Disease

Tuberculosis - Nigeria

The World Health Organization (WHO) says at least 432 Nigerians die of tuberculosis daily in a country with second highest disease incidence rate in Africa. 47 Nigerians develop active TB per hour, which is why the country is ranked among the 14 high-burden countries for TB, TB/HIV and Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB).

The epidemic in Nigeria is also fuelled by the large number of undetected TB cases (missing cases), which serve as a reservoir for continuous transmission of the disease. Each undetected TB case has potential of infecting between 10 and 15 people per annum.

Plane Quarantined at JFK After Numerous Passengers Become Sick with Unknown Illness

A plane arriving in New York from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was quarantined after a number of passengers on board became sick, according to news reports. The plane, an Emirates airlines Airbus A380, landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport around 9 a.m. local time today (Sept. 5) and was met by the New York Port Authority police and officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

10 ill passengers have been taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and another eight passengers are being treated at the airport. Health officials were checking the rest of the passengers "one by one" for symptoms. A total of 521 passengers were on board the flight. Phillips also noted that some of the passengers had come from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is experiencing a flu outbreak.

Passengers Hospitalised After Suspected Cholera Case On Algeria-France Flight

French authorities evacuated 141 passengers and crew from a flight arriving in the French city of Perpignan from Algeria on Wednesday after a child on board was suspected of being infected with cholera, the fire brigade said.

The eight-year-old child was taken to hospital for checks after suffering bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea during the flight, a fire brigade official said.

A police source said the child's mother and several passengers sitting near them were also hospitalised. The remaining passengers and crew were being kept on the tarmac before being transported to a decontamination facility for checks, the authorities said.

Ebola - DR Congo

Congo has recorded its first case of Ebola in the eastern trading hub of Butembo, a city of close to a million with strong trade links to neighbouring Uganda, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The current Ebola outbreak is believed to have killed 85 people since July and infected another 39. Most have been in villages but about 20 cases have been in Beni, a city of several hundred thousand people with close links to Uganda