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© Mail Online / Leo DelaunceyAnalysis of figures by MailOnline show the plague epidemic in Madagascar could strike a further 20,000 people in just a matter of weeks, if current trends continue
- The World Health Organization now states there are 1,801 suspected cases
- This is significantly higher than the 1,309 the agency reported last Thursday
- Professor Robin May, an infectious diseases expert at Birmingham University, told MailOnline that the outbreak is 'concerning definitely'
- Analysis of figures by MailOnline show the epidemic could strike a further 20,000 people in just a matter of weeks, if current trends continue
- The 'unprecedented' outbreak has prompted warnings in 9 nearby countries
The outbreak, the 'worst in 50 years', is being fueled by a strain more lethal than the one which usually strikes the country off the coast of Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) now states there are 1,801 suspected cases - significantly higher than the 1,309 it reported last Thursday.
Academics have revealed such a jump in cases over the period of five days is concerning and have predicted it could get worse. The most recent statistics show there have been 127 deaths.
Professor Robin May, an infectious diseases expert at Birmingham University, told MailOnline that 'whichever way you look' at the outbreak, it's 'concerning definitely'.
© MailOnline/ Emily BeenyMore than 1,300 cases have now been reported in Madagascar, health chiefs have revealed, as nearby nations have been placed on high alert
Comment: See also: Plague outbreak plunges Madagascar into a state of emergency , where we read:
The Madagascar Plague is actually three plagues.
The first is bubonic - the type which ravaged Europe and the Mediterranean in the thirteen hundreds, leaving up to 60 percent dead.
Actually, the bubonic plague was universally and unequivocally believed to be the cause of the Black Death in the thirteen hundreds, despite the fact that it is well-established as biologically impossible. For more information, see: New Light on the Black Death: The Viral and Cosmic Connection.
The second is pneumonic - a super strain of the yersinia pestis bacterium which always results in death.
The third, more rare strain, is septecaemic - a life-threatening infection of the blood.
In Madagascar plague is endemic, and flare-ups cause public health emergencies on an almost annual basis but now the nation faces an uncontrolled epidemic which is terrifying the world's health agencies.
Between 1 August and 27 October, 113 people had died and 1,554 cases reported - out of which 985 were pneumonic plague, 230 bubonic plague and 339 unknown.
© ReutersThe UK has broken EU air quality regulations every year since 2010
Now add to that list psychological distress, which University of Washington researchers have found is also associated with air pollution. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the UW-led study showed, the greater the impact on mental health.
The study, published in the November issue of Health & Place, is believed to be the first to use a nationally representative survey pool, cross-referenced with pollution data at the census block level, to evaluate the connection between toxic air and mental health.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used to suppress acid production in the stomach and are among the most widely sold drugs in the world, but a new study reveals that long-term use of the medicine can increase stomach cancer risks by almost 250 percent.
The risks are associated with a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, carried by more than half of the world's population - most often harmlessly, but in a small percentage of people, the bug has been tied to the development of stomach cancer.
Previous research found that people with an ongoing Helicobacter pylori infection taking a PPI stood a greater chance of developing a precursor to stomach cancer, called atrophic gastritis.
While the mechanism for this was unclear, it's long been considered that eliminating the infection prior to taking PPIs - which have been linked to various adverse effects - might reduce the prospects of getting cancer.
But the new research shows that might not be the case.
Comment: More reasons to avoid Proton Pump Inhibitors:
- Proton Pump Inhibitors: So dangerous that prescriptions border on being criminal
- Popular acid reflux drugs linked to silent kidney damage
- Acid reflux drugs increase risk of intestinal infections
- How to safely address acid reflux and avoid increased risk of mortality and morbidity
- Relieving acid reflux with essential oils
- Acid Reflux Linked to Gluten Intolerance
- Acid Reflux - A malady of those who eat mainly carbs
- The truth about stomach acid: Why low stomach acid is jeopardizing your health
Comment: For more information, check out Vitamin C prevents side effects from the MMR vaccine
...in order to protect our children from any vaccination side effects, we give very high doses of vitamin C before, during (yes, even at the doctor's office) and after immunizations.
Why on earth we are still using gadolinium, a metal found in "contrast" agents used in many MRIs, has been shown to remain in some of our organs (like the brain, bones, and skin). However, according to the FDA and European Union agency, retained gadolinium isn't harmful.
© AFP/Getty ImagesWorkers cleaning and disinfecting the tents where patients sleep at the health center.
But the plague, which has so far killed 123 and left hundreds infected, is a super-strain which is even more infectious and deadly than famous the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century.
The Madagascar Plague is actually three plagues.
The first is bubonic - the type which ravaged Europe and the Mediterranean in the thirteen hundreds, leaving up to 60 percent dead.
Comment: Actually, the bubonic plague was universally and unequivocally believed to be the cause of the Black Death in the thirteen hundreds, despite the fact that it is well-established as biologically impossible. For more information, see: New Light on the Black Death: The Viral and Cosmic Connection.
Comment: Here is a map of the affected areas:
© ExpressA map highlighting countries on high alert after a Black Death outbreak in Madagascar.
Dr Arthur Rakotonjanabelo said: "Plague is a disease of poverty, because it thrives in places with poor sanitary conditions and health services."The WHO has a long track record of hyping possible epidemics. Not to say that there never will be one, but is this it? Madagascar is routinely hit with plague outbreaks and we'll have to see how long it will take for this one to die down.
Health officials state that this particular outbreak is slated to last another six months and cite the practice of Famadihana as contributing to its spread.
The Sun yesterday reported how the outbreak has been fuelled by performing the ancient practice of Famadihana - which sees locals dig up deceased relatives and dance with them before they are re-buried.
It is feared the ceremony has helped spread an outbreak of pneumonic plague that has left more than 120 dead on the African island.
The country's health chief Willy Randriamarotia said: "If a person dies of pneumonic plague and is then interred in a tomb that is subsequently opened for a Famadihana, the bacteria can still be transmitted and contaminate whoever handles the body."
The tradition has been banned since the outbreak began, but it is feared ceremonies have taken place regardless.
© Jean-Sebastien Evrard / AFP
Both men and women who have undergone the procedure have had to come to terms with the "horrendous" results of gender-reassignment surgery, Lord Robert Winston warned, as the number of people seeking the life-changing operations grows.
Winston presented statistics in support of his claims, indicating how many people are left regretting their decision to undergo surgeries, which result in changes to their bodies that are far from what they had desired.
Vaginal-reconstruction patients experience complications in a staggering 40 percent of cases, he told the Today program on BBC Radio 4. "Results are horrendous in such a big proportion of cases," he added.
Winston said the risks and implications of gender-reassignment surgery are not properly understood. Fertility can be damaged, he explained, and people who have their breasts removed "feel uncomfortable with what they've done" in 23 percent of cases.
© Michael Kooren / Reuters
The product, called NemaStrike, is supposed to protect crops from worms. It has been given the green light by US environmental regulators.
"There have been limited cases of skin irritation, including rashes, that appear to be associated with the handling and application of this seed treatment product," Brian Naber, US commercial operations lead for Monsanto, said in a letter to customers about NemaStrike, quoted by Reuters.
© M. Spencer Green / Associated PressA patient has her waist measured as she takes part in an obesity prevention study at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2010.
Earlier this month, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added more detail: Approximately 631,000 Americans were diagnosed with a body fat-related cancer in 2014, accounting for 40% of all cancers diagnosed that year.
Increasingly, it seems not only that we are losing the war on cancer, but that we are losing it to what we eat and drink.
These new findings, while important, only tell us so much. The studies reflect whether someone is overweight upon being diagnosed with cancer, but they don't show that the excess weight is responsible for the cancer. They are best understood as a warning sign that something about what or how much we eat is intimately linked to cancer. But what?
When insulin rises to abnormally high levels and remains elevated, it can promote the growth of tumors directly and indirectly.
Comment: It's not just cancer that is connected to higher sugar intake. There are many other conditions that could be helped by reducing ones sugar and carbohydrate intake. See also:
- 146 reasons why sugar destroys your health
- How sugar destroys your health & literally makes you stupid
- Depression & carbs
- Elevated blood sugar relates to dementia
- 'Carbohydrates rot the brain': Neurologist slams grains as 'silent brain killers' - and says we should be eating a high-fat diet
Comment: GABA is a supplement that is easily available online, including in a mixed formula that includes Taurine and L-Tyrosine.