The chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean and the Americas continued to expand slowly, as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) added 3,409 new cases in its weekly update published late last week.
An emergency committee established to advise the World Health Organization (WHO) on Ebola outbreak response steps met for the seventh time last week and today announced that ongoing transmission and other factors still meet the threshold for a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) as defined by the International Health Regulations.
Sierra Leone's last two Ebola patients were released from treatment yesterday, starting the 42-day countdown toward Ebola-free status, Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported today. The patients were both released from a treatment center in Makeni, in the northern part of the country.
Chikungunya outbreak cases in the Caribbean and the Americas continued a modest increase for the third straight week, with only 3,085 new infections reported in an update late last week from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The most recent weekly updates before last week's included 7,156 and 4,857 new cases. The two updates before that noted much higher levels of 34,866 and 27,867 new cases, respectively.
Sierra Leone has reported two more Ebola cases, including a fatal one that is not part of a recent cluster in the northwestern Kambia district.
Federal health officials on Sep 4 announced a multistate Salmonella Poona outbreak linked to cucumbers imported from Mexico, which triggered a recall by the US-based importer that distributed the products.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 285 illnesses in 27 states have been reported. So far 1 death has been linked to the outbreak, and 53 people have been hospitalized.
Sierra Leone health officials said yesterday that tests on a 67-year-old woman who died in Kambia district were positive for Ebola, but further testing is under way to confirm the findings, Reuters reported yesterday. The positive test is the country's first since its countdown to Ebola-free status began on Aug 24.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Aug 21 reported 34,866 new cases of chikungunya in the Caribbean and Americas. The outbreak total, adjusted for ongoing case confirmation, is 1,679,223.
The new total includes 514,534 suspected, 17,118 confirmed locally acquired cases, and 802 imported cases reported in 2015, or 532,454 total for the year.
Those who refuse or delay vaccines constitute a growing, urgent challenge around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement today.
The man's infection is Spain's first that didn't involve travel to an endemic area.
