Day: September 4, 2022

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ROSEN, GLOBAL INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Abbott Laboratories Investors With Losses to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – ABT

NEW YORK, Sept. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) between February 19, 2021 and June 8, 2022, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 31, 2022.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Abbott securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Abbott class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8453 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 31, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), Abbott had “egregiously unsanitary” conditions at its Sturgis, Michigan facility which produced nearing half of Abbott’s various forms of infant formula under the brands Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare; (2) as a result, Abbott’s infant formula business was in dire jeopardy given the flagrant violations of federal and state health and safety regulations; (3) based on inspections by the FDA between 2019 and 2022, Abbott failed to establish process controls “designed to ensure that infant formula does not become adulterated due to the presence of microorganisms in the formula or in the processing environment” and Abbott also failed to “ensure that all surfaces that contacted infant formula were maintained to protect infant formula from being contaminated by any source”; (4) the unhygienic conditions of the Sturgis facility resulted in the recall of Abbott’s infant formula and closure of the Sturgis facility; and (5) as a result, defendants’ public statements about Abbott’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Abbott class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8453 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com

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Disease Outbreak News: Yellow fever – East, West, and Central Africa (2 September 2022)

Situation at a glance

Yellow fever is endemic in the WHO African Region and was among the top five most frequently reported events in the region in 2019 and 2020. Twenty-seven countries in Africa have been classified as high-risk by the Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) global strategy. From 1 January 2021 to 26 August 2022, a total of 12 countries in the region have reported 184 confirmed cases and 274 probable cases, including 21 deaths, reflecting ongoing complex viral transmission.

Risk factors for onward spread and amplification include low population immunity, population movements, viral transmission dynamics, and climate and ecological factors that have contributed to the spread of Aedes mosquitoes. Response measures, most notably reactive and preventive vaccination campaigns, are ongoing in the affected countries. Since the beginning of 2021, over 3.9 million people have been vaccinated through reactive vaccination campaigns in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, and Kenya.

Description of outbreaks

In 2021, nine African countries – Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Republic of the Congo – reported a total of 151 confirmed cases of yellow fever (for more details, please see the Disease Outbreak News published on 23 December 2021). Of these nine countries, six continue to report confirmed cases of yellow fever with ongoing transmission in 2022, while Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria have reported probable cases and Gabon has not reported further cases since 2021.

In 2022, two additional countries, Kenya and Uganda, have reported confirmed cases of yellow fever. From 1 January to 26 August 2022, a total of 33 confirmed cases of yellow fever were reported from eight African countries including Central African Republic (33%, 11 cases), Cameroon (24%, eight cases), Democratic Republic of Congo (13%, four cases), Kenya (9%, three cases), Chad (6%, two cases), Republic of the Congo (6%, two cases), Uganda (6%, two cases), and Ghana (3%, one case).

Ten countries – Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, and Republic of the Congo – have also reported a total of 274 probable cases of yellow fever from 1 January 2021 to 26 August 2022 (Table 1).

The majority of cases over the entire period were reported in the last quarter of 2021 (Figure 1), with Ghana reporting around 33% of all confirmed cases. Of 184 confirmed cases, 73% are aged 30 years and below, and the male-to-female ratio is 1.2. The case count and the number of outbreaks are anticipated to continue evolving as the Region enters the seasonal period when there is often an increase in cases notified.

Epidemiology of yellow fever

Yellow fever is an epidemic-prone, vaccine-preventable disease caused by an arbovirus transmitted to humans by the bites of infected Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes. The incubation period ranges from 3 to 6 days. Many people do not experience symptoms, but when they occur the most common are fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting. In most cases, symptoms clear after 3 to 4 days. A small proportion of cases progress to the toxic phase with systemic infection affecting the liver and kidneys. These individuals can have more severe symptoms of high-grade fever, abdominal pain with vomiting, jaundice and dark urine caused by acute liver and kidney failure. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes, or stomach. Death can occur within 7 – 10 days in about half of cases with severe symptoms.

Yellow fever is prevented by an effective vaccine, which is safe and affordable. A single dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to grant sustained immunity and life-long protection against yellow fever disease. A booster dose of the vaccine is not needed. The vaccine provides effective immunity within 10 days for 80-100% of people vaccinated, and within 30 days for more than 99% of people vaccinated.

Public health response

WHO is providing coordination and technical support to countries in conducting comprehensive investigations and outbreak response. Response measures by affected countries include:

**Strengthening surveillance and laboratory capacity **

WHO is supporting national authorities with field investigations, including training of health personnel on yellow fever case investigation, review of case investigation reports, and undertaking case classification sessions to ascertain the epidemiological classification of yellow fever cases;

The Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) strategy continues to support international shipment of yellow fever samples to regional reference laboratories since 2019, as well as ongoing laboratory testing and capacity building;

Data management activities have been strengthened.

Vaccination

Reactive vaccination campaigns (RVC)

As part of the outbreak response to the reported cases, there have been seven RVC (two in Ghana, two in Chad, and one each in Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Kenya);

From 1 January 2021 to 26 August 2022, a total of 3 991 568 persons have been vaccinated with support from the International Coordination Group (ICG);

An additional RVC has been approved by ICG for implementation in Central African Republic and is expected to launch in September 2022 with a target of 345,920 people.

Preventive mass vaccination campaigns (PMVC)

PMVC target areas at high risk of virus transmission and inadequate population immunity. In total, approximately 80 million people are expected to be protected by PMVC in 2022;

Of the countries affected in this outbreak, Nigeria (in select States) and the Republic of the Congo have begun their PMVC this year; the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda have also planned vaccination activities in the last quarter of 2022.

WHO risk assessment

According to the EYE strategy, twenty-seven countries in the African region are high-risk countries for yellow fever based on timing and intensity of yellow fever virus transmission, transmission potential and assessment of urban risk. Re-emergence of yellow fever was reported in 2020 with two outbreaks in West African countries with history of mass vaccination (in Guinea and Senegal, now contained). Since late 2021, the situation has intensified with 12 countries across the region reporting probable and confirmed cases.

WHO assesses the risk at regional level to be high. Current multi-country outbreaks and active virus circulation in West, Central and East Africa have resulted in increased morbidity and mortality, with continued risk of amplification and spread. The immunization coverage for yellow fever has been suboptimal in most of the affected countries and in specific populations. According to WHO and UNICEF estimates, in 2021, the routine childhood vaccination immunization coverage for yellow fever in the African region was 47%. This is much lower than the 80% threshold required to confer population immunity against yellow fever, indicating that a large population remains susceptible to yellow fever with a risk of continued transmission.

Immunization coverage by countries reporting probable and confirmed cases in West, Central and East Africa are as follows: Cameroon (54%), Central African Republic (41%), Chad (45%), Republic of the Congo (67%), Côte d’Ivoire (65%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (56%), Gabon (53%), Ghana (94%), Kenya (7%), Niger (80%), and Nigeria (63%). Uganda plans to introduce yellow fever vaccine into routine immunization in August 2022. Further information on immunization coverage can be found here.

Many countries in West, Central, and East Africa have been facing political instability and insecurity, in addition to concurrent outbreaks (including COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, cholera, meningitis, malaria, monkeypox, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), chikungunya, leishmaniasis, plague, Lassa fever, etc.). These could contribute to delayed case investigation and hinder the surveillance and response efforts against yellow fever.

The risk at global level is assessed to be low as no exported cases of yellow fever linked to these 12 countries with probable or confirmed cases since January 2021 have been reported.

WHO advice

Surveillance: WHO recommends close monitoring of the situation with active cross-border coordination and information sharing, due to the possibility of cases in neighbouring countries. Enhanced surveillance with investigation and laboratory testing of suspect cases is recommended.

Vaccination: Vaccination is the primary means of prevention and control of yellow fever. Yellow fever vaccination is safe, highly effective and a single dose provides life-long protection. Completion of nation-wide population protection through vaccination will help avert the risk of future outbreaks. WHO supports national plans by countries reporting yellow fever outbreaks to introduce yellow fever vaccination into the routine immunization programme and complete preventive mass vaccination activities to rapidly boost population immunity.

Vector control: In urban centres, targeted vector control measures are also helpful to interrupt transmission. As a general precaution, WHO recommends avoidance of mosquito bites including the use of repellents and insecticide treated mosquito nets. The greatest risk for transmission of yellow fever virus is during the day and early evening.

Risk communication: WHO encourages its Member States to take all actions necessary to keep travellers well informed of risks and preventive measures including vaccination. Travellers should be made aware of yellow fever symptoms and signs and instructed to rapidly seek medical advice if presenting signs and symptoms suggestive of yellow fever infection. Returning travellers who are infected may pose a risk for the establishment of local cycles of yellow fever transmission in areas where a competent vector is present.

International travel and trade: WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions to the Region. WHO recommends vaccination against yellow fever for all international travellers, aged nine months of age or older, going to areas determined by the WHO to be at risk for yellow fever transmission. For additional areas, the recommendation for vaccination of international travellers is subject to the assessment of the likelihood of exposure of each individual traveller. Detailed information is available here.

In accordance with the IHR (2005) third edition, the international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever becomes valid 10 days after vaccination and the validity extends throughout the life of the person vaccinated. A single dose of WHO approved yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and life-long protection against yellow fever disease. A booster dose of the vaccine is not needed and is not required of international travellers as a condition of entry.

Source: World Health Organization

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Mali Releases 3 Ivorian Soldiers; 46 Others Still Detained

Three female Ivorian soldiers arrived home late Saturday after being detained for nearly two months in Mali, while 46 others remain jailed in a case that has heightened tensions between the West African neighbors.

Togolese Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Dusse, whose country has been mediating talks, said the three women were “released as a humanitarian gesture” by Mali’s leader, Col. Assimi Goita.

“We are sad because our friends are still there and we hope to be able to retrieve them very soon,” said one of the soldiers, Sita Bamba, who was released along with Awa Bakayoko and Kangah Badou Adele Bledou.

The Ivorian soldiers were sent to Mali in July to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company contracted by the United Nations.

However, Mali’s government said it considered the Ivorians to be mercenaries because they were not directly employed by the U.N. mission and charged them with undermining state security. Malian authorities said the aviation company should “henceforth entrust its security to the Malian defense and security forces.”

In a statement, Malian Prosecutor Samba Sissoko gave no update about the 46 Ivorians who are still detained, other than to say that “investigations are ongoing.” The Togolese foreign affairs minister indicated discussions about the remaining detainees continue.

The detention of the Ivorian soldiers marked the latest sign of tension between Mali’s leader and the international community. Goita has faced growing isolation after he seized power in a coup two years ago and then failed to meet an international deadline for organizing new democratic elections.

In June, Malian authorities said they would not authorize the U.N. mission to investigate human rights violations in Mali, including the deaths of more than 300 civilians earlier this year. Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of carrying out the killings.

France, the one-time colonial power that had fought Islamic extremism for nine years in Mali, completed its troop withdrawal from the country last month.

Source: Voice of America

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Agrometeorological Early Warning Bulletin (1 – 10 September 2022) [EN/AR]

EARLY WARNING: FURTHER STORMS FORECASTED IN ALREADY FLOODED AREAS IN WESTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY

With over 200 mm of rainfall reported during the last ten days of August, torrential downpours continued to turn streets into rivers, paralysing accessibility and flooding agricultural fields, especially in central Marib and much of western Yemen. Ninety-one people were reportedly killed by floods and landslides, while thousands were displaced.

With scores of homes severely damaged, a spike in the total fatalities caused by the ongoing floods has also been reported.

Flood forecast: More storms are forecasted over the already flooded areas of western Yemen up to 10 September, with a high likelihood of reaching mid-month. A 5-day forecast indicates that by the fifth, cumulative rainfall over much of Ibb, western Al Dhale’e, and eastern Taizz will get a high of 100 mm, potentially putting about 8,100 people at risk . Forecast-based action such as livestock evacuation or reinforcement of protective shelters to reduce further losses in livelihoods of vulnerable farming communities is strongly encouraged. Further, where necessary, temporal suspension or relocation of vulnerable farming businesses is also advised. Emergency managers are encouraged to revisit flood management plans and provide necessary reinforcements.

Desert Locusts (DL): The DL situation remained calm throughout much of August apart from low density isolated immature solitarious adults, spotted in Sirwah and Bidbdah districts of Marib governorate. The recent rains favour small-scale breeding, especially in Marib, Al Jawf, Shabwah and Hadramaut governorates. Vigilance and continued surveys remain a necessity.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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UN Relief Chief Visits Somalia’s Drought Epicenter

United Nations Relief Chief Martin Griffiths has visited Somalia’s South West state, the epicenter of the country’s severe drought. That drought has already displaced more than 1 million people.

In his first visit to Somalia, the most drought-affected country in the Horn of Africa, U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths said the country needs global support to curb the worst drought in 40 years.

In a news conference in Baidoa, the epicenter of the drought, after he met with South West state President Abdiasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, Griffiths said it is “almost unimaginable” that Baidoa is sheltering 750,000 displaced people.

Somalia’s drought, which devastated 90% of the country, has already displaced more than 1 million people and 7.8 million others need humanitarian assistance.

The U.N. relief chief commended the local community in Baidoa for their efforts to help the displaced.

“One more point, we fear the worst may yet to come, we fear that we will see exponentially increasing need, we fear globally that Baidoa and this South West state is going to need the charity generosity and priority of the world because of the scale of suffering that we anticipate,” he said.

In a brief statement Griffiths posted on Twitter after the visit, he said that he saw babies too weak to cry, and mothers who are still children themselves.

“The silence of the international community is deafening,” he wrote.

For his part, South West state President Laftagareen welcomed the visit by the U.N. delegation.

He says they discussed the current issues such as the drought relief efforts and the way that drought-affected people can be supported. They also spoke of ways to provide emergency relief in South West state.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Somalia office said Saturday that food prices have spiked in the country and hunger is rising.

It said that for the first time since 2017 “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity have been confirmed, with 213,000 people in famine-like conditions.

UNICEF earlier told VOA that drought-related malnutrition has already killed 500 children in Somalia.

Somalia last year declared the three-year drought a national emergency.

According to the prime minister’s office, the drought has also killed more than 2 million livestock and affected 28% of the country’s total livestock population.

Source: Voice of America

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Ukraine’s First Lady: Energy Price Hikes Come with Extra Cost for Ukraine

In an interview with the BBC, airing Sunday, Ukraine’s first lady noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spiked energy prices across Europe, but has come with an additional price for her homeland.

Olena Zelenskyy told Laura Kuenssberg, “I understand the situation is very tough. The prices are going up in Ukraine, as well. But in addition our people get killed. … So when you start counting pennies on your bank account or in your pocket, we do the same and count our casualties.”

The British defense ministry said Sunday in an intelligence update on Twitter that “Russian forces continue to suffer from morale and discipline issues in Ukraine. In addition to combat fatigue and high casualties, one of the main grievances from deployed Russian soldiers probably continues to be problems with their pay.”

The ministry’s statement said that “In the Russian military, troops’ income consists of a modest core salary, augmented by a complex variety of bonuses and allowances. In Ukraine, there has highly likely been significant problems with sizable combat bonuses not being paid. This is probably due to inefficient military bureaucracy, the unusual legal status of the ‘special military operation’, and at least some outright corruption amongst commanders.

“The Russian military has consistently failed to provide basic entitlements to troops deployed in Ukraine, including appropriate uniform, arms and rations, as well as pay,” according to the British ministry. “This has almost certainly contributed to the continued fragile morale of much of the force.”

Saturday, a top European Union leader said amid the intensifying energy battle between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine that Europe is “well prepared” — thanks to storage capacity and energy conservation measures — if Russia decides to stop all gas deliveries.

“We are well prepared to resist Russia’s extreme use of the gas weapon,” EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told reporters on the sidelines of an economic forum in Italy. “We are not afraid of Putin’s decisions, we are asking the Russians to respect contracts, but if they don’t, we are ready to react.”

Gentiloni’s remarks come on the heels of Moscow’s decision Friday to delay the reopening of its main gas pipeline to Germany. Russia was reacting to the Group of Seven countries’ agreement to cap the price of Russian oil exports, limiting Moscow’s profits.

Gentiloni said that gas storage in the European Union “is currently at about 80%, thanks to the diversification of supplies,” although the situation varies in each country.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said it could not resume the supply of natural gas to Germany, just hours before it was set to restart deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Russia blamed a technical fault in the pipeline for the move, which is likely to worsen Europe’s energy crisis.

European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said Friday on Twitter that Gazprom acted under “fallacious pretenses” to shut down the pipeline.

Turbine-maker Siemens Energy, which supplies and maintains some of the pipeline equipment, said Friday that there was no technical reason to stop shipping natural gas.

Moscow has blamed Western sanctions that took effect after Russia invaded Ukraine for hindering the maintenance of the gas pipeline. Europe accuses Russia of using its leverage over gas supplies to retaliate against European sanctions.

Friday, finance ministers from the G-7 countries said they would work quickly to implement a price cap on Russian oil exports.

The G-7 ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said the amount of the price cap would be determined later “based on a range of technical inputs.”

“This price cap on Russian oil exports is designed to reduce Putin’s revenues, closing an important source of funding for the war of aggression,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision by G-7 finance ministers.

“When this mechanism is implemented, it will become an important element of protecting civilized countries and energy markets from Russian hybrid aggression,” Zelenskyy said in his Friday evening video address.

The jockeying for control of energy supplies comes as Russian and Ukrainian forces trade strikes near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where U.N. inspectors are seeking to avert a potential disaster.

Ukraine’s military said Friday it had carried out strikes against a Russian base in the southern town of Enerhodar, near the nuclear power plant.

Russia and Ukraine each accuse the other of shelling near the facility. Kyiv also accuses Moscow of storing ammunition around the plant and using the facility as a shield for carrying out attacks, charges Russia denies.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Zaporizhzhia plant this week, having braved artillery blasts to reach the facility Thursday.

IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi said he and his team saw everything they asked to see at the plant, were not surprised by anything, and he will issue a report early next week on his findings.

Grossi, who has left Ukraine, spoke with reporters after arriving at the airport in Vienna on Friday. He said, “My concern would be the physical integrity – would be the power supply and of course the staff” at Zaporizhzhia.

A team of 13 experts accompanied Grossi to Ukraine, and he said six have remained at Zaporizhzhia. Of those six, two will remain until hostilities cease, which Grossi said will make a huge difference.

“If something happens or if any limitation comes, they are going to be reporting it – report it to us,” Grossi said. “It is no longer a matter of ‘A said this, and B said the contrary.’ Now the IAEA is there.”

Friday, Ukraine’s nuclear agency, Energoatom, accused Russia of “making every effort” to prevent the IAEA mission from learning the real situation at the facility.

The Zaporizhzhia plant has been controlled by Russia since the earliest days of its invasion but remains operated by Ukrainian engineers.

With the nuclear plant in a war zone, world leaders have expressed fears it could be damaged and result in a radiation disaster like that at Ukraine’s Chernobyl plant in 1986.

Grain shipments

Ukrainian grain shipments are continuing. The Joint Coordination Center said Saturday it has cleared two outbound vessels to move Sunday. The ships are carrying a total of 14,250 metric tons of grain and other food products to Turkey.

Another 10 vessels that had been set to move earlier but were delayed by bad weather are also expected to leave Ukrainian ports Sunday for destinations in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Source: Voice of America