“It’s very hard to avoid. About 40 percent of people will get diarrhea when traveling in an undeveloped country, which covers most of the world,” says Dr. Stephen Berger, founder and medical advisor for GIDEON, an online infectious diseases database. Exposure to different strains of the E. coli bacteria, present in all of our bodies, says Berger, is what usually causes diarrhea in travelers, and it can happen in any country.

… referenced chikungunya:

“And with the chikungunya outbreak in Italy in 2007, that’s not tropical any more either,” says Dr. Berger, referring to another mosquito-borne illness that manifests with terrible joint pain, muscle pain, a fever, and often a rash. An outbreak in Ravenna, Italy, in 2007 showed the disease was spreading beyond the tropical realm. “The mosquitoes that cause these things turn out to be mosquitoes that also invade non-tropical areas,” says Berger, “Chikungunya is extremely common in the Indian Ocean region, and it’s becoming more and more common to see it in travelers in the U.S. and Europe, too.”

and more.

Read both the article and the slide show.

GIDEON reports that up until 2006, a total of 46 cases of human infection by swine influenza viruses had been reported, including: 31 in the United States; six in Czechoslovakia; four in Netherlands; three in Russia; one in Canada and one in Hong Kong. These figures include an outbreak with 12 cases/1 fatal at a military facility in New Jersey, United States in 1976.

Dr. Stephen Berger, MD, cofounder and Medical Advisor for GIDEON, is available for interviews. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on infectious diseases, and has published more than 180 articles and books, including Introduction to Infectious Diseases and The Healthy Tourist. Dr. Berger is currently affiliated with the Tel Aviv Medical Center as both Director of Geographic Medicine and of Clinical Microbiology.

GIDEON is a comprehensive, easy-to-use, interactive Web-based infectious disease knowledge management tool which helps medical personnel worldwide diagnose and treat infectious diseases. GIDEON is in use by hundreds of medical institutions, universities and public health departments worldwide including Children’s Hospital Oakland, World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Yale University, Hong Kong University and the Los Angeles County Health Department. For additional information on GIDEON Informatics, visit www.gideononline.com or call 888-664-3366.

For more media information on swine flu, or for interviews, please contact:

Lisa Hendrickson
516-643-1642
lisa (at) lchcommunications (dot) com

Today, in the Sacramento Bee, an article about tainted pistachios quoted GIDEON and added a graph:

Reported cases of salmonella in the United States rose in the late 1980s and early 1990s but have gone down since, according to Gideon Informatics Inc., a firm that tracks infectious disease trends. Lately salmonella cases have been holding steady at around 15 to 16 per 100,000 Americans annually, the company’s data shows.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases from nuts are rare. GIDEON, a database which follows the status of all infectious diseases in all countries, has recorded sixteen such episodes. GIDEON currently contains details concerning 777 outbreaks of salmonellosis – of which nuts were implicated in only 1.2%.

Food-related outbreaks associated with nuts, in chronological order:

• 1986 – An outbreak (9 cases, 2 fatal) of botulism in Taiwan was caused by contaminated commercially preserved peanuts.
• 1991 – An outbreak (4 cases) of cholera in Maryland was associated with commercial frozen fresh coconut milk imported from Thailand.
• 1992 – An outbreak of shigellosis in Thailand was associated with consumption of a coconut milk dessert.
• 1996 – An outbreak (44 suspect cases) of salmonellosis in Australia was caused by contaminated peanut butter.
• 1996 – An outbreak (167 cases) of salmonellosis in Singapore was ascribed to contaminated coconut shells.
• 1998 to 1999 – An outbreak (18 cases) of salmonellosis in England was caused by contaminated coconut products.
• 1999 – An outbreak (18 cases) of salmonellosis in Scotland was traced to desiccated coconut.
• 2000 to 2001 – An outbreak (157 cases in Canada, 11 in the United States) of salmonellosis was caused by contaminated raw almonds.
• 2001 – An outbreak (99 total cases) of salmonellosis in Australia and Canada was associated with contaminated peanuts imported from China.
• 2002 – An outbreak (20 cases) of salmonellosis in New Zealand was caused by contaminated Palusami (cakes of taro in coconut milk).
• 2003 to 2004 – An outbreak (29 cases) of salmonellosis in the United States and Canada was caused by contaminated raw almonds
• 2005 – An outbreak (22 cases) of salmonellosis at a restaurant in California was ascribed to contaminated raw almonds.
• 2005 to 2006 – 2005 to 2006 – An outbreak (15 cases) of salmonellosis in Sweden was ascribed to contaminated almonds.
• 2006 – An outbreak (20 cases or more) of salmonellosis in South Carolina was ascribed to contaminated boiled peanuts.
• 2006 – An outbreak (628 cases in 47 states, 0 fatal) of salmonellosis in the United States was associated with contaminated peanut butter.
• 2008 to 2009 – An outbreak (600 cases, 8 deaths ascribed to infection) of Salmonellosis involving 44 states was ascribed to contaminated peanut butter.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 25, 2009 — GIDEON (www.gideononline.com) today announced that it has added more than 20 global health organizations to its roster of clients in 2008, including the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Kuwait Medical Association, University of Malaysia Sarawak Medical Faculty, and Maine Medical Center. From public health organizations to hospitals to universities, GIDEON helps medical professionals worldwide improve the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease by providing comprehensive and accurate information.

GIDEON’s Web-based solution contains up-to-date information on 347 infectious diseases – complemented by 4,000 images, 347 maps, 8,500 outbreak descriptions, 18,000 country-specific epidemiology notes, 28,500 interactive graphs, 4,000 pictures and 52,500 linked references. All of the world’s infectious diseases, antimicrobial agents, vaccines and pathogens are followed in real time A decision support module allows health professionals to generate a ranked list of diseases based on signs, symptoms, laboratory tests and exposure history – for any infectious disease, in any country of the world.

Keeping up with new information on infectious diseases is a significant challenge for medical professionals. As of early 2009, there are 347 known generic infectious diseases worldwide, distributed across over 200 countries and regions. An average of three new diseases are described every two years, and a new infecting organism is reported every week.

“Our Web-based database provides medical professionals accurate and up to date information to better diagnose infectious diseases – and save lives,” said Dr. Stephen Berger, MD, Co-founder and Medical Advisor for GIDEON Informatics. “Medical professionals can save time and increase accuracy using GIDEON Online, a comprehensive resource grounded in Evidence Based Medicine.”

About GIDEON Informatics:
GIDEON Informatics develops and markets point-of-care medical-decision support applications that help reduce diagnostic errors. Founded in 1992 by Uri Blackman and Stephen Berger, MD, one of the foremost experts on Infectious Disease, GIDEON Informatics is managed by an expert executive team and medical advisory board. Its comprehensive, easy-to-use, interactive Web-based infectious disease knowledge management tool helps medical personnel worldwide diagnose and treat infectious diseases, and identify microorganisms, including bioterrorism agents. For additional information on GIDEON Informatics, visit www.gideononline.com or call 888-664-3366.

For more media information, contact:

Lisa Hendrickson/LCH Communications
516-767-8390

###

Also appeared in:

Yahoo News

Los Angeles, Calif (PRWEB) January 9, 2009 — Despite the recent fatal case of avian flu in Beijing, overall avian flu cases in humans worldwide have decreased 55%, from 88 to 40, from 2007 to 2008, according to GIDEON Online (www.gideononline.com), the largest online database of infectious disease information for medical professionals. Human deaths from avian flu worldwide declined from 59 to 30 (49%), from 2007 to 2008.

Over the last five years (2003-2008), human avian flu cases increased 900%, from 4 to 40; and deaths increased 650%, from four to 30. A total of 391 cases and 247 deaths from avian flu were reported in humans from Nov. 26, 2003 to December 15, 2008.

Most recently, a 19-year-old Beijing woman died of bird flu, the first human case of the virus in China since February last year. In 2008, cases of avian flu in humans were reported in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam. Egypt reported the most cases of avian flu in humans in 2008, 22 of which 18 were fatal. Outbreaks of infection by this virus among poultry and birds was reported in 24 countries in 2008.

“Avian flu continues to be a health hazard worldwide,” said Dr. Stephen Berger, cofounder of GIDEON Online, and Director of Geographic Medicine and Clinical Microbiology at the Tel Aviv Medical Center. “Sixty percent of patients have died on average of 10 days after the on set of symptoms. And, approximately 40% of patients with H5N1 infection have been under 40.”

He added, “With new outbreaks of infectious diseases every day throughout the world, our easy-to-use Web-based database provides doctors with accurate and current information to better diagnose infectious diseases – and save lives.”

About GIDEON Informatics:
GIDEON Informatics develops and markets point-of-care medical-decision support applications that help reduce diagnostic errors. Founded in 1992 by Uri Blackman and Stephen Berger, MD, one of the foremost experts on Infectious Disease, GIDEON Informatics is managed by an expert executive team and medical advisory board. Its comprehensive, easy-to-use, interactive Web-based infectious disease knowledge management tool helps medical personnel worldwide diagnose and treat infectious diseases, and identify microorganisms, including bioterrorism agents. GIDEON is in use by hundreds of medical institutions, universities and public health departments worldwide including Children’s Hospital Oakland, World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Yale University, Hong Kong University and the Los Angeles County Health Department. For additional information on GIDEON Informatics, visit www.gideononline.com or call 888-664-3366.

For more media information, contact:
Lisa Hendrickson/LCH Communications
516-767-8390
Lisa@lchcommunications.com

###

What is the main value proposition you offer?
Originally, we focused on compiling the entire world’s data for Infectious Diseases in one easy to use location combined with medical decision support. Now we have taken this to the next level by adding other medical domains on our platform. We help identify the diseases, their global footprints, and provide specific information on treatments. Medical professionals now have one clear source to get the most up to date information, which can change by the minute. This often makes them aware of things they never thought of and helps them make the best decision possible.

Specifically, foodborne salmonella resulted in 15,600 hospitalizations and 550 deaths, over the last year.

For more information on salmonella, Dr. Stephen Berger, MD, infectious disease expert, is available for interviews. Dr. Berger, cofounder and Medical Advisor for GIDEON, has published more than 180 articles and books, including “Introduction to Infectious Diseases” and “The Healthy Tourist.” He is currently affiliated with the Tel Aviv Medical Center as Director of both Geographic Medicine and of Clinical Microbiology.

For more media information, contact:
Lisa Hendrickson
LCH Communications
516-643-1642
lisa@lchcommunications.com

“The bottom line is it’s actually nothing to worry about,” says Steve Berger, director of microbiology and tropical medicine at the Tel Aviv Medical Center. “We’re living in a sea of bacteria. The germs that you’re dealing with are normal bacteria, and nobody’s going to catch anthrax or Ebola or anything from a keyboard.”

Dr Stephen Berger, Director of Geographic Medicine and of Clinical Microbiology at Tel Aviv Medical Center, said the current standard of care, oral ganciclovir is quite toxic, and has 41 toxicities and 14 drug to drug interactions. In addition to myelosuppression, other side-effects include hair-loss and anemia.