Pestilence Watch: New deadly disease outbreaks monitored in Uganda, India, and the Philippines

January 9, 2012 – UGANDA – A mystery disease has killed over 100 people and infected more than 2,000 in northern Uganda. The disease, first reported in September 2009, has since been dubbed “nodding disease” as it leaves its victims nodding, Xinhua reported. Spread over the region’s five districts, the disease is characterized by head nodding, mental retardation and stunted growth and affects children and young adults. It causes young children and adolescents to nod violently while eating. Scientists are to launch a series of investigations as the previous efforts couldn’t identify the disease’s cause. The two previous samples and tests carried out by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientists in Atlanta in the U.S. failed to identify the cause of the disease, said Richard Nduhura, minister of state for health in charge of general duties. A team of scientists from the ministry of health, World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC is going to carry out new tests, said Nduhura, who is leading a fact finding mission in the affected areas. –Zee News

Deadlier form of TB reported in India: Tuberculosis, which kills around 1,000 people a day in India, has acquired a deadlier edge. A new entity-ominously called Totally Drug-Resistant TB (TDR-TB )-has been isolated in the fluid samples of 12 TB patients in the past three months alone at Hinduja Hospital at Mahim . The hospital’s laboratory has been certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) to test TB patients for drug resistance. While Iran first reported TDRTB cases three years ago, India seems to be only the second country to report this deadly form of the disease. TDR-TB is the result of the latest mutation of the bacilli after Multi-Drug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB ) and Extremely Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB ) were diagnosed earlier. –Times of India 

Flood disease killing survivors in Philippines: A disease borne by the floods that had killed hundreds here and in Iligan City last Dec. 17 is killing people who had survived the disaster that struck the two cities at the height of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”At least 15 people are now dead because of leptospirosis and 200 others are stricken ill and taken to hospitals. Authorities said the rising death toll from leptospirosis could be due to the failure of survivors to take the antibiotics that had been distributed to them immediately after the Dec. 17 deluge. As of Thursday, 15 people had been confirmed dead due to leptospirosis [eight from this city and seven from Iligan City] while more than 200 others had contracted the disease caused by the bacteria leptospira. Its prevalence in flooded areas is often blamed on infected rats although other animals, like dogs and cats, could also become carriers. Health officials said during the distribution of medicines, evacuees were also told to take doses of the antibiotics doxycycline. Jun Galvan, information officer of the Department of Health in Northern Mindanao, said the antibiotics were handed out in anticipation of flood-borne diseases as people wade in floodwaters to search for missing relatives or retrieve belongings. As more patients crowd hospitals, Dr. David Mendoza, head of the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance and Disaster Response Unit, said health officials were certain that many evacuees failed to heed the advice of health officials to take the antibiotic before they wade in the floods. In this city, 96 persons tested positive for leptospirosis while 118 cases were reported in Iligan City. –Inquirer

contributions Vicky G & Xavier