Lookout Posts - Southern Africa and Madagascar (old diary)

** Transfer of previous news from the old message boards **

26 October 2006

AnnieB – at 01:32

Zimbabwe ostriches hit by suspected Avian bird flu

October 26, 2006, 00.05 HRS BST

BULAWAYO – Two ostriches at a farm in Hwange, Matabeleland North, have reportedly contracted a suspected strain of the dangerous bird flu virus in the country’s second such case in recent weeks.

Contacted by our sources for comment yesterday, Department of Veterinary Services director, Stuart Hargreaves, could not immediately confirm the outbreak. But he also could not rule it out completely as the province was on alert following a similar outbreak in nearby Victoria Falls and Livingstone in Zambia.

“There was an outbreak in that province recently, the new suspected cases have not been reported to us, but we had a some cases in Victoria Falls and Livingstone, Zambia where some birds were quarantined,” he said.

Hargreaves said he was yet to find out from officials on the ground in Hwange on the exact situation. Farmers in Hwange and Victoria Falls confirmed the suspected outbreak and are already on high alert.

“We have reported the case to the veterinary department who promised to carry out tests to establish what it is,” said Samuel Dube who spoke by phone from Deka Mouth in Hwange. “I suspect one of my birds (Ostriches) has avian flu, I have called the veterinary department before I could put it down,” he said.

Dube said the strain suffered by one of his birds could be avian flu, as he had seen such symptoms before on quarantined ostriches in Zambia during the recent outbreak. However Hargreaves downplayed the fears saying the department has intensified efforts to prevent a deadly outbreak.

more at http://tinyurl.com/y...

---

AnnieB – at 01:52

Here is an Encarta Map Link for the area http://tinyurl.com/s...

You can zoom in and out finding places as needed if it helps with any stories and locations.

---

01 November 2006

AnnieB – at 03:59

(South Africa) EU allows SA ostrich imports

November 01, 2006, 08:30 (link http://tinyurl.com/y...)

The European Union will from today again allow imports of South African ostriches and ostrich products. A ban was implemented in July following the outbreak of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza in the Southern Cape.

The South African ostrich industry has been losing R100 million per month in exports since the ban was introduced. A previous 18-month export ban was only lifted a year ago, because of an outbreak of bird-flu in 2004.

(Also posted on the main news thread)

---

02 November 2006

AnnieB – at 00:17

(Malawi) Bird flu possibility haunting

by Joseph Scott and Chipo Mnyamba, correspondents, 01 November 2006 - 08:31:20

Imagine one day waking up to blaring warnings from government information officers announcing that there should be, with immediate effect, no contact with birds of whatever kind. Chickens, ducks, ostriches, peacocks and guinea fowls would by government decree be pronounced our number one enemies.

Anyone disobeying this decree would be portrayed in the eyes of the law as a mass murderer since the disease being carried by these birds would be fatal not only to the one in contact with them but to the whole society. The ban would also extend to all chicken products, including eggs and quills. This situation, though sounding like a fairy tale, can be a reality if cases of bird flu are detected in the country and chances for the government to follow the latter course is normal under the circumstances for it to protect its people.

And the threat of a bird flu outbreak is becoming imminent as cases are being detected in Africa and more recently in Juba, southern Sudan, but of much concern in the confines of our regional neighbour, South Africa.

This is long story but well worth the read to see what the concerns are in this region. (link http://tinyurl.com/y...)

---

06 November 2006

Nimbus – at 17:21

Kimberley, South Africa - Congo Fever (suspected)

A man suspected of having contracted Congo fever was admitted to a Kimberley hospital. Northern Cape provincial medical director Deon Theys said that preliminary test results had confirmed that the man contracted the disease. The patient, who worked at Schmidsdrift, was apparently bitten by a tick last week. Theys said the man was in a satisfactory condition. Stringent infection control measures were in place in the hospital’s specialised unit.

http://tinyurl.com/y...

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (from the WHO website)

Clinical features

The length of the incubation period for the illness appears to depend on the mode of acquisition of the virus. Following infection via tick bite, the incubation period is usually one to three days, with a maximum of nine days. The incubation period following contact with infected blood or tissues is usually five to six days, with a documented maximum of 13 days.

Onset of symptoms is sudden, with fever, myalgia (aching muscles), dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes and photophobia (sensitivity to light). There may be nausea, vomiting and sore throat early on, which may be accompanied by diarrhoea and generalised abdominal pain. Over the next few days, the patient may experience sharp mood swings, and may become confused and aggressive. After two to four days, the agitation may be replaced by sleepiness, depression and lassitude, and the abdominal pain may localize to the right upper quadrant, with detectable hepatomegaly (liver enlargement).

Other clinical signs which emerge include tachycardia (fast heart rate), lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes), and a petechial rash (a rash caused by bleeding into the skin), both on internal mucosal surfaces, such as in the mouth and throat, and on the skin. The petechiae may give way to ecchymoses (like a petechial rash, but covering larger areas) and other haemorrhagic phenomena such as melaena (bleeding from the upper bowel, passed as altered blood in the faeces), haematuria (blood in the urine), epistaxis (nosebleeds) and bleeding from the gums. There is usually evidence of hepatitis. The severely ill may develop hepatorenal (i.e., liver and kidney) and pulmonary failure after the fifth day of illness.

The mortality rate from CCHF is approximately 30%, with death occurring in the second week of illness. In those patients who recover, improvement generally begins on the ninth or tenth day after the onset of illness.

http://tinyurl.com/y...

---

07 November 2006

anonymous – at 01:06

Where the heck is all the news about TB in S. Africa? I am trying to follow the new strain, but no news about it here?

---

10 November 2006

MaMa – at 20:48

Angola

-‘ Sixty four new cases of cholera were detected in the past 24 hours in the districts of Quipungo and Lubango, by health authorities of the southern Huíla provine, informed this Tuesday the acting director of the Provincial Department of Public Health and Control of Endemic Diseases, Félix Januário. According to him, among these cases, 60 were registered in Lubango, with deaths, and four in Quipungo district without claiming any life. Since the cholera outbreak in Huíla, last April, the district of Lubango recorded 1,424 cases with 88 deaths, whilst Quipungo district, 120 kilometres from the chief town, detected 47 cases with 14 fatalities. As from last April, Huíla province registered 1,825 cases of cholera and 121 deaths caused by the disease that affected, apart from Lubango and Quipungo, the districts of Quilengues, Cacula and Matala.’

http://visz.rsoe.hu/...

---

15 November 2006

Nimbus – at 05:44

TB update - Angola:

About 20 people died of tuberculosis in the last three months, in Bi’ province, out of 320 cases registered by the local sanitary authorities, ANGOP has learnt in Kuito. According to the supervisor of the Programme on fight Against Tuberculosis, Isa¡as Chicapa Lemos, who informed ANGOP, said that the excessive number of cases is due to social problems. At least 236 patients have been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, whereas the rest have extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The source added that the districts of Kuito, Kamacupa, Chinguar and Kuemba are the most affected by this disease.

http://tinyurl.com/y...

---

16 November 2006

Nimbus – at 13:50

Shaik in big stink after prison outbreak

An outbreak of diarrhoea has hit over 900 prisoners at the prison where Schabir Shaik is held, the department of correctional services said on Thursday.

Cholera has been ruled out as the cause of the outbreak at the overcrowded Qalakabusha Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal which started on Wednesday with offenders complaining of stomach pains, said spokesperson Manelisi Wolela.

“The doctors are saying that the symptoms indicate it’s not cholera.”

Ten doctors and more than 40 nurses were sent to the prison by the departments of health and Correctional Services and seriously affected prisoners were treated at the prison hospital.

http://tinyurl.com/y...

---

---

by: Nimbus @ Mon Nov 20, 2006 at 06:03:07 AM UTC

Zambia: DRC Border Closed After Cholera Outbreak

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

An outbreak of cholera in northern Zambia has forced the government to shut a border post with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after reported cases rose to 105 on Monday.

“We have closed Chiengi border post with immediate effect, in order to ensure there is no further spread of the disease. There have been a lot of people crossing to Zambia for free medical facilities, and we suspect this heavy traffic of people is largely responsible for the outbreak of the disease in the area,” Peter Mumba, permanent secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, told IRIN.

More here: http://allafrica.com...

---

by: Nimbus @ Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 21:56:06 PM UTC

South Africa - fears of a TB "superbug"

South Africa has recorded 303 cases of a highly drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis this year, raising fears a super bug is spreading in the AIDS-ravaged country, the health department was quoted as saying on Thursday. South Africa's health department did not have details on how many people had died of XDR-TB, the South African Press Association reported. "They are in the hospitals, they are on treatment. Some of them, have died," SAPA quoted the department's head of TB, Dr. Lindiwe Mvusi, as saying. Experts say the super bug could wreak havoc in South Africa, where one in nine people are already infected with HIV, making them more vulnerable to tuberculosis. An easily transferred airborne respiratory disease, tuberculosis is the main direct cause of death for people with AIDS in South Africa, and health officials worry the spread of a highly resistant strain could complicate the battle against HIV. No one at the health department could immediately be reached for comment. SAPA said the health department had recorded 263 cases of XDR in KwaZulu Natal -- the eastern province where the super bug was discovered and which has been most heavily affected by the strain. Ten cases had been recorded each in the Eastern Cape and the North West provinces with nine in Gauteng -- which includes the economic hub of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Most of the patients diagnosed during the initial outbreak died quickly, although some doctors say patients diagnosed more recently and on treatment, appear to be surviving longer.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/...

---

by: Nimbus @ Thu Nov 23, 2006 at 21:16:23 PM UTC