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A 59-year-old Shanghai man died of H7N9 influenza on May 31, becoming the 38th person to succumb to the infection, according to a report from the Chinese state new agency, Xinhua. The man had been sick for nearly 2 months, the story said.
Shanghai, where two of the first three H7N9 cases were reported on Mar 31, has had 33 cases, the report said. Fifteen patients have recovered, 15 died, and 3 are still being treated.
Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in sewage samples from Rahat, Israel, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today. Israel has not had a case of polio since 1988 and hasn't confirmed WPV in environmental samples since 2002.
May 31, 2013
(CIDRAP News) – Italy announced its first Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case today, in a man who recently spent time in Jordan, site of the first known MERS illnesses, according to media reports.
(CIDRAP News) – Local emergency responses to H7N9 influenza outbreaks in China have all ended, a Chinese media report said today, as the World Health Organization (WHO) released an overview of what has been learned about the virus and the disease since it emerged 2 months ago.
(CIDRAP News) – Jordan's health ministry has sent 124 respiratory samples it collected from suspected Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases, none of which appear to be recent infections, to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing, the agency said today.
Ricin letter threats target NYC mayor, gun control group
(CIDRAP News) – Another Saudi Arabian has been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), while six others whose illnesses were previously announced have died, Saudi Arabian authorities and the World Health Organization announced today.
(CIDRAP News) – Disinfecting all intensive care unit (ICU) patients was found to be more effective and easier to implement than specifically screening ICU patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) before disinfection in a study of more than 70,000 patients published today.
May 29, 2013
(CIDRAP News) – Antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) are useful for treating H7N9 influenza infections, but there are worrisome signs that resistance can easily develop when patients take the drug, which can lead to a poor prognosis, researchers from China and Hong Kong reported today.
Kansas officials break ground on new federal biodefense lab
(CIDRAP News) – Saudi Arabia reported today that five more people have been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), as if to underline yesterday's warning from the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the novel virus is a global threat.
(CIDRAP News) – Saudi Arabian officials announced today that they plan to send animal samples to the United States as part of the hunt for the source of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and also reported that testing of scores of human samples has revealed no new cases in the past 2 days.
Chinese officials are wrapping up the bird sampling part of the investigation into the novel H7N9 avian flu virus, as international experts weigh the effect of live-bird market closures assess diagnostic tests, and explore candidate vaccine viruses.
May 24, 2013