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TFAH calls for boosting flu vaccine coverage in adults

With the flu season hitting its stride and the 2009 H1N1 virus spreading, the public health advocacy group Trust for America's Health today called for greater efforts to increase flu vaccine coverage, saying only 35.7% of working-age adults were vaccinated last season.

Slight rise in risk of intussusception seen with rotavirus vaccine

Rotavirus vaccination in infants slightly raises the risk of a specific intestinal disorder, researchers reported today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Chicken-linked prison Salmonella cases grow to 9

A Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak at a Tennessee prison has grown to nine cases, and investigators are probing 19 infections caused by the same strain in 12 other states to see if they are linked to the outbreak, which has been tied to chicken products from Tyson Foods.

Sequencing indicates H5N1 virus in Canada akin to Chinese strain

Early findings from sequencing of the H5N1 virus that recently caused the death of a Canadian woman suggest that it is similar to strains previously seen in China, according to a CBC News story yesterday.

Chicken-linked Salmonella outbreak grows to 430 cases

A multistate outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg linked to chicken from Foster Farms in California has now sickened 430 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday. That number represents 14 new cases since the CDC's previous update, on Dec 19.

Report: Bangladeshi doctor died of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia

A Bangladeshi doctor who was working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, died of a Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection on Jan 15, according to an Arab News report today. The case has not yet been announced by Saudi authorities.

Man dies of H5N1 in Vietnam

A 52-year-old man in the southern province of Binh Phuoc has died of H5N1 avian flu, the first case in Vietnam in 9 months, Than Nien News reported today.

Caribbean chikungunya outbreak reaches 485 cases

The number of confirmed or probable cases of chikungunya—a mosquito-borne disease that, aside from imported cases, had not been seen in the Caribbean until just last month—on St. Martin and nearby islands has spiked to 485, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in an update yesterday.

CDC updates guidelines on preventing, treating anthrax in adults

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated guidelines for treating and preventing anthrax in adults and pregnant women, recommending, among other things, the simultaneous use of antimicrobial drugs and antitoxin in patients who have systemic disease.

South Korean wild geese test positive for H5N8

The H5N8 strain of avian flu has been found in wild geese in the same South Korean province that has seen H5N8 outbreaks in domestic ducks, according to a story today in The Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper.

Study shows songbirds might aid in H7N9 spread

H7N9 avian flu replicates well in finches, sparrows, and parakeets experimentally inoculated with the pathogen, and the birds shed the virus in high numbers and show few signs of disease, scientists reported today in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

4 polio cases in FATA, Pakistan, are the first in 2014

Four cases of wild poliovirus type 1, the first polio cases of the new year, have been reported in Pakistan, the only polio-endemic country in the world that saw an increase in cases last year, according to a Jan 22 report from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

H7N9 study finds limited aerosol transmission in ferrets

A study on aerosol transmission of the novel H7N9 virus in ferrets found evidence of limited spread at levels more robust than avian influenza viruses, but less than seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 virus, researchers reported yesterday.

The group, from Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, published its findings in Nature.

H3N2v activity stays low as Indiana reports new case

One more variant H3N2 (H3N2v) has been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), edging the total so far this year to 16, according to an update today. The newly reported infection is in a patient from Indiana, which has reported all but two of the H3N2v cases reported this year.

WHO, FAO respond to camel MERS-CoV antibody study

Two global groups weighed in today on a new study that found evidence that camels in two regions have antibodies to Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) or a close relative.

Virginia reports first Cyclospora cases as outbreak grows to 535

Fifteen more Cyclospora infections have been reported in an ongoing multistate outbreak, including the first two cases reported by Virginia, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update today.

CDC reports more Cyclospora cases, including California's first

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported four more Cyclospora infections today in a multistate outbreak, raising the official case count to 539, but the total does not include 20 new cases reported by Texas yesterday, which would bring the tally to 559.

Serology study finds H5N1 transmission low, despite close contact

A serologic study of people who were exposed to patients with confirmed H5N1 avian flu in China found evidence of only two asymptomatic infections, suggesting that the virus isn't easily transmissible, researchers reported yesterday.

The team included scientists from the Chinese government, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the US government, and their findings appeared in PLoS One.

US Cyclospora case count reaches 548

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported nine more US Cyclospora infections, raising its case count to 548, but the total does not include 21 of the most recent cases that the TexasDepartment of State Health Services (TDSHS) has listed on its Web site. Those additions would bring the tally to 569.

WHO declares polio risk in Israel in wake of sewage, stool findings

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that, because of "increasing geographic extent of circulation over a prolonged period of time," the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from Israel is moderate to high.

Cyclospora case count reaches at least 576

The number of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections across the country now stands at 576, an increase of 28 in the past 2 days, according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this morning. The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) shows that state's number at 258, which is 18 more than the CDC's currentTexas count; with those included, the nationwide total would now be 594.

Report: Saudi Arabia has two more MERS cases

Saudi Arabia has identified two more cases of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection, according to a brief, machine-translated report today from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH). They are the first cases reported since Aug 1.

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline's second four-strain flu vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has won US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its second four-strain influenza vaccine, FluLaval Quadrivalent, making it the fourth such vaccine on the US market.

MERS-CoV case reported in Qatar

A 59-year-old man in Qatar is sick with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report today, marking what appears to be the Persian Gulf country's third case.

Cyclospora cases, affected states increase

The official number of Cyclospora cases reported in an update today from the Centers for Disease Control stands at 598, an increase of 5 from yesterday, and South Dakota and Wyoming have each reported their first case, bringing the number of states affected to 22. Texas is reporting 269 cases currently, 19 more than counted by CDC for the state, which would raise the national total to 617.