A recent outbreak in Manila belies the fact that reported rates of leptospirosis in the Philippines had actually decreased in recent years. See graph:

The following additional background data are abstracted from GIDEON www.GideonOnline.com (primary references available on request):

Leptospirosis was first reported n the Philippines in 1932.
– 65 cases were documented in literature published during 1932 to 1970; 390 during 1971 to 1973; approxomately 840 during 1998 to 2001.
– Leptospirosis is common in flood-prone areas of urban setting such as Metro Manila.
– The average age of patients is 32 years, 87% of cases were males and 70% are outdoor workers.
– The case fatality rate is 12 to 14 percent.
– Rates in Cabatuan, Iloilo are estimated at 147 cases per 100,000 population (2007 publication).

Prevalence surveys:
5% of aseptic meningitis cases in Manila (1989 publication)

Seroprevalence surveys:
43.6% of rice farmers in Central Luzon (1988 publication)
0% of dogs (RMAT, 1970 to 1973)

The following serovars of Leptospira interrogans have been demonstrated among patients in the Manila area: poi, tarassovi, manilai, pyrogenes, australis, grippotyphosa, javanica and automnalis.

Notable outbreaks:
1976 to 1983 – An outbreak of leptospirosis was reported on a penal farm in Sablayan, Mindoro.
1999 – An outbreak (17 cases) of leptospirosis involved participants in an ‘iron-man contest’ – from Germany, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Update: Posted in ProMED

A recent outbreak in Vilnius reminds us that Lithuania had reported the highest rates of trichinellosis in the Baltic region until 1999. Since 2000, disease rates in the area have been similar.

(This chart was generated using a user-driven Gideon menu, which contains over 35,000
base graphs.)

A recent outbreak in Australia serves as a classic exercise in Epidemiology. Although Queensland and New South Wales account for most cases of Ross River disease, rates per 100,000 are consistently highest in Northern Territory.

Update: Referenced in ProMED

A recent outbreak in Guanajato reminds us that brucellosis remains a very common disease in Mexico. In fact, current rates are comparable to those of Greece, and similar to rates that existed in the United States during the 1930’s and 1940’s. See graph:

The following background data on brucellosis in Mexico are abstracted from Gideon

Time and Place:
- Highest rates are found in Queretaro, Coahuila, Guanajuanto, Nuevo Leon, Chicuahua, Jalisco, Tamaulipas and Michoacan.
- 163 fatal cases were reported during 1978 to 1982
- Mortality rates were 0.04 per 100,000 in 1992; 0.01 per 100,000 in 1996 .

Seroprevalence surveys:
3.42% nationwide, ranging from 0.24% in Morelos, to 13.5% in Mexico State (1992 publication)
0.71% of blood donors in northeastern Mexico (2009 publication)
0.238% of equines in Tamaulipas (Brucella abortus, 2006 publication)
9.8% of goats on farms (Brucella melitensis). (Michoacan, 2007 publication)

Infecting species:
- Brucella melitensis, B. abortus and B. canis are found in Mexico.
- The predominant species is Brucella melitensis. (1968 to 1991)

Reservoirs:
- The caprine seropositivity rate was 20.7% in 1947.
- Highest rates of caprine disease are reported in Coahuila, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Zacatecas.
- Highest rates of bovine disease are reported in Chihuahua, Hidalgo and Guanajuato.
- 11.8% of stray dogs in Mexico City are infected by Brucella canis.

Vehicles:
- Most infections are acquired from unpasteurized milk, fresh cheese and other dairy products – primarily from goats (There are over 9 million goats in Mexico).
- More than 35% of cow milk is consumed unpasteurized – more than 85% of goat milk.

Update: Posted in ProMed

Regarding reports of a fatal case in Minnesota, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) was the most common cause of arthropod-associated death in the United States for many years; but this “distinction” is now held by West Nile fever.

A recent outbreak in Dulovo belies the fact that measles rates in Bulgaria and surrounding countries have decreased considerably in recent decades. See graph:

We may assume that decreasing rates are the result of excellent vaccine coverage, which currently exceeds 90% for all countries in the region. See graph:
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The recent upsurge of measles in Burkina Faso cannot be explained in terms of vaccine policy alone. Disease rates in that country declined during the 1980’s and 1990’s, at a time that estimated vaccine coverage was only 40% to 70%; while the current outbreak began despite a coverage rate of 94%.

Just as the kangaroo is largely limited to Australia, a number of mosquito-borne viral infections are found almost exclusively in this country. In the following graph, I’ve contrasted reporting rates for six of these diseases. Sporadic infection by six additional viruses are also encountered in Australia: Sindbis, Stratford, Edge Hill, Gan Gan, Kokobara and Trubanaman.

Update: Reported in ProMED

A recent outbreak of mumps in Macedonia highlights the fact that this country has reported highest rates in this region for much of the past three decades. In the following graph I have included the United States for comparison.

Update: Picked up by ProMED

A recent outbreak in Western Visayas belies the fact that measles rates in the Philippines have declined dramatically since the 1990’s, in parallel with increased vaccination usage.

From 1983 to 1997, the Philippines had reported one of the highest measles rates in this region.

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