Polio

CDC reports 8 more polio-like illnesses, 3 EV-D68 cases

The national count for acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), an unexplained polio-like illness in children, has increased by 8, to 102 cases in 34 states, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) reported yesterday.

Saudi Arabia reports new MERS case, names MERS leader

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today as well as a new MERS director, and yesterday it confirmed two MERS-CoV deaths in previously reported case-patients.

The new case of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) is in a 79-year-old Saudi woman in Al-Kharj, a city southeast of Riyadh that has reported several cases in recent weeks.

Fourth MERS case in Al-Kharj in a week, 1 death in Taif

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported another MERS-CoV case in the city of Al-Kharj, the fourth there in a week, as well a fatality in Taif, a city with a spate of cases over the fall season.

Polio emergency extended as vaccine-derived polio confirmed in 2 nations

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) emergency polio advisory committee met for the third time Nov 2 through Nov 7, advising that global conditions still meet the definition of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), according to a Nov 14 WHO statement.

Saudi Arabia confirms 3 new MERS cases plus 3 deaths

After confirming six MERS-CoV cases yesterday, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported three more cases today in various parts of the country, as well as three deaths in previously reported case-patients.

CDC reports H3N2v case, 1st pediatric flu death of season

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported another case of variant H3N2 (H3N2v) influenza, the third this year, and noted the first flu death in a child of the 2014-15 flu season.

EV-D68 associated with another death, as US cases climb

Federal health officials reported today that enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been detected in another patient who died recently, as the case count rose to 664 and Tennessee joined the list of affected states.

Today's update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put the number of deaths of EV-D68-infected patients at five, one more than before, but it provided no details about the case.

New guide seeks better collaboration at animal-human health interface

A newly released guide developed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to strengthen the capacity worldwide for collaboration and coordination between national public health and national animal health authorities.

Saudi Arabia confirms another MERS-CoV case

Today Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed another MERS-CoV case, the sixth in just over a week and the second in as many days.

The case involves a 27-year-old Saudi man who is hospitalized in a ward in Taif in Mecca province, the MOH said. He is not a healthcare worker and had pre-existing disease and no contact with animals, the agency said. He is symptomatic. No other details were provided.

Chikungunya outbreak total tops 700,000 infections

Health officials reported another big spike in the Caribbean region's chikungunya outbreak, much of it due to updated surveillance information from the Dominican Republic, the hardest-hit country, according to the latest report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). PAHO also reported a tripling of outbreak deaths, to 113.