Misc Emerging Topics

News Scan for Sep 26, 2013

WHO picks strains for 2014 Southern Hemisphere flu vaccine

Note: This story was corrected on Sep 27. It originally incorrectly stated that the H3N2 strain was changed from the one used in the 2013-14 Northern Hemisphere vaccine. We apologize for the error.

Flu vaccine strain selection
Electronic lab reporting
European polio risk
Emergency Twitter Alerts

News Scan for Aug 22, 2013

Antiparasitic agent, bed nets could halt filariasis

Diethycarbamazine (DEC) has become the first medication prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for treatment of a neglected tropical disease (NTD), namely lymphatic filariasis, the WHO announced today. The drug's Japanese manufacturer, Eisai Co. Ltd., has committed to donating 2.2 billion tablets over a 6-year period.

Filariasis prevention, control
Ameba drug now available
Promising Ebola drug
Cholera in Cuba

News Scan for Aug 15, 2013

WHO declares polio risk in Israel in wake of sewage, stool findings

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that, because of "increasing geographic extent of circulation over a prolonged period of time," the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from Israel is moderate to high.

Israel polio risk
H5N1 emergency in Nepal
FDA's FSMA request denied
Dengue cases in Florida
Compounding pharmacy alert

News Scan for Aug 12, 2013

Virginia reports first Cyclospora cases as outbreak grows to 535

Fifteen more Cyclospora infections have been reported in an ongoing multistate outbreak, including the first two cases reported by Virginia, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update today.

Cyclospora cases still rising
Compounding pharmacy recall
Safety rule for tenderized beef

News Scan for Jun 25, 2013

WHO notes latest MERS-CoV cases, raises global count to 77 cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) today used Twitter to acknowledge the seven latest MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases in Saudi Arabia.

MERS update
More hepatitis A cases
H7N7 in Germany
Sinusitis guidelines
Valley fever in prisons
Hepatitis C screening

News Scan for Jun 18, 2013

CDC reports 12 more cases in berry-linked hepatitis outbreak

Twelve more hepatitis A infections are under investigation in a hepatitis A outbreak linked to a frozen berry blend, raising the number of suspected cases to 118, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday.

Berry-linked hepatitis infections
Pertussis booster poll
Israel polio update
Q fever in Brazil

FBI arrests suspect, confirms ricin in letters to officials

The FBI today confirmed the presence of the toxin ricin in letters intended for President Obama and other officials this week, following the agency's arrest of a Mississippi man yesterday in connection with the mailings.

Robert Roos

GSK announces support for clinical trial transparency

(CIDRAP News) – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced that it has signed on in support of the AllTrials campaign, a push by scientists and medical groups to urge drug makers and other researchers to register clinical trials and fully disclose the results.

Lisa Schnirring

NEWS SCAN: FSIS's foreign meat inspections, more fungal infections, severe Staph pneumonia, antibacterial bath benefits

Jan 28, 2013

NIH announces mapping of human bacterial population

(CIDRAP News) – The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the first major results of a 5-year project to identify and analyze all the bacterial species carried by healthy humans, revealing, among other things, that nearly all healthy people routinely harbor pathogens.

Robert Roos