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Some measures of influenza activity in the United States decreased last week, but 19 flu-related deaths in children were reported, far higher than any previous week of the season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in today's weekly update.
Vaccine effectiveness is well below the typical season average, which is around 60%.
Lengthy report examines the 12 months from the first case in Guinea to the explosion of cases that quickly outstripped early response efforts.
In the latest detection of avian flu in wild and domestic birds in Western states, Oregon officials have confirmed the H5N2 strain in a hunter-killed mallard near Eugene, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said in a news release yesterday.
Of 26 notifiable diseases analyzed for 2007 through 2011, rates were higher in American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) than in whites for 14, and for certain diseases the rates in that minority population were dramatically higher, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.
Most healthcare-associated infections—such as MRSA and C diff—have gone down, but not all.
New cases continue, especially in western Sierra Leone.
A 65-year-old woman from the city of Asyut in central Egypt has died as a result of complications from H5N1 avian flu, according to a report today from Egypt's news agency Al-Ahram. She is the country's second H5N1-related fatality this year.
Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population announced the woman's death today and also reported that a 3-year-old boy from the northern town of Beheira has recovered from H5N1.
Note: The measles item was corrected on Jan 15, because the female traveler who had measles was mistakenly called the index patient. We apologize for the error.
Two new cases of MERS-CoV were recorded today by the country's Ministry of Health (MOH), the first since Jan 8, bringing the total for this year to 10 for the country and the total since June 2012 to 835.
Sierra Leone burial practices likely helped fuel ongoing virus transmission.
The current spurt of cases might be caused by increased circulation of H5N1 in poultry and other factors.
California officials confirmed 7 more cases of measles linked to Disney theme parks in California, bringing the total to 26 cases reported in four states, the Associated Press (AP) reported today.
The new cases include 6 in California and 1 in Washington. Three of the California cases were reported yesterday in San Bernardino County and Long Beach.
Not surprisingly, the entire Northern Hemisphere is seeing increasing influenza activity, with H3N2 most common, but unfortunately in an antigenically drifted strain not well matched to the strain in this year's vaccine, according to an update yesterday from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Interim report lays out 14 principles to guide the process of providing vaccines.
Recent global health emergencies like Ebola outbreak have shone a spotlight on WHO limits to quickly respond.
H5N8 in Taiwan leads a long list of outbreaks in Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa.
Oman has confirmed its second MERS-CoV case of the year—and its fourth overall—apparently in a contact of the most recent MERS patient, who has now died, according to media reports.
Six additional human cases of H5N1 avian flu have been reported by Egypt's health ministry, three on Jan 9 and three more yesterday, according to stories from Ahram Online, part of the country's largest news organization, which brings the total so far this year to 10.
High-level meeting in Geneva says large phase 3 trials in West Africa to test efficacy and safety are next up.
The CDC said today doctors too often fail to use antivirals for high-risk flu patients.
