Botulism

Last month, unusual psittacosis case rises were reported from five European countries.

Nine people were hospitalized, and 4 were treated with botulinum antitoxin over concerns that botulinum could spread beyond the injection site. 

Ecuador's environment minister said the country will deploy all available resources to minimize the impact on the Galapagos' unique ecosystem.

All told, 53 cases in Turkey, 12 in Germany, and 1 each in Austria and Switzerland have been linked to botulism neurotoxin injections at 2 hospitals in Turkey.

Phase 3 trial for Takeda's dengue vaccine shows promising results

Takeda's dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003) is safe and effective against dengue virus, according to part 1 of phase 3 clinical trial results published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Wrap-up of May MERS cases notes household cluster in Saudi Arabia

The World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean regional office (EMRO) recently published its monthly snapshot of MERS-CoV activity, which covers 14 cases reported for May and one cluster, all in Saudi Arabia.

Of the 14 patients, 4 died from their MERS-CoV Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infections, all of them men who had underlying health conditions.

Improperly home-canned peas linked to 3 botulism cases in New York

Improperly home-canned peas sickened three women in New York City last summer after they ate potato salad that contained the ingredient, underscoring the importance of safe canning procedures, New York health officials reported today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

MERS infects one more in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia yesterday reported a new MERS-CoV case for epidemiologic week 47, which involves a 52-year-old man from Riyadh.

The ministry of health said the man didn't have a history of recent contact with camels and wasn't known to have been exposed to another known MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case. He is currently hospitalized.

Five new cases of MERS reported in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported five new cases of MERS-CoV in updated reports released over the weekend.