|
|
||||
 |
Saturday Sep 22
|
|||
| |
||||
West Nile Virus Claims First Human Victim in El Paso This Yearby Daisy Sarma - September 1, 2007 - 3 comments
The West Nile virus continued its rampage across states in the U.S., claiming its first human victim this year in El Paso today. County health officials said an 82-year old man became the first casualty to the dreaded virus. Refusing to release the identity of the dead man, district training and promotions manager Sue Betty of the El Paso County Health and Environmental District said the patient had been admitted to a medical facility in the county on August 14, and succumbed to the disease on August 25. Ms. Betty further said three other cases of human WNV had been reported and confirmed in El Paso. This brought the number of confirmed infected patients in the county so far to nine. Authorities were awaiting the results of tests on six other patients, indicating the number could rise further. Usually, WNV strikes the old, the really young, and the ones with a weakened immune system. While WNV usually does not exhibit symptoms in a majority of cases, some of the people infected can develop symptoms similar to flu. Symptoms usually appear between five and 15 days after infection. In specific cases, WNV can prove to be fatal. WNV is transmitted by mosquitoes. Across El Paso County, mosquitoes bearing the virus have been located. Mosquitoes were being collected and tested for the virus. The latest batches of mosquitoes to have tested positive for the WNV were collected in the north-eastern region of El Paso on August 21. El Paso County is the not sole site of infection. The WNV has been traveling to different parts of the U.S., with cases being reported from Tennessee, Massachusetts, Texas, and a number of other states, as well as Canada. WNV has been detected in humans, birds, and also animals. The best way to ward off the threat of the disease was to ensure there was no heavy presence of mosquito populations in a specific area. ( Tags: Health | United States )
Write to author: Daisy Sarma 
 Submitted by Rosann (not verified) on Mon, 2007-09-03 19:41. *
My dad James Pannarale died from West Nile Virus on September 16th, 2006. He was in the hospital for 21 days before he died. They really didn't know what was wrong with him until right before he died. They need to get better testing so that maybe the end result would be different. I give my sincere condolones to the family. Rosann Submitted by Dave Moskowitz MD FACP (not verified) on Sun, 2007-09-02 18:33. *
“Just say ‘No’ to mosquitoes” is the only advice that public health authorities have been giving for the past 5 summers when it comes to West Nile virus. But their advice becomes useless once a mosquito bites you. And who can avoid mosquito bites all summer long? My company developed (and owns a pending patent for) a safe and apparently quite effective treatment for WNV encephalitis, and has been using it in an ongoing free clinical trial for the past 5 summers. Our initial results on 8 patients seen in Sept, 2003 were published in a peer-reviewed medical journal in July, 2004 (1). Publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal is all that's required for a treatment to officially exist. Our approach lowers the host's response to the virus--the so-called "cytokine storm"--rather than targeting the virus itself. So it may work for most viruses as a kind of general viral antidote. I was asked to describe our treatment to the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) in June, 2004. I volunteered to brief the Dept of Homeland Security later that summer. The UN is aware of our treatment in the context of avian influenza. It was included in the Project BioShield II Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senators Lieberman, Hatch, and Brownback (2). The FDA is happy for our trial to proceed, since we use already FDA-approved medications which are known to be safe for the general population. I recently described our treatment on Friday, August 3rd, at the BARDA Industry Day hosted by the Dept of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC (3). The only agency not supportive of our efforts is the CDC, for reasons known only to them. 21 patients with WNV have responded so far, out of 25 (84%). We've also treated 4 horses (3 responded) and 12 birds (6 responded; birds present sicker than humans and horses). Our WNV trial is free from our end. The blood pressure meds we use are inexpensive (around $1/day) and are available by prescription from any drugstore in the country. Anybody who wants to download our trial documents can do so for free at any time of day or night from our homepage at www.genomed.com. Beginning treatment early--within the first 48 hrs of encephalitis symptoms--seems to be the only way to avoid long-term sequelae such as paralysis, chronic fatigue, “brain fog,” etc. WNV is notorious for still affecting half of WNV victims 18 months later. If a family knows about our treatment ahead of time, they'll be in a much better position to get it prescribed for their relative who comes down with the disease. Thanks to the inexplicable behavior of the CDC, who’ve redefined public health in the same way FEMA redefined rescue, neither physicians nor patients have heard about our treatment for the fifth year in a row. Could you please rectify this situation? The people you serve depend on you to do so. References 2. Section 2151 of the Project BioShield II Act of April 28, 2005 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-975) 3. http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/press/newsroom/spotlight/2007bardaday.html Sincerely, Dave Moskowitz MD website: www.genomed.com Post new comment |
|
||||||
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on themoneytimes.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. TheMoneyTimes advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision. ©2004-2007 All Rights Reserved unless mentioned otherwise. [Submit News/Press Release][Terms of Service] [Privacy Policy] [About us] [Contact us] |
I went fishing today 09/03/2007 with my husband and brother, i got bit by a mosquito and i killed it right away, but the bite that it left, was as big around as a quarter, a red circle with a red dot in the middle of the circle. if anyone has a picture of what looks like a bite from a mosquito that caused west nile virus please let me know, i'm so worried, i do not have health insurance to go to the doctors to check it out.
thank you