Lassa virus (LASV) genome sequences have revealed that the although the virus was only discovered in 1969, it originated more than a thousand years ago in present-day Nigeria and continues to undergo significant evolutionary change, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded study yesterday in Cell.
Animal health officials in Ghana and Ivory Coast yesterday reported more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry, signaling a continuation of virus activity that reemerged late last year in Africa.
A trial to see if a lower dose of one of the leading Ebola vaccine candidates can reduce reactions such as arthritis and skin rashes found that the effects persisted and that decreasing the dose had a negative impact on immune response. An international research team based in Switzerland published their findings on the lower VSV-EBOV dose yesterday in an early online edition of Lancet Infectious Diseases.
HPV vaccine uptake, though up slightly, was just 60% in girls and 42% in boys.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) waited until last week to set a policy to centralize reporting of all lab mishaps within the agency despite previous high-profile lab accidents and promises of change, according to a USA Today story yesterday.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced one new MERS-CoV illness, involving a 93-year-old man from Hofuf, a town in the eastern part of the country that has reported family and hospital outbreaks over the past few months. His illness is the first to be reported in the town since Jun 25.
Poll: Parents' views on childhood vaccines improvingOne third of US parents polled said they see childhood vaccines as being more beneficial than they did a year ago, and one fourth said they view them as safer, according to a new poll from the University of Michigan.
For the third day in a row South Korea reported no new MERS-CoV cases, but its health ministry today reported one more death, involving an 81-year-old woman who had a stoke before she was diagnosed, the Korea Times reported today. The woman was exposed to the virus while at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced one new MERS-CoV infection, yet another case linked to an outbreak in the city of Hofuf, which has reported clusters linked to healthcare facilities and at least one family.
The patient is a 41-year-old Saudi man who is a household contact of an earlier reported case. He is not a healthcare worker and is hospitalized in stable condition.
ACIP stops short of recommending routine use of group B vaccine in young people.
