- China Pneumonia Outbreak: Beijing Says Surge Not Caused by a Novel Virus | Vantage with Palki Sharma Firstpost
- Should the World Worry About China’s New Mystery-Pneumonia Outbreak? The Messenger
- China claims multiple pathogens behind surge of respiratory illnesses | Needs more fever clinics WION
- As China mystery illness overwhelms kids, doctors advise parents on what they should do to keep kids fighting fit for flu season The Indian Express
- China to Bring Back Covid-like Curbs Amid Spike in Respiratory Illnesses? Firstpost
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Outbreak
Undiagnosed pneumonia outbreak in China puts pressure on pediatric hospitals, prompts questions – University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- Undiagnosed pneumonia outbreak in China puts pressure on pediatric hospitals, prompts questions University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- Another Pandemic? Mystery Pneumonia Sweeps Through Chinese Schools NDTV
- Chinese hospitals swamped with severe child pneumonia cases Radio Free Asia
- Large outbreak of pneumonia in China, pediatric hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning overwhelmed ForexLive
- Chinese Hospitals Have Been “overwhelmed With Sick Children” As An Outbreak Of Pneumonia – Greek City Times GreekCityTimes.com
- View Full Coverage on Google News
China’s ‘batwoman’ warns another coronavirus outbreak is ‘highly likely’ – South China Morning Post
- China’s ‘batwoman’ warns another coronavirus outbreak is ‘highly likely’ South China Morning Post
- Chinese Virologist Warns of High Likelihood of Future Coronavirus Outbreaks| Oneindia News Oneindia News
- Another coronavirus on the way? This is what China`s top virologist `batwoman` thinks WION
- China’s ‘batwoman’ scientist warns another coronavirus outbreak is ‘highly likely’ Bangkok Post
- Will another coronavirus outbreak take place in future? Here’s what China’s ‘batwoman’ scientist has to say Business Today
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Half of the Victims in the Salmonella outbreak hospitalized; Chicago taqueria closed – Food Safety News
- Half of the Victims in the Salmonella outbreak hospitalized; Chicago taqueria closed Food Safety News
- Salmonella outbreak at Avondale taqueria sickens 20, hospitalizes 10 CBS Chicago
- 10 hospitalized after Salmonella outbreak at Avondale taqueria WGN TV Chicago
- Salmonella Outbreak At Carniceria Guanajuato Sends 10 To Hospitals, Public Health Officials Say Block Club Chicago
- Salmonella outbreak reported at Carnicería Guanajuato’s taquería on N. California in Avondale, Chicago Dept. of Health says WLS-TV
- View Full Coverage on Google News
18 dead, dozens injured in 6 states after Arkansas tornado outbreak, devastating storms across US – WABC-TV
- 18 dead, dozens injured in 6 states after Arkansas tornado outbreak, devastating storms across US WABC-TV
- Severe weather in South, Midwest leaves at least 14 dead; ‘catastrophic’ tornado tears through Little Rock Fox News
- ‘It Slammed Me Up Against The Wall’: Wynne, AR Resident Thankful To Be Alive After Violent Tornado FOX Weather
- National Weather Service confirms EF-3 tornado touched down in Little Rock Friday KARK
- Tornadoes kill at least 11 people across Midwest and the South, rips through Illinois music venue where Boston metal band among lineup Boston Herald
FDA warns another eye product could be contaminated with bacteria amid outbreak of infections – Fox Business
- FDA warns another eye product could be contaminated with bacteria amid outbreak of infections Fox Business
- Eye product recall: FDA expands warning over contaminated eye drops to include Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Eye Ointment, amid bacterial outbreak CBS News
- FDA widens advisory on eye products after patients blinded, hospitalized Yahoo News
- More eye medicine recalled in 13-state outbreak of ‘drug-resistant’ bacteria infections Miami Herald
- FDA issues warning over Delsam Pharma’s eye ointment CBS Miami
- View Full Coverage on Google News
While health authorities are racing to contain a deadly Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, the U.S. has experimental vaccines – CBS News
- While health authorities are racing to contain a deadly Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, the U.S. has experimental vaccines CBS News
- Marburg disease hits Africa as WHO confirms outbreak in Equatorial Guinea Fox News
- Outbreak of Marburg, Ebola’s similarly deadly relative, spurs response race Ars Technica
- Cameroon finds suspected cases of Marburg virus, an illness similar to Ebola CNN
- Cameroon Dismisses Suspected Marburg Infections After Equatorial Guinea’s First Outbreak Voice of America – VOA News
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Eye drops linked to US drug-resistant bacteria outbreak
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials are advising people to stop using over-the-counter eye drops that have been linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday night sent a health alert to physicians, saying the outbreak includes at least 55 people in 12 states. One died.
Disease investigators have linked the infections, including some found in blood, urine and lungs, to EzriCare Artificial Tears. Many of the patients said they had used the product, which is a lubricant used to treat irritation and dryness.
The infections were all caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Investigators detected that kind of bacteria in open EzriCare bottles, but further testing was underway to see if the strains matched.
EzriCare said it is not aware of any evidence definitively linking the outbreak to the product, but that it has stopped distributing the eye drops. It also has a notice on its website urging consumers to stop using the drops.
“To the greatest extent possible, we have been contacting customers to advise them against continued use of the product. We also immediately reached out to both CDC and FDA and indicated our willingness to cooperate with any requests they may have of us,” the company said.
Two weeks ago, the CDC warned medical professional societies about the possible connection between the drops and the infections. The Wednesday alert was a broader, more public warning.
Infections were diagnosed in patients in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. One patient — in Washington — died with a blood infection. At least five others suffered permanent vision loss.
The outbreak is considered particularly worrisome because the bacteria driving it are resistant to standard antibiotics.
Investigators found the bacteria were not susceptible to any antibiotics routinely tested at public health laboratories. However, a newer antibiotic named cefiderocol did seem to work.
How could eye drops cause infections in the blood or lungs? The eye connects to the nasal cavity through the tear ducts. Bacteria can move from the nasal cavity into the lungs. Also, bacteria in these parts of the body can seed infections at other sites such as in the blood or wounds, CDC officials said.
The product is manufactured in India by Global Pharma Healthcare Pvt Ltd., EzriCare said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
As egg prices soar, the deadliest bird flu outbreak in US history drags on
Enlarge / Chicken eggs are disposed of at a quarantined farm in Israel’s northern Moshav (village) of Margaliot on January 3, 2022.
The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the US is now the longest and deadliest on record. More than 57 million birds have been killed by the virus or culled since a year ago, and the deadly disruption has helped propel skyrocketing egg prices and a spike in egg smuggling.
Since highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) was first detected in US birds in January 2022, the price of a carton of a dozen eggs has shot up from an average of about $1.79 in December 2021 to $4.25 in December 2022, a 137 percent increase, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although inflation and supply chain issues partly explain the rise, eggs saw the largest percentage increase of any specific food, according to the consumer price index.
And the steep pricing is leading some at the US-Mexico border to try to smuggle in illegal cartons, which is prohibited. A US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told NPR this week that people in El Paso, Texas, are buying eggs in Juárez, Mexico, because they are “significantly less expensive.” Meanwhile, a customs official in San Diego tweeted a reminder amid a rise in egg interceptions that failure to declare such agriculture items at a port of entry can result in penalties up to $10,000.
Foul effects
Still, America’s pain in grocery store dairy aisles likely pales compared to some of the devastation being reaped on poultry farms. HPAI A(H5N1) has been detected in wild birds in all 50 states, and 47 have reported outbreaks on poultry farms. So far, 731 outbreaks across 371 counties. At the end of last month, two outbreaks in Weakley County, Tennessee, affected 62,600 chickens.
With the outbreak at the one-year mark, it is the longest bird flu outbreak on US record. And with 57 million birds dead across 47 states, it’s also the deadliest, surpassing the previous record set in 2015 of 50.5 million birds in 21 states.
Although the virus is highly contagious to birds—and often fatal—the risk to humans is low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the avian influenza Type A viruses (aka bird flu viruses) generally don’t infect humans, though they occasionally can when people have close or lengthy unprotected contact with infected birds. Once in a human, it’s even rarer for the virus to jump from human to human.
In the current outbreak, the CDC has tracked more than 5,000 people who have had contact with infected birds, but only found one single case of bird flu in a human. The reported case in Colorado came from a person who worked directly with infected birds and was involved with a cull. The person had mild symptoms and recovered.
Flu fears
Although the current data is comforting, virologists and epidemiologists still fear the potential for flu viruses, such as bird flu, to mutate and recombine into a human-infecting virus with pandemic potential. A report published in the journal Eurosurveillance on January 19 highlighted the concern. Researchers in Spain documented an outbreak of avian flu among farmed mink on the northwestern coast during October of last year. The mink were likely infected via wild seabirds, which had a coinciding wave of infection with H5N1 viruses at the time. Over the course of October, more and more mink fell ill, suggesting mink-to-mink transmission, which led to the culling of the entire colony of nearly 52,000 animals starting in late October.
Notably, the H5N1 virus infecting the mink had an uncommon mutation that may have enabled it to spread to and among the mink. Mammal-to-mammal transmission of an avian virus alone is noteworthy, but it’s particularly concerning in mink, which can act as viral blenders. As the authors of the Spanish report note:
Experimental and field evidence have demonstrated that minks are susceptible and permissive to both avian and human influenza A viruses, leading to the theory that this species could serve as a potential mixing vessel for the interspecies transmission among birds, mammals and human.
As such, the authors say it is necessary to “strengthen the culture of biosafety and biosecurity in this farming system and promote the implementation of ad hoc surveillance programs for influenza A viruses and other zoonotic pathogens at a global level.”
None of the workers on the mink farm became infected with the H5N1 virus, the authors report. However, they note that using face masks was compulsory for all mink farm workers in Spain following concerns over the spread of SARS-CoV-2. And upon the first detection of an illness at the farm, the workers there took precautions in case it was SARS-CoV-2, which included using disposable overalls, face shields, face mask changing twice per day, and frequent hand washing, all beginning on October 4.
The Outbreak Begins on HBO’s Show
The second episode of The Last of Us was all about beginnings: the beginning of the viral outbreak that would basically end the world, and the beginning of Joel and Ellie’s story as the pair, along with Tess, set out into the open world of Boston. Helmed by Last of Us game director and series co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, it was a subtly video game-influenced episode that also added to the franchise’s mythology in some scary, fascinating ways.
Before we could pick up with Joel, Ellie, and Tess, things flashed back to 2003. September 24, 2003 to be precise, a mere two days before Joel would lose his daughter in Austin, Texas. About 10,000 miles away, we’re in Jakarta, Indonesia, which—if you remember—Joel briefly heard mentioned on the radio in the previous episode. An older woman is having lunch when two military men come into the restaurant. Everyone gets scared and quiet and they ask her to leave.
This is Ibu Ratna (Christine Hakim), a Professor of Mycology at the University of Indonesia. Mycology is the study of fungi, so it makes sense that Dr. Ratna is confused about what military men would want with her. They pull up to a hospital, go into a secure back section, and Dr. Ratna is asked to look at a slide. She identifies it as Ophiocordyceps—which Wikipedia describes as “zombie ant fungus”—but is confused about where it came from. The main man (Yayu A.W. Unru) tells her it’s from a human, but Dr. Ratna says that’s impossible. Ophiocordyceps can’t survive in a human. (Remember the TV show from the previous episode?)
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She puts on a protective suit and goes into a room with a dead woman on a slab. This woman has been bitten on her leg and when the Ratna cuts it, it doesn’t bleed. Instead, tiny plant-like tentacles live below the surface. She puts forceps into the corpse’s mouth and pulls out living, moving, tentacles, and runs out horrified.
Shocked by her discovery, the military man explains where it came from. Thirty hours ago, this woman attacked several people at a nearby flour and grain plant. When the police arrived, they killed her, and a few hours later, all the people she attacked had to be killed. Dr. Ratna asks the next logical question—“Who bit her?”— and they don’t know. She’s also told 14 other workers from the factory are missing. At this information, she begins to shake. The man tells her they brought her here to help them stop the spread of this disease. That they need a cure. She calmly explains that there is no cure and suggests the best way to spot it is to bomb the entire city and kill everyone.
Again—this is TWO DAYS before Joel has to deal with the infected in Austin on his birthday, September 26. So the doctor’s extreme reaction was warranted. The world is doomed. Also, it’s worth noting none of this is in the game. It’s just a terrifying glimpse at where the end of the world started, newly created for this show.
In 2023, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv) are watching Ellie (Bella Ramsey) sleep. Remember, the previous episode ended with them finding out that she’d been infected. When she wakes up completely fine, Joel is ready to either bring her back to the Quarantine Zone or kill her. Tess, however, isn’t so sure, so she puts it all out there. She tells Ellie that she and Joel are not good people, that they’re helping her for selfish reasons, and if she doesn’t explain why she’s so important to Marlene and the Fireflies they’ll kill her. So Ellie, even though she was told not to tell anyone, tells Tess and Joel the truth. She was bitten a long time ago and she might be the key to a cure.
Joel says he’s heard that a million times, doesn’t believe it, and wants to bring her back, but Tess reminds him it doesn’t matter if it’s true, only that the Fireflies believe it and give them the truck in exchange. So they hit the road which, at first, Ellie is confused about. She was led to believe that outside of the QZ, there were infected running around everywhere. All kinds of weird variants of the infected. But that’s not the case. Overall, what she’s seeing is relatively quiet. That gives everyone a chance to talk.
Tess asks Ellie how she was bitten and Ellie says she snuck into a nearby shopping mall that was boarded up because she wanted to see what was inside. By herself. Tess is impressed but Last of Us gamers (and people who studied the trailers) know this isn’t quite accurate. Ellie also reveals that she’s an orphan and no one is going to come looking for her. Soon after, the trio finds themselves inside a flooded hotel lobby where Ellie reveals she can’t swim. Not that it matters—the water is shallow—but her lack of experience is beginning to show.
This entire section of the episode mirrored the feeling of The Last of Us game incredibly closely. Slow walking through huge abandoned cities. The threat of death around every turn. Exploring different pathways to find new passageways. And crucial information being constantly dispensed. Tess goes off to find a way past a dead end in the hotel and Ellie chats up Joel. She learns he’s from Texas, and that Tess is from Detroit, but Joel doesn’t want to say any more about that. He does tell her that the lifespan of someone who has been infected can vary, from a few months to over 20 years and counting and that he’s killed many of them. She starts to ask about the non-infected soldier he killed the previous evening when, mercifully for Joel, Tess returns.
She reveals the way they were going has been blocked by a mountain of seemingly dead infected. However, when the sun moves over them, they move too and here The Last of Us show adds to its mythology. Tess explains to Ellie that the fungus that infects everyone also runs underground and connects them all. So if you do something in one place, it will tell infected in other places, and your location will be given away. The idea that not only is it this one virus that has infected the world, but also that it’s in constant communication with itself is just another level of creepy.
Because of all of the infected in their path, Joel and Tess decided to go another way, one they were scared to go before: through the Bostonian Museum (not a real place, it turns out). Covered with ominous-looking fungus and vines, it’s pretty obvious why they didn’t want to go this way. It’s got to be full of infected. Joel realizes, though, that the vines all seem dead and—maybe—so are all the infected inside.
At first, it seems that way, but when Ellie stumbles on a guy who was killed much more recently, Joel says everyone has to be completely silent. Slowly they climb the stairs of the museum, which are covered with piles and piles of bodies. At the top, they enter an old weapons exhibit, but the walls behind them collapse making a very loud noise. That’s when they hear it. The clicks. First from one side, then the other, and creepy looking infected with huge cauliflower/coral-shaped heads come into the room. Joel signals to Ellie that these creatures can’t see, but they can hear, so to be quiet. But when one comes into sight, Ellie gasps, and all hell breaks loose.
Though they’re just fighting two Clickers, it’s an incredible chore, which makes for a fun, satisfying action sequence—exactly what audiences are surely craving from this show. After barely killing both creatures, everyone makes their way outside and Ellie reveals she’s been bitten or scratched. “If it was gonna happen to one of us…” she jokes, because she’s apparently immune. Joel still isn’t sure about Ellie’s condition but Tess stops him and makes him appreciate the fact that they actually survived.
They make their way to their final destination, the gold-domed Massachusetts State House, (an actual place, probably best known in pop culture for being featured in The Departed). The problem is, no one is there. There were supposed to be Fireflies there to take Ellie off their hands, but when Joel, Ellie, and Tess go inside, there’s no one. No one alive, at least. Apparently, someone got infected, hid it, and it spread to everyone, killing them. Joel is ready to turn back but something has gotten into Tess. She doesn’t want to go back. She wants to stay and get Ellie where she needs to be. And in that rage-filled desperation, Ellie figures it out. Tess has been infected. She shows her wound to Joel to confirm.
However, because Tess was bitten about the same time as Ellie, she asks to look at Ellie’s wound. Ellie’s wound, unlike Tess’s, is actually improving and that’s when both Tess and Joel know Ellie is for real. She really is immune and really might be the person who can save the world. Tess begs and pleads with Joel to take Ellie to “Bill and Frank’s place” where she’ll be safe. He doesn’t want to but she says she’s never asked him for anything, hinting at some deeper problems with the relationship. As this tense, emotional conversation is happening, one of the dead Fireflies starts to come back to life and Joel shoots him. In doing so though, the spores coming out of his hand, begin to grow into the ground and wake up infected from all over the city.
Joel peeks out the door. Tess asks how many are coming to which he replies “All of them.” Tess starts dumping gas and pulling out grenades, and vows to make sure they aren’t chased. “Joel, save who you can,” she implores, and so he grabs Ellie and runs. The swarm enters and at the last possible second, Tess is able to ignite her lighter and blow them all away. From outside, Joel and Ellie duck as the building explodes. Now, it’s just the two of them.
As I said at the start, the second episode of The Last of Us was all about beginnings. We saw the beginning of the outbreak. We saw the beginning of Joel and Ellie’s friendship. And, with Tess’ sacrifice and death, it’s now the true beginning of the show, as Joel and Ellie are now on their own, hoping to find a place to learn from this girl’s miracle.
Watch the latest episodes of The Last of Us on HBO Max.
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