News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity in many Northern Hemisphere countries continued its late-season rise last week, with areas such as the United States, Canada, and Europe reporting steady increases.

Though flu activity overall is low, notable increases are occurring in North America, western Europe, and northern China, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity remained low in the Northern Hemisphere last week, with only a few countries, such as Costa Rica and Cameroon, reporting spikes in the number of cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

Costa Rica is the only tropical country in the Americas to report increasing numbers of cases, which are primarily influenza A/H3N2, the WHO said.

(CIDRAP News) – Health experts who investigated Europe's first chikungunya outbreak involving transmission by local mosquitoes recently reported that cases could occur again next spring unless vigorous mosquito surveillance and eradication measures are used to control the disease in Italyand prevent its spread to other parts of Europe.

(CIDRAP News) – A recent outbreak of the debilitating tropical disease known as chikungunya fever in northern Italy apparently marks the mosquito-borne infection's first foothold in Europe, according to European health authorities.