The recent report of Tibet's first human H7N9 avian influenza case appears to be locally acquired, according to an Apr 7 Tibet Autonomous Region government statement translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary.
Officials said the 41-year-old man is a migrant worker from Sichuan province who had been working with live poultry in Tibet since February and became ill in early April.
In a gain-of-function (GOF) experiment, Belgian researchers showed that serial passaging of H9N2 avian flu viruses in pigs enhanced the virus's replication and transmissibility, the scientists reported yesterday in PLoS One.
A bipartisan group of 47 lawmakers sent a letter to President Trump yesterday, asking him to continue support for a comprehensive response across US government agencies to the Zika virus threat.
Cameroon and Nigeria reported more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks on poultry farms, and France reported four more H5N8 outbreaks from its hard-hit southwest, according to the latest notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Saudi Arabia reported two new MERS-CoV cases over the weekend, including a case in an asymptomatic healthcare worker who contracted the virus in a healthcare setting.
There were six more pediatric influenza deaths reported in the last week, according to today's FluView from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last week, the CDC reported only two such deaths. So far, there have been 61 pediatric deaths during the 2016-17 flu season.
In a review of recent cases, experts report a shorter time to ICU and death.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health (MOH) reported one new case of MERS-CoV today in a woman who had indirect contact with camels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently fleshed out the details of two H5N1 avian flu cases, one of them fatal, reported from Egypt in late February. News of the human illnesses were first noted in a pair of notifications to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which had little information about the cases. The WHO shared more complete information in its monthly update on flu at the human-animal interface.
After of week of no updates, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new case of MERS-COV today in a man who had direct contact with camels.
The 54-year-old Saudi man lives in Al Kharj, and is in stable condition after presenting with symptoms of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). He had direct exposure to camels, which can transmit the disease to humans.
