CDC Updates Ebola Travel Warnings

Credit http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

 

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Although the number of Ebola cases in Mali remains small, unlike with their first introduction of the virus last month - local transmission has occurred and may still be occurring (see WHO Statement On 2nd Introduction Of Ebola Into Mali)- prompting the CDC to issue an updated travel Alert.

Level 3 Warnings remain in effect for Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, while a Level 2 Alert has been issued for Mali.    

I’ve only posted some excerpts from the Mali update. Follow the link to read it in its entirety. 

 

Ebola in Mali

 Alert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions

 Updated: November 16, 2014

The purpose of this alert is to notify travelers that a few Ebola cases have been reported in Bamako, Mali, and to inform travelers of actions they can take to reduce their risk of getting the disease.

CDC recommends that travelers to Mali protect themselves by avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick, because of the possibility they may be sick with Ebola. Although the current cluster of cases has been reported only in Bamako, travelers to all parts of Mali should be alert for reports of possible further spread within the country.

At a Glance

• Total Cases: 4
• Laboratory-Confirmed Cases: 3
• Total Deaths: 3

More

What is the current situation?

As of November 12, 2014, the World Health Organization reported a cluster of Ebola cases in Bamako, Mali (see box for case counts). The cluster in Bamako is linked to a man who had been in a clinic in Bamako after becoming sick in Guinea. Since that time, a small number of Ebola cases linked to this patient have been reported in Bamako. (An unrelated death from Ebola occurred in Kayes, Mali on October 24, 2014 and no additional cases related to that person have been reported.) The Malian government has taken actions to contain further spread of Ebola. CDC recommends that travelers to Mali avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick and follow the other recommendations listed below, in order to protect themselves from Ebola.

The cases of Ebola in Bamako, Mali, are related to an ongoing Ebola outbreak that has been occurring since March 2014 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and is the largest outbreak of Ebola in history.

For more information about the ongoing outbreak in West Africa, visit 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa on the CDC Ebola website.

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Returning to the United States

Entry Screening

The United States now requires all travelers to the United States whose trip starts in Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone to enter through one of five US airports (JFK in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Dulles in Virginia near Washington D.C., Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, and O’Hare in Chicago). Beginning November 17, 2014, air travelers to the United States whose trip starts in Mali will also be required to enter the United States through one of these five airports. These airports have enhanced entry screening, which helps identify travelers who may be sick with Ebola or may have had an exposure to Ebola and ensure that these travelers are connected with a health department and given medical care, if needed.

If you are traveling from Mali to the United States,

• You should be prepared for screeners to check your temperature and look for signs and symptoms of illness. You will also be asked to answer questions about possible exposures to someone with Ebola.
• You will be given a CARE (Check and Report Ebola) Kit with information about Ebola and tools to help you check your temperature and symptoms each day for 21 days.

Symptom Monitoring and Movement Restrictions

You will be connected to a health department in your final destination. Public health workers will assess your health and Ebola risk level to decide how best to monitor you for symptoms and what other restrictions may be needed.

• All returning travelers will be actively monitored, which means that public health workers are responsible for checking at least once a day to see if you have a fever or other Ebola symptoms. This will continue for 21 days after the last possible exposure (such as 21 days after leaving Mali).
• You will be asked to take your temperature 2 times a day and watch yourself for Ebola symptoms.
• A public health worker will tell you how to report your temperature and any symptoms each day. You might do this by phone, during a daily visit, or online.
• The public health worker will also tell you what to do if you have a fever (temperature of 100.4°F/38°C or above) or other symptoms (severe headache, fatigue [feeling very tired], muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising).
  • If you have a fever or other symptoms, it is very important that you get medical care right away. Follow the directions the public health worker tells you. But if you cannot reach someone right away, you can contact your state health department or call CDC at 1-800-232-4636. If you have a medical emergency, call 911.
• Based on your level of possible exposure to Ebola, your travel and public activities may be limited.

(Continue . . .)

 

CDC Travel Alert: Ebola In Guinea

Photo Credit - CDC

 

 

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Although the risks to travelers to Guinea are considered to be low, and the World Health Organization does not recommended any travel or trade restrictions to the region, it is still advisable that visitors to Guinea be aware of their Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak and take basic precautions to avoid infection. 

 

To that end,  the CDC released the following Travel Notice (Alert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions) yesterday for those planning to visit the affected west African region.

 

Despite its infamous reputation for contagiousness and virulence, Ebola outbreaks over the past 40 years have been generally short-lived and limited geographically. Unfortunately, this week we’ve seen some media attempts to portray Ebola as potentially becoming an `airborne’ virus.

 

First the CDC’s Travel Notice, then I’ll return with a little more on what we know about the transmissibility of the virus.

 

 

Ebola in Guinea

Alert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions

Released: March 26, 2014

What is the current situation?

According to the Ministry of Health of Guinea, as of March 24, 2014, 6 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Guékédou Prefecture. Suspected cases of Ebola, including some deaths, have been reported but not yet confirmed in Guékédou, Kissidougou, Macenta, and Nzérékoré prefectures. Suspected cases in border areas of Liberia and Sierra Leone are being investigated.

CDC recommends that travelers to these areas avoid contact with blood and body fluids of infected people to protect themselves.

What is Ebola?

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a rare and deadly disease. The disease is native to several African countries and is caused by the Ebola virus. It is spread by direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with Ebola virus. It is also spread by contact with contaminated objects or infected animals.

Symptoms include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Skin rash, red eyes, and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.

Who is at risk?

Cases of Ebola are seen sporadically throughout Africa. The risk to most travelers is low, but travelers could be infected if they come into contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids. Health care workers and family and friends of an infected person are at highest risk.

What can travelers do to prevent Ebola?

There is no vaccine for Ebola and no specific treatment. Although travelers are at low risk for the disease, it is important to take steps to prevent Ebola.

• Practice careful hygiene. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of infected people. Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.
• Avoid contact with animals. 
• Seek medical care if you develop fever, headache, achiness, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, rash, or red eyes.
• Health care workers who may be exposed to people with the disease should follow these steps:
  • Wear protective clothing, including masks, gloves, gowns, and eye protection.
  • Practice proper infection control and sterilization measures. For more information, see “Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers in the African Health Care Setting.”
  • Isolate Ebola patients from unprotected people.
  • Avoid direct contact with the bodies of people who died from Ebola.

Traveler Information

• Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Clinician Information

• Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
• Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Information for Airline Personnel

• Interim Guidance about Ebola Virus Infection for Airline Flight Crews, Cargo and Cleaning Personnel, and Personnel Interacting with Arriving Passengers

 

Earlier this week a European media outlet suggested that Ebola and Influenza could somehow `marry’, and create an airborne plague, a notion that Gregory Hartl – spokesperson for the World Health Organization – quickly dispelled.

 

While the idea that influenza and Ebola – viruses from two very different taxonomic families- could reassort (marry) and produce some kind of airborne `Flubola’  lacks scientific credence, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that one of the Ebola viruses could someday mutate into a more transmissible form.

 

Viruses are extremely adaptable, and one learns never to say `never’ when it comes to viruses. But to date, we’ve haven’t seen any evidence of human-to-human airborne transmission of the Ebolavirus.

 

Some of this media speculation may be due to a study that appeared in Scientific Reports in 2012,  which I wrote about at some length in When Viruses Jump Cages.

 

Researchers placed four macaques in a wire cage inside a pig pen where pigs, infected with Ebola-Zaire, were kept. Although sharing common living space, they were separated by the wire cage. Yet, after 2 weeks of shared confinement, all four macaques had contracted the virus.

 

Transmission of Ebola virus from pigs to non-human primates

Hana M. Weingartl,Carissa Embury-Hyatt,Charles Nfon,Anders Leung,Greg Smith& Gary Kobinger

Article number: 811 doi:10.1038/srep00811

Abstract (Excerpt)

Here we show ZEBOV transmission from pigs to cynomolgus macaques without direct contact. Interestingly, transmission between macaques in similar housing conditions was never observed. Piglets inoculated oro-nasally with ZEBOV were transferred to the room housing macaques in an open inaccessible cage system. All macaques became infected. Infectious virus was detected in oro-nasal swabs of piglets, and in blood, swabs, and tissues of macaques. This is the first report of experimental interspecies virus transmission, with the macaques also used as a human surrogate. Our finding may influence prevention and control measures during EBOV outbreaks.

 

While suggestive of a possible airborne transmission of the the Ebola virus (by pigs), it should be noted that infected macaques did not pass the virus on to other macaques in similar experiments. 

 

Additionally, this pig-to-macaque transmission occurred in an artificial laboratory setting, with prolonged-close, but-not-direct-contact, and doesn’t necessarily represent how things happen in the `real world’.

 

The researchers speculated that:

 

. . .  transmission of ZEBOV could have occurred either by inhalation (of aerosol or larger droplets), and/or droplet inoculation of eyes and mucosal surfaces and/or by fomites due to droplets generated during the cleaning of the room. Infection of all four macaques in an environment, preventing direct contact between the two species and between the macaques themselves, supports the concept of airborne transmission.

 

This is, of course, a far cry from demonstrating human-to-human airborne transmission of Ebola, but it ought to give one pause before kissing a pig during an Ebola outbreak.

 

The researchers conclude by stating (reparagraphed for readability):

 

The present study provides evidence that infected pigs can efficiently transmit ZEBOV to NHPs in conditions resembling farm setting.

Our findings support the hypothesis that airborne transmission may contribute to ZEBOV spread, specifically from pigs to primates, and may need to be considered in assessing transmission from animals to humans in general.

The present experimental findings would explain REBOV seropositivity of pig farmers in Philippines that were not involved in slaughtering or had no known contact with contaminated pig tissues.

The results of this study also raise a possibility that wild or domestic pigs may be a natural (non-reservoir) host for EBOV participating in the EBOV transmission to other species in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

The Ebola-Reston virus (REBOV) mentioned above is a cousin to Ebola Zaïre, but this Asian strain has never been shown to cause disease in humans. It can be fatal in simians, however. We first  looked at the discovery of REBOV in pigs, and its possible implications,  back in 2008 in When Viruses Jump Species.

 

All of which is fascinating, but doesn’t alter that fact that for now, the risks of Ebola spreading beyond localized and limited outbreaks in Africa, remains pretty low.

HK: Hospitals Increase Infection Control Efforts Due To H7N9 Concerns

H7N9 Awareness Campaign Summer 2013 - Photo credit Hong Kong’s CHP

 

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Hong Kong packs a little more than 7 million people into just 426 sq. miles of territory, making it the fourth most densely packed area in the world (cite). Infectious diseases are better able to transmit among humans when population densities are high, and so Hong Kong’s public health sector takes prevention efforts quite seriously. 

 

While only one H7N9 case has been identified in Hong Kong thus far, it isn’t unreasonable to assume there might be others – perhaps only mildly ill – in the region.   For this reason hospitals in Hong Kong are ramping up their alert status, patient triage, and imposing new, strict infection control policies (including requiring masks for all visitors).

 

The following announcement comes from Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority.

 

Serious Response Level activated in public hospitals

 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesman today (December 3) announced the activation of the Serious Response Level in public hospitals to tie in with the Government's raising of the response level of the Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic from "Alert" to "Serious". The HA Central Committee on Infectious Diseases & Emergency Response held a special meeting this morning to discuss and review thoroughly the contingency measures under the Serious Response Level in public hospitals.

The HA spokesman said front-line hospital staff at Accident and Emergency Departments and general outpatient clinics are reminded to stay vigilant to patients seeking consultation at public hospitals. Enhanced surveillance and patient triage guidelines are in place to ensure timely reporting and early arrangement of clinical tests.

"Under the Serious Response Level, more stringent infection control measures, which include visiting arrangements, are enforced in public hospitals. The visiting arrangements include not allowing visiting at isolation wards unless on compassionate grounds. For general acute wards, visiting hours would be no more than two hours per day with no more than two visitors per visit. For convalescent and infirmary wards, visiting hours would be no more than four hours per day with no more than two visitors per visit."

The spokesman also reminded the public that visitors to public hospitals and clinics are now required to put on surgical masks and perform hand hygiene before and after visiting patient areas.

Furthermore, volunteer services and clinical attachment in public hospitals have been suspended under the Serious Response Level. In regard to personal protection equipment, such as surgical masks and N95 masks, the current stockpile is adequate for three months' consumption. The HA will also maintain close liaison with the suppliers to ensure a sustainable supply. The isolation beds in the seven hospital clusters will be deployed when needed.

According to the spokesman, the HA will continue to closely collaborate with the Centre for Health Protection in monitoring the latest situation and keep the general public as well as health-care workers updated on developments on a regular basis.

Ends/Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:46

 

WHO: H5N1’s Pandemic Phase Status

The current WHO phase of pandemic alert for avian influenza A(H5N1) is: ALERT

 

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A little over a week ago the World Health Organization released their (interim) updated guidance on influenza (and other) pandemics (see WHO Unveils New Pandemic Guidance).

 

Among the changes was the announcement of a new, 4 tier, pandemic phase alert system; 

• Interpandemic Phase
• Alert Phase
• Pandemic Phase
• Transition Phase

 

We are currently in the Alert Phase for H5N1, H7N9, and the MERS coronavirus, which places the world’s health agencies in a mixed preparedness and response mode.

 

Yesterday the WHO released the following updated Pandemic Phase assessment for the H5N1 virus, the first since this new system was announced.

 

 

Current WHO global phase of pandemic alert: Avian Influenza A(H5N1)

Current phase of global alert according to criteria described in the WHO Pandemic Influenza Risk Management Interim Guidance

The pandemic influenza phases reflect WHO’s risk assessment of the global situation regarding each influenza virus with pandemic potential that is infecting humans. These assessments are made initially when such viruses are identified and are updated based on evolving virological, epidemiological and clinical data. The phases provide a high-level, global view of the evolving picture.

 

As pandemic viruses emerge, countries and regions face different risks at different times. For that reason, countries are strongly advised to develop their own national risk assessments based on local circumstances, taking into consideration the information provided by the global assessments produced by WHO. Risk management decisions by countries are therefore expected to be informed by global risk assessments, but based on local risk assessments.

 

The current WHO phase of pandemic alert for avian influenza A(H5N1) is: ALERT

Alert phase: This is the phase when influenza caused by a new subtype¹ has been identified in humans. Increased vigilance and careful risk assessment, at local, national and global levels, are characteristic of this phase. If the risk assessments indicate that the new virus is not developing into a pandemic strain, a de-escalation of activities towards those in the interpandemic phase may occur.

 

Please consult the interim guidance document for complete information on pandemic phases:

• Pandemic Influenza Risk Management - WHO Interim Guidance

More information on avian influenza H5N1 in humans can be found at the:

• Influenza at the Human-Animal Interface (HAI) page

---

¹ The IHR (2005) Annex 2 includes “human influenza caused by a new subtype” among the four specified diseases for which a case is necessarily considered “unusual or unexpected and may have serious public health impact, and thus shall be notified” in all circumstances to WHO.

 

While news of H5N1 has been eclipsed in recent months by the emerging H7N9 avian flu virus in China and MERS-CoV on the Arabian peninsula, H5N1 remains endemic and a threat in a number of countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

As the WHO indicated at the end of March (2 days before we learned of H7N9) in WER: Update On Human Cases Of Influenza At Human-Animal Interface, the risks posed by the H5N1 virus, along with other emerging influenza viruses, remain very real. 

 

In the discussion portion of that report, the authors write:

 

Influenza viruses are unpredictable. Their constant evolving nature raises concerns that these viruses could adapt or reassort with other influenza viruses, thereby gaining potential to become more transmissible to or more pathogenic in humans.

 

Continued monitoring of the occurrence of human infections with non-seasonal influenza viruses and ongoing characterization of the viruses to assess their pandemic risk are therefore critically important for public health.

 

Close collaboration with animal health partners allows information regarding viruses circulating in animal populations and human populations worldwide to be shared to improve assessment of global influenza risks to health.

 

WHO continues to stress the importance of global
monitoring of influenza viruses and recommends all
Member States to strengthen routine influenza surveillance. All human infections with non-seasonal influenza viruses should be reported to WHO under the International Health Regulations (2005).

The Biggest Weather-Related Killer

 

Today’s Heat Forecast – Credit NOAA 

 

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While less dramatic than a hurricane, tornado, or blizzard – heat waves kill more Americans during an average year than all three of those put together. And once again today (and through this weekend) heat indexes will be dangerously high across much of the eastern half of the country.

 

Counting the number of fatalities due to excessive heat is difficult, since many of those who succumb are elderly, and have other medical conditions.

 

As Rupa Basu and Jonathan M. Samet wrote in the Journal Epidemiological Reviews (see Relation between Elevated Ambient Temperature and Mortality: A Review of the Epidemiologic Evidence):

 

An average of 400 deaths annually are counted as directly related to heat in the United States, with the highest death rates occurring in persons aged 65 years or more (3). The actual magnitude of heat-related mortality may be notably greater than what has been reported, since we do not have widely accepted criteria for determining heat-related death (4, 5–7), and heat may not be listed on the death certificate as causing or contributing to death.

 

This disparity between counted and estimated heat-related deaths can be illustrated by the reports from the infamous heat wave of 1980, which `officially’ claimed `more than 1250 lives’ (cite NOAA  Heat Wave: A Major Summer Killer) but which unofficially may have killed as many as 10,000  (Tracking and Evaluating U.S. Billion Dollar Weather Disasters, 1980-2005 (Lott and Ross, 2006).

 

Eight years later, a heat wave across the central and eastern part of the nation killed as many as 7,500 people (cite). More recently, in 1999, a prolonged heat wave along the Eastern seaboard is believed to have killed 500 (cite).

 

And in Europe and across Russia a prolonged heat wave in 2010 may have contributed to tens of thousands of deaths (see Recent Heat Waves Likely Warmest Since 1500 in Europe).

 

Forecasters base their decision to issue heat warnings based on the heat index, a combination of heat and relative humidity, using the chart below:

 

 

Excessive heat alert warnings are usually issued when the forecast anticipates a heat index that exceeds 105°-110°F for at least 2 consecutive days. As you can see, when it is extremely humid, actually temperatures don’t have to get much above 90 to become dangerous.

 

In anticipation of this weekend’s heat wave, the CDC has posted some helpful information on beating the heat on their Have You Heard?  website.

 

Learn more about heat-related illness and how to stay cool and well in hot weather

June 29, 2012

Getting too hot can make you sick. You can become ill from the heat if your body can't compensate for it and properly cool you off. Heat exposure can even kill you: it caused 8,015 deaths in the United States from 1979 to 2003. These are the main things affecting your body's ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather: high humidity and personal factors.

<Snip>

More Information

• Beat the Heat (When Working Outdoors) [PODCAST - 5:30 minutes]
• Extreme Heat
• Frequently Asked Questions about Extreme Heat
• Heat Stress in the Elderly
• Extreme Heat Media Toolkit

 

For more information, the Excessive Heat Events Guidebook was developed in 2006 by the EPA, the NWS, the CDC, and the DHS to provide the best practices for saving lives during heat waves in urban areas.

 

 

Some handy advice for this weekend, or anytime the heat index is excessively high:

 

 

Quick Tips for Responding to Excessive Heat Events

For the Public

Do

• Use air conditioners or spend time in air-conditioned locations such as malls and libraries
• Use portable electric fans to exhaust hot air from rooms or draw in cooler air
• Take a cool bath or shower
• Minimize direct exposure to the sun
• Stay hydrated – regularly drink water or other nonalcoholic fluids
• Eat light, cool, easy-to-digest foods such as fruit or salads
• Wear loose fitting, light-colored clothes
• Check on older, sick, or frail people who may need help responding to the heat
• Know the symptoms of excessive heat exposure and the appropriate responses.

Don’t

• Direct the flow of portable electric fans toward yourself when room temperature is hotter than 90°f
• Leave children and pets alone in cars for any amount of time
• Drink alcohol to try to stay cool
• Eat heavy, hot, or hard-to-digest foods
• Wear heavy, dark clothing.

Hong Kong To Lower Bird Flu Response Level

 

Photo Credit – FAO

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On December 21st, Hong Kong Health authorities raised their bird flu response level from `Alert’ to `Serious’ after a dead chicken found at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market tested positive for the H5N1 virus. 

 

The following week, in the neighboring city of Shenzhen, a bus driver died from the H5N1 virus, heightening concerns (see Hong Kong: Suspected Human H5N1 Infection In Neighboring Shenzhen).

 

 

As no additional cases (human or in poultry) have been detected in Hong Kong over the past 21 days, Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, has announced the lowering of the alert response is set for tomorrow, January 12th.

 

This also means that the ban on the sale of live poultry, in effect for the past three weeks, will be lifted. This press release from Hong Kong’s government website (http://www.info.gov.hk):

 

 

Sale of live chickens in Hong Kong to resume tomorrow

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:26

The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, announced today (January 11) that wholesale and retail of live poultry in Hong Kong will resume tomorrow (January 12). Imports of live poultry including day-old chicks from the Mainland can also resume on January 12, except for live poultry from a designated import control zone in Shenzhen.

 

After the detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (AI) virus in a chicken carcass sample taken from the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market (Wholesale Poultry Market) during regular surveillance by the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD) on December 20 last year, the Government declared the Wholesale Poultry Market an infected place and suspended the dispatch of live chickens from local farms to the market as well as import of live poultry for 21 days.

 

Dr Chow convened the third meeting of the Steering Committee on AI this morning to sum up the follow-up actions on AI over the past three weeks. Participants at the meeting included AFCD, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health.

 

"Since the detection of AI in the Wholesale Poultry Market, AFCD completed three rounds of inspections on all 30 chicken farms in Hong Kong in the last three weeks. Local farmers were found to have strictly complied with bio-security and environmental hygiene requirements. No abnormality was found with the chickens. AFCD has also tested about 4,500 samples collected from local farms and all were found negative for H5 AI virus," Dr Chow said.

 

(Continue . . . )

 

Nationwide Test Of Emergency Alert System (EAS) On Nov 9th

 

FEMA Director Craig Fugate - Photo Credit FEMA

# 5929

 

 

On November 9th of this year, at 2:00pm Eastern Time, FEMA, along with partners NOAA and the FCC, will conduct the first ever nation-wide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

 

The EAS can be activated in the event of a national emergency by the President of The United States, and on a more localized level by the NWS to issue severe storm warnings, and by state governors and local emergency managers for more geographically limited emergencies.

 

Although those of us who grew up during the cold war are well familiar with early CONELRAD and later EBS alerts, we have become a `wired’ nation, and no longer depend primarily on over-the-air radio and TV broadcasts.

 

With newer technologies such as satellite TV,  cable TV, satellite Radio, etc. the task of alerting the nation during a crisis has grown considerably more complex. Telling people to turn to 640 or 1240 on their AM dial in the event of an emergency doesn’t cut it anymore.

 

Hence a need to test the system on a nationwide basis.

 

FEMA, which will spearhead this nationwide test, wants everyone to know – in advance – that the test messages to be issued on November 9th are just a test.

 

To that end, they have released a short video that will help to explain exactly what you may hear or see during this upcoming test.

 

 

For more on all of this, I would invite you to visit the FEMA BLOG.

 

FEMA Blog

October 28, 2011

Help Us Spread the Word – On November 9, “This is Just a Test”

Published by: Public Affairs

Over the past few months, we have written on this blog about the upcoming nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, which is now less than two weeks away. The test will take place on Wednesday, November 9th at 2:00 pm eastern standard time, and will be the first time this system, which is often tested and used by officials at the local level, will be tested across the entire country.

(Continue. . . )

For those of you on twitter, I would also suggest you follow @FEMA, @CraigatFEMA, and @ReadydotGov for the latest Emergency information.

Alberta, Canada Issues Measles Alert

 

 

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Alberta Health Services issued a public alert yesterday after a passenger who flew from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Edmonton International Airport (EIA) back on August 15th was determined to have been infected with measles.

 

Media reports indicate that the patient was an  Edmontonian – believed to be unvaccinated - who had recently returned from a trip to Asia.

 

The plane carried roughly 100 passengers, and others may have been exposed at the airport terminals.  Alberta Health Services is asking anyone who may have been in on those flights to contact them immediately.

 

 

 

Confirmed measles case prompts public alert

August 23, 2011

EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services has confirmed a case of measles in the Edmonton area and is following up with individuals who may have been in close contact with the ill person. The case of measles occurred in an Albertan who recently travelled outside Canada.

 

The following groups may have been exposed to the ill person and are asked to contact Health Link Alberta as soon as possible:

• Any passengers on Air Canada flight AC244 on Monday, August 15, 2011, which departed Vancouver International Airport (YVR) at 4:30 p.m. and arrived at Edmonton International Airport (EIA) at 6:53 p.m.
• Anyone in the Edmonton International Airport Air Canada baggage claim area on Monday, August 15, 2011, from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

Measles is an extremely contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. Measles causes fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. The rash typically begins behind the ears and on the face, spreading down to the body, and finally to the arms and legs.

 

About one out of 10 children with measles also gets an ear infection, and up to one out of 20 gets pneumonia requiring hospitalization. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die. Individuals who have not already had measles disease and have not been immunized against measles are at highest risk for developing the disease.

(Continue . . . )

 

Earlier this year I wrote about the recent rise of measles cases across much of Europe (see Measles: Forgotten, But Not Gone), with details gleaned from the WHO’s WER (Weekly Epidemiological Record), and including a referral to an excellent 5-part series on measles by Ian York.

 

The WER report (Measles outbreaks in Europe) detailed an outbreak, which – as of April 18th – had infected more than 6,500 people in 33 nations.

 

This spring a significant number of measles cases have been imported into the United States from this outbreak, and with the summer travel season upon us, the potential for seeing more cases is great.

 

For this reason, the CDC released a HAN Advisory on measles last June.

This is an official

CDC HEALTH ADVISORY

Distributed via Health Alert Network
June 22, 2011, 16 :00 EST (04:00 PM EST)
CDCHAN-00323-11-06-22-ADV-N

High Number of Reported Measles Cases in the U.S. in 2011—Linked to Outbreaks Abroad

 

During the 1950s – before the introduction of the measles vaccine – measles infected roughly 4 million Americans, hospitalized nearly 50,000, and contributed to the deaths of several hundred every year.

 

The chart below (source: CDC) shows the remarkable effectiveness of the vaccination campaign.

 

While many parents today think of measles as a relatively benign childhood illness, it actually produced significant morbidity and mortality with respiratory, ocular, and neurological complications - sometimes resulting in death.

 

In developing countries, the incidence – and mortality rate – of measles remains high.   These statistics from the World Health Organization:

Measles

Fact sheet N°286

Key facts

• Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.
• In 2008, there were 164 000 measles deaths globally – nearly 450 deaths every day or 18 deaths every hour.
• More than 95% of measles deaths occur in low-income countries with weak health infrastructures.
• Measles vaccination resulted in a 78% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2008 worldwide.
• In 2008, about 83% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000.