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Cases continue in Middle East hot spots as first US case-patient recovers.
The health ministry of Pakistan, the country with the most polio cases of late, has committed to setting up mandatory immunization counters for travelers at all its airports, border crossings, and seaports in response to yesterday's World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a worldwide polio emergency, according to a story in the current issue of Pakistan Today.
Chinese health officials have confirmed what appears to be the first known H5N6 avian influenza infection in a human, a farmer from Sichuan province who had severe pneumonia and died, according to a post yesterday from ProMED-mail, the online reporting system of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
The first US MERS patients is a US citizen in his 60s who lives and works in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia reported 36 cases over the past 3 days, pushing its total well over 400.
A late-season "flu B" surge serves as a reminder that it can be severe in adults, as a recent study shows.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan declared polio's spread this year to be a public health emergency, and she spelled out temporary steps for curbing the threat.
China's Guangdong province reported another H7N9 influenza infection, along with a death in a previously reported case, according to a May 2 health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
The patient is a 53-year-old woman from Shenzhen who suffers from chronic bronchitis. She is hospitalized in stable condition.
A WHO team moves from Riyadh to Jeddah, while other experts call for collaboration.
The first importation of the disease to the United States poses little risk to the general public, say officials.
A US-Chinese team of scientists has reported the discovery of three human monoclonal antibodies with a potent ability to neutralize MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), a find they say may point the way toward a drug to prevent or treat the infection.
The MERS onslaught that began in late March rolled into May with 11 new cases.
Scientists with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have detected a new orthopoxvirus—the family of viruses that includes smallpox and cowpox—in three people in the nation of Georgia, including two herdsmen, the CDC reported in a news release yesterday.
Health officials have been heard to say that even though influenza vaccine doesn't provide complete protection against flu, it may reduce symptoms if you do get sick. Now a study out of Wisconsin offers some evidence in support of that view.
The April MERS surge continued, with 16 more cases reported in Saudi Arabia.
The world's antibiotic resistance picture is bleak, but key steps can preserve the drugs, the WHO says.
The Department of Health and Human (HHS) has ordered Biota Pharmaceuticals to stop research on the experimental flu antiviral drug laninamivir, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported yesterday.
Plans for the US government's "Generation 3" automated system to test the air for dangerous pathogens in US cities under the BioWatch program have been canceled over concerns about its cost and effectiveness, it was revealed recently.
The Saudi count grows to 345, including 105 deaths, as a local medical conference is shelved.
The results further augment the evidence that camels are a source of human infections.
