Avian influenza and Ebola update
Avian influenza has been found at a second and third location in the Netherlands:The second is in Ter Aar - GuardianThe third is in Kamperveen, confirmed as H5N8 - De Volkskrant (in Dutch) De Volkskrant is also reporting a new case of Ebola in Mali, and has a graphic showing the present situation. The captions are of course in Dutch, and English language alternatives for current statistics are CDC and WHO. The CDC site has a graphic on the right. (Source: Browsing)
Source: Browsing - November 22, 2014 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: avian influenza Ebola Source Type: blogs
This is How Doctors are Puppets for Vaccine Manufacturers
Conclusion
Relevant information is intentionally hidden from doctors so that they may feel more comfortable about recommending vaccines.
It is impossible for doctors and health authorities to know the complete composition of vaccines.
The moral ethics of vaccine promoters, including health authorities and doctors who recommend or administer vaccines should be questioned, when the compositions of vaccines are unknown.
The legal justification for official approval of vaccines should be questioned when the ingredients are not known.
“Informed consent” is impossible when relevant information is concealed.
...
Source: vactruth.com - November 21, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Sandy Lunoe Tags: Sandy Lunoe Top Stories FDA Foreign DNA Residue peanut oil SV40 Thimerosal truth about vaccines Vaccine Contamination Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) Source Type: blogs
More about avian influenza
The UK government has updated its advice (adding an interactive map so you can see if you are in a restriction zone - the information at the end of the page will tell you what has changed).There is also an official news item about the incident (with a link at the end to the DEFRA announcement). Most newspapers and news sources look to be covering the story today, but these look worth mentioning:British Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Poultry AssociationNational Farmers' UnionWebMDNHS Choices has information about avian flu (although nothing has been added yet in the light of the incident in East Yorkshire).No...
Source: Browsing - November 18, 2014 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: avian influenza Source Type: blogs
Avian influenza in East Yorkshire
I imagine this post will get a lot of editing! I will put new information (added since I first posted) in bold. Last updated at 1822 on 17th November 2014.According to the BBC, a duck farm in East Yorkshire has had a confirmed case of bird flu. At the time of writing, the BBC are reporting that it is not H5N1, but not what it is. BBC World News this morning (Monday, as shown on BBC2) was reporting that there is a current outbreak in Hekendorp in the Netherlands.The government has updated its avian influenza advice today (17th November).This next paragraph is dependent on my Dutch being good, ...
Source: Browsing - November 17, 2014 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: avian influenza Source Type: blogs
WHO on Ebola virus transmission
The World Health Organization has issued a situation assessment entitled ‘What we know about transmission of the Ebola virus among humans‘. WHO is rather later entering the transmission discussion which began on 12 September 2014 with the suggestion that Ebola virus transmission could go airborne. But WHO is a big organization and moves slowly; nevertheless their voice may reassure those who are not convinced by what virologists have to say. Here are the salient points (voiced here and by many others in the past few weeks).
The Ebola virus is transmitted among humans through close and direct physical contact ...
Source: virology blog - October 7, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Uncategorized aerosol airborne droplet ebola virus ebolavirus transmission viral virology Source Type: blogs
What we are not afraid to say about Ebola virus
In a recent New York Times OpEd entitled What We’re Afraid to Say About Ebola, Michael Osterholm wonders whether Ebola virus could go airborne:
You can now get Ebola only through direct contact with bodily fluids. If certain mutations occurred, it would mean that just breathing would put one at risk of contracting Ebola. Infections could spread quickly to every part of the globe, as the H1N1 influenza virus did in 2009, after its birth in Mexico.
Is there any truth to what Osterholm is saying?
Let’s start with his discussion of Ebola virus mutation:
But viruses like Ebola are notoriously sloppy in replicating, me...
Source: virology blog - September 19, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information aerosol transmission airborne transmission ebola virus evolution hemorrhagic fever Michael Osterholm mutation viral Source Type: blogs
Hypochondriasis (Part 1)
HYPOCHONDRIAC: a person who is abnormally anxious about his or her health.
“Am I a hypochondriac?”
It’s a question I hear with quite some regularity, almost never from people who suffer from bona fide anxiety disorders related to their health.
No, the fact that all you have is a simple upper respiratory infection — the common cold — instead of a potentially lethal strain of H1N1 avian flu does not qualify. Not when your response to my reassurance is relief. That’s completely appropriate, and I have no problem providing all the reassurance you need. Whether it’s explaining why your ...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - September 10, 2014 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Promoting Health, Science, and Public Trust through Laboratory Safety
As you may know from recent news reports, there have been lapses in safety practices at federal laboratories involving potentially lethal microbes such as avian flu (H5N1) and anthrax, including an incident involving discovery of 60-year old smallpox vials in an FDA laboratory building located on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, MD. Such lapses, which undermine public confidence in biomedical research and could put people’s health at risk, remind us of the need for constant attention to biosafety standards.
Scientists can never become complacent in routine safety practices—one mistake could h...
Source: NIH Extramural Nexus: Rock Talk Blog - August 27, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Sally Rockey, Francis Collins, Lawrence Tabak, and Amy Patterson Tags: Rock Talk biosecurity General Source Type: blogs
Obama’s Foreign Policy Is Linked to a Healthy, Restrained Immune System
With 58% of Americans disapproving of Obama’s foreign policy, mounting Ebola virus deaths, and flu season around the corner, I think it is important to synthesize an overlapping theme between how our country fights perceived threats, and how our bodies successfully or unsuccessfully fight disease. In short, I think Obama’s continued restraint and use of soft power is evidence of a good prognosis for the country.
In this analogy, our bombs and military are the most caustic weapons of the country’s immune system, akin to a fever of 105 degrees and impending sepsis. Does “nuke them all” work?
Diplomacy, espionage,...
Source: The Examining Room of Dr. Charles - August 16, 2014 Category: Primary Care Authors: drcharles Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Fly like a Birdly
Birdly is a full body, fully immersive, Virtual Reality flight simulator developed at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). With Birdly, you can embody an avian creature, the Red Kite, visualized through Oculus Rift, as it soars over the 3D virtual city of San Francisco, heightened by sonic, olfactory, and wind feedback. (Source: Positive Technology Journal)
Source: Positive Technology Journal - August 3, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Tags: Blue sky Creativity and computers Telepresence & virtual presence Virtual worlds Source Type: blogs
The value of influenza aerosol transmission experiments
A Harvard epidemiologist has been on a crusade to curtail aerosol transmission experiments on avian influenza H5N1 virus because he believes that they are too dangerous and of little value. Recently he has taken his arguments to the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times. While Dr. Lipsitch is certainly entitled to his opinion, his arguments do not support his conclusions.
In early 2013 Lipsitch was the subject of a piece in Harvard Magazine about avian influenza H5N1 virus entitled The Deadliest Virus. I have previously criticized this article in which Lipsitch calls for more stringent H5N1 policies. More recently Lipsi...
Source: virology blog - July 5, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Commentary Information aerosol avian H5N1 ferret fouchier gain of function influenza kawaoka transmission viral virus Source Type: blogs
TWiV 291: Ft. Collins abuzz with virologists
Vincent, Rich, and Kathy and their guests Clodagh and Ron recorded episode #291 of the science show This Week in Virology at the 33rd annual meeting of the American Society for Virology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
You can find TWiV #291 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - June 29, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology adenovirus airborne transmission american society for virology asv avian influenza H5N1 Colorado State University ferret oncoprotein pandemic polymer transformation viral Source Type: blogs
Reconstruction of 1918-like avian influenza virus stirs concern over gain of function experiments
The gain of function experiments in which avian influenza H5N1 virus was provided the ability to transmit by aerosol among ferrets were met with substantial outrage from both the press and even some scientists; scenarios of lethal viruses escaping from the laboratory and killing millions proliferated (see examples here and here). The recent publication of new influenza virus gain of function studies from the laboratories of Kawaoka and Perez have unleashed another barrage of criticism. What exactly was done and what does it mean?
According to critics, virologists should not be entrusted to carry out gain of function studie...
Source: virology blog - June 20, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information 1918 pandemic aerosol transmission avian influenza ferret gain of function H5N1 viral virus Source Type: blogs
An Outbreak of Outbreaks
By Melinda Moore, Andrew M. Parker, and Courtney Gidengil Lately, stories about outbreaks seem to be spreading faster than the diseases themselves. An outbreak of measles in Ohio is just part of an 18-year high of U.S. cases. Meanwhile, polio continues to circulate in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, while spreading to other countries, like Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Syria, leading […] (Source: The Health Care Blog)
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 11, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: THCB Anti-vaxxers CDC H5N1 Measles MERS Outbreak Polio public health risk Source Type: blogs
TWiV 287: A potentially pandemic podcast
On episode #287 of the science show This Week in Virology, Matt Frieman updates the TWiV team on MERS-coronavirus, and joins in a discussion of whether we should further regulate research on potentially pandemic pathogens.
You can find TWiV #287 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - June 1, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aerosol transmission avian influenza H5N1 coronavirus ferret fouchier gain of function kawaoka laboratory accident MERS-CoV Middle East respiratory syndrome Nuremberg pandemic SARS viral Source Type: blogs
