MERS still spreading - new cases

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/03/five-new-mers-cases-reported-3-countries

Five new Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections, two fatal, were reported today in three countries, including the first one in Kuwait since November and another illness with links to camels.

The Kuwaiti case was announced today in a disease update from the World Health Organization (WHO), which cited information it received from the country's health officials on Mar 18. Only the third case detected in the country so far, it involves a 60-year-old Syrian citizen who was hospitalized in Kuwait on Feb 13.

The WHO said the man, who had underlying health conditions, died on Mar 6 and that his MERS-CoV infection was confirmed on Mar 9.

Also, the WHO announced a second case, in a 68-year-old man from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who often visits Saudi Arabia, where he owns a camel farm. He got sick on Mar 7 and was hospitalized on Mar 11 with a finger injury, 5 days after he returned from Saudi Arabia.

The man, from Abu Dhabi, has underlying health conditions and has mild symptoms, the WHO said. His MERS-CoV infection was confirmed on Mar 17.

comment: MERS still is a looming threat. The CFR using the cases (2 our of 5 deaths) is 40%. This is a very dangerous disease and if it mutates and spreads, it could be one of the deadliest diseases in history.

Still vigilance must be maintained in monitoring outbreaks in China.

http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html

In the early 1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in China. The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black.

In winter the disease seemed to disappear, but only because fleas--which were now helping to carry it from person to person--are dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims. After five years 25 million people were dead--one-third of Europe's people.

Suzi excellent observation...Spanish Flu 1918 I believe was due to WWI and compromised immune systems, no antibiotics, and a lack of sanitation. We did not have a bad virus after WWII since our men were better fed, better taken care of, and we just started with antibiotics which kept secondary infections down. IMHO.