Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

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Flu Scan for Jun 23, 2016

CDC, AstraZeneca weigh in on ACIP FluMist action

In the aftermath of its advisory panel yesterday recommending against inhaled flu vaccine (FluMist) for the upcoming season due to low efficacy, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement on the decision and next steps.

  • ACIP flu vaccine follow-up
  • H7 avian flu in Macau poultry

News Scan for Jun 21, 2016

Study: Weakness, fever, distress common with Ebola in young children

A study published in the July issue of The Lancet Global Health notes that weakness, fever, distress, and diarrhea were common symptoms in children under the age of 5 years who were being treated for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa, and many presented without a fever. 

  • Pediatric Ebola symptoms
  • Chikungunya cases, antibodies
  • H5N1 in Egypt
  • Global HPV vaccine rates

Avian Flu Scan for Jun 20, 2016

Chinese girl sick with H9N2 infection

A 4-year-old girl in China's Guangdong province is sick with an H9N2 avian influenza infection, according to a translated report posted Jun 18 by FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board.

  • H9N2 case in China
  • H5 viruses in China, Taiwan, Russia

News Scan for Jun 17, 2016

WHO updates Zika strategy, needs $122 million in response funding

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the rollout of an updated strategy to fight Zika virus, covering response steps over the next 18 months. It said it needs $121.9 million to carry out the strategy.

  • WHO Zika strategy
  • H7N9 in China

News Scan for Jun 15, 2016

ECDC recommends multipronged effort to combat MCR-1 resistance

The MCR-1 resistance gene, which has now been detected in at least 20 countries and renders bacteria resistant to the last-resort antibiotic colistin, poses a "substantial public health risk" to the European Union and must be combatted on a range of fronts, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today in its latest rapid risk assessment.

  • ECDC MCR-1 report
  • H7N9 cases in China
  • Ebola fatality risk
  • Predicting contagion

Flu Scan for Jun 14, 2016

Flu season hits stride in some Southern Hemisphere countries

The Southern Hemisphere flu season has begun to see increases in some temperate countries of South America and in South Africa, but activity is fairly low in such countries in the Oceana region as Australia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in a global flu update.

  • Southern Hemisphere flu rise
  • H5N1 outbreak in Lebanon

Avian Flu Scan for Jun 13, 2016

Netherlands reports first H7N9 poultry outbreak since 2015

The Netherlands lost nearly 45,000 poultry to low-pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza, the first outbreak of the strain in more than a year, according to a Jun 10 report from the country to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

  • Dutch H7N9 poultry outbreak
  • H7N9 infection in starlings

News Scan for Jun 10, 2016

Study: Low-dose, natural-route Ebola fails to cause disease in macaques

Low doses of the Makona strain of Ebola failed to cause disease, tissue lesions, or high viral titers in macaques when administered via the mouth or eye, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Disease.

  • Ebola in macaques
  • More Elizabethkingia
  • UAE MERS study
  • H5N1 in Nigeria

Flu Scan for Jun 09, 2016

Study: Non-neutralizing antibodies may play a role in flu vaccine protection

Non-neutralizing, cross-reactive antibodies may play a role in fostering protective immunity following H7N9 avian flu vaccination and are likely missed by traditional vaccine immunogenicity tests, according to a study yesterday in Cell Host & Microbe.

  • H7N9 vaccine antibodies
  • Avian flu cases in China

News Scan for Jun 07, 2016

WHO Zika emergency committee to meet June 14

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that its Zika emergency committee will meet for the third time on Jun 14, according to a notice e-mailed to journalists. It said experts will review the implementation and impact of the recommendations it made as part of their declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

  • Zika emergency panel
  • Hospital MERS study
  • Ebola secondary spread
  • Childhood vaccines and seizures
  • H5N1 hits Nigeria again

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