News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – West Nile fever may not be the benign illness it's usually considered to be, according to findings from a North Dakota research group.

Patients who have had West Nile virus infections can continue to experience troubling symptoms, even a year after their illness, the researchers found.

(CIDRAP News) – The first published report of a phase 1 clinical trial of a West Nile virus vaccine shows promise, with 41 of 42 inoculated volunteers (98%) developing antibodies to the virus.

April 4, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The H5N1 virus has sneaked across another border, making Burkina Faso the fifth African nation to lose poultry to the virus.

(CIDRAP News) – Pregnant women who come down with West Nile virus (WNV) infection probably run a fairly small risk of major birth defects in their babies, according to the first analysis of data collected in 16 states.

(CIDRAP News) – Forty states have reported a total of 1,804 cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection, including 52 deaths, so far this year, numbers about even with last year's pace, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

At this time last year, 1,784 WNV cases, including 56 deaths, had been reported, the CDC reported in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

(CIDRAP News) – National health officials made a major pitch today for healthcare workers and people most at risk for influenza and its complications to get flu shots within the next few weeks.

"There are going to be more opportunities than ever to get vaccinated, so go out and get your flu shot," said Mark B. McClellan, head of the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in appealing particularly to Medicare recipients.

(CIDRAP News) – Amid the devastation left by hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast, fears of infectious disease outbreaks have added to the distress. Some of those concerns are solidly grounded, while others are less so, disease experts say.

(CIDRAP News) – The outbreak of an unusual pig-related disease in China might be nearly spent, and evidence continued to point to Streptococcus suis as the cause, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The annual invasion of West Nile virus has sickened 25 people in 11 states and caused one death so far this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Colorado leads the list with 7 cases, followed by South Dakota with 5 and Arizona with 3, according to an article in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The single death occurred in Missouri.

(CIDRAP News) – West Nile virus has made its US debut in the heartland this year, with Kansas reporting the first human case.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of one human illness, the CDC announced on Jun 20. The infection had already been found in birds, horses, and mosquitoes in 14 states this year.