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Study links community C difficile cases in kids to antibiotics

A study published this week in Pediatrics suggests that most Clostridium difficile infections in children are unrelated to hospitalization and that a majority of these community-associated cases involve children who recently received antibiotic treatment for unrelated conditions.

H7N9 infections pause in China, but 2014 death toll reaches 72

China reported no H7N9 infections or deaths over the past 3 days, keeping the total number of human cases at 389, according to searches of provincial health announcements and a case compilation kept by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. The unofficial number of deaths remained at 120.

PAHO urges vigilance for NDM resistance mechanism

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently urged countries to strengthen surveillance and control of the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase–producing (NDM) antibiotic resistance, based on continued spread and detection in several countries.

WHO adds H7N9 updates amid case lull

For the fourth day in a row, no new lab-confirmed H7N9 influenza infections were reported from China, but the World Health Organization (WHO) in two separate updates today provided more details about four case reports it received from China on Mar 7 and Mar 8.

Libya reports first H5N1 outbreak

Libya's agriculture ministry today reported the country's first highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, according to a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Drug-resistant Salmonella linked to hospitalization, study finds

Drug-resistant Salmonella is associated with more severe clinical illness than drug-susceptible strains are, according to a study yesterday in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease.

Macau detects H7 in Chinese poultry imports

Veterinary officials in Macau yesterday detected an H7 influenza virus in a batch of live poultry imported from China's mainland, according to a Macau government statement today. Officials found the virus in chickens from a registered farm in Guangdong province that had been quarantined at a poultry wholesale market.

The farm is located near the Guangdong city of Zhuhai, in a Pearl River delta area that borders Macau to the south.

CDC: Certain job groups had increased ILI rates during 2009 pandemic

A survey by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that workers in real estate, food services, and social services had higher rates of influenza-like illness (ILI) than other occupational groups during the 2009-10 flu season, when the pandemic 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) virus was circulating widely.

H7N9 sickens Guangdong province man

China's Guangdong province today reported an H7N9 influenza infection in a 57-year-old man, according to a provincial health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

He is hospitalized in critical condition. The case is only the second to be reported this week, which could indicate a further slowdown in the outbreak's second wave, which began in October.

British Columbia measles outbreak spreads

A measles outbreak in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver has temporarily closed a school in eastern British Columbia after sickening nearly 100 students, and vaccine is being distributed to pharmacies and physicians' offices as the outbreak spreads from the school into the nearby communities, according to news sources this week.

Cambodian toddler dies from H5N1

A 2-year-old Cambodian girl has died from H5N1 avian flu, the country's ninth case this year, according to a joint statement today from Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The girl, from Kandal village in Kampot province, which borders Vietnam in southern Cambodia, developed a fever on Mar 8. She was admitted to a private clinic on Mar 10 and to Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh on Mar 13.

BC measles outbreak sparks Vancouver college alert

A measles outbreak that started at a Christian school in Chilliwack, British Columbia, has now spread to a college campus near Vancouver, according to reports from Fraser Valley Health, the area's public health department, and British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).

H7N9 hospitalizes two in China

Two of China's provinces—Guangdong and Hunan—reported new H7N9 infections today, both older people who are hospitalized.

Drexel meningitis strain matches Princeton outbreak strain

The Drexel University student who died last week from serogroup B meningococcal disease had the same strain that has infected Princeton University students, suggesting that the outbreak strain is still present at Princeton, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

H7N9 sickens Hunan province man

China reported one new H7N9 influenza case today, in a 78-year-old man from Hunan province. The man is hospitalized in the city of Changsha, according to a provincial health ministry report translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

The man is from Shaoyang city in southwestern Hunan province, according to a story today from Xinhua, China's state news agency.

Emerging tick-borne bacterium threatens immunocompromised patients

An emerging tick-borne bacterium in Europe, Asia, and Africa poses a risk for immunocompromised patients, causing an illness that could be mistaken for an underlying disease, according to a study published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Study finds avian flu mixing pot in Iceland's wild birds

Wild birds in Iceland harbor avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of entirely American lineage, entirely Eurasian lineage, and mixes of the two, providing compelling evidence of the importance of the North Atlantic as a corridor of virus movement and mixing, according to a study yesterday in PLoS One.

Two Chinese provinces report H7N9 cases

Chinese health officials today reported two new H7N9 cases from different provinces today. One is in a 32-year-old man from Guangdong province who is hospitalized in Shenzhen in stable condition, according to a provincial health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

Case report shows evidence of camel-to-human MERS

A Saudi man who contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in November after tending sick camels had a virus nearly identical to that found in one of his camels, suggesting he contracted the disease from them, according to a letter yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Two new H7N9 cases push two-wave total to 400

China has reported two new H7N9 influenza cases over the past 3 days, along with the death of a previously confirmed case-patient. Both of the fresh cases are from Guangdong province, which has been one of the main hot spots in the second wave of infections that began in October and has now declined to just a few cases per week.

Saudi Arabia reports 3 serious MERS-CoV infections

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) late on Mar 21 reported three cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in adults from Riyadh.

China reports H7N9 case, more findings in poultry

China today reported one new H7N9 influenza case, which was confirmed in a 58-year-old man who lives in Guangdong province, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. The man is hospitalized in critical condition in a Guangzhou hospital.

WHO reports 2 MERS cases in UAE, raising global count to 200

In separate announcements today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported two more Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of them fatal, raising the global MERS count to 200 cases.

Two more deaths reported in Guinea Ebola outbreak

In an update today on the Ebola virus outbreak in Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) African Regional Office said in a statement that two more patients have died, pushing the number of fatalities to 62. The number of suspected cases remained at 86, for a case-fatality ratio of 72%.

H7N9 sickens one, kills another in China

China reported one new H7N9 infection today, as well as a death from the virus in a previously confirmed patient. Both are from Guangdong province, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.