News Scan for Mar 24, 2014

News brief

Saudi Arabia reports 3 serious MERS-CoV infections

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) late on Mar 21 reported three cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in adults from Riyadh.

The patients are 45, 56, and 75 years old, and all have chronic medical conditions, the MOH said in a statement in Arabic on its Web site. All are hospitalized and receiving intensive care. It did not specify the sex of the patients, whether they had contact with animals, or other details.

The announcement of the latest cases brought a fairly busy MERS-CoV week to a close, with 13 cases reported in 7 days. The MOH's current posted MERS count is 162 cases with 64 deaths.
Mar 21 MOH statement (in Arabic)

Caribbean chikungunya cases approach 16,000

The Caribbean now has 15,913 confirmed, probable, or suspected cases of chikungunya, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in an update today, up from 10,476 at the end of February. The outbreak is the first known in the Americas; it began on St. Martin in December 2013.

Martinique continues to have the most cases, with 7,630 suspected and 1,141 confirmed or probable cases, the ECDC said. The French side of St. Martin is next, with 2,640 suspected and 782 confirmed or probable cases, but the pace of new cases appears to be slowing there. Guadeloupe has 1,960 suspected and 586 confirmed or probable cases.

The next hardest-hit areas are: St. Barthelemy, 420 suspected and 134 confirmed or probable cases; the Dutch side of St. Martin, 115 confirmed cases; Dominica, 392 suspected and 56 confirmed cases; French Guiana, 22 confirmed locally acquired and 10 imported cases; Anguilla, 14 confirmed cases; and Aruba and St. Kitts/Nevis each with 1 confirmed case.

The ECDC also reported 3 chikingunya-related deaths on the French side of St. Martin and 2 on Martinique.
Mar 24 ECDC update

Avian Flu Scan for Mar 24, 2014

News brief

Two new H7N9 cases push two-wave total to 400

China has reported two new H7N9 influenza cases over the past 3 days, along with the death of a previously confirmed case-patient. Both of the fresh cases are from Guangdong province, which has been one of the main hot spots in the second wave of infections that began in October and has now declined to just a few cases per week.

One of the patients, announced by provincial health officials on Mar 22, is a 62-year-old man who is hospitalized in critical condition in Shantou, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. The other patient, whose illness was announced today, is a 49-year-old man who is hospitalized in Shenzhen, according to FluTrackers' translation of a health department notice.

The fatality was reported yesterday by Anhui province, involving an 82-year-old man from the province who had been hospitalized in Jiangsu province and whose illness was first announced on Mar 21, according to FluTrackers.

The two new illnesses boost the overall outbreak total to 400, according to a list of human cases kept by FluTrackers. The latest death pushes the unofficial death tally to 121. So far 264 of the cases have been reported during the second outbreak wave, compared to 136 in the first wave last spring.
Mar 22 FluTrackers thread
Mar 24 FluTrackers thread
Mar 23 FluTrackers thread
FluTrackers human H7N9 case listing

Egypt confirms 2 H5N1 cases

Egypt's health ministry has confirmed two cases of H5N1 avian flu in the northern part of the country, the Egypt Independent reported.

A 56-year-old woman from Beheira governorate and a 4-year-old child from Damietta governorate are both in critical condition in intensive care units, the story said. Both have received oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

The cases are the first in the country since April 2013, the story said. Last year the country confirmed four H5N1 cases, three of which were fatal, according to data from the World Health Organization.

That's a far cry from previous years. Egypt led the world in annual H5N1 cases from 2009 through 2012, with 39, 29, 39, and 11 in those years, respectively.
Mar 22 Egypt Independent story