Mosquito trials raise hopes of defeating dengue

NHA TRANG, Vietnam – Hundreds dead in the Philippines; a threefold increase of cases in Vietnam; hospitals overrun in Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia -- dengue is ravaging Southeast Asia this year due in part to rising temperatures and low immunity to new strains.

But one group of scientists is rolling out trials to breed dengue-resistant bugs in a bid to tackle one of the world's leading mosquito-borne illnesses, raising hopes the untreatable disease can finally be beaten.

The World Mosquito Program (WMP) has pioneered a method where male and female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are infected with the disease-resistant bacteria called Wolbachia before being released into the wild.

In a matter of weeks, baby mosquitoes are born carrying Wolbachia, which acts as a disease buffer for the bugs -- making it harder for them to pass on not only dengue, but Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

First trialled in northern Australia, it's been tested in nine countries around the globe, including in Vietnam where early results are promising. 

"We have seen a remarkable reduction of dengue cases after the release," explained Nguyen Binh Nguyen, project coordinator for WMP in Nha Trang.

His team set free around half a million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes last year in Vinh Luong, a crowded dengue-prone district in southern Vietnam. 

Since the trials, dengue cases are down 86 percent in Vinh Luong compared to nearby resort town Nha Trang. 

That's a major relief for Cong Thi Thu, an accountant who along with her two children suffered an intense bout of dengue in 2016, flooring the family for weeks.

She worries less after the trials but still makes her kids sleep under nets and no longer leaves stagnant water to collect in the pots around her garden, which offer ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

"I feel at ease now, 70 to 80 percent safe, but I still have to be careful," Thu said from her leafy compound. 

NO IMMUNITY

Today, mosquitoes still buzz about in the open-air shops, cafes and homes of Vinh Luong, but the majority in the test areas now carry Wolbachia compared to none before the trials, WMP said. 

Convincing wary residents like Thu, along with health officials and ethics boards, that the mosquitoes won't make them sick was not an easy task.

Residents have long ascribed to the official motto "no mosquitoes, no larvae, no dengue" to avoid the virus, dubbed "breakbone fever" because of its severe flu-like symptoms. 

Dengue is passed along to humans by infected mosquitoes, which thrive in crowded, hot and humid neighborhoods like Thu's. 

Cases have surged not only in Vietnam this year but across Southeast Asia, with around 670,000 infected and more than 1,800 people dead in the region, according to an AFP tally of national and World Health Organization data.

Experts say it’s the worst outbreak in years. 

Warmer weather is one factor -- temperatures in July 2019 were the hottest ever recorded globally, and mosquitoes love hot weather -- coupled with the introduction of new dengue strains that have spread among populations with no immunity. 

Long-term trends are also at play: breakneck urbanization in Asian megacities, a massive increase in international travel and trade and the cyclical nature of outbreaks. 

"That creates the perfect ingredients for the dengue epidemic to happen," Rachel Lowe, assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told AFP. 

Even the widespread use of plastics has contributed -- as things like garden pots and takeout containers collect water they create perfect breeding pools for mosquitoes.

RE-INVASION

Wolbachia was first discovered by scientists in the 1920s in mosquitoes living in the drainage system beneath the Harvard University School of Public Health. 

Found in 60 percent of all insect species -- including dragonflies, fruit flies and moths -- the bacteria was mostly ignored until the 1970s when researchers discovered it could be used to prevent the spread of disease by bugs.

Over the years scientists have conducted anti-dengue experiments with Wolbachia-laden mosquitoes with varied success, but now WMP hopes it's approach will stick. 

It is one of the only organizations in the world seeking to repopulate colonies with Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to fight dengue, estimated to spread to as many as 100 million people globally every year.

Other groups, including in Singapore and Malaysia, are using Wolbachia but only in male mosquitoes who render female eggs infertile -- a method that aims to suppress the mosquito population, which rarely lasts. 

Many countries are also fogging neighborhoods with insecticides -- effective in the short term, though the mosquitoes often come back in just a few days, or develop resistance to the chemical killers.

"No one has been able to get long-lasting suppression because the mosquitoes just keep re-invading," said WMP director Scott O'Neill. 

Results from WMP's Wolbachia trials in northern Australia and on the Vietnamese island Tri Nguyen have been positive -- local dengue transmissions are almost non-existent -- and outcomes from trials in Indonesia are expected in the next year. 

But experts say more long-term, and large-scale, studies are needed to see if the approach really works.

Dr Raman Velayudhan, coordinator of WHO's global control program on dengue, said: "Our bottom line is to make sure that it leads to the reduction of the disease."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Body odor? Bacteria-embedded bodysuit may help

Deodorant not enough to stop your body odor? A new futuristic-style bodysuit with live bacteria embedded in it could help combat those unpleasant smells.

The pale grey, long-sleeved "Skin II" contains healthy probiotic bacteria, reducing the smell of body odor, said its designer Rosie Broadhead.

"It's not the sweat on your body that causes body odor, it's the bacteria. So we've incorporated healthy bacteria into the textiles to enable a healthy microbiome which will help to reduce your body odor," said Broadhead.

"This change in the microbiome is associated with reducing your body odor, encouraging cell renewal and is really good for the skin's immune system," she said.

Broadhead developed the garment as part of her postgraduate degree at London arts university Central Saint Martins.

She worked with Belgian microbiologist Chris Callewaert of Ghent University to develop Skin II. He provided her with the healthy probiotic bacteria that are commonly found on skin, and has himself done extensive research on the causes of body odor.

The two plan to commercialize Skin II, and Broadhead hopes to design a sportswear range with the same technology.

Broadhead said the sustainability of the bodysuit was another of its benefits. Reducing body odor reduces the need to wash the bodysuit so often. Testing showed that the bacteria in the bodysuit was able to survive a 30-degree wash.

"People are becoming more aware of sustainability and the environment. They're concerned about the food that they are eating and the cosmetics that they're putting on their skin. But less is known about the toxic chemicals that are in our clothing. So in time, I think people will become more aware of wellness clothing," Broadhead said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey leaves over 200 sick across U.S.

More than 200 people from across the United States have fallen ill, 84 of them hospitalized, from an ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey products that prompted a second voluntary recall on Friday, the US government said.

The latest food-safety advisory from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta came as millions of Americans planned their Christmas holiday menus, updating a notice for contaminated turkey issued in early November.

Since then, 52 more people in 26 states and the District of Columbia have become sick from salmonella-tainted turkey, bringing the total number of documented cases to 216 in 38 states and the district. 

One death from the outbreak, which began in October, was reported in California, the CDC said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has reported an additional 22 turkey-related salmonella infections in 4 provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick - believed to be linked to the US outbreak.

The common strain of salmonella associated with the illnesses has been identified in various raw turkey products, including ground turkey, turkey patties, live turkeys and raw turkey pet food, indicating it may be widespread in the turkey industry.

No single supplier has been identified.

Minnesota-based Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales LLC on Friday voluntarily recalled more than 164,000 pounds of ground turkey products. The company had recalled more than 91,000 pounds in mid-November over the same outbreak.

With the exception of the recalled Jennie-O brand ground turkey, the CDC said it was not advising consumers to avoid eating properly cooked turkey products or for retailers to stop selling raw turkey products.

Anyone can become sick from salmonella bacteria, but young children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of serious illness.

Symptoms, which typically appear 12 to 72 hours after ingesting the bacteria, include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover within a week.

Infection can best be prevented by thoroughly washing hands after handling poultry, by cooking turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and by thawing frozen turkeys in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature, the CDC said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

3 Australians die, more sick in listeria outbreak tied to melons

SYDNEY - Three people have died and 12 others have fallen ill in a national listeria outbreak linked to contaminated rockmelons, and more cases are expected, Australian health authorities said.

The outbreak is linked to the melons, also called cantaloupes, from a grower in the eastern state of New South Wales, the state's food authority confirmed on its website. The produce company, which has not been named, ceased operations and is investigating.

NSW Health said late on Friday that all 15 victims are elderly and are spread nationally from Victoria to Tasmania.

"We can confirm that 13 of the 15 cases consumed rockmelon before the onset of their illness," said Vicky Sheppeard, director of communicable diseases for NSW Health, in a media release. "People vulnerable to listeriosis should discard any rockmelon purchased before 1 March."

Health authorities have assured the public that all contaminated rockmelons have been removed from supermarket shelves.

Further cases are expected to surface as symptoms can take up to six weeks to appear after eating contaminated produce, and NSW Health told consumers to see a doctor if they experience symptoms.

The disease causes flu-like symptoms and can lead to nausea, diarrhea, infection of the blood stream and brain. Listeria bacteria does not cause illness in most people but it can result in sickness and death for those with weaker immunity such as the elderly, newborns and pregnant women.

The bacteria is found in soil, water and vegetation and can contaminate food anywhere during the production process from harvesting to serving.

Foods that can pose a risk of listeriosis include pre-cut melons, cold salads, raw seafood and smoked salmon, unpasteurized milk products, sprouted seeds and raw mushrooms, the New South Wales Food Authority said.

Listeria is rare in Australia but a deadly outbreak in South Africa has killed more than 170 people since January last year, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases said last month.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US military mistakenly ships live anthrax to labs in 9 states

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - A U.S. military facility in Utah mistakenly sent live anthrax bacteria to private laboratories in nine U.S. states and a U.S. military base in South Korea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

It said there was no known suspected infection or risk to the public. But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said four U.S. civilians had been advised to take preventive measures, which usually includes the anthrax vaccine, antibiotics, or both.

The official did not further identify the four or their location.

The anthrax had been meant to be shipped in an inactive state as part of U.S. military efforts to develop a field-based test to identify biological threats, the Pentagon said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, (the Defense Department) has stopped the shipment of this material from its labs pending completion of the investigation," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren.

Because the live anthrax was sent to labs working on the dangerous bacteria, researchers there have likely been vaccinated against anthrax, said Dr Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"That's part of standard biosafety protocol at such labs," he said. If anyone who has not been vaccinated was exposed, they can undergo post-exposure prophylaxis with vaccination and antibiotics.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is investigating the mishap.

"All samples involved in the investigation will be securely transferred to CDC" or affiliated labs "for further testing," said spokeswoman Kathy Harden, adding that CDC has sent officials to the labs "to conduct on-site investigations."

The mishap comes 11 months after CDC, one of the government's top civilian labs, had a similar lapse.

Researchers at a lab designed to handle extremely dangerous pathogens sent what they believed were killed samples of anthrax to another CDC lab, one with fewer safeguards and therefore not authorized to work with live anthrax.

Scores of CDC employees were potentially exposed to the live anthrax, but none became ill.

That incident and a similar one last spring, in which CDC scientists shipped what they thought was a benign form of bird flu but which was actually a highly virulent strain, led U.S. lawmakers to fault a "dangerous pattern" of safety lapses at government labs.

In the latest case, anthrax was sent from the Army's Dugway Proving Ground to laboratories in Maryland, Texas, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, California and Virginia, a defense official said.

The sample sent to South Korea was subsequently destroyed, the Pentagon said.

On Friday night the Maryland laboratory alerted CDC that it had a live sample; by midday on Saturday, all nine laboratories were notified, the official said.

Experts in biosafety were astonished by the latest lapse.

"These events shouldn't happen," said Stephen Morse of Columbia University, a former program manager for biodefense at the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Scientists working with the most dangerous pathogens follow a "two-person rule," never handling samples alone. The second pair of eyes is meant to insure scientists take proper precautions during experiments.

Two people should also vet shipments of supposedly killed anthrax, Morse said: "We can put greater safeguards in place."

(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Sandra Maler, Eric Beech and Andrew Hay)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What you need to know about sepsis

MANILA -- Are you worried you or someone you know might have sepsis? Here are ways to identify its symptoms.

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication caused by any kind of infection. Formerly referred to as blood infection, it became known in 2005 as the cause of death of Pope John Paul II.

In an interview on "Magandang Gabi Dok" on Thursday, Dr. Jose Emmanuel Palo of The Medical City explained how common infections can lead to sepsis.

"Ang sepsis ay reaction ng katawan sa isang infection," Palo said. "Hindi siya 'yung infection, separate po siya doon sa infection mismo. Kaya lang, 'yung reaction po na iyon, inherent po, nasa loob ng katawan natin. Minsan nakaka-damage po or nakakasama sa sariling mga organs or tissues po ng katawan natin."

Any kind of infection, whether caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus, may cause sepsis, Palo added.

Sepsis can also lead to death, especially in severe cases.

According to Palo, common symptoms of sepsis include fever, increase in pulse and heart rate, rapid breathing and a feeling of weakness.

Once it becomes severe, sepsis can also cause a person's blood pressure to drop.

"Kapag bumagsak na ang blood pressure ng isang taong may sepsis, tapos hindi na po mahabol using swero o fluids, nangangailangan na po ng special na medicines para mapaakyat ang blood pressure," Palo added.

Palo said it is important for people to immediately consult a doctor once they notice these symptoms.

"Ang importante siguro is kapag nandoon na ang mga symptoms or signs na 'yun at nararamdaman natin, the moment po na feeling natin kakaiba na po ang pakiramdam, nanghihina po, mas importante po siguro na i-check po kung nangyayari na ang sepsis."

Doctors can then check whether a person is suffering from sepsis through blood tests.

Palo also said people with prevailing illnesses like cancer, or those undergoing treatments like dialysis, are at high risk of sepsis.

This is also the reason why doctors and other hospital personnel should practice proper hygiene.

"Halimbawa may cancer. Habang nag-chemotherapy, habang ginagamot, bumabagsak ang immune system. Mas mataas ang chance na magkaroon ng sepsis," he added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Smartphone apps multiply, but so do germs

LAS VEGAS - It may be your best friend, but your smartphone is also probably teeming with germs.

As innovators descended on the Consumer Electronics Show, companies offering better sanitizing were also promoting the cause of cleanliness.

The technology show has long had a focus on health, but makers of sanitizing devices said people need to look in their pockets and purses to the microbes on their personal gadgets.

The smartphone "is always warm, stored in dark places, so bacterias are growing on your phone," said Dan Barnes, co-founder of Phonesoap, which was displaying its device which sanitizes a phone and recharges it.

Barnes said he got the idea after reading a study indicating "that mobile phones are 18 times dirtier than public bathrooms."

Barnes said his $50 device uses ultraviolet radiation which "kills the bacteria's DNA, so that they can't live on your phone anymore."

Similar devices were also seen at the huge electronics fair, including one called CleanBeats, which sanitizes, plays music and recharges two phones through a USB connection.

The CleanBeats device is based on NASA technology, and will soon hit the market with a $499 price tag, said spokesman Dennis Rocha for the California-based startup

The company website says its device produces "hydroperoxide catalytic molecules" to sanitize the surfaces of touchscreens.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ulcer bacteria may protect against diarrhea: study

NEW YORK - People who harbor ulcer-causing bacteria in their stomachs may be protected against some diarrheal diseases, according to an Israeli study.

Some previous studies had suggested that being infected with the bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, increases the risk of diarrhea, while others have reported finding the opposite, said researchers from Tel Aviv University.

"Our findings suggest an active role of H. pylori in the protection against diarrheal diseases," wrote lead author Dani Cohen in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The bacterium is especially common throughout the developing world, but only causes symptoms in a minority of those it infects. People with chronic H. pylori infections are known to have an increased risk of stomach cancer and related diseases.

Cohen's team studied 595 male Israeli soldiers, close to one-third of whom visited a base clinic for diarrhea during their field training.

All of the soldiers had their blood taken before the start of training, which researchers used to determine which men were chronically infected with H. pylori.

It turned out that between 32 and 36 percent of soldiers who had diarrhea due to different types of bacteria than H. pylori, or from unknown causes, had been infected with H. pylori before training.

By contrast, up to 56 percent of soldiers who had been infected with H. pylori before training reported no diarrhea.

The researchers calculated that being infected with H. pylori meant solders were about 60 percent less likely to get diarrhea from Shigella bacteria.

They also had a lower chance of having diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli bacteria -- although statistically, that particular finding could be due to chance.

An H. Pylori infection may affect how acidic the gut is, and high acidity is known to keep disease-causing bacteria from settling there, Cohen said in an email.

Having an immune system in overdrive due to chronic H. pylori infection may also keep other bacteria in the digestive system at bay, the researchers wrote. - Reuters

source:gmanetwork.com