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Boston Devices a Cartoon Marketing Ploy
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 31, 2007; 5:02 PM
BOSTON — At least nine electronic devices, planted at bridges and other parts of Boston as part of a marketing campaign for a late-night cartoon, threw a scare into the city Wednesday.
Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless. “It’s a hoax _ and it’s not funny,” said Gov. Deval Patrick.
Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices, which consisted of magnetic, blinking lights, were part of a promotion for the TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF or simply Aqua Teen) is an American animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim late-night programming block. It premiered on December 30, 2000.
The show is about three anthropomorphic fast food items and their life together in New Jersey. The Aqua Teens were originally detectives; as the series progressed, however, the crime-solving aspect of the show was quickly abandoned. There is very little continuity between episodes; all but one of the recurring cast members have died at least once. The focus is instead on character interaction and a pervasive form of brutal, sarcastic, and often surreal humor.
ATHF is one of the four original Williams Street series that aired on Adult Swim in 2001 (Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law being the other three) and is the longest running original series on the network alongside Harvey Birdman. Episodes in the first three seasons varied between TV-PG and TV-14 ratings; many season four episodes were rated TV-MA.
Students to don masks, pump hand santizer for flu study
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | 1:13 PM ET
CBC News
More than 2,000 students at the University of Michigan are helping to figure out whether wearing surgical masks and using hand sanitizer actually helps to prevent the spread of the flu.
The university started handing out the hygienic tools this week to students in residence as part of an experiment to test if the low-tech measures offer protection from the influenza virus.
The experiment comes as health experts watch for any signs that the H5N1 form of avian flu is mutating into a form that can spread easily between people, a change that could spark a pandemic.
Unlike bacteria, viruses such as the flu do not respond to antibiotics. Antivirals exist but the supply is limited, and vaccines would take time to produce during a pandemic.
“There is some anecdotal evidence from prior pandemic outbreaks that masks may have helped, but no firm data,” said study leader Arnold Monto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan’s school of public health.
Students living in different dormitories will be assigned to use masks only, both masks and sanitizer, or neither. Use of hand sanitizer and masks will begin when a confirmed case of flu is found in a campus dorm, the researchers said.
Study participants will be expected to wear the masks at all times in the dorm but it’s optional elsewhere. Those participating in the experiment will receive up to $100 US, with those who get sick and have their throats swabbed receiving the most.
They will also receive stickers and magnets that list flu symptoms and include a pager number for students to report suspected cases of the flu. A nurse will then go to the dorm to collect samples.
The H5N1 flu continues to be mainly a disease of birds, although 270 people have been infected since 2003 and 164 have died, according to the World Health Organization.
The study is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and is timed to coincide with the start of flu season in the U.S.
Nigerian officials confirmed on Wednesday the country’s first avian flu fatality, bringing sub-Saharan Africa its first death caused by the deadly H5N1 strain.
The victim, a 22-year-old woman, died earlier this month allegedly after eating chicken, through which the disease can be spread.
“The results of the tests conducted by Nigerian scientists using in-country laboratory facilities confirmed the first human case of avian influenza fatality in a 22-year-old female who died in Lagos, Nigeria on January 17, 2007,” an official information ministry statement said.
The World Health Organization lists 164 bird flu deaths worldwide, most having occurred in Asia, with Djibouti the only other sub- Saharan African country to have reported a confirmed case of the disease.
Egypt is the only other African country that has confirmed fatalities.
Nigeria reported its first outbreak of avian influenza last February at a farm in northern Kaduna State.
Isolated cases of bird flu occurrences were recorded in Nigeria during the wintry season as migratory birds from colder regions of Europe moved south.
A government minister confirmed the resurgence of the avian influenza in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto and Yobe states in the north; in Anambra and Enugu States in the south-east; Plateau State and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) both in central Nigeria.
Last Wednesday, more than 3,000 birds were culled and destroyed in Girei council area of Adamawa State in the north. Varying numbers were also culled and destroyed in other areas where there was a resurgence of the disease.
January 31, 2007
New York Lawmakers Obtain $25 Million for Ill 9/11 Workers
By SEWELL CHAN
After impassioned pleas by members of New York’s Congressional delegation, the White House agreed yesterday to spend $25 million for the care and treatment of 9/11 rescue workers who became ill after being exposed to toxic dust at ground zero.
A preliminary federal estimate has put the total cost of treating all workers who need medical care at more than $250 million, but lawmakers said the $25 million would provide a reprieve through the end of the year for two treatment programs that last month warned they were running out of money.
“I think it’s a big breakthrough,” said Representative Vito J. Fossella, who met yesterday morning with Rob Portman, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and with Dr. John O. Agwunobi, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Fossella, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn and is the only Republican House member from New York City, joined other lawmakers agitating for federal aid.
Also in the group are Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton; Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, who represents parts of Manhattan and Queens; and Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. All are Democrats.
The group obtained $75 million from Congress last year , but that money is running out. Mrs. Clinton has called for a $1.9 billion program to help the workers.
Ms. Maloney said, “I would have hoped that we would not have had to wait five years and a number of visible deaths before we got the administration to react, but it is an important step forward.”
Mr. Nadler called the $25 million “a milestone” but added that it was “grossly inadequate.”
Dr. Agwunobi and Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, are co-chairmen of a task force examining the needs of 9/11 workers.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a statement thanking President Bush “for taking this important step.” The mayor said the treatment programs — one run by the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the other by the Fire Department — were “working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington.”
Ms. Maloney and Mr. Fossella both said they were told by Mr. Portman that the $25 million was only a starting sum and the findings of the task force could be the basis for additional aid.
Sean Kevelighan, press secretary for the White House Office of Management and Budget, called the $25 million “a good starting point,” and said: “We’ll be paying close attention to the recommendations of the task force. We would be willing to reconsider the ’08 budget level should the facts suggest that a different amount be appropriate.”
Prince Charles’ office confirmed a report Wednesday that an intruder armed with a pitchfork broke into his country estate and was arrested.
The Daily Mail newspaper, which said Charles and his wife, Camilla, were asleep inside the house at the time, reported that the man evaded security at the Highgrove estate, 120km west of London, before being detained by police on Tuesday.
“It did happen, and it’s a matter for the police,” said a spokesperson for Prince Charles, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with royal policy.
A spokesperson for Gloucester Police said a 55-year-old man from Bristol, western England, had been arrested for trespassing and released on bail.
“He was detained within the grounds and did not gain access to any buildings,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with force policy. – Sapa-AP
Source: http://www.iol.co.za
COMMENT: I find it amazing that this big of a security breach could ever occur, especially at an estate where members of the Royal Family are in residence.
Prosecutors receive file on ex-spy’s death
Suspect may be charged with murder in U.K. over Litvinenko’s poisoning
The Associated Press
Updated: 10:49 a.m. ET Jan 31, 2007
LONDON – Police sent the results of a two-month investigation of the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko to prosecutors Wednesday, raising the possibility that a suspect could be charged with his murder.
Police declined to comment on whether the file named suspects or recommended that charges be filed. Such files typically are given to prosecutors when officers believe they have built a conclusive case, a Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said.
Prosecutors will use the file — which contains details of investigations by London police in Britain, the United States and Russia — to decide whether any individual will be charged with criminal offenses regarding the death, police said.
Regarding Wednesday’s information about the Litvinenko probe, police issued a statement saying: “We are not prepared to discuss the contents of the file.”
Prosecutors must decide if the police evidence meets the standard needed to secure a conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with its regulations.
However, detectives have not closed the case, a police spokeswoman said, and would continue to hunt for evidence in the death.
Alleged key suspect calls allegations ‘lies’
Litvinenko, a Kremlin critic who lived in exile in London, died in a London hospital on Nov. 23 from a lethal dose of the radioactive element polonium-210.
In a deathbed statement, the former KGB agent accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, an allegation the Kremlin has denied.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that officials had received the police file. “Decision on whether there is sufficient evidence rests with the prosecution service,” the prosecution spokeswoman said. “We have received a full file from the police, which contains all details of their inquiries into the case so far.”
A Russian businessman identified by British media as a key suspect in the case told The Associated Press on Saturday that he had no role in the crime.
Andrei Lugovoi, who was interviewed in Moscow by Russia officials on behalf of London police, said the allegations against him were “lies, provocation and government propaganda.”
Russia’s prosecutor general’s office has said Moscow would not allow the extradition of Lugovoi to Britain if he is charged in the British inquiry.
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 31, 2007; 1:04 PM
LONDON — Iran is two to three years away from having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon, a leading security think tank said Wednesday. But the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said domestic opposition to outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could still help put the brakes on its nuclear development efforts.
“There are signs that political and economic pressure is having an impact in Tehran,” said John Chipman, the institute’s chief executive, speaking at the launch of the its annual publication, “The Military Balance.”
Although Chipman said Iran could be as little as two years away from a bomb, other authorities say it could take Tehran significantly longer to reach that point.
Both John Negroponte, the head of national intelligence for the U.S., and Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have said Iran is perhaps four years from the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon.
While Iran could conceivably build a bomb in two years, a three-year time frame was more likely, said Mark Fitzpatrick, a nonproliferation expert at the institute. He said estimates floated by U.S. intelligence were conservative _ a likely result of its chastening experience in Iraq.
“The CIA is being extra cautious these days,” he said.
Chipman said Wednesday that Iran was on track to complete its goal of producing 3,000 centrifuges for producing highly-enriched uranium by the end of March or shortly thereafter. Many centrifuges had been obtained from the black market, he said.
Iran ultimately plans to expand its program to 54,000 centrifuges, which spin uranium hexaflouride gas into enriched uranium, a metal.
Iran says it aims to produce nuclear fuel to generate electricity. But if Iran chose, it could use the massive array of centrifuges to make enough weapons-grade material for dozens of nuclear warheads a year.
Diplomats briefed on the IAEA’s findings said this month that the Iranians recently finished pre-assembly work at its enrichment facility at Natanz, in central Iran, which has been built underground as protection against attack.
In enrichment plants, centrifuges are linked by pipes in what are called cascades, which cycle the gas as it is processed. For now, the only known assembled centrifuge cascades in Iran are above ground at Natanz, consisting of two linked chains of 164 machines each and two smaller setups.
The two larger cascades have been running only sporadically to produce small quantities of non-weapons grade enriched uranium, while the smaller assemblies have been underground “dry testing” since November, IAEA inspectors have reported.
The U.N. on Dec. 23 imposed sanctions on Iran for pursuing enrichment efforts, and gave it 60 days to suspend the program.
A diplomat knowledgeable about Iran’s enrichment program said last week that Tehran may not be technologically advanced enough to put together thousands of centrifuges in series _ work that would take months even for more developed countries.
Chipman on Wednesday agreed. “Getting the centrifuge cascades to function properly is then another task of an entirely different order of magnitude” from installing the centrifuges, he said, adding that this process could take at least a year.
Once Iran’s planned 3,000-centrifuge cascade was operational, the institute predicted it would take another nine to 11 months to produce about 55 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough for a single weapon, he said.
Chipman also said it was possible that growing disquiet within Iran over Ahmadinejad’s leadership _ and the economic troubles linked to possible sanctions _ may open a debate in the country on the wisdom of pursuing the nuclear program.
“Whether the internal debate will lead to a suspension in the enrichment program that would provide the basis for resumed negotiations remains to be seen,” he said.
The institute is widely considered the most important security think tank outside the United States.
A forward thinking logistics and technology plan can keep a carrier operating even during a deadly, long-term influenza pandemic.
By Ed McKinley
February 1, 2007 – Despite dire warnings from health officials and risk experts, only a tiny percentage of the nation’s insurance carriers have developed formal plans to keep their businesses running in the face of a deadly, long-term influenza pandemic.
While 82% of carriers have prepared business continuity plans (BCP) for survival in the wake of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, only 11% are ready for a pandemic, says Clare DeNicola, president and CEO of IVANS, a Stamford, Conn., company that provides communications services to insurance companies. IVANS surveyed CIOs and directors in May 2006.
These [BCPs] are just not adequate if a pandemic happens because they fail to address most of the issues,” says Judy Johnson, vice president and principal solutions architect at Patni Computer Systems Inc., a software and IT services company with global headquarters in Mumbai, India, and U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.
Consider the possible consequences: “After a disaster, 45% of the companies that experience a major business interruption do not fully recover and, therefore, are not in business five years later,” says Johnson. “Some of our huge insurance conglomerates keep rolling along, but small carriers are seriously affected.”
Typically, companies plan for the loss of a building but not for the loss of people, says Steve Pearce, director of global business continuity management at Aon Corp., a Chicago-based insurance broker and risk management consulting company. Businesses make provisions for an overnight loss of power, for example, but not for the drawn-out effects of a pandemic, which can linger for 60 to 120 days, he says.
The apparent lack of preparedness persists even though worldwide outbreaks resulted in death tolls in the United States of 675,000 in 1918-19; 70,000 in 1957-58; and 34,000 in 1968-69, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
The Vietnam War, by comparison, claimed the lives of 58,000 American troops in a decade of fighting.
Although no one can predict when a pandemic will occur, the CDC says many scientists “believe it is just a matter of time.”
With that in mind, experts are tracking the avian flu virus H5M1, which displays characteristics similar to those of the virulent 1918 bug and had infected 238 people in 10 Asian and Eastern European countries by Oct. 1, says Aon’s Pearce. So far the virus has been transmitted only from animals to people.
But the H5M1 virus or another strain could mutate into a state that transfers easily from one human to another, taking hold in days and spreading around the world in weeks, says Pearce.
“Imagine the virus racing through crowded cities and thriving in the recycled air of continent-hopping jetliners,” he says. “Another pandemic is inevitable.”
STAYING OPEN
The harsh reality of keeping a business open in the face of a pandemic involves detailed planning because employees are bound to fall ill and some may die. Even those who remain healthy may steer clear of the office to avoid infection or may need to stay home to care for afflicted relatives, says Michael Romano, senior vice president of corporate compliance for Pittsburgh-based carrier Highmark Inc.
In December, after seven months of work, Romano’s company completed and began testing a contingency plan for a pandemic. In a sense, however, the company will never finish the project, because management intends to make modifications as business needs change.
“It’s not a plan that we put on a shelf,” says Romano.
The company’s Business Continuity Planning Department led the effort to create the plan, with help from employees in a number of other departments, including operations, finance and IT, Romano says.
Having an individual take ownership can prove crucial, says Patni’s Johnson. “If it’s not a full time job to put this plan in place, the plan will never be in place,” she says. “And, it needs a budget,” she adds.
Romano notes the importance of making the project “a corporate-wide effort so that we could address all the critical business needs and the support needed for those critical needs.”
Patni’s Johnson agrees. “Understand what is critical to running the business because not everything is going to be up if you’ve lost employees,” she says. “Ask yourself: ‘What would kill us if it were down?’”
The Highmark planning group used the company’s established BCP template as a starting point. The BCP, also known at the company as a site outage plan, describes procedures for operating from the company’s satellite office in Harrisburg, Pa., if the main office in Pittsburgh closes.
The pandemic plan should complement the BCP umbrella, with some pandemic components making sense for operations and recovery in other situations, says Romano. “It’s not one size fits all, but they fit together,” he says.
Highmark IT people had already developed BCP software that stores information, pulls information together and tests it. That same software serves the pandemic plan, says Romano. “It’s kind of a homegrown process,” he says. Commercial versions are also available, says Pearce.
“Some serious thinking needs to go into this,” Johnson says of pandemic plans. “It can’t be done generically or on a checklist. Every company needs to think about their own situation, their own suppliers and how they do business-and try to figure this out for themselves.”
THE PLAN
In the Highmark pandemic plan, the company lays out three scenarios: a normal flu season that triggers no special response; a pandemic that keeps 30% to 50% of workers out of the workplace; and an outbreak that results in a quarantine of the office.
In developing a plan to deal with a pandemic, Romano emphasizes that carriers need to look beyond their own companies and develop relationships with local officials, vendors, utility companies, customers, banks and health care providers to coordinate pandemic plans.
He advises keeping in mind that the pandemic will not stop at the doors of one’s own company-every entity with which the company has contact could feel the effect. If 50% of a company’s employees are out, 50% are out everywhere else, too.
“It’s not something you can do by yourself,” Romano says of creating a pandemic plan. “You need to have a lot of folks involved that you really don’t have control over.”
The need to keep receiving goods and services from vendors and suppliers will not abate if a pandemic strikes. That’s why it’s vital to work with those outside companies to create complementary pandemic plans.
Requirements for heating, air conditioning and electricity dictate laying groundwork with utilities companies.
For a health insurer such as Highmark, planners also need to work closely with doctors and hospitals to ensure that everyone can keep working together even under a pandemic’s adverse conditions. Urban hospitals are farther along than rural hospitals in their planning, Romano notes.
Highmark also attends meetings with local officials to coordinate activities. Aon’s Pearce notes that county and municipal authorities will take the lead in keeping society running during a pandemic. Bigger cities are farther ahead in planning, he says.
On the home front, Highmark considered electronic methods of collecting premiums and paying claims to keep the business going during a pandemic. Adequate staffing also is required to maintain the flow of business.
Highmark also reviewed policies on work time and time off, studying how those might change during a pandemic. Staggering shifts, for example, could limit contact among employees and thus reduce the chance of infection.
Some employees would work from home during the pandemic and that requires the right electronics for support and security. What’s more, the people designated to work from home could fall ill and thus sink the plan – another possibility to consider.
Working from home also can raise issues with regulatory compliance and requires close scrutiny, says Andrew Coburn, a vice president who heads pandemic risk modeling for Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), a Newark, Calif., a catastrophe risk modeling firm.
Most companies will need more network capacity if employees work from home, says Patni’s Johnson. Most systems can process 10% to 20% concurrency, but 80% may be trying to get on the network at the same time and for a protracted period during a pandemic, she says.
“Most people assume the Internet will stay up, and that’s quite a big assumption,” says Coburn. “If demand tripled, bandwidth would be extremely limited.”
At least the technology that could enable employees to work from home continues to improve, while becoming less expensive, says DeNicola of IVANS. “We see changes every couple of months on new opportunities to take advantage of better and better technology that is less expensive than five years ago,” she says.
One example of those improvements is a client that employers can place on workers’ laptops. The client does nothing and costs nothing until the company flips a switch to activate it and allow people to work from remote locations, DeNicola says.
Meanwhile, besides high tech, Highmark also examined the ways employees travel to the office, bearing in mind that interruptions could occur in public transportation and that some employees might shun crowded buses and trains.
The company could draft some employees for phone service, but months of training are required for customer service representatives and claims processing specialists, Romano says.
To promote pandemic education the company provides employees with an instruction booklet that describes normal bouts of the flu and offers advice on protection from pandemic flu.
Some Highmark staff members also are learning how to help a sick fellow employee leave the office without infecting co-workers.
Kits stored in the desks provide surgical masks and disinfectants. “That’s just if it gets really, really bad,” Romano says of the kits.
Carriers need to consider many contingencies, Romano says. With schools closed, for example, some employees might need to bring children to work, and companies need to anticipate that possibility.
In the event of a pandemic, Highmark plans to help customers stay calm by assuring them that their insurance will be in force if they visit a doctor or go to the hospital. The company expects a heavy volume of telephone calls from concerned clients, and answering those inquiries could prove challenging with a reduced staff.
Backups are named for decision-makers. If the senior vice president for operations, for example, became unable to work, the person designated next in line would take responsibility for appropriate duties. In some cases, employees are standing by “three or four people deep” as backups, says Romano.
Employees have supported the plan, showing few signs of resistance or carelessness, says Romano, probably because of strong interest from top management, says Romano.
Besides, having a plan simply makes sense to Romano. “We’re better off if we have the plan and don’t need it,” says Romano, “than if we need it and don’t have it.”
Johnson seems less philosophical but equally certain. “We’re likely to have some sort of pandemic in the next 24 months,” she says. “Planning for this properly is part of fiscally responsible management.”
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Small Changes in 1918 Pandemic Virus Knocks Out Transmission Research Provides Clues for Assessing Pandemic Potential of New Influenza Viruses.
Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that a molecular change in the 1918 pandemic influenza virus stops its transmission in ferrets that were in close proximity, shedding light on the properties that allowed the 1918 pandemic virus to spread so quickly and potentially providing important clues that could help scientists assess emerging influenza viruses, such as H5N1.
The study, which is published in the Feb. 5 issue of Science, showed that a modest change of two amino acids in the main protein found on the surface of the 1918 virus did not change the virus’s ability to cause disease, but stopped respiratory droplet transmission of the virus between ferrets placed in close proximity. The experiments were conducted with ferrets because their reaction to influenza viruses closely mimics how the disease affects humans.
“With this vital research, we are learning more about what may have contributed to the spread and deadliness of the 1918 pandemic,” said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. “By better understanding how this virus spreads, we can be better positioned to slow down or stop the spread of the pandemic virus and hence be better prepared for the next pandemic.”
To spread and cause illness, the influenza virus must first bind to host cells found in humans and animals. The Science study suggests that the hemagglutinin (HA), a type of protein found on the surface of influenza viruses, plays an important role in the 1918 virus’s ability to transmit from one host to another efficiently. This research suggests that, for an influenza virus to spread efficiently, the virus’s HA must prefer attaching to cells that are found predominately in the human upper airway instead of cells found predominately in the gastrointestinal tracts of birds. Other changes may be necessary as well. Current H5N1 viruses prefer attaching to avian cells, suggesting the virus would need to make genetic changes before it could pass easily between humans.
“Work on the 1918 virus is providing clues that are helping us evaluate other influenza viruses with pandemic potential, such as H5N1, that may emerge,” said Dr. Terrence Tumpey, lead author of the paper and a CDC senior microbiologist. “Though we still don’t know what changes might be necessary for H5N1 to transmit easily among people, it’s likely that changes in more than one virus protein would be required for the H5N1 virus to be transmitted among humans.”
Influenza pandemics occur when a new strain emerges to which people have little or no immunity. Most experts believe another pandemic will occur, but it is impossible to predict which strain will emerge as the next pandemic strain, when it will occur or how severe it will be.
The 1918 pandemic caused an estimated 675,000 deaths in the United States and up to 50 million worldwide, in the worst pandemic of the past century.
The research was done in collaboration with Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory. All laboratory work with 1918 virus was conducted at CDC in a high containment Biosafety Level 3 laboratory with enhancements, using stringent biosecurity precautions to protect both laboratory workers and the public from exposure to the virus. Currently available antiviral drugs have been shown to be effective against the 1918 influenza virus and similar viruses.
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Content Source: Office of Enterprise Communication
Page last modified: February 1, 2007
Page Located on the Web at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/r070201.htm
Medical authorities are reporting a fresh surge in deaths and infections of
the haemorrhagic Rift Valley fever in North Eastern Province (NEP) of Kenya
where it was first reported mid December last year [2006] before making a
westward spread into the country’s southern and central regions last week.
After more than a month of ferocity in Northern Kenya where it killed 478
people and infected 33 00 [cattle and sheep?], RVF has now spread into
Kenya’s central province and killed a patient who was admitted at the
Kenyatta National Hospital.
The new deaths in NEP exclude the national toll at 148 announced by the
Health Ministry on Wed [24 Jan 2007?] for they represent a week’s figures
from remote areas that reached Garissa, the provincial capital, only on Thu
[25 Jan] and Fri [26].
Experts are blaming the new infections on a botched animal vaccination
exercise, fresh flooding and flouting of the ban on meat consumption
imposed last year. The Kenya government and several international agencies
commenced a vaccination exercise of 2 million animals i early Jan 2007, but
which has been flagging due to lack of logistics and
coordination between departments. Due to lethargy within the police
department in Garissa, Tana River and Mwingi districts animal traders have
breached the ban on livestock trade and sold or slaughtered quarantined
animals, partly explaining the spread into Nairobi, the country’s capital.
The new deaths and infections follow the recent withdrawal of a laboratory
brought to Garissa by the Centre for Disease Control-Kenya (CDC-Kenya) to
assist and speed diagnosis. It was taken away to Nairobi when RVF was
reported in cattle in Central Province.
Meanwhile, a couple [have been] admitted to the Nyeri Provincial General
hospital in critical condition exhibiting symptoms believed to be those of
Rift valley fever. The hospital’s Superintendent Dr Victor Muiyembe said
the couple from Muiga location in Kieni East division complained of severe
headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea with bloody stool. Speaking to KNA
at the hospital, Dr Muiyembe said the [pair] whose condition he described
as stable had fed on a cow’s liver purchased from a local butchery.
Source: ProMEDmail, 1/29/07
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