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Violence in Noumea, New Caledonia; New DNA Vaccine Effective Against 1918 Pandemic Flu

20 October 2006

Philadelphia

International SOS, the world's leading provider of medical and security assistance services, international healthcare, and outsourced customer care, offers travel alerts to members traveling overseas to warn them of security risks or medical problems they may encounter at their destinations or en route. The following is a sample of locations that may represent current security and medical risks for global travelers.

New Caledonia - October 18 - Violent Protests in Noumea Port
French police in New Caledonia have arrested at least 48 protestors during a violent demonstration in the seaport of the capital, Noumea.  Members of a labor union that have been on strike for four weeks attempted to prevent a boat owned by the Goro nickel mine from leaving the port by damaging the vessel.

The strike initially disrupted day-to-day life in Noumea, however, public support for the protest action has since declined and protestors have shifted their demonstrations to the seaport and foreign mine projects.
Foreign companies have been the target of labor protests in New Caledonia over the last 12 months. The protests have affected business operations, although foreign staff have not been directly targeted.

International SOS advises that travel to New Caledonia can proceed. Travelers should avoid all forms of protest action. International SOS Members seeking further advice or assistance are advised to call the 24-hour Regional Security Center in Singapore at (65) 6338 7800.

Kenya - October 20 - Nation's First Polio Case in over 20 Years
A case of polio has been reported in a 3-year-old girl in a Somali refugee camp. She lives in northeastern Kenya, in the Garissa district of North Eastern province. The area borders Somalia, where a polio outbreak has infected more than 200 people since July 2005.

The girl has wild poliovirus type-1, the same type affecting people in Somalia, but she was born in Kenya and has never visited Somalia. She became sick and paralyzed in mid-September. Since her diagnosis, she has been isolated to avoid passing along the disease. No other residents of the camp have shown symptoms. Officials are concerned that the disease may be circulating in Kenya and have dispatched a rapid response team to investigate. Emergency vaccination campaigns will begin in northeastern Kenya on November 3. They will target about 250,000 children and will coordinate with campaigns in Somalia and Ethiopia.

In developing countries, the polio virus is often spread through food or water that has been contaminated with infected feces. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. The virus mainly affects children under five and will reach the central nervous system of approximately one out of every 100 patients, causing some form of paralysis.

All travelers visiting Kenya are advised to be fully immunized against polio. For more information about polio and traveling in Kenya, please contact your nearest International SOS Alarm Center.

United States - October 16 - DNA Vaccine Effective Against 1918 Pandemic Flu
The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) performed an experiment using mice and the 1918 pandemic flu virus, which is the deadliest influenza strain known. They made a vaccine from DNA that was able to protect mice. They also transferred immunoglobulin (found in the blood) from vaccinated to non-vaccinated mice and found the procedure helped protect the unvaccinated mice from the flu. The experiment will help scientists predict how well vaccines will work against particular flu strains even if they are not widely circulating, such as A/H5N1. It also shows that vaccination may work even against highly deadly flu strains.

Avian influenza A/H5N1 has caused outbreaks in poultry in an increasing number of countries. At least 22 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa have reported their first cases among birds since the beginning of 2006. For further information, see the International SOS Pandemic Preparedness Website. There, you can access the latest news, detailed information on flu-affected countries and pandemic preparedness planning information.

Medical and Security Alerts
International SOS alerts are compiled through numerous resources including physicians and security experts on the ground in 48 countries, and individuals coordinating information from a broad range of resources, including the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and the US State Department.

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