Foodborne Disease

Texas Cyclospora outbreak grows to 135 cases

Texas has had 32 new cases of Cyclospora infection since Jul 2, bringing the total in the state to 135, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) said in an update today.

Texas Cyclospora cases reach 103

Texas health officials reported today that the the state's surge of Cyclospora infections has reached 103, including 91 cases in the past 2 weeks.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) said cases have been reported in at least 22 of the state's 254 counties, but the largest portion—38 cases—are in Travis County, which includes Austin.

Saudi Arabia reports another MERS case in Hofuf outbreak

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.

Four more cases lift Korean MERS total to 179

South Korea's health ministry reported four more MERS-CoV infections today, boosting the total to 179, and said they have identified transmission that may have occurred outside of the hospital setting, according to media reports.

FDA: Low percentage of pets harbor Salmonella

About 3% of pet dogs and cats might harbor Salmonella, many without showing symptoms, preliminary results of a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study show.

NARMS report notes some rise in resistant foodborne pathogens

Antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens showed some disturbing trends—including multidrug resistance in one Salmonella strain—according to the latest report from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), which covered US data through 2013.

Study supports use of WHO cases definition for ILI

Scientists from Singapore and Australia found that the revised World Health Organization (WHO) case definition for influenza-like illness (ILI) bested case definitions from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Protection and Control (ECDC), according to their report today in Eurosurveillance.

Sierra Leone, Guinea report 10 more Ebola cases

Sierra Leone has reported three more lab-confirmed Ebola infections in two different districts, while a case detection push in Guinea's Forecariah district—a disease hot spot over the past several weeks—has turned up seven more cases, the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) reported today.

CDC expert: Novel New Mexico rabies strain is related to existing viruses

The novel rabies virus (RABV) variant identified this week in a rabid fox that attacked a woman in New Mexico is a close relative of well-established strains of RABV in Western Hemisphere tree bats found in the United States, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientist told CIDRAP News today.

Salmonella outbreak possibly tied to raw fish reaches 51 cases in 9 states

An unusual Salmonella outbreak believed to be tied to raw fish now includes 51 cases in nine states, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.