In a sample from a patient who died, researchers saw signs that the H7N9 virus had started to mutate to a form resistant to Tamiflu.
Slaughter of chickens infected with H5N1 avian influenza can produce airborne viruses that can infect birds and mammals, according to findings from a series of animal experiments done by a research team led by the US Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The investigators reported their finding on Oct 6 in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In its latest weekly FluView report today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it has received reports of nine more variant H3N2 (H3N2v) influenza cases, eight from Maryland and one from Michigan, its first of the year.
Comprehensive biomedical research must continue its crucial role in preparing the world for the next pandemic or other far-reaching public health emergency, whether it be caused by a novel influenza strain, Ebola, or some other transmissible pathogen, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and colleagues wrote in a commentary in the Journal
The World Health Organization (WHO) advisory committee that reviewed the most recent influenza developments and recommended strains for the Southern Hemisphere's 2018 flu season also looked at the newest genetic findings with zoonotic influenza viruses and recommended three new candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs).
Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, who stepped down as the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the end of the Obama administration, today announced the launch of a $225 million initiative to combat infectious disease outbreaks and heart disease and stroke throughout the world, according to media reports.
The review didn't find any new evidence to drive policy changes, but said more research and new antivirals are needed.
Florida health officials yesterday reported the first sexually transmitted case of Zika virus this year. There is still no evidence, however, of locally transmitted Zika virus by mosquitoes in the state.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N8 has struck again in South Africa and Italy, while H5N1 has surfaced in China's Inner Mongolia province, according to reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and press services.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) today confirmed another MERS case, the second in row after no cases had been reported for most of July.
A 36-year-old Saudi man from Buraydah is in critical condition after being diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). He is in critical condition and had direct contact with camels, a known risk factor for contracting the virus.
