News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Saying dengue virus infections and deaths have mushroomed in recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a strategy report that sets a goal of cutting deaths in half and reducing cases by 25% over the next 8 years.

(CIDRAP News) – Influenza activity is widespread across most of Australia and is running above baseline levels in New Zealand, though activity patterns and circulating virus strains vary among Southern Hemisphere countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest global flu update.

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity has taken a notable upswing in some Southern Hemisphere countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, and Brazil, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its regular update.

(CIDRAP News) – A joint investigation into dozens of puzzling lethal respiratory illnesses in Cambodian children concluded that the infections were caused by a severe form of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Cambodia's health ministry said today in a statement.

Antiviral-resistant H1N1 virus in Australia didn't spread farAn oseltamivir-resistant 2009 H1N1 virus that spread in one Australian community in 2011 apparently did not escape to a nearby large city, according to a report published in Eurosurveillance yesterday. Researchers previously reported the community spread of a resistant 2009 H1N1 virus in the Newcastle, Australia, area from June through August of 2011, the report notes.