{"id":885,"date":"2014-09-17T16:50:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T20:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/?p=885"},"modified":"2014-09-23T22:21:55","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T02:21:55","slug":"new-pathogens-outbreaks-epidemics-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2014\/09\/17\/885\/new-pathogens-outbreaks-epidemics-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Bugs and Outbreaks That Scared Us in 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of every year, some of us tally \u2013 in a retrospective \u2013 the most remarkable epidemics, newly recognized pathogens or resistance issues that occupied the headlines in the past 12 months.\u00a0 Here a sneak preview what you are likely to see in the coming December issue of your favorite ID Journal or Medscape.<\/p>\n

Unquestionably, 2014 will go down as the year of the largest Ebola epidemic ever on \"Ebola\"<\/a>the African continent.\u00a0 This outbreak showed the remarkable ability of a pathogen which should be easy to reign in but isn\u2019t:\u00a0 because initial symptoms are so non-descript, isolation measures often come too late.\u00a0 The scarce medical resources and inadequate medical facilities of a third world country are no match for this virus.\u00a0 The transmission of infection to HCW shows the logistical difficulties even for personnel\u00a0that is well trained and aware of the risk.<\/p>\n

Here is my admittedly subjective list of Top 10 news-making events (Sept ’13 – Sept ’14); please give me your thoughts on what else you would include and how you would have\u00a0ranked it:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ebola<\/strong>
    \nStill not under control, with more than 2000 deaths by last count and spreading to more countries.\u00a0 It has rekindled efforts to expedite drug development. \u00a0There is now regulatory acceptance of risk allowing treatment with experimental drugs\u00a0whose\u00a0efficacy data in humans are sparse.<\/li>\n
  2. MERS<\/strong>
    \nThe Hajj pilgrimage seems like a set-up for disease transmission.\u00a0 In the     \"Hajj2\"<\/a>past, we were more concerned about meningococcal disease but MERS with its high mortality proved to be as much of a threat.<\/li>\n
  3. Chikungunya<\/strong>
    \nA new arrival in the US (Florida and Gulf Coast), with     \"Aedes\"<\/a>presentation similar to Dengue but less severe.\u00a0 It is transmitted by the same vector, Aedes mosquitos.<\/li>\n
  4. New Polio and Polio-like cases<\/strong>
    \nJust as we are about to eradicate the virus in the last few pockets of the world, we learn that new cases were again reported in Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria.\u00a0 Then there is news about a new strain that emerged in California which is not covered by the current vaccines.<\/li>\n
  5. Measles<\/strong>
    \nOverreliance on herd protection and the discussion about the safety of existing vaccines has led to underuse, with the sad result of re-emergent measles.\u00a0 By mid-2014, more cases have been reported in the US than in any year since 2000.<\/li>\n
  6. KPC<\/strong>
    \n\u201cSuperbug kills 16 in Manchester hospital\u201d was the headline in The Guardian     [1]<\/a>. It could happen not just in the UK \u2013 the recent outbreak the NIH Bethesda Hospital was a nightmare to deal with.\u00a0 So far, cases in the US are rare but the trend line points upward.<\/li>\n
  7. HEV \/ Human Enterovirus D68<\/strong>
    \nEnteroviruses generally \u00a0behave in a benign fashion, but sometimes they don\u2019t:\u00a0 This HEV can cause severe respiratory disease.\u00a0 It has spread to several states in the US and some patients needed ICU care.\u00a0 There was appreciable mortality.<\/li>\n
  8. Mumps<\/strong>
    \nA remarkable outbreak starting in Ohio, with cases also reported from NYC and New Jersey. In Ohio, approx. 500 people were infected.\u00a0 Overall, a benign and largely vaccine-preventable disease.<\/li>\n
  9. Heartland virus<\/strong>
    \nHow many more tick-related diseases are there to remember? It presents as leukopenia and thrombopenia.\u00a0 Transmitted by the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma), it will certainly show up in ID Board exams.<\/li>\n
  10. Avian Influenza<\/strong>
    \nA constant threat<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There are a few more pathogens that emerged this year and could arguably be included. \u00a0We keep Rift Valley Fever, West Nile Virus, Dengue (an old friend making further inroads), and Hantavirus on the Watch List for now.<\/p>\n

    Mycobacterium canettii is another interesting newcomer: The \u201csmooth, glossy\u201d colonies and faster growth in culture differentiate his pathogen from MTB with which it shares many clinical features.\u00a0 Cases with lymphadenopathy and pulmonary involvement have been reported from South Africa.<\/p>\n

    References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2014\/mar\/07\/superbug-kills-16-manchester-hospitals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    At the end of every year, some of us tally \u2013 in a retrospective \u2013 the most remarkable epidemics, newly recognized pathogens or resistance issues that occupied the headlines in the past 12 months.\u00a0 Here a sneak preview what you are likely to see in the coming December issue of Continue reading Bugs and Outbreaks That Scared Us in 2014<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the_viewpoint"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Outbreak.gif?fit=638%2C230&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KWFr-eh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":617,"url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2014\/07\/17\/617\/greenwood-antimicrobial-drugs-chronicle-of-a-twentieth-century-medical-triumph\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":0},"title":"Greenwood: Antimicrobial Drugs \u2013 Chronicle of a Twentieth Century Medical Triumph","author":"Harald","date":"July 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is not meant to be a book review. \u00a0I just want to\u00a0express my gratitude\u00a0to Prof. Greenwood for writing a book about\u00a0the remarkable story\u00a0of antibiotic discovery\u00a0and development of the last century. \u00a0It is clearly a labor of love, written with knowledge, enthusiasm, wisdom and perspective. 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