Disease

Foot and Fourth Disease - India

The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Kerala, india has claimed the lives of 4,705 head of cattle across the State and affected 51,581 head of animals since August last year.

Claiming that the FMD outbreak was now under control, he said, “Ring vaccination is being carried out in the areas around the affected locations and diseased animals are being treated free of cost.

Hepatitis Outbreak - Uganda

An outbreak of hepatitis E confirmed on New Year’s eve in the Karamoja region of Uganda has to date resulted in 344 people sickened and 13 fatalities.

Of the 13 fatalities, 10 were pregnant women.

The Health ministry’s director general of health services, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng explained that the outbreak is attributed to unsafe water sources like rivers and ponds, poor sanitation and hygiene and low latrine coverage in the district.

Polio

We learned in September 2013 that an outbreak of the deadly polio virus occurred in Syria. It was the first in that country since 1999. While the worldwide incidence of polio has declined dramatically in the last 25 years, we are actually seeing more cases in some areas. Syria is one of those.

There are but three endemic countries left in the world where the wild polio virus breeds. Those countries are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. But the virus can and does travel. The virus can be traced to a country, even a province and in some cases to a specific village. In Syria, where 17 new cases were reported during 2013, the virus probably came from Pakistan.

In 2012, there were 262 reported cases of polio worldwide. There were 362 reported in 2013. Nigeria and Afghanistan reported respectively 50 percent and 33 percent decreases; Pakistan's cases increased by 35 percent. Syria is up from zero. Why the increases despite magnified efforts to eliminate the scourge of polio? It's because of violence, which has attracted some to the war in Syria, and violence toward polio workers. Violence curbs efforts to immunize, and in each of these countries, violence can be ever-present.