Flu levels in the Northern Hemisphere continued to rise, especially in Europe and North America, with high but stabilizing activity noted in areas of northern Asia and the Middle East, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Mar 7 update.
The 2009 H1N1 virus is the predominant strain worldwide, though the proportion of influenza B detections has increased recently in several regions.
Egypt has reported a new human case of H5N1 avian influenza, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), apparently marking the first case there this year.
The H7N8 outbreak in Indiana during January likely resulted from warm, wet weather and poor biosecurity practices, according to a Mar 4 report from the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Indiana officials detected the first case of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) H7N8 and eight cases of low-pathogenic avian flu (LPAI) H7N8 on turkey farms in Dubois County.
Members of the JIKI Study Group reported inconclusive and varied results for use of the antiviral medication favipiravir to treat Ebola virus disease, according to a study yesterday in PLOS Medicine.
In a surprise finding, South Korean researchers observed point mutations in MERS-CoV isolates that rendered the virus less virulent as the outbreak in that country spread last year, a finding that may have ramifications for vaccine development, according to a study today in mBio.
An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu accounting for the death of more than 1,000 birds of unspecified variety in southern Vietnam and was reported Feb 26 to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) by health officials in the country.
The US Senate today overwhelmingly confirmed Robert Califf, MD, as the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner after nominal opposition faltered, media outlets reported.
A new analysis of data from a large randomized trial suggests that the high-dose (HD) flu vaccine is more protective in seniors than the standard-dose (SD) vaccine, and this benefit is not affected by which formulation seniors received in the previous flu season.
The highly pathogenic avian flu detections all involve different H5 strains.
Flu activity indicators in the United States showed a solid rise last week, with notable increases in the percentage of respiratory specimens positive for flu and the proportion of doctor visits for influenzalike illness (ILI), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
