Long-term antibiotic therapy does not significantly improve quality of life in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease, according to a study today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A nationwide campaign to isolate 100% of Ebola cases and conduct all burial safely, alongside a global response plan, was a key intervention that helped curb transmission in Sierra Leone, according to a study of illness patterns in chiefdoms and households.
Experts say the risk of global spread is low and nations are able to respond to new clusters.
Initial tests suggest the 5 new cases, including 4 deaths, are part of a known chain.
A fifth person has died from Ebola virus infection in southeast Guinea in recent days—raising fears of geographic spread—as the country monitors more than 800 possible contacts and Liberia closed its border with Guinea, Reuters reported in separate stories.
Another fatal Ebola case has been reported in Guinea's recent Ebola cluster, involving a young girl who was hospitalized at an Ebola treatment center, Reuters reported on Mar 19, citing a spokesman for the country's Ebola coordination center.
In a development eerily similar to the last time, Guinea's government today confirmed 2 new cases, just hours after the WHO declared West Africa to be Ebola-free.
Chinese health officials today reported 10 more H7N9 avian flu infections, 4 of which were fatal, in adults from China's mainland, according to the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and translated updates posted on FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
A healthcare-related MERS-CoV cluster in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, has grown by 1 case to 14 cases in less than a week, and a man in Jeddah has died from the disease, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) reported today. The agency also noted that a previously reported patient died from his infection.
An Associated Press (AP) investigation into Metabiota Inc.'s role in Sierra Leone's response to Ebola found that the San Francisco-based epidemic consultant was likely responsible for errors that led to poor understanding of the situation, the AP said today.
