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STREP AND EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD ABOUT EBOLI! MEANWHILE, other researchers report that an extra enzyme is what helps make some strains of the flu virus especially virulent. Together, the reports give new insight into bugs that turn deadly, and could lead to the development of better preventives and therapies.
“If we know the genetic structure of the virus, it can help us produce a vaccine,” Tom Bergan, a Norwegian physician and professor at the University of Oslo, said, standing on Norway’s remote and frigid Svalbard Islands. The miners were buried in the permafrost of this Norwegian Arctic outpost, and researchers believe the frigid conditions may have preserved samples of the mysterious virus sufficient to build a genetic profile. Although experts say there is virtually no chance of finding a live virus, they have decided to open the graves under tight precautions including erecting an inflatable tent over the pit. AIR LOCK ERECTED The few experts allowed in must go through an air lock, like on a space ship. Team members will wear isolation suits, have outside air supplies and even take an experimental anti-viral drug. Before the work started, team leader Kirsty Duncan, a 31-year-old medical geographer, called for a moment of silence and a prayer for the victims. “We are gathered here to remember and honor these young men,” Duncan said. “We are extremely grateful to the families of these young men for allowing us to undertake our work.” Each wooden cross, plus one stone marker, was pulled from the sparse tundra grass. Workers from the British Necropolis Company, which is doing the actual exhumation for the team, wrapped each item in burlap and labeled them with a victim’s name. “This a big day and a difficult day,” said Duncan, who has been preparing for the project for five years. “We have to remember that these were people, and they had families. ... We are only doing this in the hope of unraveling the mystery of the 1918 flu.” THREE WEEKS WORK Digging up the bodies, taking tissue samples and reburying them is expected to take about three weeks. Analysis of the tissue samples could take as long as 18 months. The Spanish Flu was first reported at what is now Ft. Riley, Kan., in late 1917 or early 1918. It spread to Europe with American troops sent to fight in World War I. From there, it spread to much of the rest of world. At first, it was a lot like other viruses. But viruses change rapidly, and by the autumn of 1918, the death rate had increased sevenfold, according to Tom Bergan, a Norwegian physician on the team that includes members from the United States and Britain. Victims suffered a sudden fever, chills, headache, malaise, muscle pain, pneumonia and rapid death. Duncan, a professor at the Universities of Windsor and Toronto in Canada, read about the Spanish Flu in a book and started a search for clues that eventually led her to Longyearbyen, a town of 1,200 people on the largely glacier-covered Svalbard Archipelago. The islands are north of the Norwegian mainland and 500 miles from the North Pole. A DEADLY ENZYME In the second report, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found the most dangerous strain of influenza A makes use of an extra enzyme that helps it infect cells throughout the body. They also looked at a virus descended from the strain that caused the 1918 pandemic of flu. Doctors could look for this enzyme in a flu outbreak to determine how likely it is to be dangerous, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. [ED:Hey I did not make this up!! |
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ARE FLU'S,STREP,RELATED? Health experts announced another person has died after contracting a deadly strain of strep bacteria which is spreading around the Chicago area.
The disease called Group-A Streptococcal, is a bacteria found in the nose and throat. Although doctors from 4 counties say it’s not an epidemic, they are reportedly treating a unusually high number of people who have been infected. When the bacteria is at its most serious level, health officials say it can eat the flesh of its host and cause organ failure. Health experts from the Centers for Disease Control report they have examined two strains of the Group-A Streptococcus bacteria in Kane, Lake, and Cook counties. One a toxic shock syndrome and the other known as the flesh-eating bacteria. Since the beginning of the year there have been 24 cases of Group-A Streptococcus. Three in Dupage County, nine in Kane County, two in Lake County, and ten in Cook County. Thus far, a 25-year-old woman from Dupage County, a 43-year-old man from Hanover Park and a Glencooe teacher’s aid have fallen victim to the flesh-eating bacteria. The toxic shock syndrome strain has claimed the lives of four people from Kane County. Kane County health officials report an 18-month-old todler from Bartlett is undergoing treatment for the germ at Saint Alexia Medical Center in Hoffman Estates and is doing well. Reportedly the infant had the chicken pox which doctors say turned into Group-A Streptococcus. Doctors can detect the germ through a simple culture. But, if left untreated with antibiotics, the bacteria can spread to the skin. Doctors say the germ is so aggressive it eats away a person’s flesh. There are some symptoms people need to watch out for. They include a sore throat, fever, chills and adults may experience a middle ear infection. Health experts say anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms, a sore throat, fever, and chills should be checked by a doctor to see if the strep bacteria is present. See a doctor, get a throat culture and start treatment right away, especially if you live in Kane County. A person should be tested in the first 12 to 24-hours of experiencing symptoms. |
What The Center for Desease Controll Say's |
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