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Appeals court says hearings not needed over antibiotics in feed

New York's Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not required to hold public hearings on the safety of feeding antibiotics at subtherapeutic levels to food animals, a decision that advocates called a blow to public health, Food Safety News (FSN) reported today.

Study: Replace handshake with fist bump for hygiene

Significantly fewer infectious organisms are transferred through a fist bump than through a handshake or even a "high five," so fist bumps would be a more hygienic way of greeting others, says a study from the United Kingdom released today in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Pasteur Institute loses 2,300 vials containing pieces of SARS virus

Officials at the Pasteur Institute in Paris say the laboratory's loss of 2,349 "tubes" containing fragments of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus does not pose an infection risk, but they call the lapse an "unacceptable mistake," according to media reports.

Tonga reports more than 10,000 chikungunya cases

Tongan health officials have confirmed a first-ever chikungunya outbreak affecting more than 10,000 people, according to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report today. The Polynesian archipelago nation is home to about 100,000 people.

H5N1 kills 46,000 chickens in North Korea's capital

H5N1 avian flu has struck two chicken factory farms in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, killing more than 46,000 birds, according to a report posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

In the first outbreak, all 46,217 birds died of the disease in three holding pens for layer hens on a farm at the Hadang chicken factory. The outbreak began Mar 21. Samples from the birds tested positive on Mar 26.

Northeastern US sees late-season flu spike

Flu activity in the United States continued to decline last week, but some indicators were up slightly, reflecting a late-season uptick in the Northeast, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

China reports 3 more H7N9 cases, 1 more death

The number of patients sickened by H7N9 influenza in China grew by three over the past 3 days, according to reports from three different provinces.

One case is in a 35-year-old woman from Jiangsu province who is hospitalized in critical condition, according to an Apr 19 health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

Guinea, Liberia probe new Ebola cases

Three new Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, along with five deaths in previously announced infections, have been reported in Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa reported today. The new cases raise the country's overall number of cases to 208 and number of deaths to 136; 112 illnesses have been lab confirmed. So far 25 EVD infections, 16 of them fatal, have been reported in Guinea's healthcare workers.

Declining global flu activity marked by uptick in B-positives

Flu activity in Northern Hemisphere countries is headed toward interseasonal levels despite a late-season rise in influenza B activity in many areas, including Asia, the Middle East, and North America, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest global flu update. Though each flu season is different, flu experts say it's not unusual to see a late-season rise in influenza B activity.

North Korea reports another H5N1 outbreak

North Korea has experienced another H5N1 avian flu outbreak in domestic poultry, according to a report yesterday from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Of a village flock of 501 birds, 136 were killed by the virus, the report said, and the remaining 365 were culled to prevent disease spread. The outbreak, which started on Apr 10, is in North Hwanghae province in the southern part of the country.

Oman camel MERS study supports respiratory spread to humans

Testing of nasal and eye swabs of camels in Oman found 5 of 76 samples positive for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and genetic sequencing showed that they were closely related to human viruses in the region

WHO: Guinea Ebola outbreak situation improving

The overall epidemiologic status of Guinea's Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is improving, with 4 of the 6 locations that have reported cases passing the 21-day incubation period with no new cases, according to an update from the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa. Two incubation periods need to pass before the outbreak can be declared over in a particular location.

US flu season winding down with influenza B wave

Most flu markers in the United States declined last week, but the Northeast is still in the grip of a wave of influenza B activity, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest FluView report.

USDA awards $24 million in food safety grants

The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced it has funded almost $24 million for 35 research projects geared toward improving food safety.

Chikungunya cases in the Caribbean top 33,000

The Caribbean chikungunya outbreak grew by 3,499 cases in the past week, reaching 33,260 suspected, probable, or confirmed cases, according to an update today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The case count is up from 29,761 in the agency's Apr 22 report.

China reports new H7N9 case

Health officials in Anhui province reported a new H7N9 avian flu case in a 55-year-old man, according to a health department notice translated and posted yesterday by FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board.

Guinea reports six more Ebola cases

Guinea's health ministry has reported six more cases in the country's Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, lifting the total to 224, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update yesterday.

So far, of 202 patients tested, 121 have been lab confirmed, the agency said. Two more deaths have been reported, pushing that number to 143, an increase of 2 since the WHO's previous update on Apr 25.

HHS stops research on long-acting antiviral laninamivir

The Department of Health and Human (HHS) has ordered Biota Pharmaceuticals to stop research on the experimental flu antiviral drug laninamivir, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported yesterday.

DHS cancels plans for BioWatch's automated air-monitoring system

Plans for the US government's "Generation 3" automated system to test the air for dangerous pathogens in US cities under the BioWatch program have been canceled over concerns about its cost and effectiveness, it was revealed recently.

Study: Flu symptoms less severe in vaccinated elderly people

Health officials have been heard to say that even though influenza vaccine doesn't provide complete protection against flu, it may reduce symptoms if you do get sick. Now a study out of Wisconsin offers some evidence in support of that view.

CDC reports 3 human cases caused by new orthopoxvirus

Scientists with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have detected a new orthopoxvirus—the family of viruses that includes smallpox and cowpox—in three people in the nation of Georgia, including two herdsmen, the CDC reported in a news release yesterday.

Scientists report finding potent antibodies to MERS-CoV

A US-Chinese team of scientists has reported the discovery of three human monoclonal antibodies with a potent ability to neutralize MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), a find they say may point the way toward a drug to prevent or treat the infection.

H7N9 sickens one, kills one in China

China's Guangdong province reported another H7N9 influenza infection, along with a death in a previously reported case, according to a May 2 health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

The patient is a 53-year-old woman from Shenzhen who suffers from chronic bronchitis. She is hospitalized in stable condition.

China detects first known human H5N6 infection

Chinese health officials have confirmed what appears to be the first known H5N6 avian influenza infection in a human, a farmer from Sichuan province who had severe pneumonia and died, according to a post yesterday from ProMED-mail, the online reporting system of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

Pakistan responds to WHO polio alert by adding vaccination posts

The health ministry of Pakistan, the country with the most polio cases of late, has committed to setting up mandatory immunization counters for travelers at all its airports, border crossings, and seaports in response to yesterday's World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a worldwide polio emergency, according to a story in the current issue of Pakistan Today.