The Pennsylvania Department of Health two more variant H1N2 (H1N2v) infections, both of them adults who had attended a livestock auction that had pigs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly influenza update.

The state reported a similar H1N2v case in March, so the two new cases lift the nation's total for the year to three.

The newly confirmed patients are close contacts who sought medical care the week ending June 22. One patient was hospitalized. No other illnesses were found among other contacts of the two people, and the investigation is still under way.

Seasonal flu markers remain low, with 3 more pediatric deaths

In other flu updates, the CDC said seasonal flu activity remains low nationally. Three more pediatric flu deaths were reported, which occurred in December, April, and May, raising the season's total to 181, approaching the 2022-23 total of 185.

The CDC has ramped up surveillance over the summer due to continuing H5N1 avian flu circulation in dairy herds, which was linked to three earlier human infections. 

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said yesterday that an additional 19 people have been sickened in an outbreak of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) that began in May, bringing the total to 275 cases.

Of the confirmed STEC cases, 182 are in England, 58 in Scotland, 31 in Wales, and 4 in Northern Ireland. Information from 249 case-patients shows that 49% have been hospitalized, and 2 people with underlying medical conditions have died.

Lettuce likely culprit

The outbreak was first identified on May 22 through UKHSA's routine surveillance. UKHSA says investigators believe a type of lettuce in pre-packaged sandwiches containing is the likely source of the outbreak. 

"This remains a complex investigation and we continue to work with the relevant businesses and the local authorities to ensure necessary steps are being taken to protect consumers," Darren Whitby, Head of Incidents at the UK Food Standards Agency, said in a UKHSA press release. "Although we are confident in the likely source of the outbreak being linked to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with the growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that actions can be taken to prevent a re-occurrence."

STEC can cause severe and sometimes bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and fever.

Obesity in children is associated with double the risk of hospitalization for dengue virus infection, according to a study yesterday in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 

The sero-surveillance study is based on a cohort of 4,782 school children from 10 to 18 years old in Sri Lanka from September 2022 to March 2023. Dengue is endemic in Sri Lanka. 

During the study period, 182 children (15.8%) were hospitalized for dengue. The authors found that, of the seropositive children with body mass indexes (BMIs) higher than the 97th percentile, 12 of 66 (18.2%) were hospitalized, compared to 103 of 1,086 children (9.5%) with a BMI in the 96th percentile or less. 

Girls also at higher risk

Children with the higher BMIs were twice as likely to be hospitalized for dengue than children with lower BMIs, with an odds ratio [OR] of 2.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.9). Girls were also at a greater risk of hospitalization than were boys. 

"Obesity is associated with an increase in risk of severe disease due to many other infections such as influenza and COVID-19," the authors wrote. "While public education programs have focused on the importance of reducing obesity to prevent occurrence of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, there has been limited focus on the impact of obesity on many infectious diseases."

There has been limited focus on the impact of obesity on many infectious diseases.

The authors said the findings confirm other studies on the links among obesity, diabetes, and severe dengue. As dengue cases rise across much of the globe and BMIs also increase, the authors said it would be crucial to further investigate the risk of hospitalization due to obesity.