En Corea del Sur incautan cápsulas elaboradas con carne de fetos humanos.

Las autoridades de Corea del Sur han detectado en lo que va de año hasta 25 intentos de introducir ilegalmente en el país píldoras con carne de fetos humanos procedentes de China para su consumo medicinal.

Según informó este lunes la Oficina de Aduanas de Seúl, las píldoras incautadas desde enero hasta agosto tienen un valor estimado de unos 317 millones de dólares (casi 160 mil millones de pesos chilenos).

Estas cápsulas ilegales, conocidas como "píldoras de carne humana" en Corea del Sur, contienen restos de fetos y entre algunos círculos existe la creencia popular de que funcionan como revitalizantes y elevan los niveles de resistencia en el cuerpo humano.

Sin embargo, la Oficina de Aduanas y las autoridades antidroga surcoreanas han advertido de que estos supuestos medicamentos suelen estar contaminados con un alto número de bacterias y pueden generar graves problemas de salud.

El tráfico de las "píldoras de carne humana" chinas no se ha detenido en los últimos años pese a que han aumentado los esfuerzos del Gobierno para que dejen de introducirse en Corea del Sur.

Desde agosto de 2011 hasta agosto de 2012 se detectaron un total de 94 intentos de contrabando desde China de estas píldoras, que sumaron 43.600 unidades, según datos presentados hoy ante la Asamblea Nacional (Parlamento) surcoreana.

La mayoría de las cápsulas incautadas llegaron clandestinamente de China ocultas en equipajes de viajeros, así como en dispositivos móviles o por correo postal, en algún caso procedente de un tercer país, se detalló.

Fuente. cooperativa.cl 28.10.2013

Hepatitis B virus found in bats from Panama and Gabon.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a substantial human pathogen. WHO estimates
that there are now 240 000 000 individuals chronically infected with
HBV worldwide, of which 25 percent percent will die from chronic liver
disease or hepatocellular carcinoma. The hepatitis B virus vaccine is
highly effective at preventing infection. Because there are no known
animal reservoirs of the virus, it is believed that HBV could be
globally eradicated. The recent finding of HBV in bats raises the
possibility of zoonotic introduction of the virus.

Serum and liver biopsies from 3080 bats from Panama, Brazil, Gabon,
Ghana, Germany, Papua New Guinea, and Australia were screened for
HBV-like sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 10 positive
specimens were found from 3 bat species: _Uroderma bilobatum_ from
Panama, and _Hipposideros cf. ruber_, and _Rhinolophus alcyone_ from
Gabon. The complete viral genome sequence was determined for 9 of the
positive specimens. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the bat
viruses form 3 different lineages, and that each virus differs by at
least 35 percent from known hepadnaviruses. The virus from _H. cf.
ruber_ has been named roundleaf bat HBV, while those from
_Rhinolophus_ and _Uroderma_ have been named horseshoe bat HBV, and
tent-making bat HBV.

Viral DNA in the liver of _Hipposideros_ bats was found to be higher
than in other organs or serum. Some lymphocyte infiltration was
observed in the liver of these animals, as well as deposits of viral
DNA within hepatocytes. These observations indicate that the bat HBV
viruses likely replicate in the bat liver and cause hepatitis.

Serological studies revealed that hepadnaviruses are widespread in Old
World bats: antibodies against bat hepadnaviruses were detected in 18
percent of hipposiderid bats and 6.3 percent of rhinolophid bats. An
important question is whether these 3 bat hepadnaviruses can infect
human cells. Only tent-making bat HBV could infect primary human
hepatocytes, which occurred via the human HBV cell receptor, sodium
taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide. However serum from humans
that had been immunized with HBV vaccine did not block infection of
human hepatocytes with this virus.

These observations show that viruses related to human HBV are
replicating in the liver of bats. Earlier this year (2013) another
hepadnavirus was identified in long-fingered bats (_Miniopterus
fuliginosus_) in Myanmar. The complete genome sequence was obtained
and virus particles were observed in bat liver tissues. The finding of
hepadnaviruses in bats raise many interesting questions. The 1st is
whether human HBV originated by infection with bat HBV, either by
consumption of bat meat or another mode of transmission. How long ago
this occurred is not known. It has been suggested that HBV has been in
humans for at least 15 000 years. Some avian species contain
avihepadnaviral sequences integrated into their genome, indicating
that these viruses originated at least 19 million years ago. These
findings also raise many questions about the pathogenesis of
hepadnaviral infection in bats, including the mode of transmission (in
humans, the virus is transmitted by exposure to blood, for example, by
injection or during childbirth), and whether chronic infections can
occur as they do in humans.

Finally it is interesting to consider the zoonotic potential of
tent-making bat HBV, which can infect human cells. Because bat
hepadnaviruses are genetically distinct from HBV, current serological
and nucleic acid screening programs would not detect human infections.
The authors suggest that human and non-human primate sera from areas
in which these bat viruses were isolated should be screened using
assays that detect the bat hepadnaviruses. Without such information we
do not know if these viruses currently infect humans.
Fuente: promed. 20.102013

En México 71 intoxicados por comer sushi con Salmonella.

De 71 intoxicados que la Secretaría de Salud reportó a principios de
esta semana, la cifra incrementó a 194 casos de pacientes afectados
por ingerir comida japonesa en la cadena sushi "Que Rollo" de
Hermosillo, capital de Sonora.

Sergio Olvera Alba, director del Área de Epidemiología de la
dependencia estatal, dijo que en las próximas horas la cifra de
afectados podría aumentar, ya que el periodo de incubación del
patógeno que provoca el malestar culminará hasta el lunes de la semana
próxima.

El día de mañana (viernes) esperamos tener los resultados de las
pruebas realizadas a muestras humanas y de alimentos, ya tenemos un
resultado preliminar atribuible por exámenes de laboratorio a
salmonella”, comentó el especialista de la Secretaría de Salud.

Del total de casos la mayoría se han registrado en personas de entre
15 a 24 años de edad con 80 intoxicados, seguido del rango de 25 a 44
años con 67 afectados.

Según datos de la dependencia, un 44% de las personas afectadas fueron
atendidas en hospitales privados con sintomatología como dolor de
estómago, diarrea, fiebre, náuseas y vómito.

Hasta el momento, permanecen suspendidas las nueve sucursales de esa
franquicia de comida japonesa en Hermosillo, será la Comisión Estatal
de Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (Coespris) la encargada de
establecer las sanciones a la cadena de restaurantes cuando se
confirme la causa del brote de intoxicación alimentaria bacteriana.
Fuente: promed. 20.10.2013

Sumarios por acoso laboral a Seremi Salud Antofagasta

Fuentes que pidieron expresamente no ser identificadas por arriesgar su trabajo informan que la srta. Pasme Seleme Herrera, Seremi de Salud Subrogante de Antofagasta se encuentra sometida a sendas investigaciones administrativas por parte del Ministerio de Salud, por acusaciones fundadas de acoso laboral en contra de funcionarios de dicho organismo. La fiscal Barbara Neumann, funcionaria del Departamento Jurídico de dicho ministerio,  tiene un plazo de 30 días para emitir su dictamen sobre las graves acusaciones que pueden terminar con la destitución de la denunciada.

China en lucha frontal contra la corrupción .

Las autoridades chinas han arrestado a Lei Yi, el presidente de la mayor productora mundial de estaño refinado, Yunnan Tin, por haber aceptado supuestamente sobornos, publica hoy la prensa local.
Se trata del último caso de la campaña anticorrupción impulsada por el presidente chino, Xi Jinping, y que afecta a grandes empresas estatales, como Yunnan Tin.
China acusa a Lei Yi de aceptar sobornos por valor de unos 20 millones de yuanes (US$ 3,2 millones) por parte de hasta cuatro personas, según una información trasladada por el Gobierno provincial de Yunnan, suroeste de China, donde tiene su base la compañía estatal de la que Lei era hasta ahora el máximo responsable.
Entre las personas que supuestamente sobornaron a Lei aparece Li Hongtao, presidente de la compañía Leed International Education Group, en la que el banco de inversiones Goldman Sachs posee una participación, según se muestra en información pública de la primera en internet.
Los medios oficiales no hacen mención a la relación de Goldman Sachs con esta firma, y se limitan a señalar que Leed fue "cofundado" por "un grupo de inversión extranjera".
El grupo Leed es una de las numerosas compañías que invierte en el sector educativo chino, y posee una red de escuelas privadas en las provincias de Yunnan, Henan (centro) y Jiangsu (este).
La información distribuida por el Gobierno de Yunnan asegura que el presidente del grupo Leed, Li Hongtao, sobornó a Lei para poder hacerse con la participación que tenía su empresa, Yunnan Tin, en un colegio de secundaria privado en la provincia sureña.
La información asegura que el presidente de Yunnan Tin estuvo recibiendo dinero desde 2008 y hasta este año de parte de Li y de otros, que buscaban "beneficiarse de la posición de Lei y conseguir ayuda y apoyo" en negocios en la provincia.
Las autoridades anunciaron que abrían una investigación contra Lei en julio por "serias violaciones disciplinarias", un eufemismo utilizado en el país para hablar de corrupción.
Este arresto es el último de la campaña anticorrupción lanzada por el presidente Xi contra la rampante corrupción en el país entre los cargos públicos, que, tal y como aseguró su antecesor, Hu Jintao, puede llegar a destruir al propio Partido Comunista si no se ataja.
Desde el inicio de las investigaciones, una larga lista de funcionarios han sido destituidos e investigados por motivos de corrupción.
Entre ellos, numerosos altos cargos de la Corporación Nacional de Petróleo de China (CNPC), la mayor compañía petrolera del país y matriz de Petrochina, investigados por posibles prácticas corruptas.
CNPC, junto a las también estatales CNOOC y Sinopec, monopolizan el mercado chino y cuentan con unos treinta proyectos de exploración y producción en otros países, entre ellos Ecuador, Perú y Venezuela.
El caso de la CNPC destaca más si cabe al tratarse de la primera oleada de investigaciones que afecta a altos directivos de una compañía estatal desde que Xi llegó al poder.
Hasta ahora, los investigados -y posteriormente cesados- han sido aquellos miembros del Partido Comunista de China (PCCh) con cargos políticos de más o menos relevancia.
Fuente: 10.10.2013

91 elephants poisoned with cyanide in Zimbabwe

While African heads of state made measured long-range commitments to
intensify anti-wildlife poaching measures at a UN summit in New York
this week [23-29 Sep 2013], conservation authorities in Zimbabwe were
continuing to count the cost of what could be the single worst
poaching incident on the continent in living memory.

By yesterday [28 Sep 2013], 91 elephant carcasses had been found in
Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, victims of cyanide added to salt
licks at watering holes inside the reserve.

Meanwhile, reports have indicated the poison has led to widespread
devastation of the ecosystems in the area, with large, though at this
stage untallied, numbers of other wildlife including lions, zebras,
wildebeest, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, and several species of birds
also included in the list of victims. Especially vulnerable have been
vultures feeding from elephant carcasses.

"This is the worst ecological disaster we have seen, and the fallout
is going to be massive," said Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman of the
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

"Watering holes and the ground are contaminated, and the entire
wildlife food chain is threatened."

"Already predators and vultures and other birdlife species are dying
from the chain reaction or secondary poisoning, and a lot more animals
are going to suffer and die."

Conservationists believe the final tally -- which has steadily risen
after the discovery of some 40 carcasses in August [2013] -- could
climb to 3 figures before the poisons introduced into the watering
holes lose their toxicity.

Hwange covers an area of 14 650 sq km [5656 sq mi] and is Africa's 3rd
largest wildlife sanctuary. The Zimbabwe Wildlife Authority employs
just 50 rangers to protect the park where earlier this year [2013] it
was reported the last southern white rhino at Hwange had been
poached.

Hwange received no mention at this week's [23-29 Sep 2013] UN-hosted
deliberations in New York, where Gabon's President Ali Bongo called
for the appointment of a UN rapporteur on wildlife crime, a call
supported by the UK and Germany among others.

Somewhat more proactive were the Zimbabwean prosecutorial authorities,
arresting 8 suspected poachers since August [2013] in connection with
the cyanide outrage, and securing confessions from at least 2 suspects
that elephants had been targeted for their ivory in poisoning the
watering holes.

This week [23-29 Sep 2013], 3 of the suspects were convicted in the
Hwange Regional Court. 2 were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, and
an order for the restitution of USD 600 000 (R 5.9 million) to the
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe. The 3rd was
handed down a 16-year sentence with labour, and an order for
restitution in the value of USD 200 000 [about R 2 million].

Zimbabwe's political responses have been less pertinent, however, with
Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF blaming Western sanctions for the poaching
crisis. Claiming it had conducted a week-long investigation into the
cyanide poisoning, government mouthpiece the Zimbabwe Herald said last
week it attributed the elephant killing to "the West's illegal
economic sanctions that affected Zimbabwe's once-vibrant wildlife
management system."

Conservation authorities have pointed out that cyanide is a highly
controlled substance, and virtually unobtainable. The single exception
lies in the mining sector.  In recent years, several gold mining
concessions in the Hwange region have been handed out -- nearly all of
them to Chinese interests.

While investigators of the Hwange atrocity have not connected the
provision of the cyanide to mining operators in the area,
circumstantial corroboration is lent to the suspicion by organic
chemist and toxicologist Gerhard Verdoorn.  According to Verdoorn, the
Chinese "colonisation of parts of Africa" has led to a situation where
a "very large quantity of unregistered and uncontrolled Chinese
pesticides and other toxins enter Africa without any control."

Verdoorn says the use of poisons in poaching goes back some years, and
that in the past 2 years [2011-2012] he has received several reports
of mass poisonings of wildlife in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia, but
has been under pressure from investigative authorities to "keep a lid
on the information" in the light of ongoing investigations.

Ivory trafficking has become one of the world's most lucrative
criminal industries, with an estimated value of USD 7-10 billion a
year, nonprofit advocacy groups say.

Since 1980, the estimated population of African elephants has fallen
from 1.2 million to less than 420 000. In 2012 alone, 35 000 elephants
were slaughtered, data show.

Ivory seizures data indicates that most ivory smuggled from Africa
goes to China, according to Tom Milliken, an expert from world
wildlife monitoring network Traffic.
Bulawayo's Milliken, who runs the Elephant Trade Information System
(ETIS), has tracked the illegal flow of ivory from Africa for the past
22 years.

"In every analysis that we've done since 2004, illegal trade in ivory
has been escalating. The last time we did a major assessment, in 2009,
it was escalating at a rate faster and greater than we had seen
previously. Looking at large-scale ivory seizures in 2011, it's going
off the charts. There were just 13 seizures that generated over 23
tons of ivory," he said.

On Thursday [26 Sep 2013] in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton
announced a new global effort to protect Africa's wild elephants from
poaching, part of a personal crusade.
"Unless the killing stops, African forest elephants are expected to be
extinct within 10 years," Clinton said. "I can't even grasp what a
great disaster this is ecologically, but also for anyone who shares
this planet to lose a magnificent creature like the African forest
elephant seems like such a rebuke to our own values," she said.
Font: PROMED 03.10.2013