Where's the petri dish thread?

[Shirley]

Another, and new reason why, I don't eat raw meat:

Sooner or later if you eschew raw meat, you're going to get some static for it. If not from your friends/eating companions, then, for example, your waiter/waitress, as they smile smugly and condescendingly when you ask them to point out for you which of their sushi rolls are cooked.

First Reported Case of Shewanella haliotis in the Region of the Americas — New York, December 2018

This organism, previously primarily in Asia, was isolated in 2018 from a New York patient who had ingested raw fish.

Shewanella haliotis is a gram-negative rod that grows in small yellow-brown mucoid colonies and was first identified from abalone gut flora in 2007 and has been isolated in China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. In December 2018, an 87-year-old man was evaluated at a Flushing, New York, hospital for lower-right abdominal pain. Computed tomography showed appendiceal abscesses, and percutaneous drainage of the abscesses revealed a cloudy jelly-like substance. An organism was isolated and identified by 16S ribosomal sequencing as Shewanella haliotis...

This patient's only probable exposure was ingestion of raw salmon 10 days before illness onset, an incubation period consistent with previous reports (3–49 days). The authors note that risk factors for infection have been identified in only about half of cases, usually in marine environments and involving contamination of cultivated shellfish.

COMMENT

Although this is the first report of infection with Shewanella haliotis in the U.S., the widespread ingestion of raw fish and shellfish (some of which is imported from Asia) in this country would predict the much more common emergence of this organism in the future.

I found this interesting:

Sushi - Health Risks

Some of the ingredients in sushi can present health risks. Large marine apex predators such as tuna (especially bluefin) can harbor high levels of methylmercury, which can lead to mercury poisoning when consumed in large quantity[70] or when consumed by certain higher-risk groups, including women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children.[71]

According to recent studies, there have been about 18 million infections worldwide from eating raw fish.[72] This serves as a great risk to expecting mothers due to the health risks that medical interventions or treatment measures may pose on the developing fetus.[72] Parasitic infections can have a wide range of health impacts, including bowel obstruction, anemia, liver disease, and more.[72] The impact of these illnesses alone can pose some health concerns on the expecting mother and baby, but the curative measures that may need to take place to recover, are also a concern as well.[72]

Sashimi or other types of sushi containing raw fish present a risk of infection by three main types of parasites:

Clonorchis sinensis, a fluke which can cause clonorchiasis[73]
Anisakis, a roundworm which can cause anisakiasis[74]
Diphyllobothrium, a tapeworm which can cause diphyllobothriasis[75]

For the above reasons, EU regulations forbid the use of fresh raw fish. It must be frozen at temperatures below −20 °C (−4 °F) in all parts of the product for no less than 24 hours.[76] As such, a number of fishing boats, suppliers and end users "super-freeze" fish for sushi to temperatures as low as −60 °C.[77] As well as parasite destruction, super-freezing also prevents oxidation of the blood in tuna flesh, thus preventing the discoloration that happens at temperatures above −20 °C.[78]

Some forms of sushi, notably those containing pufferfish fugu and some kinds of shellfish, can cause severe poisoning if not prepared properly. Particularly, fugu consumption can be fatal. Fugu fish has a lethal dose of tetrodotoxin in its internal organs and, by law in many countries, must be prepared by a licensed fugu chef who has passed the prefectural examination in Japan.[79] The licensing examination process consists of a written test, a fish-identification test, and a practical test that involves preparing the fugu and separating out the poisonous organs. Only about 35 percent of the applicants pass.[80]

[...]

[Deleted User 89]

what in the ever-loving fuck...

whomever at the state dept. that made that decision should be forced to hang out with those infected

[ousdahl]

Re: that fugu fish test, whoa!

Considering, for instance, the bar exam passage rate is in the 70-something percent range nationally, how difficult must it be to know that fish?

[Shirley]

Coronavirus cases spike in Italy, China says most new infections limited to Hubei, South Korea declares ‘red alert’

(With much thanks to the Washington Post.)

Feb. 23, 2020 at 2:07 p.m. EST
The latest novel coronavirus figures from China suggest that the outbreak remains worst in locked-down Hubei province, where 630 new cases and 96 more deaths were reported Saturday evening.

Outside China, the outbreak continued to spread. South Korea said Sunday that it was raising its national threat level to “red alert,” the highest level, after 169 new cases were confirmed Sunday; in Italy, the number of cases spiked to 152, the largest number outside Asia.

●The Italian government said it has 152 confirmed cases, up from three in a matter of days. Three people have died. Authorities have locked down roughly a dozen small towns and canceled events across the north, including Venice’s Carnival.

●The Chinese government reported 648 new cases across the country on Sunday and 97 deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 76,936, with 2,442 deaths.

●Three cruise ships have docked in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital, to house medical workers to help the city’s overburdened health-care system. On Sunday, Wuhan’s Union Jiangbei Hospital announced that a 29-year-old doctor had died of coronavirus, the second death of a young doctor in Hubei in recent days.

● A third passenger who had been aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship has died, according to Japan’s Health Ministry.

● South Korea raised its national threat level to “red alert” after cases spiked to 602, the first time the country has used the highest setting since the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009.

● Iran has confirmed eight deaths related to the coronavirus, the most outside of China, media reported Sunday. South Korea confirmed its fifth and sixth deaths.

HONG KONG — Coronavirus outbreaks in South Korea and Italy continued to expand rapidly on Sunday as both countries reported a slew of new cases and Italian authorities raced to seal off hot spot towns.

While the latest Chinese figures showed new cases largely concentrated in Hubei, concern was growing about the virus in other parts of the world, including in Europe, which had yet to see a large-scale outbreak until now, and where containment efforts could test the continent's open-border ideals.

South Korea reported a significant rise in cases on Sunday, with 169 new cases bringing the total to 602 and two more deaths for a total of six. Italy said the number of confirmed cases had reached 152, up from three in a matter of days.

The sudden outbreak in Italy caught authorities there off guard, while triggering severe interruptions of the sort that have upended life in China. Universities across northern Italy, where the outbreak is concentrated, are shuttered; major soccer matches have been canceled. Venice's famed Carnival, which can draw more than 100,000 people daily, was suspended two days before its scheduled end.

[...]

[Shirley]

[Deleted User 89]

https://www.vox.com/2020/2/23/21149327/ ... ning-italy

[Geezer]

Still only about 2500 deaths.

[Geezer]

Look out below!!!

[Shirley]

Feb. 24, 2020, 6:36 AM EST

Number of deaths in China nears 2,600

• Italy records fifth coronavirus death as it becomes worst-hit country in Europe

• Two more doctors die of coronavirus in China

• South Korea works to contain spread of virus

• China postpones key political meeting because of virus

• China bans illegal wild animal trading amid coronavirus outbreak: state media

• Coronavirus deaths spike to 12 in Iran; 47 cases confirmed

Number of deaths in China nears 2,600

Chinese authorities announced 409 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 77,150, according to the country's National Health Commission (NHC).

That's down from the 648 new cases reported on Sunday and marks the fifth day in a row with less than 1,000 new cases.

The NHC reported 150 new deaths, an increase that brought the toll since the outbreak began to 2,592 deaths in mainland China.

[...]

[Shirley]

From the link above:

Italy, oh Italy:

...Police manned checkpoints around quarantined towns in Italy's north on Monday as authorities sought to contain the novel coronavirus that has made Italy the focal point of the outbreak in Europe.

Italian health officials recorded fifth coronavirus-caused death Monday, bringing the total number of cases across the country to 219.

Nearly a hundred people have been hospitalized and 23 are in intensive care.

The hardest-hit northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto recorded 167 and 27 cases respectively.

As the number of cases in Italy spiked, the country’s stock exchange recorded massive losses, dropping more than four percent at one point.

At least 10 towns in northern Italy, with a population of around 50,000, were locked down Sunday to help stop the spread of the virus.

The government introduced a number of containment measures Saturday and suspended all public events and gatherings and shut down schools, nurseries, museums and other public offices.

[...]

[Shirley]

Look out below!!!

I ain't too worried, yet:

[Shirley]

Like I said, everything is fine:

[pdub]

My AAPL is bombing.

[zsn]

• China bans illegal wild animal trading amid coronavirus outbreak: state media
[...]

This about sums up China, in my mind. It's already illegal and now they want to ban it? What's wrong with this picture. I can just see the "Who's on first"-like conversation:
"Is it illegal?"
"Yes"
"Does that mean I can't do it?"
"Yes, you cannot do it"
"Why do you ban something I can't do, anyway....."

[Shirley]

• China bans illegal wild animal trading amid coronavirus outbreak: state media
[...]

This about sums up China, in my mind. It's already illegal and now they want to ban it? What's wrong with this picture. I can just see the "Who's on first"-like conversation:
"Is it illegal?"
"Yes"
"Does that mean I can't do it?"
"Yes, you cannot do it"
"Why do you ban something I can't do, anyway....."

The following is from the transcript of a podcast from 2/5/20, of the NPR program Fresh Air. The "breaking news" info related to the current coronavirus outbreak is a bit "dated", but the information about how zoonotic infections, pathogens that start in animals but are migrating to humans with increasing frequency — and with potentially deadly consequences, is very interesting.

New Coronavirus 'Won't Be The Last' Outbreak To Move From Animal To Human

...In the case of the new coronavirus, researchers believe that the virus may have originated with horseshoe bats in China and then could have possibly spread to other animals — which people then ate.

Quammen notes that humans are the common link in all zoonoses: "We humans are so abundant and so disruptive on this planet. ... We're cutting the tropical forests. We're building work camps in those forests and villages. We're eating the wildlife," he says. "You go into a forest and you shake the trees — literally and figuratively — and viruses fall out."

...Interview highlights

On wild animal "wet" markets where viruses can mix

When I was in southern China researching [Spillover], only briefly, I got to see some of these markets where all forms of wild animals were on sale. ... By the time I got there, [these sorts of markets] had gone underground ... suppressed after the SARS outbreak. But then [the markets] gradually came back ... allowed to continue again and proliferate when this new virus began.

If you go into a live market, you see cages containing bats stacked upon cages containing porcupines, stacked upon cages containing palm civets, stacked upon cages containing chickens. And hygiene is not great, and the animals are defecating on one another. It's just a natural mixing-bowl situation for viruses. It's a very, very dangerous situation. And one of the things that it allows is ... the occurrence of "amplifying hosts" [a species that rapidly replicates copies of the virus and spreads them].

[...]

[Shirley]

My AAPL is bombing.

Mine too.

So, you're buying more while it's on sale?

#notadvicedammit

[DrPepper]

Still only about 2500 deaths.

I don’t know your health status, but it is the geezers that die from this (or rather, the secondary pneumonia). Got oxygen?

[DrPepper]

If asymptomatic while contagious, being symptomatic lasts about 4 weeks, a poor test, it is spread via aerosol (rather than droplets), and the stock market is more important than preparing/warning, how do we NOT get it? Airports and seaports are still open. People from contaminated areas can get into any country via going thru a different country.

I don’t worry that I could die. But I do figure that my father could, and I won’t be able to attend his out of state funeral. Oh well.

[Shirley]

Apple reopens more than half its retail stores in China after coronavirus closures

Apple’s store website shows 29 of 42 locations are opening...

[Shirley]

Interesting. At a huge regional cancer center in Tampa, they're not only asking every patient if they've recently had a fever or cough, but also if they've traveled to China recently, before they receive treatment.