E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSHANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam has asked the World Health Organization to help investigate a mystery disease that has killed 19 people and sickened 171 others in central Vietnam.
Le Han Phong, chairman of the People's Committee in Ba To district in Quang Ngai province, says patients first experience a rash on their hands and feet along with high fever, loss of appetite and eventually organ failure.
He says nearly 100 people remain hospitalized, including 10 in critical condition. Patients with milder symptoms are being treated at home.
Phong says the first case was detected last year and that the disease had died down until a spate of new infections were recently reported, mostly in one impoverished village.
A Ministry of Health investigation was inconclusive.
Leave a Comment:
Sounds like the ghost of agent orange is resurfacing, symptoms being described are very much like those who were exposed during the War.
"Remember, only you can prevent forests." ---USAF, 1968
absolutely sounds like a bio "thing" being tested - not very subtle this time.
I think theres merit in that hypothesis - The WHO is very much on top of this kind of thing. I find it hard to believe any unknown illness that is killing people in a tropical area especially, could go a year without the WHO knowing about it. The WHO has been on high-alert for new strains of "super-bugs" because the situation with our burgeoning populations makes the planet ripe for developing something very fatal and contagious, and tropical areas are the most likely places where the next population-pummelling pandemic is going to originate. So the fact that Vietnam is proactively reaching out to WHO after a year...? Sounds to me like certain someones over at the WHO have been looking the other way for SOME reason... This isn't exactly in the darkest, most remote parts of Vietnam, either - this is Hanoi. The USA has a disproportionate representation in the WHO and you can bet donuts to dollars that TPTB do NOT want to be dredging up any old stuff from that most infamous conflict, esp. after our recent Iraq follies, an election year, and an increasingly disgruntled population.
Maybe somebody tripped over a bunch of the stuff we "didn't drop" from aircraft that came from bases we "didn't have". CBR warfare is the worst, and makes defoliants look like Kool-Aid.
"Foul deeds will rise, though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes."
do people not understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is 2012 the time from great change is upon us, go ahead and keep thinking nothing is going to happen or change this year but your just as stupid and the next person we need to be aware of new horrible illness, big natural disasters, stock market fluctuation, this is not a joke, if you think our world is perfect now our f'n crazy!!! OBAMA IS THE ANTICHRIST THE DEVIL WITHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like a certain Alex has been LISTENING to too much of another radio fellow by the name of Alex. You must have a ponderously large tin-foil hat. If Obama is the Antichrist, then Im the Queen of England. Now I may fancy a spot of tea and a crumpet or two from time to time, but I assure you - I am NOT the Queen of England!
yeah, blame Obama for a sickness outbreak in Viet Nam...or, just take your meds and go back to beddy bye for a little bit...for God's sake!
Yes, Alex, you should retreat to your bunker immediately, and not come out until we tell you that everything is OK. We'll be sure to let you know. :rolleyes:
Note to everyone who believes the world will end this year: Send me your stuff.
hey strength...
make that strumpet(quite often) and I will not mind being called the queen
Alex (Crazy) Krenz, what insane asylum are you in and how the hell did you get access to the Internet.
I believe it's time for your shock treatments but be careful not to bite your tongue off. Enjoy!
Agent orange was the first thing that came to mind- even after 4 decades it is still festering
Hate to break this to y'all, but I can't imagine that it's Agent Orange-- think about it. They've been dealing with Agent Orange cases for decades now-- they would recognize it if they saw it. It's not like they'd be stumped: "Wow... just baffling. It has all the hallmarks of every Agent Orange case we've ever treated, but it just can't be. Let's not bother confirming that diagnosis with all of the tests we've developed for that specific purpose. No, it's best we quail in fear and bother the international community for a new answer instead." I mean, come on. If there's a country anywhere in the world that would recognize Agent Orange poisoning, its Vietnam. They're not going to go ask WHO for help if it was something that obvious. Use your head...
And you know every single long term effect from Agent Orange to know for sure this couldn't be it? It seems to be mainly affecting young children, or younger people. Were their parents exposed? We could be looking at new effects being passed on. Can't rule anything out.
Poor Alex suffers from diarrhea of the mouth and brain atrophy. No cure, I'm afraid. We'll miss you, Alex.
I loled.
Really? That's kinda where these things surface the most. It's not unheard of for entire forest villages in Africa to be wiped out by an unknown disease. Ebola, Lassa fever, and CCHF were all identified only after infecting populations in sub-Saharan Africa. When we're continually discovering new species of fauna all over southeast Asia, would it be any surprise if we found a new species of virus or bacteria?
But the good news is the mortality rate... looks like it's only got about a 10% rate in a place with little access to modern medical care, so that would probably translate down to less than 5% in industrialized nations.
This sounds like Agent Orange.Stainless steel canisters take a long time to decay and release the contents to the environment.........(Depends on the climate condition, environment,rainfall in the area,soil type........and so on..). As for Vietnam govt asking WHO for help....Might be an attempt by the govt of Vietnam to have it confirmed by a world body and then try to bring the makers of Agent Orange to international court and make them pay for it.
What might have happened is a bacteria or a virus took on the characteristics of agent orange and thats what these people have. I'm just saying.
I don't see why you would callapse a comment because you don't agree with it, it isn't like he made any threating remarks. I do agree it was a little far fetch, but he has his right to speak his mind just like the rest of you.
I disagree with the idea that it can be Agent Orange poisoning. There are two reasons: 1) it has been a long time and to have it appear 40 years later is a stretch, and 2) the Vietnamese are the world's leaders in Agent Orange treatment. While the American military just lookled the other way and denied it, the Vietnamese did not have that option.
It does surprise me that this is happening in Vietnam. The WHO monitors South China and northern Southeast Asia very closely for any outbreaks that look suspicious. This is because that area is where new strains of influenza "announce" and as much lead time as possible is required to make up next year's flu vaccine. In fact, the area is one of the most heavily monitored in the world and one would expect that it would be caught there the quickest.
One has to assume that both the WHO and the Vietnamese government thought that the unknown illness had run its course and that they had time to study it --- until a new outbreak of cases surfaced.
It may or may not be the genesis of a new or mutated disease, but it certainly WILL be the genesis of a new conspiracy theory.
@kcolmore,
He has a right to speak his mind and we have a right to collapse him. His right to free speech does not extend the right to forcing us to listen. Only Teabaggers would believe that it does.
I've noticed that most comments that are collapsed are either conservative or "other" comments... I've seen some pretty nasty liberal comments that sit out in the open. Don't you guys have real, equitable guidelines for collapsing comments? On the other hand, I usually read the collapsed comments first...they are generally more interesting. So that helps sort them out for me.
Oh look, Chris just proved my point about the nasty comments that aren't collapsed.... and how in the WORLD are you FORCED to listen to something printed on a comment page? Just skip that one if you don't like it. No one is duct taping you to the chair and forcing you to read it outloud!
There was a similar outbreak during the Korean War and it was called Hemorraghic Fever. The usual treatments for illness and high fever seemed to only make things worse and heighten mortality. Perhaps the WHO should look to historical outbreaks as opposed to a chemical causative.
Yeah I though of Agent Orange for a few seconds but with all the pathogens and bacteria that are running around I am betting that they have now found a new form of Streptococcus pyogenes lets call it Strep C a new flesh eating bacteria.
I guess we will know in a couple weeks the WHO is actively engaged.
My uncle fought in the war and in the past year has developed an almost full body rash and is having serious problems with different organs. He is in pain all the time. The doctor told him that he is starting to see a pattern with these kinds of rashes, organ failures, and vets that were around agent orange..
Just a little something I felt like sharing.
haterofstupid, was he a Marine by chance?
We've spent enough time on Viet Nam.
We have our very own mystery disease right here in the US.
It seems to cause delusional thoughts of infiltration by an alien called "one world order" whose primal instinct is to infect "American exceptionalism" and spew out socialist/communist/Kenyan robots.
I suggest we quarantine Alex and whoever else he comes in contact with on a regular basis and figure out what's wrong with them before the brain damage becomes irreversible.
@RealAmericansFirst
Don't disparage his name! It's properly pronounced "Owo." You are not fit to speak his name in full-- only the high priests who have completed their Marxist training may speak of him thusly. All hail High Overlord Owo!
It's not agent orange...just something very similar. I don't know but am guessing that Big Ag can roll out new chemicals quietly over there without the public scrutiny that occurs here. An example might be "Agent Orange Corn," which thinking people are very concerned about. The EPA has recently agreed not to block a proposed ban on Dow selling a new chemical called 2,4-D, a primary ingredient in Agent Orange, for use on corn. It is already being used ball fields, golf courses, in your yard-the places where children play-but it hasn't been approved for use on corn until now. It may be as early as next year. It is already banned in most of Europe and Canada, in countries that put the health of their citizens ahead of the profits of big corporations. BTW, in case you haven't heard, corporations are people too...and they vote with dollars. But lets be real, Asia may be already using it all over the place. When they do figure this out, my money is on this or some other unsafe chemical that Dow or the Koch brothers are pushing.
Actually it sounds like Streptococcus A, but you'd think they would be able to figure that out, just haven't seen any ruled out stuff at all.
That's what I first thought too! As bad as this is going to sound, but it might be a good thing if that's what it is. last thing humanity needs is another "super bug" running around. Having said that, the world will be less likely to help if it isn't a disease......either way it sucks!
Remember that strep that women were getting when they used those super duper tampons? Their illness first started with a rash on their hands and feet.
You mean toxic shock syndrome - yes, a circular rash first appears. My sister was quite ill about 15 years ago - she was storing a great deal of fluids, was suffering organ failures, had very high liver and other functions and also had three systemic infections - uremic, toxic shock and septicemia. As it turned out her thyroid gland was non-functioning, causing everything to malfunction (immune system, etc.) - causing the infections. Weeks in the hospital, medications, even several weeks of dialysis saved her life.
Sounds like "Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever" to me.
I agree. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever sounds likely. Perhaps also possible are Kawasaki's Disease, staph infection, Cocksackie, or toxin exposure.
That's what I thought. Hopefully it's treatable and not "super rocky mountain spotted fever".
They are sick from snorting endangered rhino horn.
What ever it is it looks like its in the water or ground they spend allot of time working fields or rice patties, exposing their extremities, people were mostly from the same area so its confined at this time, the rainy season causes run off that might account for it appearing then subsiding and re appearing. it does sound like its chemical in origin but what? agent orange does have long term effects once it enters your bodies fat cells its there for good so it does not make sensethat the condition would go away for a year then reappear unless its in the runoff, if its agent orange could a old canister change its makeup over years and possibly be harder to detect? or could it be something entirely different, it will be interesting to find out just what the cause is. did they use agent orange north of the DMZ other than the HCM trail or are they victims of poor agricultural products from China. where is the nearest chemical plant?
Quang Ngai is in south central Viet Nam along the coast.
I have to agree with rhino. It sure sounds like some sort of concentration of the heinous agent orange.
One of the few wars that was so brutal that it caused the two sides to reconcile and huddle together because of the horror of it all.
Seriously? Reconcile and huddle together? The North overran the South. Strange to describe that as reconcile and huddle together. Did I miss an attempt at humor??
Uh, I don't think the South had much choice but to huddle, being that they were over run and occupied. But I wouldn't call that singing kumbaya songs.
To "TFNJ": Hilarious!!!
My guess is toxic shock caused by a staph infection.
If it were that easy I don't think they'd be asking the WHO for help.
I agree with you ,this is serious . They would never ask if it wasn't a serious problem .
Good guess "Hal Warner". I think you just might have something there! Brilliant!...
oh its agent orange im the frist one to let you know that for sure after losing my legs then kiddneys then heart and the sores never quit they just keep coming after 40 years
Joe,
You got the heart part correct anyway. :)
Joe, that's horrible...I'm sorry that happened to you after you fought for the rest of us....thankyou for your service, I wish we could all help you somehow!
You lost your heart? , sorry not trying to joke here, but can you explain?
Sorry to hear Joe. My ex father-in-law suffers from the symptoms of Agent Orange, but of course they still havn't Dx it yet because they are still working on "finding" the problem at the VA hosp. He hasn't started organ failure yet but has been having problems throughout his primary organs. We were told that this passes to his children and my ex husband actually started having the rash symptoms a couple of years ago. I do hope that this isn't the reason that these people are suffering, but I also pray we don't have another super-bug on our hands.
Not that I don't believe you, but if you lost your heart, how are you alive unless you received a heart transplant?
Is your name Darth Vader or Dick Cheney by chance?
I left my heart, in san francisco.
oh yes and the cansers 3 times fight it doing it now and the us still says it didnt hurt anyone lol
I have lost two friends to agent orange Joe. Both young healthy men until they got back from that hell hole in S.E. Asia. Both with young families to support. Both reduced to menial jobs while they could still work. Both struggled with not only their illnesses but with the military which at that time still denied any effects from AO. Both dead before the age of 35.
I thank you for your service and want you to know that we the people are so sorry you were betrayed. I know it will not alleviate your suffering nor that of any of the others of our generation who are still fighting that damn war everyday, but for now Joe, it is the best I can do.
And as response to the news article, I would say that it certainly sounds like we could have left something behind. Well, I know we left lots of stuff behind, but in this case something that it took a while to uncover. This seems especially likely since the article stated that most all of the illness is in one town.
I sincerely hope the WHO steps up and does its job and if that doesn't work then privately funded research needs to be done, and soon. Too many deaths.
They'll get help. Finding a cure for something like this might take time or it might be an existing illness that could be done as quickly as it starts. My heart goes out to those people.
What no comments for my post? Q~Q You people are mean. xD just trying to brighten peoples day with a little joke or two.
Agent Orange never hurt anyone, just ask the U.S. Government. How many of our Vets were denied any form of treatment because of the government not accepting responsibility? How many of their offspring were also victims?
Neither did paraquat.
Mustard gas in the first World War....Human beings are extremely good at finding new and innovative ways to kill and torture...and unfortunately, the fallout often backlashes on those who came up with the idea in the first place, and often the long term affects are not really catalogued until they are actually seen, many years. later.
The symptomology for Hand, foot and mouth disease is almost the same. This is probably what it is. They also have an outbreak of this in China.
But if you could diagnose it from a computer on a NV board, why would they be asking the world for help? Are you telling me that their doctors are less educated, medically, than a NV poster?
its the beginning of the zombie apocalypse
That's what I thought too! You know it always begins with someone opening an old military container that says "Do Not Open".
I am sending a message from the future and can confirm your fears. There are only a few of us Humans left. The only thing that we have discovered that prevents you from having your brain eaten is to wrap your head in Aluminum foil. An aluminum colander works as well. It has to be aluminum though as the plastic ones don't work. Pass the word.
Can I tie a bunch of Arizona cans together? You know, the large 99 cent ones. I hope I survive.
My thoughts exactly...better dig up Patient Zero & the others, poste-haste...
or maybe they're already "up" & "spreading the disease"...
Watch for more unexplained "deaths", followed by unexplained "disappearances", followed by "wild rumors & superstitious nonsense" from the villagers...
...followed by a protracted silence from WHO until it's too late...
When the dead walk..
chemtrails
Captain Tripps.
They are calling it the Super Flu over here on the east coast...In the the Fly over states it is known as Tube Neck.....I love that book...
My God, you people flapping your gums about agent orange are dumber than a bag of hammers. Read the article... sudden onset of a rash followed by fever and organ failure. Hmm, last agent orange sprayed about what, 30+ years ago?
MHeurt,
Perhaps you should leave God out of it. Your comment is very disrespectful to the veterans who posted comments based on the scars they received while fighting for our country. I believe everyone posting read the article or they would not be sharing their opinions - which is what these types of forums are for.
Reap what you sow...Vietnam is responsibile for the horrific increase in rhino and elephant slaughters in Africa. They likely brought something from Africa back to their homeland and now they will pay the price for their superstition, avarice and greed. I say, no help. Let them suffer.
Mongo,
Can't do that. It keeps spreading without getting it under control, It'll make it's way over here and land on your front door step...........
Creek Dog
That's right. That's when it becomes a pandemic as opposed to merely an epidemic.
I saw a show where a conservation group in Africa was injecting chemicals into the rhino's horn which would make it less desirable for human consumption. I am now wondering if maybe this might not be part of the problem Vietnam is now experiencing. These animal are being butchered because someone wants a boNer.
Better yet let's leak the cause as rhinosyptolitise as we all know the bull.... is believed and spread faster than any truth ever is.
If there is no epidemiology to report at this time we have to avoid everything southeast asian until there is an epi workup.
Stay outta Wal-mart then...
its just a matter of time until the undead hordes are beating down your door
I know, this has me scared. Same sh&^ happened in 24 Days later
@Nlock
Your comment reminds me of high-school of the dead for some reason. If zombies do end up coming out of this I choose to arm myself with a bat or a pipe. You know something that requires the double tap rule. But I don't see the undead thing happening anytime soon.
Killjoy...
Well if the Zombies do come looking for brains, the safest place to move the wife and kids will be Washington DC.
Rtypo, I thought for sure you were going to say the home of any Newsvine poster.
Ticks?
It seems cyclical which may mean something they are using on crops etc may be the culprit and sounds like it attacks the liver since the hands and feet are having the rash. Toxins are not JUST from agent orange or you would have been having this from the beginning... probably a waste of time to comment here since you all have an 'agenda' to put forward. I truly think science should have a place in solving problems and not just rehashing our biases.....
Isnt that ruebella?
Rubella is a form of measles.
Nothing to worry about as it's just some old unexploded WMD ordinance from the NAM war that was found and taken in for recycling.
Suddenly, forty-five years later, Agent Orange rears its ugly head. Plant life spray altered your world and is killing your people, maybe you can sue Dow Chemicals, Monsanto and Diamond Shamrock. Just reference the "Ranch Hand Project. I will let my friends know about this sudden change in history when I visit the Wall in a few weeks.
That's the first thing that popped into my head ancient orange might have reared it's ugly head but it has to be investigated.
This sound like a poisoning of some sort.... agent orange was used extensively in Vietnam as well as other defoliants. My guess is these poor folks have somehow come in contact with the raw material. Horrific.
It's George Bush's fault !
Or maybe Al Gore is pissed off that his global warming scam has been exposed and he invented a new super bug to show us who's boss, just like he invented the internet !
BILLYBOB,thats just th sort of comment we need for a health issue.Thanks, I feel I know much more about this disease now.
Oh, seriously!!! Yeah, yeah, that's what I say.... It's all that "George Bush'es fault!!!........ lol!............