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(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that preliminary tests indicate that an arenavirus—possibly a previously unknown one—is responsible for the mysterious febrile disease that killed three people in South Africa and has now sickened a fourth.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today said a mysterious febrile disease that bears some resemblance to a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) has killed three people in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The WHO said the victims so far have tested negative for several VHFs and other infectious diseases, and no new cases have emerged since the latest death on Oct 5.

(CIDRAP News) – In the face of chronic low influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers, the leading US society of infection control professionals says it's time to require medically eligible workers to either get the immunization or sign a form saying they understand the risks to patients if they skip it.

(CIDRAP News) – Animal health officials in Germany today reported an H5N1 avian influenza outbreak at a commercial farm in Saxony, signifying the country's first outbreak since December 2007.

The outbreak was detected at a farm in Markersdorf, in east central Germany not far from the border with Poland, according to a report today from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The report said one bird tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

(CIDRAP News) – The current financial crisis may be pulling time and resources away from business pandemic planning, but two experts on the topic today told corporate leaders they can improve their firms' survivability during a global health emergency by avoiding specific mistakes.

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has contracted with a private biological resource business to set up a system to improve researchers' access to influenza viruses, test kits, and reagents.

(CIDRAP News) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has included avian influenza, Ebola fever, Rift Valley fever, and plague on a list of 12 diseases and pathogens that it believes may spread to new regions as a result of climate change.

(CIDRAP News) – Two biotechnology companies—Crucell, based in the Netherlands, and Integrated BioTherapeutics, based in Germantown, Md.—recently announced that they have received $30 million and $22 million contracts, respectively, from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop single vaccines that would protect against both Ebola and Marburg viruses.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently issued a public health alert about the Salmonella infection risk of eating improperly cooked chicken entrees after 32 people in 12 states got sick.

(CIDRAP News) – Seven universities will share $10.9 million in federal funds to study the ability of state and local public health systems to respond to emergencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The number of children who have died from a combination of influenza infection and bacterial pneumonia—in many cases due to the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)—has risen sharply over the past few years, federal epidemiologists say in a new report that urges flu shots as a preventative.

(CIDRAP News) – An interim report from a major study of the US's only licensed anthrax vaccine suggests it may be possible to reduce local side effects without sacrificing effectiveness by changing the injection route and using fewer doses.

(CIDRAP News) – In a recent progress report to Congress on federal influenza pandemic response planning, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recognized a host of obstacles but cited two areas that officials could make headway on: finalizing guidance on allocating antivirals and developing guidance on how to prioritize groups to receive prepandemic vaccine in the early stages of a pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – A flu vaccine manufacturer's decision not to build a US facility has highlighted the perpetual mismatch between flu-shot supply and demand—and the reality that the mismatch may undermine plans for pandemic flu vaccines.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials yesterday announced a plan to supply mail carriers with antibiotics so they will be protected and prepared to deliver the drugs to others in case of an anthrax attack.

The program will start with a $500,000 pilot project involving carriers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, which were chosen because of their extensive bioterrorism preparations, according to an Associated Press (AP) report yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – A top influenza expert with the World Health Organization today sought to allay fears that the upcoming flu season in the northern hemisphere will be unusually severe.

(CIDRAP News) – In the influenza pandemic of 1918, those who got sick in the first wave of illness were up to 94% less likely to fall ill when the second and much more severe wave struck, according to a new analysis of historical data.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved a new diagnostic test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that can quickly distinguish seasonal influenza strains from an evolving virus that might have pandemic potential in hours rather than days.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced that it awarded 17 food and feed safety grants totaling $5.2 million to state and local regulatory agencies.

(CIDRAP News) – Four organizations that represent many of the nation's public health officials issued a report yesterday detailing how 6 years of federal funding has improved preparedness, though serious challenges remain, such as hiring and training lab workers and local preparedness planners.