Australia : Two horses, dog in Queensland test positive to Hendra virus

Via The Australian :

" TWO horses and a dog have have tested positive to the Hendra virus on Queensland properties quarantined with the deadly disease.   

Authorities last week announced two horses had died of Hendra on properties near Rockhampton and at Ingham.

A dog on the Ingham property and two horses on the Rockhampton property tested positive in results returned on Monday night, Agriculture Minister John McVeigh says.

There has only been one other reported case of Hendra infecting a dog.

The dog had returned a weak positive test, Mr McVeigh said.

"Hendra officers have taken steps to isolate the animals and the properties will remain quarantined," he told parliament on Tuesday.

Chief veterinary officer Rick Symons will hold a media conference in Brisbane at 11am (AEST).

Since the start of 2011 there have been 13 Hendra outbreaks in Queensland, resulting in the deaths or euthanasia of 16 horses and one dog."

Australia : Warning as three die from soil disease

Via The Australian, excerpt :

" Health authorities in northern Australia have warned residents to take precautions against a killer soil-borne illness after revealing it has caused three deaths and a record number of infections.

The disease, melioidosis, is caused by bacteria that live in the soil, and is a seasonal hazard across the Top End, as well as parts of Southeast Asia.

The Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control yesterday warned people to take extra care as the disease had infected 54 people so far this wet season - a record at this stage of the year. Three of the patients had died, with the most recent death at the end of last month.

CDC director Vicki Krause said the melioidosis season did not end until the rains abated and the ground dried out, meaning people would remain at risk of infection "for several months yet".

The disease is caused by bacteria called burkholderia pseudomallei, which normally live deep in the soil but after heavy rains can be found on the surface, in muddy puddles and can even be airborne."

Australia : Bird flu forces duck cull in Victoria

Via The Australian :

" AT least 10,000 ducks will have to be destroyed to contain an outbreak of bird flu at two Victorian farms.

The virus found in birds on the two properties is a low pathogenic avian influenza and not the deadlier form of the virus that spread through Asia, threatening humans and leading to a mass cull of poultry.

Hugh Millar, the state's chief veterinary officer, said there was no risk to the community but authorities had to act quickly to quarantine the two properties north of Melbourne.

"This is all about making sure that the virus doesn't one day in the future evolve and mutate into a more serious form," he said.

The source of the latest outbreak has not been confirmed."

Australia : Superbug strain detected in Melbourne

Via The Australian :

" A new strain of the deadly superbug that has killed thousands of people in the northern hemisphere has mysteriously emerged in Australia.

It is understood that seven cases of a variant strain of the virulent and contagious bacteria Clostridium difficile 207 have been identified by an Australian laboratory in the past two years, including some recent cases, but public health authorities have not made this public.

The new strain in normally found in pigs, but humans can also contract the disease.

The puzzle, health experts say, is how it came to be here as Australian pigs are thought to be free of the bacteria.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital confirmed last night that a patient was admitted on October 17 and tested positive for the 078 strain of C. Diff."