News Scan for Jul 17, 2015

News brief
Topics
Ebola
MERS-CoV
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever

Study indicates 5-month hospital transmission in Riyadh

Data from a hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases last spring suggest continuous healthcare-associated transmission for several months, a study today in Emerging Infectious Diseases noted.

Scientists from the King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh and the University of Hong Kong analyzed an outbreak at KFMC from Mar 29 through May 21, 2014. The outbreak involved 45 MERS-CoV patients: 8 infected outside KFMC, 13 long-term patients at KFMC, 23 healthcare workers, and 1 patient who had an indeterminate source of infection.

Comparison of 10 full-length MERS-CoV sequences and a partial sequence with other MERS-CoV sequences, as well as epidemiologic data, indicated multiple external introductions. Analysis also demonstrated that the outbreak was part of a larger one involving multiple healthcare facilities in Riyadh—including the Prince Sultan Military Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital—and "possibly arose from a single zoonotic transmission event that occurred in December 2013," the authors concluded.

"This finding suggested continued healthcare–associated transmission for 5 months," they wrote.

The investigators also reported a periodicity in peaks of transmission of about 7 days apart, which is compatible with the known incubation period. And they noted that KFMC's emergency department and one of its wards were the foci of transmission.
Jul 17 Emerg Infect Dis study

 

Global health security expert challenges WHO expert panel report

The report released 10 days ago by an independent panel on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) response to West Africa's Ebola epidemic failed to adequately address the problems in global health leadership that it brought to light, a leading expert on global health and security said today in a commentary from Chatham House, the UK's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

David P. Fidler, JD, an international law specialist at Indiana University and an associate fellow of Chatham House's Centre on Global Health Security, said the outbreak was a "disaster" for the International Health Regulations (IHR), which the WHO report noted. But the expert panel writing the report "largely recycled old, ineffective ideas and reflected weak analysis of the outbreak," Fidler wrote.

The panel recommended a funding plan to address IHR-related shortcomings in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone that contributed to the ineffective response. But the independent committee did not analyze why previous funding calls went unheeded, how Ebola might present unique challenges, or why IHR capacity-building deserves high priority, Fidler said.

The panel also called for exploring sanctions against WHO member states that adopt travel and trade restrictions that violate the IHR, but sanctions have not worked in the past and the panel provided no alternatives that might work, Fidler noted.

Fidler also wrote that the expert panel also recommended reforms beyond the IHR, "but its recommendations provided no priorities among the proposals made."

Chatham House is an independent policy institute based in London.
Jul 17 Chatham House commentary
Jul 7 CIDRAP News story "WHO independent panel calls out Ebola response flaws"

Food Outbreak Scan for Jul 17, 2015

News brief
Topics
Foodborne Disease
Salmonella
Cyclospora

CDC: Salmonella outbreak tied to raw chicken products grows to 7

An outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to raw, frozen, stuffed chicken products has grown to seven cases, with Oklahoma announcing its first case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in an update.

Totals are now five cases in Minnesota and one each in Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Two of the patients have required hospitalization. Illness-onset dates range from Apr 5 to Jun 23.

The outbreak is linked to raw, frozen, stuffed chicken entrees like chicken Kiev made by Barber Foods of Portland, Me., the CDC said. The company has recalled more than 1.7 million pounds of products because of the outbreak.

The Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) collected 15 samples of unopened frozen chicken entrees produced by Barber Foods from retail locations for lab testing. MDA scientists isolated Salmonella from 14 of these samples and the outbreak strain from 1 sample.

The CDC said in its update yesterday that there are two separate outbreaks involving Salmonella Enteritidis and raw, frozen, and stuffed chicken entrees.

On Jun 15 the US Department of Agriculture announced that a second company, Aspen Foods, a subsidiary of Koch Poultry Co. of Chicago, recalled 1.98 million pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed, and breaded chicken entrees that may be likewise contaminated with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis.
Jul 16 CDC update
Jul 16 CIDRAP News scan on Aspen recall

 

Texas Cyclospora outbreak now at 182 cases

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) reported 21 new Cyclospora infections in recent days, lifting the outbreak total to 182 cases, the agency said today in an update.

So far 35 of the state's 254 counties have reported cases, with Travis County, which includes Austin, reporting by far the most illnesses, with 77. Dallas County is second with 14.

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic infection caused by consuming contaminated food or water. Its main symptom is watery diarrhea that can last from days to months.

A similar outbreak in Texas last summer resulted in 200 illnesses, some of which were tied to cilantro from Mexico's Puebla region.
Jul 17 TDSHS update
Jul 14 CIDRAP News scan on previous update

This week's top reads

  1. FDA significantly limits COVID-19 vaccine recommendations

    Critics said today’s announcement is more evidence of the current administration’s willingness to undermine public trust in vaccines.

    Stephanie Soucheray
    FDA building

  2. Woman dies of Creutzfeldt-Jakob almost 50 years after taking prion-contaminated growth hormone

    The patient, who presented with gait imbalance and tremors, wasn't diagnosed until she was in a coma, shortly before she died.

    Mary Van Beusekom
    Woman in hospital bed

  3. Meta-analysis: Zika-infected pregnant moms 4 times more likely to have babies with microcephaly

    Five of 22 studies noted that over 50% of newborns had microcephaly, and the same number of studies observed that over 5% had congenital Zika syndrome. 

    Mary Van Beusekom

  4. HHS expected to discontinue COVID vaccine recommendations for some groups

    When CDC advisers widened their recommendation in 2023, most members were swayed by data, including those for long COVID, showing that no group is at low risk for the virus.

    Lisa Schnirring

  5. WHO advisers say current strains OK for COVID vaccine production

    Current vaccine strains show high neutralization against the latest variants, but the LP.8.1 antigen may provide similar or moderately higher cross-reactive antibody response.

    Lisa Schnirring
    senior vaccination

  6. US measles outbreak grows to 1,024 cases

    Texas remains the country's hot spot, with 718 cases. 

    Chris Dall
    Doctor treating child with measles

  7. Texas announces more measles cases, including first in Dallas area

    Two cases near the Dallas area are now included in the large outbreak, which now totals 717 cases.

    Lisa Schnirring

  8. Moderna pulls licensing submission for combo flu-COVID vaccine

    Moderna's combination vaccine was intended for adults 50 and older. 

    Stephanie Soucheray

  9. Saudi Arabia confirms 9 MERS cases, including hospital cluster

    Since 2023, the country has ramped up MERS-CoV testing as part of sentinel surveillance.

    Lisa Schnirring
    hospital isolation

  10. Mpox activity escalates in Sierra Leone

    Responding to the surge is a major focus, partly to prevent the spread to other West African countries. 

    Lisa Schnirring
    mpox virus

Our underwriters