Poorly maintained water systems are typically to blame, and those in long-term care facilities are especially vulnerable.
Medimmune scientists have been investigating what's behind the decreased FluMist effectiveness that prompted US vaccine advisors to recommend against it this year, and today they reported that reduced fitness of H1N1 vaccine virus strains are the likely culprit.
Yesterday the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health (MOH) said there was a new case of MERS in the city of Arar, while Austrian officials reported a case in a tourist from Saudi Arabia.
Infections with Legionella bacteria have quadrupled since 2000, and the CDC says outbreaks are preventable through proper management of water systems, such as cooling towers.
China has two new H7N9 avian flu cases, both in men in the same district of Yongzhou city in Hunan province, according to local health officials.
NewLink Genetics today announced that the federal government has exercised an $18 million option to ramp up the production of its experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV, according to a statement from the company. The company has licensed the vaccine from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the developer of the vaccine, which is furthest along in clinical studies in the West African outbreak region.
Blanket screening of all immigrants for tuberculosis (TB)—as is done in Canada, the United States, Australia, and some European countries—wastes resources and should instead focus on only those arriving from high-risk countries, according to a study from University of Toronto researchers published yesterday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
After reporting an H5N1 avian flu outbreak in poultry 2 days ago, Vietnam reported another one yesterday, this one affecting a village flock in Ninh Thuan province in the southern part of the country, according to a report filed by animal health authorities with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Officials identified a cooling tower at the Opera House Hotel in New York City's South Bronx as the source of a recent outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, according to a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) press release yesterday.
The health department also confirmed that, given no new cases or onset of symptoms since Aug 3, the outbreak is officially over.
Legionella found to claim prime spot in more than half of outbreaks related to water.
