Epidemics and pandemics

Food safety is in farm worker's hands -- literally
Food safety experts says that the health and hygienic habits of migrant farms workers are an often-overlooked source of food borne illness
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Food poisoning strike 25 percent of Americans each year
Food poisoning affects an estimated 25 percent of Americans every year; calculations say there are 87 million cases every year, with 371,000 requiring hospitalizations and 5,700 dying
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NASA study predicted outbreak of deadly virus
Predictive tool is a blend of NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measurements of sea surface temperatures, precipitation, and vegetation cover to predict when and where an outbreak would occur
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China reports bird flu cases in which humans are infected, but not birds
China’s Ministry of Health said it was puzzled by eight human cases of bird flu in January which appeared independent of any known case in birds; five Chinese died from H5N1 in January in far-flung regions without any reported presence of the virus in birds on the mainland
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Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.’s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
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First ever U.S. case of Marburg fever confirmed in Colorado
Marburg hemorrhagic fever is extremely rare — and deadly; the disease is caused by a virus indigenous to Africa, and was brought to the United States by a researcher who traveled to Uganda
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Items in FEMA food kits may contain salmonella-tainted peanut butter
Food kits FEMA distributed to thousands of storm evacuees in Kentucky may contain peanut butter contaminated with salmonella
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U.S. lawmakers want tighter food inspection system
The list of recalled peanut products in the .S. surpassed 1,000 in an ongoing national salmonella outbreak; the 2007 recall of melamine-tainted pet food eventually grew to 1,179 products; Congress says current system of food inspection is not working
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Cholera cases exceed 60,000 in Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe’s war on his people continues: the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe has exceeded WHO’s nightmare scenario of 60,000; the Mugabe regime’s systematic looting of the country and its destruction of the country’s public services and infrastructure — especially the health care system and water delivery and treatment facilities — may make the epidemic unstoppable
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Kansas wins $450 million biolab
Kansas State University outlasted four other competitors to win the $450 million DHS National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility
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More human deaths from avian flu
Avian flu is slowly making its way into the human population; Indonesia reported two more death, bringing Indonesia’s H5N1 total death to 115; China reports three more deaths, bringing that country’s total to 22
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Novartis awarded $486 million contract to create flu plant
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a $486 million contract to Novartis which will see the company build a plant in North Carolina to produce a flu vaccine
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WHO: Cholera sickens 30,000 in Zimbabwe
The World Health Organization reports that as many as 31,656 suspected cases were diagnosed to date with one third of them in the capital of Harare; this is up from 29,131 cases reported on Monday; 1,564 have already died
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Gene that made 1918 flu lethal isolated
The 1918 Spanish Flu was history’s most devastating outbreak of infectious disease, killing between 20 and 50 million people; researchers isolate gene that made the 1918 gene especially lethal
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Zimbabwe cholera death toll soars past 1,500
The cholera epidemic has claimed more than 1,500 lives in Zimbabwe since August, the World Health Organization said Monday
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