Butler 'injected millionaire socialite with deadly virus and told her she would die if she didn't hand over $8.5million for antidote'

The butler accused of holding millionaire socialite Anne Bass hostage for 12 hours in her Connecticut estate and injecting her with a 'deadly virus' is to face trial today.

Masked assailants convinced the philanthropist that she would die from the injection and demanded that she pay $8.5 million for an antidote.

The men said Bass and her boyfriend, artist Julian Lethbridge, had 20 hours to produce the cash and it was only after the men reconsidered and fled the house, that the victims learned that the substance was harmless, likely an ink.

A trial is starting in U.S. District Court this week for Emanuel Nicolescu, a former head butler at the Bass estate, who is the only person arrested in the crime. Nicolescu, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted extortion. His attorney declined comment. Read More

1 in 3 young Aussies will get diabetes: researchers

One in three of today's young Australians will go on to develop diabetes, according to new figures released today.

A new assessment of national health data released by Diabetes Australia today shows 1.5 million Australians currently have diabetes.

It says the diabetes rate is likely to at least double in Australia over the next decade, and predicts 3 million people will have type 2 diabetes by 2025.

The head of Diabetes Australia, Lewis Kaplan, has called for a national action plan to be developed to help control what is a potentially preventable disease.

"If nothing is done, the likelihood is that the numbers will continue to grow to 3.5 million by 2033," he said.

"If we do something about the situation, we might reduce that growth down to only maybe 2 million additional cases by 2033." Read More

Vemurafenib: Cancer Drug Brings Dying Man Back From Brink

A man suffering from the deadliest form of skin cancer has told Sky News how a new drug brought him back from the brink of death.

Charlie Jones woke up two weeks ago from emergency surgery on tumours that had spread to his kidneys to be told he had a matter of hours to live.

But doctors at the Christie Hospital in Manchester decided to try out a drug called vemurafenib that has only just become available.

To their amazement, his response was almost immediate. He is now much better and has returned home.

"Since I've been taking the drug I have been getting stronger and stronger," he said.

"I'm getting colour in my face. My body is feeling a lot better. It's helping me feel like the old me." Read More

1918 Worst Bird Flu Pandemic in History…....Will it happen again?

Human infections with H5N1 avian influenza reported in Indonesia

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated the cumulative numbers of human cases of avian influenza, or as it is more commonly known as, bird flu Monday.

As of today, there have been 18 cases of human infection with bird flu in six different countries reported to the WHO in 2012. Of these cases, 10 of them ended as fatalities.

Two of the cases were reported on the WHOs Global Alert and Response (GAR) Monday, one in Indonesia and one in Vietnam.

In the Indonesian case, the Ministry of Health of Indonesia reports of a 24-year-old female from Bengkulu Province who developed fever on 23 February 2012 and was hospitalized on the following day. She had breathing difficulty, her condition deteriorated and she died on 1 March 2012. She was the fourth case and fourth fatality from the virus this year in Indonesia. Source

Suspected Bird Flu Case Reported in Korea

For the first time in nearly 10 months a suspected case of bird flu has been reported at a poultry farm in Korea.

The government says that out of the 450 chickens on the farm in South Chungcheong Province, 45 have died so far and 100 others are currently showing symptoms of avian influenza. In a screening test, six out 10 chickens tested positive.

Comprehensive results will be announced Tuesday. If the case is confirmed as highly pathogenic, the transport of poultry, personnel and vehicles related to the livestock industry will be temporarily controlled to prevent the spread of the disease. Source

Bird Flu Outbreaks in Israel Kill 10500 Turkeys, Officials Say‎

Bird flu killed about 10,500 turkeys on two farms in western Israel, the first outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain in the country in 11 months, veterinary officials said.

The virus threatens 51,000 8-week and 12-week-old Turkeys on the farms in Hadarom, said Nadav Galon, Israel’s director of veterinary services and animal health, in a March 9 report to the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris. The outbreaks began on March 7 and were confirmed the following day. The source of the attack is being investigated, Galon said.

World health and veterinary officials have been monitoring H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in birds for the past decade because of their potential to infect people. If the virus becomes easily transmissible among humans, it could touch off a deadly pandemic. Read More

Mystery illness strikes hockey players as more than TWO DOZEN become violently ill during game

An investigation is underway to discover what caused more than two dozen hockey players to suddenly become violently ill right before and during games on Sunday night.

The Taylor Sportsplex, in Michigan, was evacuated and a violent strain of flu suspected as being the cause for the wave of sickness which struck players on different rinks during the state teenage regional hockey playoffs.

Several of the players were taken to hospital suffering from vomiting and diarrhea which struck down most of the teens - who were all male - around the same time, The Detroit News reported.

Fire chief Bob Tompos told myFOXdetroit.com there did not appear to be anything wrong with the air quality in the Taylor Sportsplex, but the complex was shut down.

Water contamination was also suspected and results are due back tomorrow.

After an investigation by Wayne County Department of Health, norovirus was being blamed. Read More

Tens of Thousands of Turkeys Destroyed in Israel

Fearing the outbreak of bird flu in Moshav Shalva near Kiryat Malachi, Israel’s veterinary officials gave the order to destroy tens of thousands of turkeys. In addition, a quarantine was placed on that community along with surrounding communities to prevent the spread of the illness which would be devastating for the local poultry market as well as posing health concerns.

Health officials have vaccinated 50 people as well as ordering the elimination of 50,000 birds. 11,000 turkeys were destroyed in Shalva and 40,000 turkeys were destroyed in Cholit, located near Kerem Shalom in the south.

Dr. Nadav Gallon placed a quarantine of tens of kilometers on the communities in an effort to contain the situation. Health officials add humans can become infected by direct contact with infected birds, their waste product or with infected items.

Regarding ingestion of poultry, officials add that heating food over 70C (158F) will effectively destroy the germ as well so there are no concerns over eating poultry. Source

Hong Kong: 2 New Outbreaks of Bird flu (H5N1) found in wild birds

HONG KONG - The country's veterinary authorities have reported two new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) was sent follow-up report no. 11 last week (9 March).

A peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus calidus) was collected on 3 March 2012 at Ma On Shan. The peregrine falcon is a rare winter visitor in Hong Kong.

A black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) was collected on 2 March 2012 at Tuen Mun. The black-headed gull is a common winter visitor in Hong Kong.

An intensive surveillance system is in place for all poultry farms, poultry markets and pet bird shops in Hong Kong. The H5N1 infected wild birds and goose carcass from unknown source were detected in ongoing surveillance programme on wild birds. The dates of the outbreaks are the same as the dates the birds were collected (i.e. 17 December 2011, 30 December 2011, 1 January 2012, 12 January 2012, 20 January 2012 , 30 January 2012 , 6 February 2012, 7 February 2012, 8 February 2012, 24 February 2012, 25 February 2012, 27 February 2012, 2 March 2012 and 3 March 2012 respectively).

A total of 19,451 poultry, including 15,569 chickens, 810 pigeons, 1,950 pheasants and 1,122 silky fowls were culled in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market on 21 December 2011. The Wholesale Poultry Market was closed. Importation of live poultry and movement of poultry in local farms is banned for 21 days. Read More

Bird flu case registered in South Korea

The first case of bird flu was registered in South Korea over the last ten months, local authorities reports.

Forty chickens died in one of the bird farms in Chungcheongnam-do province. The tests should show the type and degree of danger of the infection.

In case of negative test results the authorities will have to introduce restrictions on the export of all domestic poultry, ITAR-TASS reports. Source

2 Children die of food poisoning, over 2 dozen hospitalised‎, Ghazipur District, India

VARANASI: Two children died of food poisoning while more than 30 were admitted to a community health centre in Ghazipur district on Sunday night.

The food and civil supply department officials collected samples of food articles while police registered a case against unidentified food vendors in this connection. According to reports, Gudar Shah Ki Mazar is located in Sai Ki Takia area under Khanpur police station limits. The annual 'urs' of the Mazar was observed on Sunday when thousands of people thronged the site to take part in the event. A fair was also organised at the site in which scores of food article vendors had set up their shops.

After consuming food articles like chaat-chhola and others at the shops, the health of dozens of people started deteriorating in the night. On noticing sharp deterioration in the health condition of Ramesh Yadav alias Sonu (13) of Belahari village and Atiq Khan (12) of Baheri village, their family members also rushed them to a local hospital but they died on the way. The condition of over three dozens persons who were also admitted to the same CHC started improving by Monday morning and many of them were discharged too. Read More

New rabies virus discovered in Tanzania

The virus was identified as part of a rabies surveillance research project funded by the Wellcome Trust and was investigated following an unusual incident when a child was attacked by a civet – a cat-like nocturnal mammal – in a part of the Serengeti which was thought to be rabies-free.

The samples that were collected tested positive for rabies at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Dar es Salaam. Subsequent genetic tests showed that the virus was a new type of rabies virus that had not been previously described, but was similar to a bat rabies virus isolated in the Caucasian region of Eastern Europe.

Scientists believe the new virus is likely to originate in bats and that cross-over infection to civets and other mammalian species is likely to be relatively rare. However further studies are planned to determine the extent of infection and the degree of risk to human and animal health.

Professor Sarah Cleaveland, of the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: “The vast majority of human deaths from rabies are caused by bites from domestic dogs with rabies, which can be effectively controlled through mass dog vaccination campaigns.

“This new virus is unlikely to pose a threat to humans on the scale of that of dog rabies. However this research highlights the need for vigilance and maintaining good levels of surveillance. Read More

Carp dead at Danson lake, UK

AN OUTBREAK which killed around 40 carp in Danson lake on Friday could have been triggered by people releasing fish, Environment Agency experts say.

Tests revealed no problem in water quality and only carp were affected, leading environment officers to believe a disease or parasite may be responsible and could have been caused by people releasing fish into the water.

The Environment Agency said if it knew people had put fish in the lake, it could help to limit the impact on wildlife.

Dog walker Celia Turner said: “I was just walking my dog and there were quite a few large dead fish. The birds are pecking at them – it was really horrible.”

The Environment Agency and Bexley Council are investigating and said more tests on the water and the fish will be carried out.

Environment Officer, Matt Higginson said "It's always sad to see fish die in this manner. We were on the site very quickly, but it's very difficult to prevent these sorts of outbreaks.” Read More

Depression: Evolutionary byproduct of the ability to fight infection?

Depression is common enough - afflicting one in ten adults in the United States - that it seems the possibility of depression must be "hard-wired" into our brains.

This has led biologists to propose several theories to account for how depression, or behaviors linked to it, can somehow offer an evolutionary advantage.

Some previous proposals for the role of depression in evolution have focused on how it affects behavior in a social context. A pair of psychiatrists addresses this puzzle in a different way, tying together depression and resistance to infection.

They propose that genetic variations that promote depression arose during evolution because they helped our ancestors fight infection. Read More

Swine Flu (H1N1) Guatemala Kills 4 Infects 55 more

Infections with the influenza virus A (H1N1) recorded an increase in Guatemala, with 55 confirmed cases and four deaths.

In addition to the deaths of two adults in hospitals in the capital, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said two children died in late February in the central-eastern department of Zacapa.

They were part of seven children who had died of unknown causes, and further analysis determined that two of the cases died from the virus.

Health facilities handle up to 50,000 cases of acute respiratory infections and colds per week, said the director of the National Epidemiology Center, Francisco Ardon, quoted by the newspaper Prensa Libre.

Of the confirmed cases in the course of this year, symptoms in 493 persons made them suspicious of influenza and of those 55 were confirmed: 52 of type A and three of type B, the source added.

President Otto Perez Molina reiterated the instruction to the ministry of health to take all safety and prevention measures and ensure the availability of Tamiflu, a drug used against the A (H1N1) influenza. Read More

Jaipur Swine flu (H1N1): two dead, four fighting for life, India

It seems that the swine flu menace has hit Jaipur with 6 cases being reported in the last 10 days. An eight year old was the latest victim who tested positive for the influenza on Saturday. Out of the six cases two patients have passed away.

Minister of state for health Rajkumar Sharma said patients with symptoms of swine flu should not be ignored but should be given free medical treatment in government hospitals immediately.Sharma said strict action would be taken against doctors or department officials if they were found careless while treating such patients.

In light of the recent events the swine flu control room at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital has been made functional again. According to the medical superintendent of SMS hospital, the reason for the resurgence of the virus is the abrupt change in weather and fluctuating temperatures.

Swine Influenza is a form of influenza that is common in pigs. Transmission from swine to humans is uncommon and normally just leads to formation of antibodies in humans; however people with regular exposure to pigs are a high risk group. Read More

Bird Flu Bangladesh: Call to disinfect markets ignored‎

Drive to clean Dhaka's kitchen markets has not started yet, despite health experts' serious call to disinfect those after H5N1 avian influenza lurched from poultry farms to slaughterhouses.

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has recently confirmed the presence of the virus commonly known as bird flu in the capital's different kitchen markets after three workers were reported positive with H5N1.

They informed the authorities concerned to start cleaning drive to wipe out the virus from the environment.

The detection also prompted health experts to call for a change in what they term 'dangerous' practice of selling and slaughtering poultry just anywhere in the market or open spaces without taking any sanitary measures.

Visiting different markets on Thursday and Friday, it is learnt that Dhaka City Corporation that collects tax from those markets do not disinfect the market.

Workers have been seen working in the filthy environment strewn with chicken giblets and wings in the blood and mud-strained floor.

Hemayet Uddin, a worker of Gulistan Kaptan Bazar market, said he had not seen anyone from City Corporation.

"We clean on our own," he said. Read More

Fish virus headed our way, Canada

Like something out of science fiction, a deadly, alien fish virus is set to invade Quebec waterways, threatening the province’s multi-billion-dollar recreational fishing industry.

The highly contagious and adaptable virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), was first identified in the 1950s in farmed fish in Europe. By 2005, it had found its way into the Great Lakes, most likely from international vessels flushing their ballasts containing the virus into the lakes, say Ontario Natural Resources wildlife officials. Its spread was exacerbated by the transport and release of infected bait fish into uncontaminated waters by sports fishermen.

As it spread, the virus killed tens of thousands of fish. In 2005, 91 tonnes of freshwater drum were killed in Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte. In 2006, there were die-offs of yellow perch in Lake Erie and muskellunge in the St. Lawrence River. In 2007, large die-offs of bass occurred in the Finger Lakes region of western New York state. There have also been confirmed die-offs of salmon, musky and walleye (doré), as well as numerous minnow species. As the dead fish decompose, the virus is released and continues to spread.

Though devastating to the 50 species of fish it infects (causing haemorrhaging of internal organs and tissues, resulting in death), “the virus does not affect humans and fish carrying the VHS virus are safe to eat and handle,” according to Ontario Natural Resources. Read More

Ministry warns of bird flu pandemic in Vietnam

Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Department of Preventive Health under the Ministry of Health, stated on March 9 that Vietnam had recorded four cases of bird flu since the beginning of this year, two of which had succumbed to the disease.

Although the Ministry of Health has continually warned the public not to consume sick, dead or undercooked poultry or water fowl, people have paid little or no heed to the warning.

Binh warns that with the disease developing a more complicated strain, if awareness about the deadly effects of the virus is not raised, the number of patients dying or infected by bird flu will increase, as the disease is becoming more widespread.

In order to prevent bird flu from transferring from fowl to humans, the ministry has ordered its medical units to step up supervision to detect infected cases early. In addition, it emphasised raising awareness amongst people not to consume poultry or water fowl that was suspect, infected or undercooked.

In related news, the Preventive Health Centre in Lai Chau Province said that three people in Khoen On Commune in Than Uyen District were reported infected with anthrax in the last month. The infected are believed to have eaten meat of a dead horse in their village. Source