The incidence type of birth defects seen with congenital Zika infections in the United States rose 20 times higher than it was before the virus started circulating in the Americas region, researchers reported today in the latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Officials said the shifts haven't changed the epidemiologic or clinical patterns in people.
Also, Taiwan notes new H5N6 outbreaks, and China detects more highly pathogenic H7N9 in poultry markets.
H5N8 has now been confirmed in 40 countries, and South Korean scientists shared genetic findings from a recent H5N6 isolate.
So far there's no sign that H7N9 epidemiology is changing for humans, but for poultry, the virus has become more deadly.
Egypt today reported two human H5N1 avian flu cases, one of them fatal, according to notifications from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Few details were reported. One of the cases occurred in Minya governorate and was observed on Feb 1. The fatal case was reported from Faiyum governorate and was observed on Feb 5. Both governorates are in upper Egypt.
France reports 68 new H5N8 poultry outbreaks, and Hungary confirms 455,000 affected birds.
China's premier urges officials in affected areas to shutter live-poultry markets.
Spain reported its first highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu outbreaks in poultry, following two earlier detections in wild birds, and Egypt noted poultry outbreaks involving both the H5N8 and H5N1 strains, according to the latest reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Officials note new H5N1 outbreaks in India, Laos, Niger, and Vietnam.
