One more H7N9 avian flu infection was reported from China today, a sign of ongoing activity that is within striking distance of the record 319 cases reported during the second wave of activity during the winter of 2013-14.
In its weekly Zika update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday reported only 34 new cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the United States this week, bringing the total to 4,900.
Of those cases, 4,682 are travel-related and 217 were locally acquired. There are 1,347 pregnant women with confirmed Zika in the United States, and 2,885 such women in US territories.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new case of MERS-CoV yesterday. The patient is in critical condition.
A 59-year-old Saudi woman from Najran had symptoms of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) before being admitted to a hospital. The MOH listed her source of infection as primary, meaning she did not contract the virus from another person.
Yesterday The Lancet released their Commission on Essential Medicines Policies report, which focuses on how to pay for essential medicines in nations with varying income levels. Included in the report is the first model for estimating the cost of providing essential medicines in the poorest nations.
ACIP spent several months reviewing clinical trial data that showed two doses in younger adolescents prompted an immune response similar to or higher than in young adults.
A study yesterday in Pediatrics showed how an urban health system achieved human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates of 89.8% in teen girls and 89.3% in teen boys by using low-cost interventions, including "bundling" the HPV vaccine with other vaccines, and offering vaccines at every healthcare visit.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) reported one new MERS case today. Like other recent cases, this patient had direct contact with camels.
The MOH said a 78-year-old Saudi person from Sakaka was infected with MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). The agency did not specify the patient's sex, which is unusual. He or she is listed in stable condition.
Researchers in Switzerland yesterday reported they detected the MCR-1 resistance gene in a single Escherichia coli isolate collected from samples of human urinary tract infections. The research appeared in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
In the latest round of lab studies to pinpoint how Zika virus infects and causes birth defects in fetuses, researchers today reported several new clues related to the route and timing of infection, differences between the two viral strains, and even an antibiotic with the potential to block some of the damage.
According to a new estimate, nearly 80% of HPV-related cancer was due to infection, much of it preventable with current vaccines.
