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The number of chikungunya infections in the Americas has increased to 1,343,372, a rise of 32,504, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in its latest update. The bump in cases was slightly higher than the 28,768-case increase recorded the week before.
Egypt has 10 more cases in the past few days, and both Indonesian cases involved likely poultry exposure.
A 39,000-bird turkey farm was hit by H5N2, and H5N1 killed pelicans in Romania.
The WHO reports 114 Saudi MERS cases in January & February, compared with 21 in that time last year.
Liberian officials urged longer sexual abstinence for survivors, and extra response measures are under way in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Filovirus experts who met a year ago say that evidence is lacking for recommending personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers treating patients for diseases like Ebola and Marburg, and they outline several priorities for research, according to a report late last week in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The Obama administration unveils a plan for addressing the threat in the next 5 years.
The findings clear the way for the next step, which may require a change in venue.
The agency has begun developing a vaccine as a backup tool to protect US poultry if needed.
WHO pleads for funds to address Syrian health crisis
As the public health crisis in Syria continues to deteriorate, the World Health Organization (WHO) is asking for $124 million to continue its support of health services in the war-torn country, the agency said in a news release today.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H5N2 has struck a turkey farm in southwestern Minnesota, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today, marking the second H5N2 outbreak reported in the state this month.
The virus was found on a farm housing 66,000 turkeys in Lac Qui Parle County, which is about two counties to the southwest of the previous outbreak in Pope County.
The virus may be more stable than a study in August found.
A WHO update highlights a variety of possible exposures, including camels and sheep.
An infected Canada goose has put Wyoming on the growing list of US states that have recently detected the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N2 virus, while Bulgaria reported today that the HPAI H5N1 virus has surfaced in pelicans.
An unspecified low-path virus hits a Kansas farm, while high-path avian flu is confirmed in Taiwan and Palestine.
The WHO says 79 confirmed cases were reported, down from 150 the week before.
Guinea's trial involves ring vaccination, a strategy used to used to stamp out smallpox in the 1970s.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today, the sixth this week.
The case involves a 48-year-old male expatriate in Riyadh. He is not a healthcare worker but had contact with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case in the community, the MOH said in a statement. He is hospitalized in stable condition.
Influenza vaccination from the 2005-06 season through last season prevented an estimated 40,127 deaths, or 4,458 a year, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers reported this week in Vaccine.
Egypt's health ministry reports 17 more H5N1 to the WHO, indicating continued disease activity.
