7 September 2012

Army Public Health Weekly Update

The Army Public Health Update is a collection of articles taken verbatim

from public sources to offer awareness of current health issues and the

media coverage given to them. The articles do not necessarily represent

US Army Medical Department opinions, views, policy, or guidance, and

should not be construed or interpreted as being

endorsed by the US Army Medical Department.

U.S. Army Public Health Command

U.S. Military | Global | Influenza | Veterinary/Food Safety | Wellness | Contact Us

USAFRICOM | USCENTCOM | USEUCOM | USNORTHCOM | USPACOM | USSOUTHCOM

Subscription or 

Comments

If you wish to be added to 

the APH Weekly Update 

mailing list, removed from 

the mailing list, or if you 

have comments or 

questions about the 

update, please contact us. 

We welcome your 

comments. Please feel free 

to share this update with 

others who may be 

interested.

Follow us!

Facebook

Twitter

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited.

Contents

U.S. MILITARY

 Can nasal spray help prevent military suicides?

 Traumatic amputations among female Service members, active and reserve components, 2000-

2011

GLOBAL

 Extreme weather means extreme food prices worldwide, aid agency warns

 Guinea worm is poised to become the second human disease to be eradicated

 In amenable mortality—deaths avoidable through health care—progress in the US lags that of 

three European countries

 Men face higher death risk, but why?

 One last push needed to eliminate polio

 U.S. officials sound worldwide alert for Yosemite hantavirus risk

 Vaginal ring protects monkeys from HIV-like infection

 WHO takes aim at dengue in strategy document

INFLUENZA

 CDC: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report

 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

 Google.org: Flu Trends

 Naval Health Research Center: Febrile Respiratory Illness Surveillance Update

VETERINARY/FOOD SAFETY

 Shortage sparks egg hunt in Mexico

 U.S.: Farm use of antibiotics defies scrutiny

WELLNESS

 Common household chemical tied to heart disease risk
DoD Insect 

Repellent System 

Card

The DoD Insect repellent 

system card has been 

updated and is available in 

the Health Information 

Products eCatalog. The 

card has timely information 

on protection from vectorborne diseases.

 Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods, study finds

 People can be fat yet fit, research suggests

USAFRICOM

 Ebola outbreak ending in Uganda, continues to affect neighboring DR Congo

 Kenya: Floods displace thousands, destroy crops

 Nigeria: Polio on rise, insecurity to blame

 Sierra Leone and Guinea: Cholera following severe rainfall

 South Sudan: Officials warn spread of hepatitis B

USCENTCOM

 Egypt: Troubled waters - Monufiya's contaminated water and low supply

 Pakistan: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

 Syria: Exodus gains speed - Record 100,000 refugees flee civil war in August alone

USEUCOM

 England, Wales: Pertussis cases far exceed last year’s numbers

 Greece: Dengue, suspected

 United Kingdom: Beware of the cat - Britain's hidden toxoplasma problem

USNORTHCOM

 U.S.: In food insecurity, Arkansas at top, USDA reports

 U.S.: Millions of Americans have uncontrolled high blood pressure, CDC

 U.S.: National, state, and local Area vaccination coverage among children aged 19–35 months, 

2011

 U.S., Yosemite National Park: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

USPACOM

 Asia: Women largely ignorant, fatalistic, about fertility

 Bangladesh: Farmers not heeding pesticide warnings

 India steps up TB fight as fears of drug-resistant strains mount

 Philippines: Leptospirosis

USSOUTHCOM

 Costa Rica: 7.6-magnitude quake hits coast
Brand New Energy -

Voluntary Recall of 

Dietary Supplement 

EphBurn 25

Brand New Energy ("BNE"), 

dietary supplement re-sale 

distributor, is recalling all 

lot codes of EphBurn 25. 

The recall was initiated on 

August 28, 2012, after 

notification by the Food 

and Drug Administration 

(FDA) to a third-party 

retailer which purchased 

EphBurn 25 that one lot of 

EphBurn 25 was sampled 

by the FDA and found to 

contain ephedrine 

alkaloids, making it an 

unapproved drug.

Classified Version of 

the Weekly Update

An Army Public Health

Weekly Update is available 

with articles classified up to 

the SECRET level from the 

USAPHC SIPRNet site: 

http://phc.army.smil.mil

Look under Hot Topics & 

Current Issues.

To access this version, you 

will need a SECRET

clearance and a SIPRNet 

account.

U.S. MILITARY

Can nasal spray help prevent military suicides?

20 August - Could the solution to increasing suicide and depression rates among members 

of the U.S. military lie in a nasal spray? The Army hopes so. In the midst of a crisis that saw 

its highest rate of suicide in July, the Army has greenlighted a grant for Dr. Michael Kubek, 

an Indiana University of Medicine professor, to dig deeper into whether a nasal spray could 

be a safe and effective way to administer a specific antidepressive neurochemical to the 

brain and help calm suicidal thoughts... Kubek helped discover thyrotropin-releasing 

hormone, or TRH, which is known to have antisuicidal and antidepression effects. The 

problem is that the naturally occurring chemical cannot easily cross the “blood-brain 

barrier”... The military is hoping Kubek, an associate professor of anatomy and cell biology 

and of neurobiology, can use a three-year grant to work with other researchers to use a 

nasal spray to get TRH safely into the brain and calm soldiers' thoughts. CNN

Traumatic amputations among female Service members, 

active and reserve components, 2000-2011

July 2012 - Service members are at risk for traumatic amputations during combat 

deployments and in many other settings (e.g., motor vehicle accidents). Due to the 

expanding role of women in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increasing 

number of servicewomen have been exposed to severe injury risk during deployment. A 

previous MSMR report described traumatic amputations of the extremities among all service 

members; this snapshot uses the same methodology but is restricted to servicewomen 

alone.1 During the 12-year surveillance period there were 262 amputations among 260 

servicewomen. A majority of the amputations (76%; n=200) were considered minor 

amputations. Of the 62 major amputations affecting 60 women, 52 were lower extremity 

amputations and 10 were upper extremity amputations (data not shown). During the

surveillance period the number of major amputations increased from 2003 to 2007, 

decreased in 2008 then slightly increased again in 2009 and 2010 (Figure). During the period 

the records of 24 women indicated that they had a “deployment-related” major amputation.

A majority of the deployment-related major amputations occurred in servicewomen who 

were in the active component (79.2%; n=19), in the Army (91.7%, n=22), aged 20-29 (75.0%, 

n=18), and enlisted (79.2%, n=19). Eight (33.3%) of the servicewomen with a deploymentrelated major amputation were involved in law enforcement occupations. The remaining 16 

were distributed across eight different occupational groups (data not shown). Medical 

Surveillance Monthly Report

top of page...
Links

A-Z Index 

About USAPHC

Army Public Health and 

Health Information 

Weekly Update Archives

Medical Surveillance 

Monthly Report 

Medical Threat Briefings

(AKO)

Request USAPHC Services 

USAPHC Library

USAPHC Homepage 

USAPHC Training 

Contact USAPHC

GLOBAL

Extreme weather means extreme food prices worldwide, 

aid agency warns

6 September - Reducing greenhouse gases and saving the 

polar bears tend to dominate discussions on climate 

change. But to the booming world population, one climate 

change issue may be even more pressing – hunger. A new 

report by a leading international relief agency warns that 

climate change will increase the risk of large spikes in global food prices in the future, and 

lead to more hungry people in the world. That's because extreme weather like droughts, 

floods and heat waves are predicted to become much more frequent as the planet heats up.

"Our planet is boiling and if we don't act now, hunger will increase for millions of people on 

our planet," says Heather Coleman, climate change policy adviser for Oxfam America, which 

released the report today. NPR

Guinea worm is poised to become the second human 

disease to be eradicated

27 August - Guinea worm disease is reaching the end of its days. The 

parasitic infection, which has sickened millions, mostly in Asia and 

Africa, is on the verge of being done in not by sophisticated medicine 

but by aggressive public health efforts in some of the poorest and most 

remote parts of the world. To eliminate the parasite, which is found in 

drinking water, hundreds of thousands of volunteers have handed out 

straws with cloth filters, treating water sources with larvicide, teaching 

villagers how to avoid infection and scouring the countryside for new 

cases. As a result, the ailment, also known as dracunculiasis, is poised to become the second 

human disease (the first was smallpox) to be eradicated — and the first to be eliminated 

without the aid of a vaccine... So far this year there have been 391 new cases worldwide —

down from 807 this time in 2011, according to the CDC. All but four of these cases were 

found in South Sudan. Washington Post

In amenable mortality—deaths avoidable through health 

care—progress in the US lags that of three European 

countries

August - We examined trends and patterns of amenable mortality—deaths that should not 

occur in the presence of timely and effective health care—in the United States compared to 

those in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2007. Americans 

under age sixty-five during this period had elevated rates of amenable mortality compared 

to their peers in Europe. For Americans over age sixty-five, declines in amenable mortality 
slowed relative to their peers in Europe. Overall, amenable mortality rates among men from 

1999 to 2007 fell by only 18.5 percent in the United States compared to 36.9 percent in the 

United Kingdom. Among women, the rates fell by 17.5 percent and 31.9 percent, 

respectively. Although US men and women had the lowest mortality from treatable cancers 

among the four countries, deaths from circulatory conditions—chiefly cerebrovascular 

disease and hypertension—were the main reason amenable death rates remained relatively 

high in the United States. These findings strengthen the case for reforms that will enable all 

Americans to receive timely and effective health care. Health Affairs

Men face higher death risk, but why? 

5 September - HIV-infected men in South Africa are nearly one-third more like to die than 

women, even though both receive similar treatment. But researchers say they don’t know 

why. University of Cape Town’s Morna Cornell led a team of researchers who looked at 

more than 46,000 adults taking antiretrovirals drugs between 2002 and 2009. “Why we 

started looking at this was because increasing numbers of studies are coming out, which are 

reporting that men have a higher risk of death on antiretrovirals than women. And 

obviously this is an issue of great concern and something we wanted to understand a bit 

more,” she said. Studies show that, in fact, men are one-third more likely to die than women 

during treatment. But Cornell said too often researchers may simply assume they know why, 

when in fact they do not. VOA

One last push needed to eliminate polio

3 September - The three countries where polio is still endemic - Nigeria, Pakistan, and 

Afghanistan - are conducting aggressive immunization campaigns to vaccinate more 

children against the disease. Experts say with India now polio-free and the total number of 

cases at the lowest level ever, this is an opportunity to change history and eradicate the 

disease entirely. To reinforce that commitment, many world leaders will be meeting in New 

York this month. The oral polio vaccine has cut the number of polio cases worldwide by 99 

percent since 1988. For the past 10 years, though, eliminating that last percent has 

remained a challenge. VOA

U.S. officials sound worldwide alert for Yosemite 

hantavirus risk

4 September - U.S. health officials have sent warnings to 39 other countries that their 

citizens who stayed in Yosemite National Park tent cabins this summer may have been 

exposed to a deadly mouse-borne hantavirus, a park service epidemiologist said on 

Tuesday. Of the 10,000 people thought to be at risk of contracting hantavirus 

pulmonary syndrome from their stays in Yosemite between June and August, some 

2,500 live outside the United States, Dr. David Wong told Reuters in an interview. Wong 

said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials notified 39 countries over 

the weekend, most of them in the European Union, that their residents may have been 

exposed to the deadly virus. Reuters
Vaginal ring protects monkeys from HIV-like infection

5 September - When it comes to contraception, women have 

many options. There are pills, patches, diaphragms and even a 

vaginal ring that slowly releases birth control hormones. For 

preventing HIV, however, the options are limited. Woman can 

wear a female condom, or for partial protection, they can take a 

daily pill that was just approved by the FDA. Now an animal study just published in Science 

Translational Medicine suggests that the vaginal ring holds promise as a new way for 

women to protect themselves against HIV. NPR

WHO takes aim at dengue in strategy document

Saying dengue virus infections and deaths have mushroomed in recent years, the World 

Health Organization (WHO) recently released a strategy report that sets a goal of cutting 

deaths in half and reducing cases by 25% over the next 8 years. The report, titled Global 

Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control, also sets a goal of estimating the true burden of 

dengue disease by 2015—signaling how little is known about the global impact of the 

mosquito-borne illness. CIDRAP

top of page...

INFLUENZA

CDC: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report

During week 34 (week ending 25 August), 5.6% of all deaths reported through the 122-

Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to P&I. This percentage was below the epidemic 

threshold of 6.5% for week 34. FluView

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:

Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

During weeks 33-34 (13-26 August), all reporting countries experienced low-intensity 

influenza activity. Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

Google.org: Flu Trends

7 September – Estimates of flu activity based on flu-related Internet search queries indicate 

that the level of flu activity in the U.S. ranges from minimal to low. Google.org Flu Trends
Naval Health Research Center: Febrile Respiratory 

Illness Surveillance Update 

For the week ending 1 September:

Adenovirus 

 Vaccination against types 4 and 7 adenovirus was instituted at all basic training centers 

by mid-November 2011 (week 45). 

 FRI rates and the proportion of FRI cases positive for adenovirus have decreased 

markedly since vaccine was reintroduced. 

 Type 14 adenovirus is present at MCRD Parris Island.

FRI surveillance at all eight U.S. military basic training centers indicated FRI rates were at or 

below expected values. NHRC Febrile Respiratory Illness Surveillance Update 

top of page...

VETERINARY/FOOD SAFETY

Shortage sparks egg hunt in Mexico

5 September - A drastic shortage has sparked a desperate egg hunt in Mexico, after a bird 

flu outbreak forced farmers to cull some 11 million hens, a disaster in the world's leading 

per capita egg consumer. Mexico City residents are waiting in long lines to buy subsidized 

eggs, while in the north some are crossing the border to get cheaper cartons in US 

supermarkets. As part of emergency measures, the government has lifted egg tariffs, 

importing 906 tons from the United States since the crisis erupted last month. More may 

come from Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile... Eggs are a cheap source of protein in Mexico, 

where almost half of the population of 112 million lives under the poverty line. AFP

U.S.: Farm use of antibiotics defies scrutiny

3 September - The numbers released quietly by the federal government this year were 

alarming. A ferocious germ resistant to many types of antibiotics had increased tenfold on 

chicken breasts, the most commonly eaten meat on the nation’s dinner tables. But instead 

of learning from a broad national inquiry into a troubling trend, scientists said they were 

stymied by a lack of the most basic element of research: solid data. Eighty percent of the 

antibiotics sold in the United States goes to chicken, pigs, cows and other animals that 

people eat, yet producers of meat and poultry are not required to report how they use the 

drugs — which ones, on what types of animal, and in what quantities. This dearth of 

information makes it difficult to document the precise relationship between routine 

antibiotic use in animals and antibiotic-resistant infections in people, scientists say. New 

York Times

top of page...
WELLNESS

Common household chemical tied to heart disease risk

4 September - People who had higher levels of a common synthetic chemical in their blood 

were more likely to have heart disease or have had a stroke, in a new U.S. study. The 

chemical, known as perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, is found in everything from food 

containers to ski jackets to carpets. But the lead researcher emphasized that the new 

findings don't prove PFOA itself is dangerous or should be avoided. "I don't think these 

results should be taken as alarming. These are preliminary at this stage," said Dr. Anoop

Shankar, from the West Virginia University School of Public Health in Morgantown. That's 

because it's not clear what came first for people in the study - the higher chemical levels or 

the heart disease. And research suggests almost all Americans have some level of PFOA in 

their blood, Shankar added. Medline Plus

Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods, 

study finds

3 September - ..."There isn't much difference between organic and conventional foods, if 

you're an adult and making a decision based solely on your health," said Dena Bravata, MD, 

MS, the senior author of a paper comparing the nutrition of organic and non-organic foods, 

published in the Sept. 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Science Daily

People can be fat yet fit, research suggests

4 September - People can be obese yet physically healthy 

and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer 

than normal weight people, say researchers. The key is 

being "metabolically fit", meaning no high blood pressure, 

cholesterol or raised blood sugar, and exercising, according 

to experts. Looking at data from over 43,000 US people they found that being overweight 

per se did not pose a big health risk. The results are published in the European Heart 

Journal. BBC News

top of page...

USAFRICOM

Ebola outbreak ending in Uganda, continues to affect 

neighboring DR Congo

4 September - "While Ebola continues to kill in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an 

outbreak of the virus in neighboring Uganda appears to be coming to an end, the World 

Health Organization said Monday, reporting that no new cases of the deadly virus had been 
confirmed in Uganda for a month," the Los Angeles Times' "World Now" blog reports. "The 

Ugandan outbreak was first declared by its health ministry in late July, spurring health 

officials and the president to warn Ugandans against handling dead animals and burying 

those who might have died from the virus," the blog writes, noting, "Since the Ugandan 

outbreak began, 24 people are believed to have suffered from the virus, including 17 who 

died, the United Nations agency said." However, "neighboring Congo is still grappling with 

a separate outbreak of the virus," the blog adds, writing, "As of late August, the Congo 

outbreak had sickened 24 people and killed 11 more in the northeastern region of Province 

Orientale." U.S. Global Health Policy

Kenya: Floods displace thousands, destroy crops

5 September - Thousands of people have been displaced in parts of Kenya’s Rift Valley 

Province as floodwaters continue to submerge houses and schools and destroy crops. They 

are among more than 240,000 people throughout eastern Africa are estimated to be 

affected by seasonal flooding. An estimated 642 households have been affected by flooding 

in the Kenyan districts of Baringo and Marigat, with at least five schools being submerged, 

according to data from the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The floods have caused latrines 

to overflow, contaminating water sources. “I have no better water to drink. I have to use 

what is readily available, even if I am aware of the risk of contracting diseases,” Lydiah 

Kuyale, a resident of Loropil Village in Marigat, told IRIN as she fetched flood water for 

domestic use. IRIN

Nigeria: Polio on rise, insecurity to blame

5 September - While most of the world sees polio as a thing of the past, the disease 

appears to be on the rise in Nigeria. The Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S.-based think 

tank, says the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s north is part of the problem and securing 

the area has to be part of the solution. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative says Nigeria 

has 77 new cases of polio this year so far - a near 25 percent increase compared to all of 

last year. And that's more than any other single country. VOA

Sierra Leone and Guinea: Cholera following severe 

rainfall

5 September - Heavy rainfall is accelerating the spread of 

cholera in Sierra Leone and Guinea. Existing health risks such as 

poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources and improper 

waste management are believed to have triggered outbreaks of 

the disease, which has killed 327 people and infected more than 

17,400 in both countries since February. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of 

Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Sierra Leone was facing its worst cholera outbreak in 15 

years. Ten of the country's 13 districts have been affected, and the government has declared 

the outbreak a national emergency. Cholera has also broken out in nine of Guinea's 33 

districts, OCHA said. Conakry, the capital, has been the hardest hit area, with 3,247 cases so 

far. Guardian / Sierra Leone's cholera outbreak – in pictures
South Sudan: Officials warn spread of hepatitis B

5 September - Health officials in Aweil’s civil hospital in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state say 

they are treating a growing number of patients with Hepatitis B. They say if residents are 

not careful, the disease could rapidly spread throughout the region. Aweil Civil Hospital’s 

Acting Director, Dr. Wol Wol Aken said they have been diagnosing 5 to 10 patients each 

month with Hepatitis B. He worries that residents are for the most part uneducated about 

the virus and could spread it unknowingly... Since Hepatitis B is highly contagious, Dr. Aken 

fears the hospital will not be able to contain the spread of the virus, since it is desperately 

short on supplies. Journal of Turkish Weekly

top of page...

USCENTCOM

Egypt: Troubled waters - Monufiya's contaminated water 

and low supply

30 August - Residents of Sansaft, a village in Monufiya Governorate, are suffering from an 

epidemic of severely contaminated local water supplies. Reports of the outbreak began to 

surface on Tuesday, just after Eid al-Fitr, as residents began rushing to local hospitals after 

falling ill. The Health Ministry says dozens checked into public hospitals, with symptoms of 

severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. But residents claim the poisoned water has 

afflicted thousands to differing degrees. One 70-year-old Sansaft resident, Om Abdel Naby 

Ghoneim, died a few days ago. Locals blame her death on the contaminated water, but the 

Health Ministry says it was “age-related.” Quick analyses of the village’s water station were 

done at a local hospital, confirming that it was polluted, though detailed studies have not 

yet taken place. Egypt Independent

Pakistan: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

3 September - A confirmed patient with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) expired 

here at the Holy Family Hospital [HFH] in August 2012. He was confirmed positive for this 

infection by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad in the afternoon of Thu 30 Aug 

2012. The 65-year old male patient was brought to the HFH from a village in the area of 

Choa Sayden Shah, District Chakwal on 27 Aug 2012 with signs and symptoms of CCHF, 

while his history of animal handling was positive. "After suspecting the patient as a case of 

CCHF, the HFH kept him in isolation while informing the District Health Officer Chakwal Dr. 

Nasir of his status for surveillance purposes," said the Chairman of the Infection Control 

Committee at HFH, Dr. Javed Hayat, while talking to The News on Saturday [1 Sep 2012]. He 

added that the patient's sample was sent to the NIH for confirmation, but he died of the 

deadly infection on Wednesday [29 Aug 2012]. In answer to a query, Dr. Javed said that the 

doctors and staff who received and provided initial treatment to the patient, and who may 

have been exposed to the virus, have been under observation. He added that none of the 

exposed staff members have developed signs and symptoms of the infection as of yet. 

ProMED-mail
Syria: Exodus gains speed - Record 100,000 refugees flee 

civil war in August alone

4 September - More than 100,000 Syrians sought refugee 

status during August in what the United Nations describes 

as an eye-popping escalation in the pace of departures 

since the hostilities began. The August total accounts for 

more than 40 percent of the 234,368 Syrian refugees who, 

as of the last count on September 2, had fled for surrounding countries since the uprising 

began 17 months ago, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday... But even August's figure, 

which is the highest monthly total so far, only counts refugees who are registered and those 

awaiting registration. Officials acknowledge the real number of Syrian refugees is likely way 

above 200,000 since tens of thousands are believed to have not yet registered with 

authorities. CBS News

top of page...

USEUCOM

England, Wales: Pertussis cases far exceed last year’s 

numbers

4 September - Pertussis cases in England and Wales are running far ahead of last year's 

pace, with 1,047 reported in July alone, compared with 1,118 for all of 2011, the UK Health 

Protection Agency (HPA) announced on Aug 31. The total pertussis case count for this year 

is 3,523, the HPA said. The outbreak is mainly affecting teenagers and young adults, but 235 

infants under 3 months old have had the disease this year, and 6 have died, compared with 

5 deaths in that age-group in 2008. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, MD, an immunization expert 

at the HPA, said parents should ensure that their children are vaccinated on time so that 

they are protected as early as possible and be alert to pertussis signs and symptoms. The 

Department of Health's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is reviewing a 

number of options for responding to the epidemic, including introducing a booster 

vaccination in teenagers and protecting newborn babies by vaccinating them and their 

families, as well as women during pregnancy, the HPA said. CIDRAP News Scan

Greece: Dengue, suspected

5 September - An elderly man has died in Greece in what officials believe to be the 

country's 1st case of dengue fever since the 1920s. The man, in his 80s, died in hospital on 

30 Aug [2012] after contracting fever [virus] in the western village of Agrinio. Blood tests are 

being carried out to check whether villagers or members of his family also have the viral 

disease. ProMED-mail
United Kingdom: Beware of the cat - Britain's hidden 

toxoplasma problem 

4 September - A parasite spread by cats is infecting 1,000 new 

people every day in Britain – about 350,000 a year – according to 

an official assessment of the risks posed by toxoplasma, which can 

cause serious illness and has been tentatively linked with 

schizophrenia and other psychotic disturbances... This week the 

Food Standards Agency (FSA) will publish a "risk profile" of toxoplasma in the food chain, 

The Independent has learnt. The group of experts commissioned to write the report 

estimates that 350,000 new toxoplasma infections occur each year in the UK, most of them 

probably from eating contaminated food. Experts contacted by The Independent have 

urged the FSA to review its advice to pregnant women and immune-compromised patients 

and have strongly advised it to change its policy stating that it is safe for people to eat rare 

lamb. Independent

top of page...

USNORTHCOM

U.S.: In food insecurity, Arkansas at top, USDA reports

5 September - Arkansas ranked among the top in states with the highest levels of “food 

insecurity” last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday. About 50.12 

million Americans, or 16.4 percent of the civilian population, were “food insecure” at some

point last year, meaning that their access to adequate food was limited by a lack of money 

and other resources, the USDA said in its annual report. That represented a 2.6 percent 

increase from 2010, the figure was second only to the record 50.162 million in 2009, the 

USDA report said. The agency added 2011 increase in overall food insecurity was not 

considered statistically significant. However, those with food insecurity in the severe range, 

described by the USDA as having “very low food security,” increased during the period, to 

5.7 percent of households from 5.4 percent in 2010, returning to 2008 and 2009 levels, the 

report said. In Arkansas, 19.2 percent of households reported food insecurity, meaning low 

or very low food security, and 7.6 percent reported very low food security, according to the 

report. Arkansas Online

U.S.: Millions of Americans have uncontrolled high blood 

pressure, CDC

4 September - One-third of Americans have high blood pressure and only half of them have 

it under control, dramatically increasing their risk for possibly fatal heart attacks and strokes, 

a new government report shows. That translates into 67 million Americans with high blood 

pressure and only 36 million people keeping it at healthy levels through medication or other 
means, the new data suggests. "[About half] of Americans with high blood pressure don't 

have it under control and because of that, it's public enemy number two," Dr. Thomas 

Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a 

Tuesday news conference. Public health enemy number one is tobacco, he added. Medline 

Plus

U.S.: National, state, and local Area vaccination coverage 

among children aged 19–35 months, 2011

7 September - High vaccination coverage in children by age 2 years has resulted in 

historically low levels of most vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States (1), but 

coverage must be maintained to reduce the burden of disease further and prevent a 

resurgence of these diseases, particularly in populations with lower vaccination coverage. 

This report describes national, state, and selected local area vaccination coverage by age 

19–35 months for children born during January 2008–May 2010, based on 2011 National 

Immunization Survey (NIS) results. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

U.S., Yosemite National Park: Hantavirus pulmonary 

syndrome

4 September - As of 31 August 2012, the National Park Service Office of Public Health (NPS) 

has reported six cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) among visitors to Yosemite 

National Park in California, United States of America. Two of the six cases died. 

Investigations carried out by the NPS revealed that the six cases contracted the disease in 

June and July of this year. Five of these six cases stayed in the same “Signature Tent Cabins” 

in the Curry Village area of the park. NPS is working with the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health to detect additional 

cases and to heighten public health awareness of Hantavirus and HPS, in order to rapidly 

identify potential new cases and provide treatment early. WHO

top of page...

USPACOM

Asia: Women largely ignorant, fatalistic, about fertility

5 September - Women in Asia are largely ignorant about fertility problems and tend to 

blame their failure to conceive on "God's will" and bad luck, a survey has found. The survey, 

which covered 1,000 women in 10 countries who had been trying to conceive for at least six 

months, found that 62 percent of them did not suspect they may have a fertility problem.

They were even less likely to point the finger at their husbands, with 80 percent of them not 

suspecting that their partners may have a problem with fertility. Reuters
Bangladesh: Farmers not heeding pesticide warnings

3 September - Despite government efforts to control pesticide misuse, farmers in 

Bangladesh continue to expose themselves and their communities to high health risks, 

experts say. “Both farmers and the communities are at high risk of some serious health 

problems due to excessive and indiscriminate use of pesticides,” Shah Monir Hossain, a 

senior food safety adviser at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 

Bangladesh, told IRIN. IRIN

India steps up TB fight as fears of drug-resistant strains 

mount

5 September - The discovery of an almost untreatable form of 

tuberculosis in India has set off alarm bells around the world 

and helped spur a dramatic expansion of government efforts to 

battle the killer lung disease. For the past decade, a nationwide 

tuberculosis program involving millions of health workers and 

volunteers has made slow but significant progress in battling the disease in India and has 

been hailed as a public-health success story. But any sense of complacency was dispelled in 

December when a doctor in Mumbai, Zarir Udwadia, discovered a strain of the disease that 

did not respond to any of the 12 frontline drugs. He declared a handful of patients at his 

chest clinic in Mumbai to be suffering from “totally drug-resistant TB”... The government, 

however, recently announced a fourfold increase in the budget to fight tuberculosis in its 

next five-year plan, the expansion of a nationwide network of costly labs capable of 

detecting drug-resistant strains of the disease, and the first concerted effort to bring on 

board India’s poorly regulated private health-care sector. Washington Post

Philippines: Leptospirosis

5 September - Dr Leonard Carbonell, [Dagupan City, Pangasinan province, Philippines] city 

health officer, said 24 leptospirosis cases were recorded at the peak of the disease in the 3rd 

week of August [2012]. 7 of them have died. The number of leptospirosis deaths here in a 

month may be unusually high, but a health official sees no need to declare an outbreak. 

According to the World Health Organization, an outbreak is the occurrence of cases of 

disease in excess of what is normally expected in a defined community, geographical area, 

or season. Carbonell said he expected a high number of leptospirosis cases in this coastal 

city due to prolonged flooding in several villages early this month because of monsoon 

rains. ProMED-mail

top of page...
USSOUTHCOM

Costa Rica: 7.6-magnitude quake hits coast

5 September - An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck the northwest coast of Costa 

Rica Wednesday, resulting in some damage, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake 

struck Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula, on the Pacific coast about 87 miles west of the capital, 

San Jose. It was centered more than 28 miles deep. The Geological Survey originally 

measured the quake at magnitude 7.9, but revised it downward. The earthquake did not 

generate any aftershocks, said Julie Dutton of the USGS. She said the agency has received 

reports of some damage... Authorities issued tsunami warnings for much of the Pacific 

coastlines of Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning 

Center. The warning was canceled for other locations. CNN

top of page...

U.S. Military | Global | Influenza | Veterinary/Food Safety | Wellness | Contact Us

USAFRICOM | USCENTCOM | USEUCOM | USNORTHCOM | USPACOM | USSOUTHCOM

The Army Public Health Weekly Update does not analyze the information as to its strategic or tactical impact on the US Army and is not a medical 

intelligence product. Medical intelligence is available from the National Center for Medical Intelligence.

External Links: The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army of this Web site or the information, products, 

or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and MWR sites, the U.S. Army does not exercise any 

editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this product.

Although Health Information Operations avoids links to sites that may be blocked, all sites may not be accessible from all locations. While we verify the 

links at the time of publication, we cannot guarantee that they will be active in the future.

Articles appearing in the Update do not necessarily represent US Army Medical Department opinions/views, policy, or guidance, and should not be 

construed or interpreted as being endorsed by the US Army Medical Department.

The Army Public Health Weekly Update is published by the Health Information Operations Program, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communication, United 

States Army Public Health Command.