed, especially since one of the creatures was aggressive enough to try devouring a 6-foot (1.8 metre) alligator in the park last year. The alligator is believed to have been dead already and the snake also died trying to digest it.

There have been other encounters between pythons and alligators but the gators, which are pretty tough customers, aren't what Snow is worried about.

What keeps him up at night is the threat the prowling pythons pose to a delicate subtropical wildlife haven with a whole catalogue of rare or endangered native species.

The pythons, with their razor-sharp teeth, have been eating practically everything that moves in the park, from small mammals to large wading birds, said Snow.

The first Burmese pythons sighted in the park's savannah and steamy swamps, back in the mid-1970s, are thought to have been pets.

The snakes, which are native to Southeast Asia, can be purchased legally in the United States. But many owners, especially so-called impulse buyers, tend to release them in places like the Everglades once they realise they can grow from just a foot (30 cm) to about 12 feet (3.6 metres) long in their first two years of life.

Dumping reptiles is illegal and Florida lawmakers are currently mulling stiffer penalties, including possible jail time. The state will also hold its first "snake amnesty day" on May 6, for anyone who might want to dispose of their Burmese pythons or other members of the Boa family legally.

"A BREEDING POPULATION"

If irresponsible pet owners were the only source of the pythons invading Everglades National Park, Snow might not face such a daunting challenge.

Compounding his eradication problems, however, is the fact that the bone-crushing snakes are also breeding in the wild.

"There's every evidence that the problem is increasing in scope and scale," said Snow. "We have a breeding population. They're now breeding within Everglades National Park."

A total of 212 Burmese pythons have been killed or removed from the park or adjacent lands since 1995, including 95 last year alone.

But that is surely just the tip of the iceberg and Snow, who has spent the last few years on the park's python eradication program, readily acknowledges that his efforts are only just beginning to get under way.

He recently experimented with a beagle puppy nicknamed "Python Pete," using him to ferret out the snakes and said he also had some recent success with "Judas snakes" -- using pythons implanted with radio transmitters to track down other pythons.

The puppy, incidentally, was kept on a leash to prevent him from becoming what a Park Service newsletter described as "a snake snack."

Florida authorises state law enforcement officers to shoot pythons and wildlife officials "euthanise" those they catch.

"We can probably see control," said Snow, suggesting that one of the world's largest snakes can be prevented from totally overrunning the park.

"I don't think we've got a very good assessment of whether or not we can eradicate," he added, however.

Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, was also pessimistic when asked about the chances of stomping out pythons or other non-native animals that run wild in parts of the southernmost U.S. state. The invaders include dragon-like, Nile monitor lizards and racoon-sized African rats.

"Rarely do you have a chance to eliminate anything, almost ever. Control is pretty tough, so what we really want to do is our utmost in prevention and education," Hardin said.

Biologist battles killer pythons in Florida park

[Shammu]

Serbia towns flooded, Danube rising

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Three towns in northern Serbia called for emegency measures to deal with floods on Wednesday, while levels in the Sava and Danube rivers in the capital Belgrade were close to record highs and still rising.

The towns of Titel, Zabalj and Zrenjanin were threatened by floodwaters from the Tisa river, which flows from Hungary to join the Danube in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina.

Authorities were building new embankments and evacuating people from their homes.

"We are really entering a dramatic phase in the next few days," Branislav Radovanovic of the Vojvodina water management board told live television.

He said crews had trouble taking sandbags to the Tisa river bank on one side because of a flooded wooded area that made access very difficult. They resorted to taking the sandbags by boat on the river in the pouring rain, he added.

In Belgrade, the Sava and Danube rivers are some 20 centimeters from the record highs they hit in 1981. Authorities say embankments built from earth and sandbags will manage to hold back the peak of the water expected on Thursday and Friday.

Construction was also starting on a special pontoon bridge over a flooded highway along the Sava river, to allow traffic through a busy commuter route that leads to the suburbs.

Serbia towns flooded, Danube rising

[Shammu]

FEMA: La. Homes Must Be Raised Off Ground

6 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - A long-awaited government projection on this city's flood danger recommends that thousands of homes and businesses in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina be raised at least 3 feet, a requirement that clears the way for residents to decide how, or whether, to rebuild.

"This will enable people to get on with their lives," said Donald Powell, the chief federal coordinator for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery.

The so-called flood advisories detail how high the water might rise in certain sections of the city during a once-in-a-100-year storm, and how well the levees would protect residents.

Property owners who ignore the guidelines risk losing out on government aid to rebuild and could miss an opportunity for lower flood insurance premiums. The flooding projections will also be key in planning the city's overall reconstruction.

In drawing up the advisories, government experts took into account the increasingly active hurricane seasons, recent erosion of coastal land that acted as a buffer against large storms, and the sinking of land in parts of southern Louisiana.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had delayed the release of the advisories several times since the start of the year as researchers incorporated new post-Katrina data.

The government recommended that levee-protected homes damaged by flooding during Katrina be raised by 3 feet, but some residents may have to lift their homes higher, depending on the elevation and location of their property.

Federal aid is available to pay for raising houses, but many homeowners could still be stuck paying for a portion of the costs, which can be $40,000 for the first foot.

Powell and other officials declined to estimate how many homes would have to be raised. Powell described the recommendations as good news for homeowners, saying raising a house no more than 3 feet is "not that dramatic."

But homeowner Timothy Riley, 44, said the guidelines would sharply increase the cost of repairing his home. "We'd have to tear our house down," he said. "There's no way we can jack the slab up to go any higher."

Jeb Bruneau, president of a neighborhood association in the city's Lakeview area, was relieved that the recommendations had been released.

"This will spur activity unbelievably," he predicted. "A lot of people have been waiting for the advisory to come out so they'd have direction. A lot of people are looking at this as progress."

Ignoring the recommendations could affect the value of homes because a new owner would have to pay substantially higher flood insurance rates or raise the structure to keep rates reasonable, said Gil Jamieson, FEMA's deputy director for Gulf Coast Recovery.

Most of the houses affected would be structures erected on ground-level slabs in the past 50 years, after much of the city's levee and canal systems were built.

In historic neighborhoods, many homes may not have to be raised at all, even if they flooded during Katrina, because they were built on foundations several feet above ground.

Raising a house typically involves lifting it with hydraulic jacks and constructing new wooden or steel supports.

The job can take one to two weeks and generally costs about $40,000 for the first foot, and $8,000 to $12,000 for each additional foot, said Phil Pieri, regional manager for a Texas-based foundation-repair company that operates in 18 states.

FEMA: La. Homes Must Be Raised Off Ground

[Shammu]

Ariz. Hospitals Test Scorpion Stings Drug

30 minutes ago

PHOENIX - Three hospitals in Arizona, all in metropolitan Phoenix, are testing a new antivenin designed to counter the effects of scorpion bites in children.

The drug, Anascorp, is made in Mexico and not yet approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration. But a clinical trial overseen by researchers at the University of Arizona and the Arizona Poison Center in Tucson has seen the drug used in 50 Arizona children, with dramatic effects.

Dr. Bryan Tiffany, a physician at Chandler Regional Hospital, says the new antivenin appears to be extremely effective. He said the effects of a scorpion sting can be dramatic.

"We're most concerned with the sting from a bark scorpion," Tiffany said. "It's an intensely painful sting because of the way the toxins work and very dangerous for a child. It can be fatal."

A child stung by a bark scorpion, a species found almost exclusively in Arizona and Mexico, will immediately complain of pain. The venom can cause neurological symptoms, including twitching and roving eye movements. The victim begins salivating profusely, to the point where a child can literally be drowning and the airway compromised, Tiffany said.

A new anti-venin is needed because a previous drug is no longer available. It too was not FDA approved and was found to have dangerous side effects.

Anascorp was developed about five years ago by a company based in Mexico City, and is now widely used in Mexico.

Dr. Leslie Boyer, director of the Arizona Poison Center, said she will appear with researchers from the University of Arizona before the FDA next month in an effort to get formal approval for the drug.

"We work with a lot of antivenins, and there is no question that this is an effective drug: You see an immediate change in the patient," Boyer said. "And we've seen no serious side effects, no adverse events attributable to the drug."'

"We are sure the children in Arizona can benefit from the special availability of this antivenin," Boyer said.

Britt Hunter believes that. Her 15-month-old daughter was bitten by a scorpion on Super Bowl Sunday, and she and her husband rushed her to Chandler Regional.

"We grabbed her and got in the car, and Molly's screams were blood-curdling," Britt Hunter said. "I was terrified, and my husband was driving like a wild man. Then Molly began salivating and shaking and her eyes were rolling. It was horrible."

They were lucky that they chose Chandler because it has the new anti-venin.

Dr. Tiffany diagnosed the bite, gave the anti-venin, and her acute symptoms eased.

Ariz. Hospitals Test Scorpion Stings Drug

[Shammu]

Storms Dump Rain on Northern California, Triggering Mudslides; Man Still Buried

Thursday , April 13, 2006

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SAN FRANCISCO — Storms that dumped up to 6 inches of rain over 24 hours triggered mudslides across Northern California, burying an elderly man in an avalanche of mud, closing roads and forcing the evacuation of several homes.

Dozens of rescue workers in Mill Valley searched for Walter Guthrie, 73, whose home was hit by a slide that was about 50 feet wide and 12- to 14-feet deep.

Rescue teams used a crane to remove the debris and planned to tear down the house to locate the missing man if necessary, Mill Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Moore said.

"We've switched to recovery mode," Moore said.

Three other homes were evacuated because of the mudslide in Mill Valley, a hilly community about 10 miles north of San Francisco, Moore said.

In Brisbane, about 10 miles south of San Francisco, three homes were evacuated after a mudslide struck a house. Two homes in Daly City also were evacuated and mudslides were reported in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Also, a house in Monte Rio in Sonoma County slid off its foundation and collapsed before landing in a heap of debris in the middle of the street.

Six schools were closed in coastal Marin County because the roads were too flooded, said Stephen Rosenthal, superintendent of the Shoreline Unified School District.

Heavy rains were blamed for power outages that affected a few thousand Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers, mostly around the Russian River in Sonoma County, said company spokesman Paul Moreno. Most of the homes had power restored by Wednesday night.

"What we're seeing is the effect of many days of rain," Moreno said. "We have saturated soils that cause trees to topple and cause small landslides that move utility poles."

The storm was expected to move south along the coast over the next couple of days, reaching Southern California on Friday, said Steve Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. One more storm was expected to arrive Sunday.

"Hopefully, this will be the end of the wet period," Anderson said. "In all indications, it will be the end of the long-standing wet weather pattern."

Short haul flights at San Francisco International Airport were delayed about an hour Wednesday because poor visibility forced the airport to limit landings, airport spokesman Mike McCarron said.

The storm also led to rare back-to-back rainouts for the San Francisco Giants. The games against Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday were postponed, the first time since 1961 that the Giants had consecutive rainouts at home.


Storms Dump Rain on Northern California, Triggering Mudslides; Man Still Buried

[Shammu]

Tornadoes Rip Through Eastern Iowa; 1 Dead

By TODD DVORAK and JOE NUGENT, Associated Press Writers 4 minutes ago

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Severe storms ripped through eastern Iowa on Thursday night, spawning tornadoes that crushed homes and cars and killed one person.

The National Weather Service said the fatality occurred in Muscatine County, where a tornado toppled the victim's mobile home. The victim's name was not released.

Twisters, high wind and hail toppled trees and cut off power to thousands across the region. No other injuries were immediately reported.

Residents sifted through debris downtown and in several neighborhoods. "We're in disaster mode," an Iowa City dispatcher said.

At the University of Iowa, which the National Weather Service said was hit by one tornado, students were assessing the damage, including downed trees.

Andrew Loffswold fled his apartment when he heard the howling winds of an oncoming twister grow louder. When he returned, his second-story apartment was in shambles, its roof torn off and its contents turned upside down.

"I'm just trying to salvage anything I can," said Loffswold, a 19-year-old student from Sioux City.

Nine other nearby apartments suffered major damage.

University spokesman Steve Parrott said classes have been canceled for Friday while crews repair the campus and clear debris.

Downtown, severe winds blew cars around, and a roof collapsed at a pedestrian mall, police said.

MidAmerican Energy said about 7,000 homes and businesses in eastern Iowa were without power Friday morning. Crews were working through the night to restore it.

The weather service reported tornadoes in Tama, Linn, Muscatine and Johnson counties, with much of the damage occurring in Iowa City.

Officials were keeping an eye out for more tornadoes in east-central Iowa on Thursday night, Donavon said.

The storms swept through northern Illinois, knocking down trees and power lines and prompting tornado warnings.

At least one tornado was spotted on the ground in Mercer County, the weather service said. Winds of 80 mph were reported in Warren County, where the roofs of two homes were heavily damaged, authorities said. There were no reports of injuries.

Tornadoes Rip Through Eastern Iowa; 1 Dead

[Shammu]

Iowa Mumps Epidemic Continues to Broaden

By DAVID PITT, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 13, 10:35 PM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa - The mumps epidemic in Iowa continued to widen this week and reached 605 cases by Thursday, public health officials said. Although the highest concentration of cases remained in eastern Iowa, the virus that causes mumps has infected at least one person in half of the state's 99 counties.

"I certainly would consider this a serious threat," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the state's epidemiologist. "We're doing everything we can to try to address it, get information out, do what we can to try to get it under control."

The state has received about 50 reports of new infections a day, a level which has remained consistent for at least a week. As of Monday, Nebraska has 43 reported cases; Kansas, 33; Illinois, four; Missouri, four; Wisconsin, four; and Minnesota, one.

Iowa Department of Public Health Director Mary Mincer Hansen said questions about how the epidemic started and why it has hit Iowa so hard have not yet been answered.

"I would guess that somehow we were unfortunate enough to be in the place where the mumps virus was introduced in such a way that it could cause an outbreak," she said. "After the outbreak has gone away, we'll look back at all the data we're collecting and try to piece together what could have been some of the causes."

Hansen said the mumps outbreak has been a good test of the state's public health systems established after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Those systems include a health alert network, a bioemergency plan and education of employees at local and state agencies on how to respond to outbreaks.

"We do feel we could have a worse problem if we didn't have the resources already available here in Iowa," Hansen said.

She acknowledged that the systems have not succeeded in stopping the spread of the highly contagious mumps virus, and said the state's response has included seeking further advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC employees were in Iowa Thursday helping review data and plan prevention and control strategies.

"We always are looking for things we could do differently, which is why we invited the CDC to come here and talk with us," Hansen said.

Quinlisk said a quarantine of infected people was ruled out.

"We have discussed that with the experts and everybody agrees that particular strategy would just not work in this disease," she said.

Instead, the state is using an isolation strategy, which includes encouraging people with symptoms to stay home.

Mumps is a virus-caused illness spread by coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, headache and swollen salivary glands under the jaw. But it can lead to more severe problems, such as hearing loss, meningitis and fertility-diminishing swollen testicles.

No deaths have been reported from the current epidemic.

A large portion of those with mumps are college-age and few are school-age or preschool children. Health officials said that's likely because of the very high vaccination rates among children.

Even with the widespread vaccination, the mumps vaccine is 95 percent effective, meaning just five in 100 people vaccinated will not develop antibodies to the virus and can contract the disease.

About a quarter of the Iowans who have suspected cases got the vaccine, health officials have said.

Iowa Mumps Epidemic Continues to Broaden

[Soldier4Christ]

Arizona on alert for mumps as disease tracked to Tucson traveler

PHOENIX (AP) — Health officials across Arizona have been told to be alert for an outbreak of the mumps after a traveler on an airline flight originating in Tucson was diagnosed with the viral infection.

Health officials said a student on vacation in Tucson and another passenger may have helped spread the disease to a large number of people. The student traveled April 2 from Tucson to Dallas on American Airlines flight 1216, then took connecting flights on to Fayetteville, Ark., St. Louis and finally to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The second passenger flew on several flights between Iowa, Minnesota, Detroit and Wqshington D.C., in late March.

The unusually rapid spread of the disease — as of midweek there were 515 suspected cases in Iowa and cases were found in six neighboring states, shows how quickly modern air travel can help disease spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said.

Pima County officials were warned about the Tucson traveler by the Iowa Department of Health about two weeks ago, Dr. Michelle McDonald, the county's chief medical officer, said Friday.

McDonald said hospitals, clinics and physicians were notified of the outbreak so they could be alert for the disease. But other than being watchful for patients with symptoms, there was little for medical professionals to do but wait to see if an outbreak occurs, she said.

"The problem with mumps is there's nothing to do," McDonald said. "There's no post-exposure prophylaxis," or preventive treatment.

People exposed to the disease can become infectious several days before they start feeling symptoms, most commonly fever, headache, and swollen salivary glands under the jaw. Less common but more severe symptoms includu hearing loss, meningitis, encephalitis or swollen testicles.

That can make it a hard disease to contain. Mumps is caused by a virus and spread by coughing and sneezing.

It is generally prevented by immunizations, and most school-aged children and adults have been inoculated against the disease.

It usually takes at least two weeks after exposure before people come down with symptoms, so McDonald said it will be this coming week or the next before any possible outbreak will show up.

Treatment for those infected is supportive, McDonald said, similar to letting a cold or flu run its course and keeping fevers from spiking or a patient from becoming dehydrated.

"The good news about mumps is it's usually not that serious of an illness," said Dr. Karen Lewis, medical director at the Arizona Department of Health Services. "But when we had it all the time, it was the most common infectious disease cause of hearing loss."

Although vaccines generally prevent the disease, they're not 100% effective, Lewis said. Groups of people don't believe in vaccines, and often five percent to 10% of the population is not protected. Those with compromised immune systems also are at greater risk.

About a quarter of the Iowa patients had been vaccinated, officials said. The mumps outbreak is the first in the nation in 20 years.

[Soldier4Christ]

Doctors See Mumps Outbreak Spread Across Midwest
4 Wisconsin Cases Reported



MADISON, Wis. -- Health officials are keeping a close eye on a mumps outbreak that continues to spread across the Midwest.

Doctors say the mumps are so rare most people don't even recognize it. The virus swells the salviatory glands, creating a chipmunk look.

It usually goes away after a week, but it's highly contagious.

"We're seeing that most of our cases are occurring in the 18 to 25 years of age, and about half of them are college students," said Iowa State epidemiologist Dr. Patricia Guinlisk.

A state like Iowa sees about five cases a year. But this year there have been at least 600 cases reported, WISC-TV reported.

Another 100 cases have been reported in six other Midwestern states, including four in Wisconsin.

And even if you've been vaccinated for the mumps, you may not be in the clear. Doctors fear the shot may wear off for some, which could be allowing the illness to spread.

[Shammu]

Health officials across Arizona have been told to be alert for an outbreak of the mumps after a traveler on an airline flight originating in Tucson was diagnosed with the viral infection.

Believe it or not but, this just came on TV. I was about to post it, when I saw your post.

[Soldier4Christ]

CDC Health Advisory: Multi-state Mumps Outbreak

 This is an official CDC HEALTH ADVISORY

Multi-state Mumps Outbreak

The state of Iowa has been experiencing a large outbreak of mumps that began in December 2005 (1). As of April 12, 2006, 605 suspect, probable and confirmed cases have been reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) (IDPH, unpublished data). The majority of cases are occurring among persons 18-25 years of age, many of whom are vaccinated. Additional cases of mumps, possibly linked to the Iowa outbreak, are also under investigation in eight neighboring states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin (CDC unpublished data, April 14, 2006).

In addition, the Iowa Department of Public Health has identified two persons diagnosed with mumps who were potentially infectious during travel on nine different commercial flights involving two airlines between March 26, 2006 and April 2, 2006. The origin and arrival cities for these flights include Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, IA; Dallas, TX; Detroit, MI; Lafayette, AR; Minneapolis, MN; St. Louis, MO; Tucson, AZ; and Washington, D.C. (2).

The source of the current US outbreak is unknown. However the mumps strain has been identified as genotype G, the same genotype circulating in the United Kingdom (UK). The outbreak in the UK has been ongoing from 2004 to 2006 and has involved > 70,000 cases. Most UK cases have occurred among unvaccinated young adults (3). The G genotype is not an unusual or rare genotype and, like the rest of known genotypes of mumps, it has been circulating globally for decades or longer.

Mumps clinical manifestations and transmission

Mumps is an acute viral infection characterized by a non-specific prodrome including myalgia, anorexia, malaise, headache and fever, followed by acute onset of unilateral or bilateral tender swelling of parotid or other salivary glands (4). In unvaccinated populations, an estimated 30-70% of mumps infections are associated with typical acute parotitis (4, 5). However, as many as 20% of infections are asymptomatic and nearly 50% are associated with non-specific or primarily respiratory symptoms, with or without parotitis (4).

Complications of mumps infection can include deafness, orchitis, oophoritis, or mastitis (inflammation of the testicles, ovaries, or breasts respectively), pancreatitis, meningitis/encephalitis, and spontaneous abortion. With the exception of deafness, these complications are more common among adults than children (4).

Transmission of mumps virus occurs by direct contact with respiratory droplets, saliva or contact with contaminated fomites. The incubation period is generally 16-18 days (range 12-25 days) from exposure to onset of symptoms (4, 6). Mumps virus has been isolated from saliva from between two and seven days before symptom onset until nine days after onset of symptoms (4, 6).

Mumps Prevention

The principal strategy to prevent mumps is to achieve and maintain high immunization levels. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all preschool aged children 12 months of age and older receive one dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) and all school-aged children receive two doses of MMR, and to ensure that all adults have evidence of immunity against mumps (5). As noted below, two doses of mumps vaccine are more effective than a single dose. Consequently, during outbreaks and for at-risk populations, ensuring high vaccination coverage with two doses is encouraged. For example, health care workers may be at increased risk of acquiring mumps and transmitting to patients and thus should receive two doses of MMR vaccine or provide proof of immunity. Since vaccination is the cornerstone of mumps prevention, public and private health entities concerned about spread of mumps in a population can review the vaccination status of populations of interest and work to address gaps in vaccination.

Mumps Vaccine Effectiveness

Data from outbreak investigations have shown that the effectiveness of MMR against mumps is approximately 80% after one dose and limited data suggest effectiveness of approximately 90% after two doses. Available evidence suggests that mumps vaccination should provide immunity against the genotype G virus responsible for the current US outbreak. A study of a 2005 New York outbreak that began with imported disease from the UK (7), demonstrated vaccine effectiveness in the expected range for both one and two doses (New York, unpublished data). However, since the vaccine is not 100% effective, some cases can occur in vaccinated persons. When a highly-vaccinated population is exposed to disease, most cases of disease would be expected to be among vaccinated persons. Mumps vaccine has not been shown to be effective in post-exposure prophylaxis and an interval of 2-4 weeks after vaccination may be required for the vaccine’s full immunogenicity to be achieved. For these reasons, and because of the mumps’ incubation period of 12-25 days, during an outbreak, newly-vaccinated persons may develop mumps disease as long as a month after vaccination (4, 5).

Control of mumps outbreaks

The main strategies for controlling a mumps outbreak are to define the at-risk population and transmission setting, identify and isolate suspected cases, and to rapidly identify and vaccinate susceptible persons or, if a contraindication to MMR vaccine exists, to exclude susceptible persons from the setting to prevent exposure and transmission. Specific strategies are listed below.

1. Offer MMR vaccine to persons without evidence of immunity. Evidence of immunity includes physician diagnosis or laboratory evidence of mumps infection, birth before 1957 or one dose of MMR vaccine. For pre-school aged children, the first MMR dose should be administered as close to age 12 months as possible. Although birth before 1957 is usually considered proof of immunity, during an outbreak, vaccination can be considered for this age group if the epidemiology of the outbreak suggests that they are at increased risk of disease. Since two doses of MMR vaccine is more effective than one dose for preventing mumps, a second dose of MMR vaccine is recommended for the following groups: health care workers, school-aged children, students at post-high school educational institutions and other age groups considered at high risk of exposure (5, .

2. Surveillance for mumps should be enhanced in all affected areas for persons with parotitis or other salivary gland inflammation. Enhanced surveillance should continue for 50 days (two times the maximum incubation period) after the date of illness onset in the last identified case. CSTE approved case definitions and case classifications for mumps are available (5).

3. Persons with suspected mumps should be tested and reported immediately to local public health officials. Information on collection and testing of clinical specimens for mumps will be available by Monday April 17, 2006 at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/mumps/mumps-lab.htm. Testing is essential as not all cases of parotitis are mumps, although mumps is the only known cause of epidemic parotitis.

4. Persons suspected of having mumps should be isolated for nine days after symptom onset (5, 6). In health care settings, the use of respiratory precautions is recommended (5).

5. Exclusion of persons without evidence of immunity to mumps from institutions such as schools and colleges affected by a mumps outbreak (and other, unaffected institutions judged by local public health authorities to be at risk for transmission of disease) should be considered. Once vaccinated, students can be readmitted to school. The period of exclusion for those that remain unvaccinated should be for at least 25 days after the onset of parotitis in the last person with mumps in the affected institution (5, 6).

[Soldier4Christ]

Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri  and Illinois getting hit with more severe weather. Tornadoes have been spotted throughout Iowa. Last night tornadoes ripped through central Illinois causing a good deal of damage. Their were 12 tornadoes reported in Knox, Fulton and Peoria Counties. The worst of these devestated an entire farm house and moved the barn and other out buildings across the road into a corn field. There were reports of hail the size of soft balls throughout the area.

There is more of this weather expected on Easter Sunday for the majority of Illinois. It is advised to contact the weather service prior to traveling on Easter.

[Soldier4Christ]

Believe it or not but, this just came on TV. I was about to post it, when I saw your post.

 

[Soldier4Christ]

Bangladesh to vaccinate 21 mln children against polio

Bangladesh's 13th Special National Immunization Day (NID) was inaugurated Saturday with an aim to feed polio vaccine to 21 million children under five starting from Sunday.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Khandoker Mosharraf Hossain inaugurated the program as chief guest through feeding polio vaccine to several children.

Mosharraf said Bangladesh was made "polio-free" through observing 12 national immunization days and a sub-NID drive.

"This immunization day has been necessitated by the fact that Rahima of Chandpur district has been affected with polio virus after Bangladesh has enjoyed polio-free status for five years and 8 months," said the health minister.

Rahima Akhtar, a 9-year-old girl in Bangladesh's eastern Chandpur district, was paralyzed on Jan. 23 this year. Later on March 8, laboratory tests in Indian state of Mumbai confirmed that Rahima has been attacked with the polio virus.

The minister urged all to make the special NID a success so that no more children get infected with polio after the Rahima case.

Bangladesh had been polio-free since August 2000 following extensive vaccination operation against the child-killer.

[Soldier4Christ]

Dengue fever plagues south

VietNamNet – The Ministry of Health has recorded nearly 8,000 cases of dengue fever so far this year, a 20% year on year increase.

 

Of those infected, four died, including two in Tien Giang, one in Hau Giang and one in Vinh Long Province.

 

Most of the cases were in southern provinces, including HCM City, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, An Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau, each of which recorded 400-600 cases. The statistics suggest that risk of a dengue fever epidemic is very high, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

Dr. Nguyen Van Binh, Deputy Head of the Preventive Health Department, Ministry of Health, said that one of the reasons for the extensive spread of dengue fever recently is that provinces have not adhered to the weekly hygiene and environment programme that the Ministry of Health launched in 2005. In addition, the general population in several provinces has not paid attention to prevention of the disease.

 

The Ministry of Health warned that if the hygiene and environment programme is not properly implemented, the number of dengue fever patients will continue to increase, with an epidemic a very real possibility in July and August.