The number of confirmed, probable, and suspected cases in Madagascar's plague outbreak has climbed to 849, 67 of them fatal, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in an update. The totals reflect increases of 165 cases and 10 deaths since the WHO's last report on Oct 12.
In a sample from a patient who died, researchers saw signs that the H7N9 virus had started to mutate to a form resistant to Tamiflu.
Influenza is finally on the decline in Australia, according to yesterday's global flu update from the World Health Organization (WHO). Influenza A, H3N2, remained the dominant circulating strain, followed by influenza B.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported two new cases of MERS-CoV over the last few days, both linked to camel exposure.
On Oct 13, a 60-year-old Saudi man from Jazan was diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) after presenting with symptoms. He is in stable condition, and the MOH said the man had direct contact with camels.
Weekly flu season reports resumed today in the United States and Europe, with low flu activity reported in both parts of the world, according to updates today from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a collaboration between the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new case of MERS-CoV in Riyadh today.
A 58-year-old Saudi man was diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) after presenting with symptoms. He is in critical condition and is not a healthcare worker. The source of the man's infection is listed as "primary," meaning it is unlikely he contracted the virus from another person.
Slaughter of chickens infected with H5N1 avian influenza can produce airborne viruses that can infect birds and mammals, according to findings from a series of animal experiments done by a research team led by the US Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The investigators reported their finding on Oct 6 in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In its latest weekly FluView report today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it has received reports of nine more variant H3N2 (H3N2v) influenza cases, eight from Maryland and one from Michigan, its first of the year.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a new case of MERS-CoV today.
The patient is a 72-year-old man from Tabuk, a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border. He presented with symptoms of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection and is in stable condition. The man had direct contact with camels, a known risk factor for contracting MERS.
Animal health officials in Vietnam have detected a highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu outbreak in poultry, and South Korean authorities have found the H7N7 strain in wild bird droppings at a location in the south, according to media reports flagged by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog.
