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Three more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV-1) infections have been confirmed in Syria, pushing the number of cases to 13, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
The outbreak has spurred plans to vaccinate 20 million children in seven countries.
Qatari health officials today announced a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in a 48-year-old citizen, according to a report from the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
The Qatar Supreme Council of Health said the man has underlying health conditions and that tests on his close contacts have so far been negative, the report said. No other details were available about the case, which is the eighth one reported in Qatar.
Flu activity in the United States remained at low levels last week, though some markers showed slight increases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
The percentage of respiratory specimens that tested positive for flu rose from 4.5% to 4.9% over the past week, and the percentage of clinic visits for flu-like illness crept up from 1.2% to 1.4%. Both indicators remain below their baselines.
Officials give new details and outline efforts to identify fellow Jeddah-to-Madrid passengers.
The MERS patient in the UAE and the two in Saudi Arabia are all hospitalized in ICUs.
The group says we need better diagnostic tests to expedite treatment decisions.
The first reported US multistate outbreak of campylobacteriosis linked to chicken livers, in 2012, involved raw or lightly cooked product and an infected worker at the implicated plant, according to a report today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Spain's first MERS case was confirmed in a woman who spent October in Saudi Arabia.
A Lancet report adds to expectations that hepatitis C might be treated without months of injections.
The World Health Organization (WHO), citing Chinese officials, today confirmed two H7N9 avian flu cases reported by the media yesterday and provided further details.
The first patient is a 3-year-old boy from Guangdong province who became sick Oct 29, was admitted to a local hospital on Oct 31, and was transferred to another hospital on Nov 4. He is in stable condition and had contact with live poultry, the WHO said.
China reported two H7N9 influenza cases in different provinces today, the third and fourth cases detected since mid-October.
As Syria begins large-scale vaccination efforts to combat polio, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe said in a statement today that the situation increases the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus, and aid groups called for a truce to help stem the disease.
Personal reminders likely help boost flu vaccine uptake in the elderly, but other data are scant.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed a fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia, adding to information in an Oct 31 statement from the Saudi government about the death of a 56-year-old.
Growth in international travel and precaution lapses may contribute to a 40-year high in imported malaria cases.
US flu activity increased only slightly last week, though markers stayed well below thresholds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update.
The number of respiratory samples that tested positive for flu edged up slightly, from 3.8% to 4.5%, and the percentage of clinic visits for flu remained at the 1.2% seen the previous week.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced the release of a strategic plan and expansion of early notification requirements aimed at further enhancing its efforts to avoid drug shortages and to solve them quickly when they do occur.
Risk study finds 12% of spices were tainted by pathogens like Salmonella or by filth.
Closure of live-poultry markets (LPMs) in four Chinese cities in the spring of this year promptly cut H7N9 avian flu cases by more than 97%, according to a statistical analysis published today in The Lancet.
