Outbreaks of Syphilis and West Nile In The U.S. Just In The Past Week

Porn Star Outbreak: 9 Cases Of Syphilis Discovered

Limelife

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The porn industry has declared a temporary cease-shooting in all filming after one of its actors reportedly hid his positive STD test from directors and subsequently infected at least nine of his co-stars with syphilis.

Two major pornography studios in the San Fernando Valley, California’s famed XXX capitol of the world, have placed a temporary moratorium on filming sex scenes following an outbreak of syphilis that has reached a total of nine performers.

According to reports, a male performer in Los Angeles became infected with the sexually transmitted disease but continued to work by forging clean test results. He shot several films before a suspicious director got him to confess.

Since the news broke last week, nearly a dozen cases of syphilis gave been reported, and industry experts believe there could be many more. A porn trade union has called on other studios to stop filming until all actors and actresses have been tested.

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Syphilis scare prompts call to halt U.S. porn shoots

By Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 21:21 EDT

LOS ANGELES — Reports of several cases of syphilis among porn actors in California has prompted a trade group to call for a temporary halt to shooting in the lucrative US adult film industry.

The Free Speech Coalition, which brings together porn film producers, has advocated a “temporary moratorium on production until the risk to performers in the industry has been properly assessed and all performers have been tested.”

Once treated with antibiotics, infected actors will be able to resume work within 10 days, it added in a statement on its website, saying that testing was ongoing.

Last week, health officials in Los Angeles County announced they were investigating an increase in syphilis cases in the porn industry — at least five in the previous week.

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West Nile Virus found in more Maine mosquitoes

Boston.com

Both viruses are transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Sears says the possible West Nile case involves an out-of-state resident who fell ill while visiting Maine.

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West Nile cases soar across US: 47 states, 41 deaths

August 23, 2012 – HEALTH – There’s been an alarming increase in the number of West Nile cases nationwide, with more than 1,100 reported, according to officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest CDC figures, released Wednesday, show that the national total for West Nile infections is three times as many as usually seen at this point in the year, officials said. Seventy-five percent of those cases were reported in five states — Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Dakota and Texas — with about half in Texas. “We are in the midst of one of the worst West Nile virus outbreaks ever seen in the U.S.,” Lyle R. Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, said at a briefing. West Nile cases can be reported in various ways, as mild fevers or more serious diseases. Of the reported infections, at least 629 were of the more serious neuroinvasive diseases, Petersen said. Currently, he said, one of every 150 people infected with the virus develops the more serious illnesses, such as West Nile encephalitis, meningitis or poliomyelitis. Only 29 cases were reported a month ago. Now, the CDC is reporting 1,118 cases spread across 47 states, with 41 deaths. Seventy-five percent of the cases have been reported from five states: Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Illinois. Texas appears to be the hardest hit, with 586 reported cases in total. The death toll in Texas was 21 as of Wednesday, with Dallas County hit hardest, for a total of 270 cases and 11 deaths. No place is striking back harder against the West Nile virus than Texas, which has launched an aerial assault against mosquitoes despite objections from environmental groups. Overnight, planes carrying pesticides took to the skies dousing more than 63,000 acres of land in Dallas and Houston to battle the disease. More than half of those infected in Dallas County this year developed the more severe illnesses, an outbreak that drew the attention of President Obama, who was briefed by CDC officials Tuesday. Petersen said it was not clear whether the number of serious illnesses had increased or if reporting had improved. Those with serious forms of West Nile-related illnesses are usually admitted to hospitals, where officials test and report results. Those with the milder West Nile fever might not see a doctor or be tested. Only about 2 percent to 3 percent of such infections are reported, Petersen said. Those who become infected develop lifelong immunity, said Petersen, who added that he was infected in 2003 when he was bitten by a mosquito while jogging.

West Nile likely to worsen, with more cases and deaths

Mary Ann Roser
statesman.com

As Texas records more than half of the nation’s cases of West Nile virus in the worst season for the illness ever, federal officials said today that the outbreak is likely to worsen.

The peak of the West Nile season usually occurs in mid-August, but it takes a couple of weeks for new cases to be reported to health authorities, said Dr. Lyle Peterson, director of the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Cases reported now are from a week or more ago,’” Peterson said. “Thus, we expect many more cases of West Nile virus to be reported.”

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