Building the Future of Biodefense

Recommendation: Organizations in or traveling to Vanuatu should encourage employees to seek treatment if they develop symptoms consistent with a toxin exposure, such as vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, numbness or tingling of the skin, fatigue, joint/muscle pain, or temperature reversal (cold feels hot). Employees should avoid eating reef fish from local markets or restaurants, and organizations may wish to notify employees of the potential risk of eating fish while cases are occurring in Vanuatu. Organizations and individuals should dispose of any leftover fish.

Situation: As of 3/30, Vanuatu reported 75 ciguatera fish poisoning cases, with recent increases in week 12 after a brief decline between weeks 9 and 11. Most cases occurred in young adults, with no deaths reported. Cases were reported across 8 islands, predominantly Efate (63%), and most illnesses were linked to consumption of unspecified “other” fish, followed by reef fish and Karosol fish. See PHC alert 3/4 for earlier info. [Confidence: Very High]

Recommendation: Organizations in New Jersey, should provide flexible work schedules to support employees making vaccine appointments for themselves or family members. Measles is highly contagious and can quickly spread among unvaccinated individuals in a work environment.

Situation: New Jersey detected the measles virus in wastewater collected from a treatment plant in Essex County on 3/20. The treatment plant serves Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Union, and Essex Counties, which also includes Newark Liberty International Airport. The detection suggests that at least 1 individual in the community or traveling through the community around that time was infectious with measles. A sample collected on 3/23 at the same site was negative. No cases were reported among New Jersey residents in this region so far this year. [Confidence: Very High]