A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that a clinical decision tree can be used to determine whether a patient with bacteremia has been infected by extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria, which are more difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance.
Ebola virus (EBOV) from the West Africa outbreak survived more than 30 days in blood in syringe needles—even in hot, humid conditions— and 6 days on paper money under experimental conditions, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Study finds household contamination may increase the risk of recurrence.
A nonprofit group's annual report on US public health spending says overall funding is still stuck below where it was before the recession of 2008-09, although spending by states may be picking up a bit.
"Federal funding for public health has remained relatively level for years," says the report by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), based in Washington, DC.
MRSA infections have declined in recent years, paralleling a drop in adults.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today in the capital city of Riyadh.
The case involves a 21-year-old Saudi woman who is in critical condition with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection. She is not a healthcare worker and was not exposed to other MERS patients, the agency said. No other risk factors were noted.
Mapp Biopharmaceuticals announced yesterday that its experimental Ebola treatment ZMapp received fast-track status to gain US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
Temporary poultry market closures can drop environmental levels of H7N9 and other avian flu viruses, but after stalls reopen, contamination quickly returns to preclosure levels, Chinese researchers reported yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The study took place in Guangzhou, the largest city in southern China's Guangdong province, during the second wave of human illnesses.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that it and partner groups working on earthquake response in Nepal are deploying extra medications and equipment to prevent the spread of diarrheal diseases such as cholera, which can spread when disasters damage and contaminate the clean water supply.
Groups estimate that at least 2.8 million people have been displaced, with many living in 16 makeshift camps.
Health officials in Ohio have confirmed botulism as the illness that sickened several people and killed one who attended the same church lunch in Lancaster, Ohio, on Apr 19, the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reported on Apr 25.
