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H5N2 avian flu—which surfaced in Minnesota poultry last week—has now struck at least one turkey farm in Missouri.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received reports of 3 more measles cases last week, nudging the national total to 173 so far this year, a large chunk of them part of an ongoing multistate outbreak linked to Disneyland in California, according to an update today. The pace of the increase seems to have slowed, compared with the 16-case increase the CDC reported last week.
Nineteen new H7N9 avian influenza cases have been reported in seven of China's provinces over the past 3 days, though basic epidemiologic details are known for only six of them, according to official reports, including health department notices translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
The finding marks the first appearance of high-path H5N2 in the Mississippi Flyway.
Saudi Arabia notes 2 new cases and the WHO details 10 previously reported ones.
Flu activity in the United States was elevated last week for the fifteenth week in a row, but surveillance markers show that levels continue to decline.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that the percentage of doctor visits for flulike illness dropped from 3% to 2.5% last week, but it is still above the national baseline of 2%.
The 2 nations have destroyed more than 2.7 million poultry to combat H5N8 and H5N2.
With its Mar 7 launch date, the trial's main goal is to see if ring vaccination can knock down Ebola hot spots.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported three new MERS-CoV cases in separate cities, one of which was fatal.
The newly reported fatality involved a 73-year-old Saudi man in Riyadh. Potential exposure to MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in a healthcare setting is under investigation. He had no recent contact with animals or with MERS cases in the community.
Using a new method to estimate influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calculates that somewhere between 5,000 and 27,000 Americans died of flu-related causes during each of the three flu seasons from 2010-11 through 2012-13.
Although Liberia had no new cases, Guinea reported 51 and Sierra Leone 81 as response hurdles emerge.
The change of 2 strains was expected but was not without considerable discussion.
Another MERS-CoV case today in Riyadh boosts the number of MERS cases in Saudi Arabia this month to 13, 12 of which have been in Riyadh. The country's Ministry of Health (MOH) also confirmed a death in a previously reported patient.
In related news, a study today found no evidence of the virus in Bactrian (two-humped) camels.
A 16-year-old girl in Sharqia governorate and a 33-year old woman in Cairo died yesterday in Egypt from H5N1 avian flu, Ahram Online reported yesterday.
A case list compiled and monitored by the online news message board FluTrackers includes 78 H5N1 cases in 2015, not including the case in the 16-year-old girl. FluTrackers says 21 of the cases have proved fatal.
A Doctors without Borders official said the fatality rate in Ebola treatment centers is still an appalling 50%.
Saudi Arabia reported another MERS case today, raising the count for the first 3 days of March to a dozen, 11 of which occurred in Riyadh.
The latest estimate of the overall effectiveness of this year's seasonal influenza vaccine puts it at just 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7%-29%), slightly lower than the 23% reported in mid-January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday.
The Saudi government reports 15 MERS cases and 6 deaths over 3 days and promises weekly reports.
Sixteen new cases lift the US total to 170 so far this year, about three fourths in a large multistate outbreak linked to Disneyland.
Immune outcomes are promising, but the level of serious adverse events is a concern.
