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Did the lack of electric, cause the bio culture to escape, as it did on Plum Island? Recall they were using duct tape to seal the doors to the labs with active germs. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ate: Mon 25 Jul 2005 From: ProMED-mail Sources: Reuters AlertNet online, Mon 25 Jul 2005 [edited] Cuba: Havana On Health Alert After 8 Children Die ------------------------------------------------------------ Cuban health authorities urged Havana residents on Sunday [24 Jul 2005] to take extra hygiene precautions as they investigate the deaths of 8 children from an unknown cause. ____________________________________________________________ A government communique said that there had been an increase in digestive and respiratory illnesses reported over the last 2 weeks in the Cuban capital coinciding with power, cooking gas and water problems, in part caused by Hurricane Dennis, which passed a few miles east of Havana on 8 Jul 2005. ____________________________________________________________ The statement said children were particularly susceptible, and in some cases high fever and other complications developed. "In this context 8 deaths among minors have occurred which are being meticulously investigated," the communique, broadcast during the government's nightly television newscast, stated. ____________________________________________________________ While children die at high rates in developing countries from various diseases, such deaths are rare in Communist Cuba, which takes pride in a relatively well-developed and free health care system. ____________________________________________________________ -- ProMED-mail ___________________________________________________________ ****** [2] Date: Mon 25 Jul 2005 From: Cat Bachman Source: CNN.com,Associated Press report, Mon 25 Jul 2005 [edited] ____________________________________________________________ Cuba: Heat May Be Factor in Children's Deaths in Havana ------------------------------------------------------- Cuba's health officials called on Havana residents on Monday [25 Jul 2005] to be especially careful with hygiene after 8 children died in recent weeks of illnesses aggravated by tropical heat and humidity. ____________________________________________________________ A communique by the Public Health Ministry published in the Communist Party daily Granma appeared aimed at dispelling persistent rumors circulating in Havana in recent days about child sicknesses and deaths supposedly caused by epidemics and contaminated medicine. ____________________________________________________________ The ministry denied that anyone died because of supposedly contaminated medicines. It said the deaths were caused by severe respiratory and gastronomical ailments worsened by heat and humidity as well as faulty water and electricity service after Hurricane Dennis struck the island this month. ____________________________________________________________ "The Public Health Ministry calls on the population to increase hygiene measures and work the measures undertaken by [governmental] agencies," the statement said. -- Cat Bachman ____________________________________________________________ [From the limited information we have, it is impossible to hazard a guest as to the likely nature of the illness. It is not clear whether these deaths are related or merely indicative of a general deterioration in the health of the community in the capital following disruption of normal healthcare services in the wake of Hurricane Dennis. More specific information from Havana would be welcomed. - Mod.CP] ......................cp/pg/dk