Tuberculosis cases decreased by 6% during 2012 in 29 European countries, while hot spots in northern Europe and the Baltic states remained, according to a report issued today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Some measures of influenza activity in the United States decreased last week, but 19 flu-related deaths in children were reported, far higher than any previous week of the season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in today's weekly update.
Vaccine effectiveness is well below the typical season average, which is around 60%.
Chickens on two more farms in British Columbia have been infected with H5N2 avian influenza, bringing the total to 10 and the number of birds dead or scheduled for culling to nearly 234,000 since the outbreak's start just 2 weeks ago, say news sources and official reports.
Though still below epidemic thresholds, US influenza activity has begun to pick up, and the vaccine mismatch with circulating H3N2 strains has reached two-thirds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update.
In addition, two more children died from flu.
Despite the incomplete uptake and moderate effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that vaccination prevented more than 7 million illnesses and about 90,000 hospitalizations during the 2013-14 flu season.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has verified three more reports of an unexplained polio-like illness in children, raising the total to 93 cases in 33 states over the past few months, according to a Dec 4 update.
An H3N2 mismatch may portend a tough season and raises vaccine questions.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 18 cases previously reported by the MOH.
Italian authorities have suspended 2 lots of a Novartis flu vaccine for elderly people following 13 recent deaths.
