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China reports nine new H7N9 cases, as detections near Vietnam prompt an alert.
A Chinese study suggests that H7N9 may spread person to person only with prolonged close contact, if at all.
The federal government will provide up to $90 million to develop a new drug to treat two potential bioterror threats and possibly to combat antibiotic-resistant infections, the US Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS's) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced today.
The virus carries genes from H9N2 viruses and has a mutation linked to adaptation to mammals.
The cases are from five provinces, mostly in the south, and include three deaths.
A 33-year-old United Arab Emirates man who fell ill with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in December died on Jan 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.
Cambodia—which had by far the most H5N1 avian flu cases in 2013—has confirmed its first case of 2014, in a 5-year-old boy, the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported today.
The new cases include 4 in children, as the second wave tilts more toward southern China.
A 67-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen in Riyadh is hospitalized for treatment of a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) announced yesterday.
In a statement dated yesterday, the ministry said the man has a chronic disease and is being treated in an intensive care unit. It gave no details about his possible sources of exposure to the virus or when he fell ill.
Vietnam and China have each confirmed a case of H5N1 avian flu in recent days, with Vietnam's case proving fatal.
In Vietnam, a 60-year-old woman in Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta died of the deadly virus on Jan 27, Than Nien News reported yesterday. The woman developed a fever and other symptoms on Jan 22, authorities said. She was hospitalized on Jan 23 in neighboring An Gian province on Jan 23, where she died.
With China celebrating its Lunar New Year today, new reports of H7N9 cases slowed.
For a second straight week, most key indicators are down, and some have dropped 3 weeks in a row.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today filed a rule on sanitary transportation "to ensure that transportation practices do not create food safety risks," the agency said in the proposed rule.
The rule is part of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and is the act's seventh and final rule. Today's filing complies with a court-ordered Jan 31 deadline, according to a Food Safety News (FSN) story today.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday released information detailing how clinicians can get investigational intravenous (IV) zanamivir (Relenza) for severely ill flu patients. The drug is in phase 3 clinical trials and can only be obtained by enrolling patients in ongoing clinical trials or an emergency investigational new drug request.
Six new cases push the 2nd-wave total to 137 as issues arise over poultry testing.
The programs could provide a model for other nations to protect against health threats.
In its annual snapshot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday noted that states in 2012 and 2013 again benefited from the agency's support for public health readiness and response through its Public Health Emergency Preparedness program.
The report, published by the CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), highlighted several success stories, including:
The rise in H7N9 cases sees no let-up, as a 3-person family cluster is reported.
A 60-year-old man has died in Riyadh of MERS-CoV, and a report details a MERS-related stillbirth case.
Two doses of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine (MMRV) were more efficacious at preventing moderate to severe varicella infection (chickenpox) than one dose of monovalent varicella vaccine and markedly more effective against varicella of any severity, according to a study today in The Lancet.
