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Flu activity up in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

Influenza activity is starting to pick up in some Southern Hemisphere nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in an update.

Texas Cyclospora outbreaks grows to 161 cases

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) reported 10 new Cyclospora infections yesterday, lifting the outbreak total to 161 cases.

So far 31 of the state's 254 counties have reported cases, with Travis County, which includes Austin, reporting by far the most illnesses, with 73. Dallas County is second with 14.

Minnesota adds two cases to raw fish Salmonella outbreak

Minnesota health officials yesterday linked two recent Salmonella infections to an unusual multistate outbreak tied to raw tuna. The outbreak, first announced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 21, involves Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+). As of Jun 5, the CDC had received reports of 53 cases from 9 states.

CDC study maps relentless spread of Lyme disease in US

The number of US counties with a high incidence of Lyme disease grew more than threefold over the 20 years from 1993 through 2012 as the illness spread across the Northeast and Upper Midwest, according to a new report in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Multistate Salmonella outbreak tied to raw tuna grows to 60 cases

Seven new cases of salmonellosis linked to frozen raw tuna have increased the current outbreak total to 60 cases in 11 states, an increase of 2 states since the last update on Jun 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.

The outbreak is caused by Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) bacteria, formerly known as Salmonella Java, the CDC said.

Saudi Arabia reports new MERS case

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced one new MERS-CoV illness, involving a 93-year-old man from Hofuf, a town in the eastern part of the country that has reported family and hospital outbreaks over the past few months. His illness is the first to be reported in the town since Jun 25.

CDC: Salmonella outbreak tied to raw chicken products grows to 7

An outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to raw, frozen, stuffed chicken products has grown to seven cases, with Oklahoma announcing its first case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in an update.

Study indicates 5-month hospital transmission in Riyadh

Data from a hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases last spring suggest continuous healthcare-associated transmission for several months, a study today in Emerging Infectious Diseases noted.

FAO warns about further H5N1 spread in West Africa

Over concern that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks will continue to spread in West Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called for $20 million to assist with prevention and response activities, according to an FAO news article.

South Korea MERS totals stable for more than 2 weeks

South Korea has gone 15 days without reporting a new MERS-CoV case, keeping the total at 186 cases, the country's Yonhap News Agency reported today. No deaths have been reported in 9 days, keeping the fatality count at 36.

The country will be considered free of the virus if it goes two incubation periods, a total of 28 days, without a new case.

Large flock of gulls killed by H5N1 on China's Qinghai Lake

China's Animal Disease Control Centre has confirmed H5N1 avian flu as the culprit in a die-off of more than 2,000 gulls at Qinghai Lake, a major migratory bird stopover site that has recorded large avian flu outbreaks in previous years, according to a report yesterday from the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE).

Study finds individual prescribing habits key to antibiotic overuse

The top 10% of healthcare workers in terms of antibiotic use prescribe the drugs for 95% or more of patients they see for colds, bronchitis, or other acute respiratory infections (ARI), according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study yesterday.

The lowest 10%, in contrast, prescribe antibiotics at 40% or less of patient visits for ARI.

Study: Adjuvant needed for adequate H7N9 vaccine response

Two doses of H7N9 avian flu vaccine produced what is considered an adequate immune response in only 2% of adults vaccinated, but two different adjuvants boosted that rate to 57% and 84%, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Saudi Arabia reports new MERS case

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday announced a new MERS-CoV case after going 4 days without one, and a study in macaques identified two drugs that might be candidate for human trials.

Saudi MERS total grows by four

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has sickened four more people in Saudi Arabia in the past 2 days, one of them fatally, according to reports from the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).

Ebola study notes afebrile patients, calls into question WHO criteria

Researchers found that the World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola case definition has a specificity of only 31.5%, and they noted that 9% of Ebola patients reported neither a fever nor any Ebola risk exposure, calling into question WHO norms, according to a large study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

New Saudi MERS case; study notes impact of high viral load

As Saudi Arabia's Minister of Health (MOH) today confirmed a new MERS-CoV case—the sixth in 4 days—a study found higher viral loads to be associated with more severe disease.

Saudi Arabia reports new MERS case, death

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case over the weekend and a death in a previously reported patient, both in Riyadh.

The new case involves a 30-year-old Saudi man who is hospitalized in stable condition, the MOH reported on Jul 25. He is not a healthcare worker but had contact with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) patient in either a community or hospital setting, the MOH said.

WHO notes increased flu activity Down Under, in South America

Influenza activity is increasing in Australia, New Zealand, and South America, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update yesterday.

CDC dragged its feet on lab mishap reporting policy, USA Today says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) waited until last week to set a policy to centralize reporting of all lab mishaps within the agency despite previous high-profile lab accidents and promises of change, according to a USA Today story yesterday.

Saudis report new MERS case; WHO gives details on 8 others

Saudi Arabia reported another new MERS-CoV case in Riyadh today, while the World Health Organization (WHO) supplied details on eight other recent cases, including two possible chains of transmission involving at least five of the patients.

House committee continues questions on US flu season response

Bipartisan leaders of the US House oversight and investigations subcommittee yesterday continued to press federal health officials for answers about seasonal flu preparedness in the wake of a mismatch between the vaccine and the main circulating strain last season.

Stuffed-chicken Salmonella outbreak grows to 9 cases, 4 states

A Salmonella outbreak linked to stuffed, raw chicken entrees that might appear to be cooked has grown to nine cases, as new individual cases in Minnesota and Illinois push the number of affected states to four, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update yesterday.

The agency reported seven outbreak cases on Jul 16.

CDC reports 358 Cyclospora cases in 26 states

Cyclospora illness—which previously this summer had been almost exclusively reported in Texas—has now affected 358 people in 26 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update today.

More than half (199, or 56%) had symptoms that began after May 1 and reported no international travel before becoming sick, the agency said.

High path AI outbreaks in Vietnam, Taiwan

Veterinary officials in two countries reported highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks from different strains, H5N6 in Vietnam and H3N2 in Taiwan.