Qatar has reported its first MERS-CoV case this year, according to media reports, while Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed three new cases in as many days, all in men, none of whom are healthcare workers.
Costs associated with foodborne illnesses in the United States total more than $15.6 billion annually, according to a data product released Oct 7 by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Economic Research Service containing updated estimates.
Another 34 patients have tested positive for enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), raising the US total to 628 cases, and Florida has recorded its first confirmed case, according to today's update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases have now been confirmed in 44 states, the CDC reported. The only states with no confirmed cases are Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Two new MERS cases were confirmed in Taif, Saudia Arabia, in recent days, while the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported deaths in two other case-patients.
Two of the woman's close contacts have respiratory symptoms and are being tested for MERS-CoV.
Following a summer lull in cases, the WHO's MERS panel says the outbreak still falls short of heightened concern.
Austria has reported its first MERS case, involving a visiting Saudi Arabian woman, while her home country has reported yet another case.
The Austrian health ministry said yesterday that the Saudi woman arrived in the country a few days ago and is now isolated in a Vienna hospital in critical condition, according to a Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) story today.
The number of chikungunya cases in the Caribbean and surrounding areas continues to grow, with 9,006 new cases bringing the outbreak total to 747,721, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported late last week.
Colombia reported the largest increase, with 3,347 new cases (from 1,350 to 4,697), followed by Martinique, with 2,390 new cases; Puerto Rico, with 1,166; and Guadeloupe, 880.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed a new MERS-CoV infection today—the 10th since Sep 8—as well as the death of a recently reported case-patient.
The new case is in a 60-year-old Saudi from Riyadh who had unspecified preexisting disease. He is hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) and is not a healthcare worker nor did he have any recent exposure to animals, the MOH said.
Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been confirmed in 220 patients in 31 states and the District of Columbia, up 45 cases and 5 states in the past 2 days, according to an update today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, Rhode Island confirmed the first reported US case this year in an adult.
