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After about 300 chickens on a farm in Nepal died mysteriously, H5N1 avian flu was confirmed and 1,552 chickens on that and a neighboring farm as well as 30 crates of eggs were destroyed yesterday by a rapid response team, according to a story in Republica, a Nepalese newspaper.
The CDC says this year's vaccine yields 61% protection and that working-age adults have been hit hard by the flu.
The WHO today put the H7N9 death toll at 112, considerably higher than previously noted.
The WHO recommends keeping the same strains for the Northern Hemisphere's 2014-15 flu season.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported two new cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, one of which was fatal.
The first patient is a 58-year-old male citizen of Al-Ahsa, who has "various chronic diseases." He is receiving medical treatment, but the MOH didn't provide any details on his condition or whether he had contact with any animals or infected people.
Genes of 32 MERS-CoV viruses from Saudi cases showed little evidence of increased adaptation to humans.
As human H7N9 cases slow, the FAO says the risk of human-to-bird transmission is low.
A case of H5N1 avian flu has been confirmed in a 4-year-old Cambodian boy, bringing to three that country's cases so far this year, according to a joint press release today from Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Chikungunya, which has a foothold in the Caribbean, seems likely to spread to other parts of the Americas.
China reports one new case, and a new report notes the first H7N9 detection in a wild bird.
More than 300,000 poultry have been culled at a farm in Guizhou province in southern China after about 1,000 birds died and more than 3,600 became sick from H5N1 avian flu, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reported today.
The 13-valent vaccine for young kids was shown more effective than the 23-valent version for older adults.
The H7N9 cases reported in the past 3 days are from four of China's provinces.
Saudi Arabian health officials on Feb 15 announced the death of a young adult cancer patient from the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), bringing the number of fatal MERS cases in that country to 60.
The 22-year-old man is from Eastern province, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) said. The nation has reported 145 MERS-CoV cases.
Data from seven European countries suggests that last season's influenza vaccine yielded about 42% to 50% protection, depending on the flu type, according to a recent report in Eurosurveillance.
The CDC said flu is still hitting some states hard, but overall the disease continues to decline.
Spanish researchers estimate this season's flu vaccine is only 24% effective so far, much lower than a Canadian estimate last week.
The slowdown continues, with only two new cases in Guangdong province, one of China's hotspots.
Individuals in the San Francisco Bay area are being told to stay alert for symptoms of measles after an infected and contagious student at the University of California, Berkeley, attended classes and used public transportation before his diagnosis last week, according to news sources.
Officials offer few details on what exaclty the 30-nation "Global Health Security Agenda" involves.
