July 9, 2013
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May 29, 2013
The 2013 Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone season was extremely active, destructive, and deadly. Three notable storms occurred this year, Hurricanes Erick, Juliette, and Kiko. Erick killed 800 people and caused $500 million damage due to major landslides across Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and many other Central American nations. Juliette caused an unprecedented rainfall catastrophe across many of Hawaii’s islands, as well as producing tornadoes of EF-3 intensity on Hawaii’s Big Island. Combined with storm surges of 10 feet, the hurricane caused $1.4 billion in damage and 1,300 fatalities across Hawaii. Kiko also produced deadly landslides across Guatemala, southeastern Mexico, and Hawaii, killing 1,100 people and causing total damages of $1.1 billion. Elsewhere, Hurricanes Cosme, Priscilla, and Tico, as well as Tropical Storms Dalila and Flossie, had minor land impacts, but they were not as severe as Erick, Juliette, or Kiko’s.
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May 22, 2013
MERS-CoV
A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it.
His sons were treated and have since recovered but the rest of the family remains under medical observation. The cases are the first for Tunisia and indicate that the virus is slowly trickling out of Saudi Arabia, where more than 30 coronavirus cases have been reported. There have been at least 20 deaths worldwide out of 40 cases.
The Tunisian fatality, a diabetic, had been complaining of breathing problems since his return from the trip and died in a hospital in the coastal Tunisian city of Monastir. Many previous coronavirus patients have had underlying medical problems, which WHO said might have made them more susceptible to getting infected. There is no specific treatment for the disease, but the agency has issued guidelines for how doctors might treat patients, like providing oxygen therapy and avoiding strong steroids.
The new virus has been compared to SARS, an unusual pneumonia that surfaced in China then erupted into a deadly international outbreak in early 2003. Ultimately, more than 8,000 SARS cases were reported in about 30 countries and over 770 people died from it.
The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and is part of a family of viruses that cause the common cold and SARS. Experts suspect it may be jumping directly from animals like camels or goats into people, but there isn’t enough proof to narrow down a species yet. The virus can cause acute respiratory disease, kidney failure and heart problems.
The Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina will receive millions of pilgrims from around the world during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which falls in July and August this year.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus (MERS-CoV), which was first reported in Saudi Arabia and is now slowly spreading to other countries like the U.K., Jordan, France, and Tunisia.
Strange enough, despite the fact that Kerala has a lot of women working in the health sector in the Middle East and that there is good traffic between the Middle East and Kerala, active surveillance for the illness has not yet been launched.
The infection is still being reported in small clusters, even outside Middle East countries and hence no screening at airports has been advised by WHO. Yet, given Kerala’s widespread links to the Middle East and the fact that so many Malayalis live in very crowded environs in these countries, it is very much possible that the virus could come into Kerala.
Human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed with many cases being reported among family members and through hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. The virus has so far resulted in 40 confirmed cases of severe respiratory disease, including 20 deaths.
The MERS-CoV belongs to the same family as the SARS virus, which had erupted as a major global outbreak in 2003. The novel CoV, however, though more lethal than SARS virus, does not spread from humans as easily as SARS.
Till now, all the confirmed cases of MERS-CoV has had some link to the Middle East – persons who travelled to the destination, their close family members, or health workers who came into contact with confirmed cases in hospitals.
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May 20, 2013
Man dies of flu-like illness
THE Commonwealth Health Center saved the lives of two pregnant women and their babies from adult respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, but a man died of the flu-like illness.
Commonwealth Health Care Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muna, in a press conference yesterday, said they wanted to make it clear that there was no influenza outbreak in the CNMI.
ARDS, according to CHC federal consultant Dr. Poki Namkung, is a devastating condition that is related to many causes including severe pneumonia.
In the three cases admitted at CHC, Namkung said they didn’t make a definitive finding although many tests were conducted. The influenza tests are negative so far but the hospital is doing further tests, she added.
Namkung admitted that they have not found a bacterial source yet but added that ARDS can be caused by chemical, bacterial or viral causes. She said ARDS destroys the ability of the lungs to function and the mortality rate in such cases is very high.
She said it was a blessing that the women are now improving despite that fact that both of them were pregnant when they were admitted.
Muna said one of the women was admitted on May 13, while the other was admitted on May 16.
The third case, a middle-aged man, was admitted on May 14 and died on May 17.
Muna said “the cause of death is unknown at this time” but the patient had a flu-like illness and was admitted at CHC for severe respiratory illnesses.
Muna said there was no link between the three cases.
“We would like the public to know that we are very, very concerned about the situation and we are working extremely hard and have done an exceptional job in attending to the patients,” she said.
Muna said there is no evidence of H7N9 infection in the three cases, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is asking for further testing. CHC, she added, is in constant communication with the federal agency.
Nurse supervisor Wilma Gamundoy said when the two pregnant were admitted they had to “evacuate” the babies in the wombs so they could treat the mothers. The babies were delivered through Caesarian-section. The infants had to be put on ventilators at first but were finally taken off yesterday. The mothers, too, are now improving, Gamundoy said.
Muna is urging the public to take extra precautions.
The symptoms of ARDS include fever, coughing and difficulty in breathing.
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May 13, 2013
MAHANSEN
Cyclone Mahansen continues to be only forecasted to become a equivalent of a weak typhoon before landfall in Bangladesh on Thursday. To many around the world and especially first world countries this sounds like a gentle breeze to ride out in the coming days.
Yet many of those living in low lying areas in Myanmar this storm is a very real and serious threat. Nearly 130,000 people are living in makeshift camps near the coastal plains of the country after fleeing violence between clashes Buddhist and Muslims in western portions of the country. These cyclonecamps are not made to withstand cyclone, even a weak one. And this pending storms brings the threat of a disaster if it is to hit of these refugee camps as a Severe Cyclonic System.
At this time the worst of the storm is forecasted to stay west but with the pending track still uncertain. Even if the was to miss the refugee camps a heavy rainfall would still bring harsh conditions for those who make the area home. We hope for the safety of those ahead of the storm.
It would be easy to say this area is used to deadly storms. In 2008 the country suffered 180,000 casualties when a cyclone hit the Irrawaddy River delta. In 1991 a cyclone hit a little farther north in Bangledesh resulting in the deaths of 350,000 people.
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