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[Infectious Diseases
News Brief]
E.coli O157:H7 phage type 32: Ontario
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health has alerted physicians and hospitals
across the province that there have been 11 confirmed cases of E.coli
O157:H7 phage type 32. The cases have been confirmed by Health Canada's national
reference laboratory in Winnipeg. The confirmed cases are located in the areas
of Ottawa, Kingston, Simcoe County, Toronto, York Region, London-Middlesex
and Windsor. They range in age from 6 to 71 years. Public health officials
are working as quickly as possible to determine the cause of these cases.
They are looking at all possible causes but the geographic distribution of
the cases indicates a low probability of a water-based source and points to
another cause. An outbreak implicating the same bacteria affected 70 people
in Michigan and Virginia in the summer of 1997. In that incident, all cases
had eaten alfalfa sprouts from the same source.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Health and Longterm Care, Press Release, 23
November 2001; PROMED, 24 November 2001
West Nile Virus (WNV) Encephalitis/Meningitis: United States
During 2001, a total of 45 human cases of WNV encephalitis or meningitis have
been reported from New York (12), Florida (10), Connecticut (6), Maryland
(6), New Jersey (6), Pennsylvania (3), Georgia (1), and Louisiana (1). Among
these 45 cases, 24 (53%) were in men; the median age was 70 years (range:
36-90 years); dates of illness onset ranged from July 13-October 7; three
persons died. A total of 4,517 crows and 1,474 other birds with WNV infection
were reported from 26 states and the District of Columbia; 176 WNV infections
in other animals (all horses) were reported from 14 states (Alabama, Connecticut,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia). During 2001,
753 WNV-positive mosquito pools were reported from 15 states (Connecticut,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia)
and the District of Columbia.
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol 50, No 45, 16 November
2001
Pertussis: Arkansas
With >400 cases of pertussis confirmed in Arkansas, the state is experiencing
the worst outbreak since the early 1960s. So far, cases of pertussis have
been found in 34 of the state's 75 counties. The outbreak appears to be concentrated
in Arkansas; Tennessee's Department of Health has reported only a slight increase
in pertussis cases, with 52 so far this year compared to 31 last year.
Source: Immunization Newsbriefs, 21 November 2001
Inhalational Anthrax: Connecticut
CDC was contacted by the Connecticut Department of Public Health about a respiratory
illness in a 94-year-old female which preliminary tests had indicated to be
anthrax. CDC conducted PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing on specimens
from the woman and confirmed inhalation anthrax. The woman lived alone in
her home in Oxford, about 10 miles west of New Haven. She seldom left the
house and had no known connection with the U.S. Postal Service. She was originally
treated for pneumonia and admitted to hospital on November 21, 2001, where
she died the following day. Most of the cases so far have been associated
with handling contaminated mail; however, there is no obvious source of infection
for this latest case or for 2 other cases, a hospital worker in New York City
and an accountant in New Jersey. Before this, no cases had been detected since
7 November. In total, since 4 October, there have been 11 cases of inhalation
anthrax, resulting in 5 deaths, and 7 confirmed and 5 suspected cases of cutaneous
disease.
Source: Centres for Disease Control, Press Release, 21 November 2001; Eurosurveillance
Weekly, Issue 47, 22 November 2001; PROMED, 20 November 2001
The details given are for information only and may be
very provisional. Where incidents are considered of national importance and
are ongoing, the initial report will be updated as new information becomes
available.
[Infectious Diseases
News Brief]
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