D-O-U-B-L-E S-H-U-F-F-L-E:DISEASE CRISIS HITS GLOBE

FIGHTING DENGUE FEVER IN THAILAND,JAPAN WILL HAVE TO ADOPTS SIMILAR TECHNIQUES SOON

D-O-U-B-L-E   S-H-U-F-F-L-E

………………………………………….EBOLA GOES GAGA IN AFRICA,DENGUE FEVER STRIKES JAPAN

………………………………………….EBOLA OUTBREAK DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE

………………………………………..NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD TAKE STOCK OF EBOLA CRISIS

…………………………………………JAPAN WILL NEED EXTERNAL SUPPORT TO COMBAT DENGUE FEVER

Japan battles first dengue fever outbreak in 70 years

A dengue fever outbreak has hit Japan for the first time in over 70 years with at least 22 confirmed cases, BBC News reported.

The outbreak is believed to have started after visitors to Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park contracted the disease from mosquitoes, according to the country’s health ministry. The last outbreak in Japan was recorded in 1945.

Dengue fever is a tropical disease which causes symptoms such as high fever and severe joint pain.  

Serious cases may require hospitalization and can occasionally develop into a potentially fatal condition called severe dengue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the country’s health ministry, dengue fever cases in Japan usually come from tourists who catch it while traveling to tropical regions or domestic mosquitoes who pick it up from tourists and pass it on.

…………………………..EBOLA OUTBREAK DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE
The outbreak has been exacerbated by wet summer weather, but authorities said that the onset of fall will help curb the spread of the disease. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues its relentless spread, pushing the death toll over 1,900. AmeriCares is sending emergency medical aid to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including personal protective equipment for health workers at great risk in the battle to contain the deadly disease. The Ebola outbreak, now declared to be an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization, has already infected at least 240 health workers and killed 130, including doctors and nurses.
Confirmed cases and fatalities have been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal and aid organizations in the field warn that official case and fatality figures may greatly underestimate the true scale of the outbreak.
AmeriCares has sent four shipments already with more being prepared. Two emergency air shipments have arrived to restock hospitals and clinics in Liberia where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made an urgent appeal for safety equipment for health workers. The first air shipment contained 20,000 pairs of gloves, 20,000 surgical masks and 60,000 surgical caps, among other medical supplies. The second shipment included more protective equipment and supplies. Shipments of intravenous fluids to rehydrate Ebola patients are also headed to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

 “With more than 3,500 people infected already and the virus spreading rapidly, there is virtually an endless demand for safety equipment,” said AmeriCares Vice President of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. “If we don’t support the frontline health workers, there is no hope for controlling the epidemic.”
In Sierra Leone and Liberia, where leaders have declared a state of emergency, health care providers report intravenous fluids are in short supply and have been extremely difficult to access with the increased demand. AmeriCares is sending enough intravenous fluids donated by Baxter International Inc. for approximately 3,000 patients in both countries.
The fragile health systems in the region are ill-equipped to handle a health crisis of this scale, and the shortage of critical supplies and loss of skilled health workers continues to hamper the best efforts to contain the disease. The damage to the health system also severely limits its capacity to handle other critical health needs such as prenatal care, births, chronic disease or malaria treatment.
AmeriCares first response to the outbreak in May included the purchase and distribution of protective gear and medical supplies for health workers in Liberia as well as support for public messaging campaigns to spread awareness about the disease for which there is no cure.

• Dengue fever is common in more than 100 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. While there is currently no cure for the disease, medical experts say that avoiding mosquito bites is the best way to prevent transmission. Belgium: 29 August - Medecins Sans Frontiers has announced one of its workers who returned from Guinea has been admitted to a hospital in Brussels with a fever. As per protocol, the worker was monitoring their health for 21 days after return, and presented to the designated facility capable of isolating and testing for Ebola. No further details are available at this time. Unverified news sources report the worker returned 2 weeks ago, and developed a fever on 28 August.
• As the entire world battles the greatest outbreak of Ebola Virus to have hit the globe since it was first discovered in a village in 1976, a lot orf nations are currently taking the investigations seriously.
• Bolivia: On 25 August, media reports indicate that a traveller who had made several stopovers in Africa arrived in Bolivia with a fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. The person was isolated at health facility in Santa Cruz. Media sources on 27 August state Ebola is ruled out.
• Canada: 29 August - A child from Sierra Leone is being assessed in Ottawa. There is no known exposure to Ebola and the chance of Ebola is considered low. The girl has tested negative.
• Guinea-Bissau: 30 August - Unconfirmed reports about eight people quarantined in a hospital in Gabu, who entered the region from Guinea Conakry. 
• India: A number of travellers departing Guinea (1) and Nigeria (4) have been screened and excluded by 20 August. On 26 August, six travellers from Liberia were suspected to have been exposed to Ebola, have tested negative. 29 August - a student who returned from Nigeria has been isolated at Naidu Hospital in Pune. The person was asymptomatic when he arrived on 16 August and developed symptoms after two days. 30 August - Test results are negative for Ebola.
• Kenya: 4 September – Tests for Ebola for a patient in Nairobi and one in Nakuru are negative.
• Malawi: On 28 Aug two refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo suspected of having Ebola symptoms escaped isolation before being fully examined by health officials. The refugees entered Malawi at the Songwe border, Karonga district and their current location is unknown.
• Spain: 31 August - a traveller from Nigeria has been hospitalised in Malaga and is being tested for Ebola.
• Sweden: 31 August -  A man who had been in West Africa developed a fever, and was taken to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm for isolation and testing. It is thought unlikley to be Ebola. 1 September - the Stockholm City Council advises the patient's test is negative for Ebola.
• Thailand: On 3 September - A female traveller from Guinea who arrived on 20 August, later developed fever. She has been quarantined and samples have been sent for testing. 4 September, the first test result was negative for Ebola. The second test result is awaited.