FYI
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 Purina
Web SiteFrom John Zeloski, Purina Mills Marketing Manager I am pleased to announce that Purina Mills new goat website is active. To view, just click on the URL address below.
The influenza virus detected in Wisconsin and around the country this winter is substantially different from the strain that has circulated in recent years, and few people will be immune to it unless they get a flu shot, health officials warn. The flu season is just getting started here and nationwide, and most of the cases sub-typed so far are A-New Caledonia,which differs [substantially] from the A-Sydney strain that has dominated the last 3 influenza seasons. In Milwaukee, the City Health Department's Chief Virologist, Gerald Sedmak, has been testing blood samples for influenza virus antibodies and says the tests suggest that only 12% of people will have enough immunity from previous vaccines or influenza [infection] to protect them [against] A-New Caledonia. "Very few adults have any protective levels of antibodies, or antibodies at all, to this virus [subtype]," he said. "There is a large susceptible population." That means it's even more important for people to get flu shots this year. Pete Shult, Chief Virologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, said that the influenza virus that was circulating at the end of the last flu season, and was incorporated into this year's vaccine, "has changed enough that it is capable of infecting people" who already have had A-Sydney. "If you were vaccinated last year, you still have to get vaccinated this year," he said. In a typical influenza season, about 10% to 15% of adults become infected with the virus; 25% to 30% during a major year. [At least] 2 factors determine the severity of an influenza season: the virulence or infective potential of the virus itself; and how much of the population already has antibodies to it, a factor known as herd immunity. Such immunity can be acquired from a vaccine or naturally, from [a previous infection]. Sedmak has been doing herd immunity studies for many years. Tests on 175 blood samples in the past few months suggest that herd immunity is much lower for A-New Caledonia than other [influenza virus strains which have circulated] in the recent past. For example, 95% of the population has some antibodies to A-Sydney and 55% has levels considered to be protective, he said. Nationwide, influenza cases and deaths remain below annual epidemic threshold levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Activity in Wisconsin has been light, too, but the season typically peaks in January. In Milwaukee, 3 cases have been confirmed. It's important to be vaccinated soon, because it takes one to 2 weeks for sufficient antibodies to form after getting a flu shot. This year's influenza vaccine continues the B-Beijing strain used previously plus 2 new A strains: A-Moscow and A-New Caledonia. Influenza can occur even after vaccination, though it's usually far less severe than it would be without vaccination. The vaccine prevents illness in 70% to 90% of healthy people younger than 65, and it prevents hospitalization in 30% to 70% of older people, depending on their general health, according to the CDC. [Byline: Marilynn Marchione]
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From
United Goats
with Linda Campbell Some of you have been following the goat rabies vaccine efforts, and I thought you might be interested. Linda Wisconsin
Records First Human
Rabies Case in 41 Years FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MADISON: 28 Nov 2000 -- State health officials confirmed Wisconsin has recorded its first human rabies cases since 1959. A Sauk County resident who had been hospitalized at the Reedsburg Area Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital in Madison died on 1 Nov 2000. Test results performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta confirmed the patient was infected with the rabies virus, specifically with the silver-haired bat/Eastern Pipistrelle strain of rabies virus. Rabies is a viral disease producing a fatal inflammation of the brain, called an encephalitis. Nearly all cases of human rabies are acquired from the bite of a rabid animal. Signs and symptoms of rabies include headache, agitation, delirium, difficulty swallowing, hallucinations, seizures,paralysis, and coma. Virtually all patients die within a few weeks after the onset of illness. The disease is preventable if an exposed person is treated after a known exposure has occurred. "The public health response to this occurrence is now focused on determining whether any contacts of the patient sustained a potential exposure to rabies from the patient," said James Kazmierczak, an epidemiologist with the [Wisconsin] State Division of Public Health. "Although there has never been a confirmed instance of person-to-person transmission of rabies, such spread is theoretically possible." Acquaintances of the patient are being evaluated by the Sauk County Health Department, and health care workers who came into contact with the patient are being assessed by hospital staff. Health officials stress any risk of rabies incurred through contact with a rabid individual would be extremely low. This risk would only be of concern if infectious secretions from a patient (saliva and tears) came into contact with another person's mucous membranes such as those of the eyes, mouth, or nose, or into contact with an open wound. This is the fifth reported case of human rabies occurring in the USA during the year 2000. The 4 previous cases occurred in California, Georgia, New York, and Minnesota. The majority of human rabies cases acquired during the past several years in the United States have been associated with exposure to bats. Rabid bats have been documented in 49 of 50 states, Hawaii being the exception. While rabies occurring in bats is widespread, it is not a frequent occurrence. Since 1995 in Wisconsin, 32 (3 percent) of 1005 bats submitted to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene have tested positive for rabies. The 32 rabid bats were submitted from 23 Wisconsin counties. Recent data suggest transmission of rabies virus can occur from minor or unrecognized bites from bats. The limited injury inflicted by a bat bite and an often inaccurate recall of the exact exposure might limit the ability of health care providers to determine the risk of rabies resulting from an encounter with the bat. The preventive treatment for rabies consists of a one-time injection of a drug called human rabies immune globulin, which contains antibodies against the rabies virus. In addition, the patient receives a series of 5 doses of rabies vaccine, which are injected into the arm muscle over the course of 28 days. In Wisconsin, skunks and bats are the most likely animal species to carry the rabies virus, although dogs, cats, raccoons, foxes, and livestock have also been infected during the past several years. Public health officials suggest the following precautions to minimize the spread of rabies: Keep pet dogs, cats, and ferrets vaccinated against rabies; Avoid contact with all wild animals, especially those acting abnormally; Teach children a healthy respect for unfamiliar dogs, cats, and wild mammals; Do not keep exotic or wild animals as pets, regardless of how young or cute they are; Exclude bats from living quarters by keeping screens in good repair and by closing up any small openings that could allow them to enter; If an animal bite does occur, wash the wound immediately with plenty of soap and water and contact a health care provider and your local health department. [From the contributor: One note on a slight inaccuracy in the report. One rabid bat has been found in Hawaii; however, it was not indigenous. It was a big brown bat (_Eptesicus fuscus_) found in a container having been off-loaded from a ship in Honolulu in 1991. The incident is described in: Sasaki DM, Middleton CR, Sawa TR, Christensen CC, and Kobayashi GY, 1992, Rabid bat diagnosed in Hawaii. Hawaii Med. J 1992 Jul;51(7):181-5]
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