Search

Mabalako remains hot spot in ongoing Ebola outbreak in DRC

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) online Ebola dashboard, officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tracked 5 new cases of Ebola today, raising the outbreak total to 3,403, including 2,235 fatalities. The death toll has not changed since last week.

A total of 410 suspected cases are still under investigation.

Flour-linked E coli outbreak sickens 17 in 8 states

Federal health officials and their state partners are investigating an Escherichia coli O126 outbreak linked to flour sold at Aldi stores in 11 states in the eastern part of the country. So far, 17 illnesses have been reported in eight states, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a May 24 outbreak announcement.

CDC: 10 more people infected with Salmonella linked to hedgehogs

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday announced 10 more cases of Salmonella Typhimurium illness linked to pet hedgehogs, and 6 more states are affected. The new cases raise the outbreak total to 27 cases in 17 states.

WHO: Early flu rise for some Southern Hemisphere countries

The Southern Hemisphere's temperate countries are experiencing an earlier-than-average start to the flu season, including Australia, Chile, South Africa, and New Zealand, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week in its latest global flu update. The Southern Hemisphere's flu season typically runs from May to October.

Health workers frequently care for patients when sick, study finds

A study over four flu seasons of influenza and other respiratory illnesses at nine Canadian hospitals found that 95% of health providers have worked while sick, often when symptoms were mild or began during the workday. Researchers reported their findings yesterday in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

MERS sickens 1 more in Saudi Arabia

Health officials in Saudi Arabia today reported another MERS-CoV case, which involves a 70-year-old man from Medina who had recent contact with camels.

The country's Ministry of Health (MOH) classified the patient's illness as primary, meaning he likely didn't contract MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) from another patient. Contact with camels is a known risk factor for contracting the disease.

Study: Ribavirin plus interferon ineffective for critically ill MERS patients

A new multicenter study today in Clinical Infectious Diseases found little effect of ribavirin and interferon therapy on critically ill MERS patients.

The study took place from 2012 to 2018 at 14 Saudi Arabian hospitals, and involved 349 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) patients seeking treatment in intensive care units (ICUs).

CDC reports on workplace absenteeism during tough 2017-18 flu season

A system recently launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor health-related workplace absenteeism during influenza seasons has yielded more evidence that the 2017-18 flu season was unusually severe, the CDC reported today.

Study: Malaria vaccine effectiveness holds up longer than previously shown

The efficacy of malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01 in infants and children is sustained for up to 7 years after vaccination, according to an extension study published Jul 9 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases following a previous phase 3 study.

Study: Early neuraminidase inhibitors shorten hospital stays

Treatment with neuraminidase inhibitors when patients are first admitted for flu reduced the length of hospitalization by 19%, according to a meta-analysis published yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

CDC: 25 new measles cases as number of outbreaks grows to 5

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recorded 25 new measles cases in an outbreak that has affected 30 states. The total number of cases in 2019 is now 1,148.

"This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000," the CDC said.

Massachusetts reports more than 100 Cyclospora cases

Since May 1 state health officials have reported more than 100 cases of Cyclospora infections, compared with 18 to 33 over the previous 3 years, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) said in a news release yesterday.  Other states are also reporting increased cases.

US measles total grows by 16 cases, to 1,164 total

Sixteen more measles cases were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, lifting the total for 2019 to 1,164. The number of affected states held steady at 30, according to the CDC's regular weekly update today.

CARB-X to fund development of novel antibacterial for pneumonia

CARB-X announced today that it is awarding up to $2.5 million to GangaGen Biotechnologies of Bangalore, India, to develop novel antibacterial proteins to treat hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae.

FDA considers revising criteria for ranking medically important antibiotics

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late last week published a concept paper outlining potential revisions to criteria that the agency uses to guide the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in veterinary medicine.

Study finds no increased COVID-19 risk for childcare workers

In one of the first large-scale studies of COVID-19 transmission in US childcare programs, no association was found between day care exposure and COVID-19 transmission risk for providers.

Nursing homes, exposure to younger people tied to COVID-19 death rate

A Swedish study in The Lancet Healthy Longevity yesterday revealed a higher risk of COVID-19 mortality among older people—ages 70 and above—living in nursing homes as well as with or in close contact with younger people, underlining the importance of community spread and individual points of transmission to older adults.

Telemedicine linked to more appropriate antibiotic prescribing for UTIs

Telemedicine visits for urinary tract infections (UTIs) were associated with more appropriate antibiotic prescribing and decreased use of diagnostic and follow-up resources than virtual visits, according to the results of a primary care network study published yesterday in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

COVID-19 not likely passed from moms to babies through breast milk

University of California researchers studying the breast milk of 18 women with COVID-19 found coronavirus RNA—but not live virus—in 1 of 64 samples, suggesting that babies aren't likely to be infected through that route.

COVID-19 spread noted in 'healthy' concertgoers 2 days after infection

Seemingly healthy people with COVID-19 can spread the disease to others as soon as 2 days after infection, an analysis of a coronavirus cluster traced to four live music clubs in Osaka, Japan, shows.

Waning MMR immunity, vaccine hesitancy, could mean more measles outbreaks

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 62 studies has found that immunity conferred by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine fades each subsequent year, suggesting that vaccination strategies should be revisited.

Researchers find last year's flu vaccine 39% effective

Leading US viral researchers assessed flu vaccine effectiveness (VE) against two viral strains during the 2019-20 flu season, finding 39% overall effectiveness. The study in Clinical Infectious Diseases late last week suggests that the seasonal flu vaccine was 45% effective against a mutated Victoria lineage B strain, but only 30% effective against 2009 H1N1 variants due to a late-season vaccine mismatch.

World sees little flu activity, but influenza B nudges ahead of influenza A

Despite extra efforts to test for flu against the backdrop of COVID-19, global levels remain well below expected levels for this time of year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update, which roughly covers the first half of December.

Report highlights delirium, comas in sedated COVID-19 ICU patients

In COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) early in the pandemic, 82% were in a comatose state at some point and 55% experienced delirium, reports a Lancet study published late last week. Previous studies have connected ICU delirium to higher costs, greater mortality risk, and long-term dementia.

CDC: Vaccine uptake in US kindergartners remained high in 2019-20

New data published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) show routine vaccine uptake among kindergarteners across the United States during the 2019-20 school year was high, approximately 95%—but the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to bring that number down.