[+/-] Marburg, MRSA and West Nile. Oh my!

Three rather scary virus stories in the news this morning, and a bit of good news regarding AIDS. Marburg:

A further 14 people have died from the Marburg virus in Angola, taking the death toll to 173 in the world's worst outbreak of the Ebola-like virus....

A senior WHO official told the AFP news agency that the outbreak would still "get worse before it gets better"....

Early symptoms of Marburg are diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea and vomiting, which give way to bleeding....

Marburg, a severe form of haemorrhagic fever, has no known vaccine or medical treatment. Link

MSRA:

US doctors warn of small but alarming rates of a flesh-eating type of superbug....

The infections in the US community have typically manifested as skin infections, such as pimples and boils, in otherwise healthy people.

Although none of the 14 patients died, they had serious complications, including the need for reconstructive surgery and prolonged stay in the intensive care unit.

The disease is different to MRSA infections seen in the UK, which occur most frequently among people in hospitals who have weakened immune systems. Link

West Nile

For the first time in 2005, a bird found in San Mateo County [California] has tested positive for West Nile Virus, the San Mateo County Health Department reported today.

Though this is the first bird with the virus found in the county this year. Link

Finally, something to cheer you up:

Scientists from China and the United States said they have found a chemical that could stop AIDS virus from reproducing itself in the human body, raising hopes for a cure for AIDS. Link

UPDATE: The anti-vaccination crowd really pisses me off. If you are going to remain ignorant of scientific advances then you deserve to contract a virulent strain of flu. Even if you do get vaccinated, however, there is more you can do, of course, such as keeping your hands clean or adding certain herbal flu remedies to your diet.