The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today said measles counts have now grown to 268 cases in 15 states—62 more cases than the agency reported in a Mar 4 update. For comparison, the CDC reported 372 cases for all of 2018.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded two cases of MERS-CoV in young women from Khamis Mushait in an update to its epidemiologic week 10 report.
The first patient is a 33-year-old woman who is listed as a secondary case, meaning she likely contracted MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) from another sick person. She did not report recent camel contact, the MOH said.
A larger follow-up on a 2017 study that found an association between repeated doses of flu vaccine containing the 2009 H1N1 strain and miscarriage in pregnant women ruled out the association, researchers reported to federal vaccine advisors yesterday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today it has wrapped up its investigation into a Salmonella Concord outbreak tied to tahini imported from Israel after eight cases were confirmed in four states.
An early look at this season's flu vaccine in Europe shows that protection against influenza A has ranged between 32% and 43% across all patients seen at clinics and hospitals and was 59% in groups targeted for vaccination, according to findings from six European studies published today in Eurosurveillance.
The experts plan to announce a decision on the H3N2 strain on Mar 21.
According to updates posted this weekend and through today, Saudi Arabia has three more MERS-CoV cases, including two in Wadi ad-Dawasir.
Protection against flu was 47% overall and 46% against the predominant H1N1 strain.
Over the weekend and through today the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) health ministry reported 16 more lab-confirmed Ebola cases, 13 of them from Katwa, the outbreak's current hot spot. Also, in a Feb 9 update, health officials reported 7 more probable cases, all from Katwa involving people who became ill in November and December and died between November and January.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 9 new cases of the polio-like condition known as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), boosting the 2018 numbers to 210. The agency also noted that 7 patients so far this year are under investigation for AFM.
