Chikungunya -- First Time for Transmission in the Caribbean

    Thanks to a comment on my dengue fever blog post, this post focuses on Chikungunya.

    Chikungunya is an African/Asian virus and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) its name derives from the Kimakonde language (Africa), "meaning 'to become contorted' and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain (arthralgia)." Its symptoms include severe joint pain and high fevers that persist for a week or can linger for months.  Most people recover, according to the WHO. So what is it doing in the Caribbean?  No one knows for sure, but at least one of the mosquitos known to carry the virus can withstand temperatures quite well outside of the tropical zone (Aedis albopictus).
      Its appearance in the Caribbean this year is due to a rapid spread by mosquitoes (Aedis egypti and Aedis albopictus and both are known to spread the virus). It is the first time the virus has been transmitted in the Caribbean and not just brought into the islands from travelers who returned with the virus. So far, 55,000 cases have been confirmed according to media reports, and many more may be undiagnosed.
      There is no cure for the virus, and fever control medication is being recommended.  In Haiti, it has been reported that the price has doubled on the island's primary fever reducer.  (In the U.S., increasing prices on commodities beyond 10% in California state law, for example, in a declared public health emergency or disaster is a crime.)
      CDC has issued a "travel alert" but at the lowest level, Level 1, "Watch" which indicates to continue using usual precautions, in this case to avoid mosquito bites, and indicates risk to the traveler is the "[U]sual baseline risk or slightly above baseline risk for destination and limited impact to the traveler."
      Research on Chikungunya virus to lay the groundwork for a potential vaccine was begun by NIH/NIAID funding of the ten year program for Regional Centers of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases which ended this year.
       On June 12, the regional public health authorities will convene to determine what next steps should be taken with Chikungunya and Dengue, both spread by mosquitoes. 

 

WHO world map of countries at risk before the

Dec 2013 first recorded transmission in the Caribbean

 

France was the first to identify the virus in St. Maarten in De 2013 and began tracking its spread.  This figure tracking the cases in the Caribbean is from an article at: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20759

 



Smallpox destruction delayed again

The World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization met in their annual meeting, May 19-24, 2014.  One of the items on the agenda was to consider the destruction date of smallpox which had been agreed by the WHO members. Some experts recommend destruction while other experts recommend that more research with live virus is important to complete the research that is needed. The U.S. advocated a five year delay, and the WHA agreed to a three year delay to discuss the destruction date. Two advisory committees gave opposing recommendations and the WHA recommended the formation of a new advisory committee to consider the implications of new biotechnologies that can clone smallpox virus.
In a paragraph 21 tucked in the middle of the resolution which addressed these actions, WHA67.37, the note was made that "Destruction of Cloned Variola Virus DNA in South Africa. 21. In January 2014, the cloned variola virus DNA fragments that had been stored in South Africa were destroyed in the presence of witnesses, following the updated certification procedure set out in the Report of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Orthopoxvirus Infections in 1994." This was footnoted by a document WHO/CDS/BVI/94.3 which though noted as unpublished was available online and described the WHO Collaborating Centers for Smallpox project to sequence the smallpox virus strains.  Apparently, the destruction of these DNA fragments were those registered with this project.  Registration of these DNA fragments and sequences is required in this document but there is no indication how many of these exist. 

Free book--limited time

If you would like a free ebook version of my new book, The Things That Keep Us Up At Night--Reel Biohorror, you can visit this giveaway page where I am a LibraryThing author:  https://www.librarything.com/er_list.php?program=giveaway&sort=startdate  You will have to scroll down through the books until you find it, or search.
I am giving away only 50 until June 1 and about 15% have been taken in the first 24 hours, so be sure and get your copy before they are gone. I ask that you write a review and post it somewhere on the web in exchange for the free ebook, but only if want to do a review--up to you!  Here's the book webpage www.reelbiohorror.com .  Enjoy!

Hantavirus in Colorado

May 24, 2014
Colorado reported their third case of hantavirus in their state this year. Hantavirus is a hemorrhagic fever and can be deadly.  Earlier in May, Colorado had one fatal case in Rio Grande county.  Colorado typically has 2-6 cases each year.
Hantavirus was the disease that infected tourists to Yosemite National Park in 2012 that made headlines and triggered widespread notification to visitors to the Park who may have been exposed.
Hantavirus is carried by mice and can be inhaled when sweeping or shaking out mouse droppings. Public health authorities advise spraying droppings area with bleach before cleaning them yourself.
Hantavirus is not new, and according to Navajo oral histories, it has occurred cyclically over hundreds of years, and correlates with high deer mouse populations.

Dengue Epidemic

The sign seen on a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 23, 2014, announces a dengue epidemic and to take all precautions. A mosquito image requires no translation.  DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972, but in the U.S. territory, Puerto Rico, mosquitoes are a much more serious problem and the current dengue epidemic underscores the need for mosquito eradication. In the 50s and 60s, malaria was eradicated from Puerto Rico by using DDT.  DDT has never been shown to cause more harm to humans than malaria and dengue fever which can cause lifetime debilitation and sometimes death.  That is why the World Health Organization reconsidered its recommendation to ban DDT worldwide made 30 years ago and recommended in 2006 spraying DDT indoors on walls. WHO gives indoor use of DDT a clean bill of health. It was a question of human life weighed against environmental harm, and unfortunate tradeoff until we find a substitute for DDT.  

Posted on a wall in Puerto Rico, May 23, 2014