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MERS hospitalizes two Saudi men

Saudi Arabia's health ministry today announced two new MERS-CoV cases, both of them from Riyadh, an area that over the past several weeks has experienced a spate of hospital-linked cases.

Trial sheds light on lower VSV-EBOV doses

A trial to see if a lower dose of one of the leading Ebola vaccine candidates can reduce reactions such as arthritis and skin rashes found that the effects persisted and that decreasing the dose had a negative impact on immune response. An international research team based in Switzerland published their findings on the lower VSV-EBOV dose yesterday in an early online edition of Lancet Infectious Diseases.

MERS hospitalizes another in Riyadh

In an ongoing trickle of MERS-CoV cases, especially from the Riyadh area, Saudi Arabia's health ministry today reported another infection. The latest case involves a 38-year-old Saudi man, and though he is from Riyadh, it's not clear whether his illness is part of recent transmission occurring in the city's hospitals or is from the community.

Ghana, Ivory Coast report new H5N1 outbreaks

Animal health officials in Ghana and Ivory Coast yesterday reported more highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry, signaling a continuation of virus activity that reemerged late last year in Africa.

Three new MERS patients in Riyadh include health worker

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported 3 new MERS-CoV cases in Riyadh including 1 in a healthcare worker, bringing to 10 the number of cases confirmed in the city in the past 5 days.

Canadian cyclosporiasis outbreak numbers 83 cases

A total of 83 Cyclospora infections have been reported from four Canadian provinces, according to an Aug 8 press release from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

18 buildings positive for Legionnaires' in NY, 11 of them in Bronx

Eighteen cooling tower sites have tested positive for Legionella in or near theSouth Bronx area rocked by an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that has sickened 113 people recently, according to a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) press release yesterday.

WHO says African continent has gone a year without polio

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement yesterday confirming that a wild poliovirus case has not been detected in Africa for 1 year.

One more MERS case reported from Riyadh hot spot

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported one new MERS-CoV case, in yet another person from Riyadh who might be part of an ongoing hospital-linked outbreak.

The patient is an 81-year-old Saudi woman who is hospitalized in crucial condition, according to an MOH statement today. Health officials are still reviewing exposure she may have had to a suspected or confirmed case in the community or the healthcare setting.

China, Ghana, and Mexico report more avian influenza outbreaks

Three countries reported fresh avian influenza outbreaks today from four different strains, three of them highly pathogenic, according to separate reports to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

China's agriculture ministry today reported two outbreaks involving two different high-path strains, H5N6 at a commercial farm in Guangdong province and H5N2 on a farm in Jiangsu province.

Lassa virus has thousand-year history in Nigeria

Lassa virus (LASV) genome sequences have revealed that the although the virus was only discovered in 1969, it originated more than a thousand years ago in present-day Nigeria and continues to undergo significant evolutionary change, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded study yesterday in Cell.

Study finds injected polio vaccine safe

Thirteen years of US safety data on the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV, or polio shot) show that it is not associated with major side effects, a study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases noted.

WHO: Sierra Leone down to single Ebola transmission chain

Sierra Leone is down to its last known Ebola transmission chain, a sign of continuing progress in the battle against the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today. It added that the country has now gone a full epidemiologic week without a new case for the first time since the outbreak began last year.

WHO takes on vaccine hesitancy

Those who refuse or delay vaccines constitute a growing, urgent challenge around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement today.

APHIS calls for avian flu vaccines, says it will publish assessment

The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) yesterday announced two actions to help prepare for a potential return of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to US flocks: a request for proposals for vaccines to equip the National Veterinary Stockpile and a notification that it will publish an environment assessment on vaccinating poultry.

CDC: US Cyclospora outbreak grows to 476 cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday reported 19 new cyclosporiasis cases in the past week, bringing the 2015 outbreak total to 476 infections in 29 states.

USDA says that H5N8—and most H5N2—outbreaks officially resolved

In two separate reports this week to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced closure to its follow-up to H5N8 avian flu outbreaks and noted that 11 states—because of measures taken after H5N2 outbreaks—are now free to move poultry domestically and internationally.

NY Legionnaires' disease outbreak source identified in South Bronx

Officials identified a cooling tower at the Opera House Hotel in New York City's South Bronx as the source of a recent outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, according to a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) press release yesterday.

The health department also confirmed that, given no new cases or onset of symptoms since Aug 3, the outbreak is officially over.

Russia reports H5N1 detections in wild birds

Russia detected highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in seven healthy wild birds, according to an Aug 21 report posted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The birds were hunted in three towns in Novosibirskaya Oblast, located in southwestern Siberia, as part of Russia's ongoing H5N1 monitoring activities. On Jun 9, laboratory testing confirmed H5N1 in 4 rooks, 1 mallard, 1 crane, and 1 unidentified waterfowl.

Chikungunya outbreak in Americas grows by more than 34,000 cases

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Aug 21 reported 34,866 new cases of chikungunya in the Caribbean and Americas. The outbreak total, adjusted for ongoing case confirmation, is 1,679,223.

The new total includes 514,534 suspected, 17,118 confirmed locally acquired cases, and 802 imported cases reported in 2015, or 532,454 total for the year.

Study sorts out MERS and SARS epi patterns

A side-by-side look at MERS-CoV and SARS infection patterns shows differences and some similarities, according to a study presented this week at the International Conference on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (ICEID) in Atlanta.

MERS sickens eight more in Riyadh outbreak

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported eight more lab-confirmed Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases, one of them fatal and all from Riyadh, where a large hospital-linked outbreak is ongoing. The MOH also said five case-patients announced previously have died from their infections.

Poultry farms increase biosecurity measures before fall's wild bird migration

The National Chicken Council (NCC) yesterday released recommendations for preventing the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza to farms that raise and breed broiler chickens.

The recommendations, which were developed by a working group of veterinarians and avian flu experts, are intended to increase biosecurity on poultry farms before wild birds begin migrating south from Canada in the fall.

H5N1 hits more farms in Ivory Coast, Nigeria

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza stuck two more commercial farms in Ivory Coast and Nigeria, according to separate reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

India eliminates maternal and neonatal tetanus ahead of schedule

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that all of India's 675 districts have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

Maternal and neonatal tetanus cases in India have been reduced to less than one case per 1,000 live births ahead of the elimination target date set for December 2015.