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CDC reports 6 more cases of Heartland virus infection

Six more cases of Heartland virus infection have been identified since the world's first two cases were detected in the summer of 2012, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and two states reported today.

More Ebola cases, deaths reported in Guinea

Guinea's health officials, during a press briefing today on the country's Ebola outbreak, reported that the number of viral hemorrhagic fever cases has reached 112, 70 of them fatal, up from 88 cases and 66 deaths reported yesterday. An account of the press briefing appeared in a French-language report in the Guinea-based Le Jour newspaper, which was translated and posted by H5N1 Blog, an infectious disease news site.

Editor's Note: The H5N1 item was corrected on Apr 1 to accurately reflect the date of Laos's previous H5N1 outbreak.

Laos reports H5N1 return after 5-year hiatus

H5N1 avian flu has returned to Laotian poultry after a hiatus of almost 4 years, striking a village flock of more than 5,000 birds, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reported today.

Sea otters test positive for H1N1 antibodies

Federal researchers have found antibodies to the 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) flu virus in almost three fourths of sea otters they tested that were from off the coast of Washington state, according to a letter today in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

WHO reports fatal MERS case in UAE man

The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed a new fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in a 64-year-old man from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Three more MERS cases reported in Saudi Arabia

The trickle of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases continued today with a report of three more in Saudi Arabia.

The cases include one in Jeddah province and two in the Riyadh region, according to a translation of a Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) statement posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.

H7N9 sickens 2, kills 2 in China

China reported two more H7N9 influenza infections today, along with two deaths in patients whose illnesses were announced earlier.

Liberia's Ebola deaths rise to seven

A Liberian health official said today that three more deaths have been reported among suspected and confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, raising the number so far to seven, AllAfrica News reported today.

Decline in flu activity took a break last week

US influenza activity took a break last week from its recent pattern of steady decline, at least by some measures, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.

Guinea reports more Ebola illnesses, three deaths

Guinea has reported 10 more suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), along with three more deaths. Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO), said today in a Twitter post that the developments push the country's overall outbreak total to 137 illnesses, 86 of them fatal.

China reports 2 more H7N9 cases

China has reported two more cases of H7N9 avian flu, according to a provincial health report posted by the infectious diseases news board FluTrackers.

Both patients are from Jiangsu province, and their cases were confirmed on Apr 5. The first is a 73-year-old man from Taizhou City who is hospitalized in critical condition.

Chikungunya cases in the Caribbean approach 20,000

Cases of chikungunya in the Caribbean have reached 19,682, according to data today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), up from 18,493 cases a week ago.

CSPI data show twice as many food outbreaks linked to eating out

Food from restaurants was associated with almost twice the number of disease outbreaks and more than double the illnesses as food prepared at home, according to data compiled by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a food safety watchdog.

Editor's Note: The North Korea item was edited on Apr 10 to reflect the correct avian flu strain (H5N1) in last year's outbreak in that country.

China's Anhui province reports new H7N9 case

China's Anhui province yesterday reported a new case of H7N9 avian flu, according to a provincial health report posted by the infectious diseases news board FluTrackers.

Saudi Arabia reports four severe MERS cases in Riyadh

Saudi Arabian officials today reported four Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases in Riyadh, one of them fatal and the other three severe enough to require intensive care.

Experts differ over Cochrane antiviral findings

A Cochrane review that included published studies as well as unpublished drug-company data for the two most common antiviral drugs for flu—oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza)—found that they can shorten symptoms by about two thirds of a day but can cause side effects. The investigators also found few data to support stockpiling the drugs for pandemic or seasonal flu, according to reports today in BMJ.

China reports H7N9 illness, another death

China reported one additional H7N9 influenza case and another death from the virus today, according to health officials in Guangdong province.

The latest case-patient is a 79-year-old man from the Guangzhou, the province's capital, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. He is hospitalized in critical condition.

MSF resumes treatment center work at Ebola protest site

Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Fronteires, or MSF) said it resumed treating patients with Ebola infections at a center in the Guinea city of Macenta yesterday, following protests last week by some of the local people.

China and Hong Kong report new H7N9 cases

Hong Kong and China each reported a new H7N9 influenza case over the past 2 days, according to official statements, signaling ongoing low-level activity in the second wave of activity.

Study: Northern states have higher E coli O157 isolation rates

Northern states appear to have higher rates of Escherichia coli O157 than southern states do, and young children appear to be infected most often, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published today in Epidemiology & Infection.

H7N9 sickens man in China's Hunan province

China reported one new H7N9 influenza infection, in a 30-year-old man from Hunan province, according to a Chinese media report that quoted the province's health department.

The report was translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. The patient is hospitalized, and the report didn't list his condition.

FDA to hire top lab safety official after report details gaps

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hiring a top official to ensure lab safety after a report released late last week highlighted biosafety weakness in the agency's labs, USA Today reported yesterday.

GAO finds National Biosurveillance Integration Center lacking

The National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) is falling short in its mission in several ways, such as lack of timely information to its partners, poor partner participation, and difficulty prioritizing some activities, and might even need to be discontinued, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report yesterday.

Sierra Leone begins Ebola-free countdown

Sierra Leone's last two Ebola patients were released from treatment yesterday, starting the 42-day countdown toward Ebola-free status, Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported today. The patients were both released from a treatment center in Makeni, in the northern part of the country.

USGS experts: Focus active avian flu surveillance on high-risk areas

US officials need to ramp up active surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses and focus on vulnerable regions to prepare for a likely reintroduction of the disease this fall, US Geological Survey (USGS) experts said in a commentary yesterday in Virology Journal.