Editor's Note: The H5N1 item was corrected on Apr 1 to accurately reflect the date of Laos's previous H5N1 outbreak.
Laos reports H5N1 return after 5-year hiatus
H5N1 avian flu has returned to Laotian poultry after a hiatus of almost 4 years, striking a village flock of more than 5,000 birds, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reported today.
The outbreak, in Sainyabuli province in northwestern Laos, which borders Thailand, involved 457 dead birds in a flock of 5,142 poultry, some of which tested positive for H5N1 at the country's National Animal Health Laboratory. In addition, health officials culled 543 poultry to prevent H5N1 spread.
The dead and culled birds were part of a shipment of 1,000 ducks and chickens from neighboring Luang Prabang province, according to a story today from Xinhua, China's state news service. The 457 reported by the OIE died in transit, and the rest were culled by authorities on arrival. Xinhua called the village "isolated," which it said might help prevent spread of the disease.
Officials have begun disinfection, quarantine, and other measures to address the outbreak, the OIE said. No human cases have been associated with the die-off; 10 people experiencing flu-like symptoms tested negative for H5N1, Xinhua reported.
This is Laos's first H5N1 outbreak in domestic birds since April 2010, according to OIE information. The country's only two human cases of the disease were detected in 2007, according to data from the World Health Organization.
Mar 31 OIE report
Mar 31 Xinhua story
Illinois Salmonella outbreak linked to illegal Mexican-style cheese
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) late last week said a salmonellosis outbreak involving about 100 people in the state is likely caused by eating illegally made Mexican-style cheese.
"We're concerned that people who consume this manufactured cheese may become sick from Salmonella," said IDPH Director LaMar Hasbrouck, MD, MPH, in a department news release. "It is important for you to check the labeling to make sure the product was made by a licensed dairy manufacturer—even if you purchased the cheese from a grocery store. If you become ill after eating Mexican-style cheese, contact your health care provider and your local health department."
Cases have come from these counties since July 2012: Boone, Cook (including Chicago), DuPage, Fayette, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, Macon, Marion, McHenry, Vermillion, Washington, and Will. The average age of patients is 9 years, and a third of all the cases have involved hospitalization.
Many patients reported eating Mexican-style cheese that they got from worksites, at train stations, from street vendors, and from relatives and friends. The cheese is not labeled and is often wrapped in aluminum foil.
A sample of the cheese from the home of a case-patient tested positive for Salmonella, the IDPH said. It is trying to identify the manufacturer.
Mar 27 IDPH news release
Study: 2/3 of couples in new sexual partnership harbor HPV
Two thirds of young heterosexual couples in a new sexual relationship harbored human papillomavirus (HPV), and the risk was strongly associated with previous sexual experience, according to a Canadian study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Researchers analyzed data from 482 Montreal women aged 18 to 24 and their male partners who had recently begun a sexual relationship involving vaginal intercourse in 2006 through 2010. They found that either or both partners harbored HPV in 67% of couples, with both partners testing positive for HPV in 49% of couples.
The rate dropped to 17% if both partners were previously virgins (23 couples), but it rocketed to 96% when both partners simultaneously had other sexual partners (74 couples).
The rate in general was strongly linked to previous sexual experiences. It climbed from 26% in 80 couples who had a combined 4 or fewer sex partners to 94% in the 107 couples with a combined 20 or more previous partners, the authors said.
Also, the rate of HPV was 52% among the 86 couples in which both partners said they always used condoms for previous sexual intercourse. That compares with an 80% prevalence among the 95 couples who said they had never used condoms.
Only 12% of the women reported having received HPV vaccine.
Mar 27 J Infect Dis study
