Anthrax

Investigation reveals 100s of mishaps in US high-containment labs

An investigation into more than 200 high-containment labs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by a team of reports for USA Today Network of Gannett newspapers and TV stations revealed hundreds of lab accidents, safety violations, and "near misses," USA Today noted today in a lengthy report.

Army lab mistakenly sends live anthrax samples to 9 states

Scientists at a biodefense lab at the Dugway Proving Ground, an Army installation in Utah, mistakenly shipped live Bacillus anthracis samples—the bacterium that causes anthrax—to labs in nine US states and South Korea, according to media reports today.

Saudi Arabia confirms new MERS case

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today, the sixth this week.

The case involves a 48-year-old male expatriate in Riyadh. He is not a healthcare worker but had contact with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case in the community, the MOH said in a statement. He is hospitalized in stable condition.

MERS sickens 3 more in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported three more MERS-CoV cases today, including the second one from Mecca this year, along with one death in a previously reported case.

Risk-benefit analysis is next step toward policy on GOF research

In the wake of this week's symposium on gain-of-function (GOF) virologic research, the next step is for a federal advisory panel to develop plans for a risk-benefit analysis of such studies, says a spokeswoman for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Saudi Arabia reports its 800th MERS case, plus death

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported a new MERS-CoV case and the death of a previously reported patient. The new case brings the country's count of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases to 800.

EV-D68 cases increase to over 150, 7 new states see the infection

The number of confirmed enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases in US children has risen from 130 to 153 and the number of states affected from 12 to 18 in just the past 2 days, according to an update today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, California has just announced its first confirmed cases, which are not included in the CDC update.

DRC has 62 Ebola cases, 35 deaths

The toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) Ebola outbreak reached 62 cases and 35 deaths as of Sep 9, including 7 fatal cases in healthcare workers, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday.

The new numbers compare with 53 cases and 31 deaths reported on Sep 2. The outbreak involves a different Ebola virus species from the one circulating in West Africa and is a separate event.

Study: Healthcare-associated infections in critically Ill kids fall markedly

The rate of two important healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in critically ill children decreased substantially from 2007 to 2012, an important factor in patient outcomes as well as in monetary savings, according to findings of a study yesterday in Pediatrics.

Florida confirms 2 more locally acquired chikungunya cases

Two Palm Beach County, Fla., residents have acquired chikungunya locally, bringing the nation's total number of locally acquired cases to six, the Palm Beach Post reported yesterday.

State and county health officials said that a 43-year-old man and 35-year-old woman contracted the painful mosquito-borne disease without traveling to outbreak areas.