Health News: Penn State hershey warns 2300 patients of infection risk ♦ Research points to development of single vaccine for Chikungunya, related viruses

Penn State hershey warns 2300 patients of infection risk . Penn State Milton Hershey Medical Center notified 2,300 patients who had open-heart surgery at the medical center between November 2011 – November 2015 that they may have been exposed to a rare bacteria after 3 patients at WellSpan York Hospital had infections linked to heart bypass machines with heater-cooler devices. The medical center stated that there have been no confirmed cases and replaced all of its heater-cooler devices

Chronic arsenic exposure can impair ability of muscle to heal after injury Chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to stem cell dysfunction that impairs muscle healing and regeneration. More than 140 million people worldwide and 4 million Americans chronically ingest arsenic in their drinking water. The 21st most abundant metal in Earth's crust, arsenic is naturally present in soil and bedrock-walled wells and has no odor, color or taste

Research points to development of single vaccine for Chikungunya, related viruses What if a single vaccine could protect people from infection by many different viruses? That concept is a step closer to reality. Researchers have identified 'broadly neutralizing' antibodies that protect against infection by multiple, distantly related alphaviruses -- including Chikungunya virus -- that cause fever and debilitating joint pain.

New SARS-like virus can jump directly from bats to humans, no treatment available

A new bat SARS-like virus has been discovered that can jump directly from its bat hosts to humans without mutation. However, researchers point out that if the SARS-like virus did jump, it is still unclear whether it could spread from human to human.

Chinese Bats Likely Source of SARS Virus

,Scientists say they've produced "the clearest evidence yet" the SARS virus originated in Chinese horseshoe bats and that direct bat-to-human transmission is "plausible." The 2002 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) pandemic was one of the most significant public health events in recent history and researchers have been studying the virus to better understand how it is transmitted to prepare for future outbreaks.

 

Photo by Dr. Libiao Zhang,

Researchers say the Chinese horseshoe bat is likely the source of the 2002 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) pandemic.

An international research team - with participants in China, Australia, Singapore and the U.S. - has published its results in the journal Nature. "Our discovery that bats carrying SARS-CoV may be able to directly infect humans has enormous implications for public health control measures," stated co-author Dr. Peter Daszak, president of the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance.

The results are based on genetic analysis of samples taken over the course of a year from members of a horseshoe bat colony in Kunming, China. At least seven different strains of SL-CoVs were found to be circulating within the single group of bats. The findings highlight the importance of research programs targeting high-risk wildlife groups in emerging disease hotspots to predict, prepare for and prevent pandemics, the researchers suggest.

"Our findings suggest that SARS-like coronaviruses are diverse and abundant in bats in Asia, and the potential for future spillover remains high," Daszak noted. "If we add this to the recent finding that Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) originates in Saudi Arabian bats, it's strong evidence that bat coronaviruses remain a substantial global threat to public health."

source: Fogarty International Center