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Saudi Arabia confirms 2 more MERS cases

The steady drumbeat of MERS-CoV cases in Saudi Arabia continued today, as the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed two new cases and two deaths in previously reported patients.

Feds award contract for GOF risk-benefit analysis

As part of an ongoing federal review of gain-of-function (GOF) research on H5N1 avian influenza and other disease threats, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Mar 10 awarded a contract to Gryphon Scientific to formally assess the risks and benefits.

Stubborn flu season lingers, with flu B rising

The US flu season continues to overstay its annual visit, with influenza B detections rising and overall levels remaining elevated for the 16th week in a row, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today. The previous 13 flu seasons have lasted an average of 13 weeks.

CDC notes safety lapses at melioidosis-linked Tulane lab

Federal officials noted several biosafety lapses at a Tulane University animal lab after animals were infected with Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis, or Whitmore's disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today.

H5N1 cases pile up in Egypt

Twelve more H5N1 avian influenza infections have been reported from Egypt over the past 5 days, according to translated governorate health department reports and a batch of notifications today from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Europe reports declining TB rates, but MDR-TB at high levels

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is declining in Europe, but the continent still sees 1,000 new cases a day and drug-resistant TB remains at high levels, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe) said in a joint surveillance report today.

Low-pathogenic H7N3 virus found in California turkey flock

A low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus of the H7N3 subtype has hit a commercial turkey farm in California's Central Valley, causing only mild illness in the birds, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

CDC: Despite warning, drug for tick-borne disease doesn't harm kids' teeth

Concern over a potential for causing dental staining often prevents doctors from using the best drug to treat Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in young children. But a new study suggests that this concern is groundless, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

WHO seeks vaccine viruses based on recent H5N1, H5N8 strains

As part of its ongoing influenza pandemic preparedness efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the development of candidate vaccine viruses based on H5N1 viruses from recent human cases in Egypt and an H5N8 virus that was found in a wild bird in Washington state in December.

Three MERS cases in Saudi-Arabia end 3-day quiet spell

Saudi Arabia ended a 3-day stretch without any new MERS-CoV cases by reporting one on Mar 21 and two more yesterday, while news of findings from an unpublished study suggested that undetected cases may be much more numerous than previously supposed.

MERS sickens 3 more in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported three more MERS-CoV cases today, including the second one from Mecca this year, along with one death in a previously reported case.

CDC: Flu vaccination averted 4,500 deaths per year

Influenza vaccination from the 2005-06 season through last season prevented an estimated 40,127 deaths, or 4,458 a year, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers reported this week in Vaccine.

Saudi Arabia confirms new MERS case

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today, the sixth this week.

The case involves a 48-year-old male expatriate in Riyadh. He is not a healthcare worker but had contact with a MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case in the community, the MOH said in a statement. He is hospitalized in stable condition.

H5N2 strikes second turkey farm in Minnesota

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H5N2 has struck a turkey farm in southwestern Minnesota, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today, marking the second H5N2 outbreak reported in the state this month.

The virus was found on a farm housing 66,000 turkeys in Lac Qui Parle County, which is about two counties to the southwest of the previous outbreak in Pope County.

WHO pleads for funds to address Syrian health crisis

As the public health crisis in Syria continues to deteriorate, the World Health Organization (WHO) is asking for $124 million to continue its support of health services in the war-torn country, the agency said in a news release today.

Experts call for better filovirus PPE data

Filovirus experts who met a year ago say that evidence is lacking for recommending personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers treating patients for diseases like Ebola and Marburg, and they outline several priorities for research, according to a report late last week in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Study: C diff type 027 predicts severe outcome

Infection with Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 independently predicts severe disease and mortality, but demographic and clinical factors are stronger predictors of severe disease, according to a study yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Study: High-dose flu vaccine cut hospitalization risk only in very elderly

A study involving more than 160,000 elderly US military veterans suggests that the high-dose (HD) influenza vaccine didn't lower their risk of hospitalization for flu or pneumonia overall, compared with standard-dose (SD) vaccine, but it did reduce the risk for those 85 and older.

WHO: Foodborne disease sickens 582 million, kills 351,000

Nearly 600 million cases of foodborne enteric disease, with 351,000 deaths, occurred worldwide in 2010, 40% of them in young children, a World Health Organization (WHO) research group noted today as it released early findings of a broad analysis of the global burden of the diseases. The full report is planned for release in October.

US shigellosis cases resistant to ciprofloxacin increase dramatically

Shigellosis, until recently resistant to first-choice drug ciprofloxacin in only 2% of US cases, has been found resistant nearly 90% of the time in recent outbreaks, according to a study published online today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Declining US flu season still having substantial impact

Although influenza in the United States continues to decline, it has now been elevated for 19 consecutive weeks, has caused seven more pediatric deaths, and continues to create record levels of hospitalization in the elderly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in its weekly update.

Glanders detected in donkey near Texas-Mexico border

A stray donkey that crossed from Mexico into Texas has tested positive for glanders, a highly contagious disease that primarily affects equines, the Southwest Farm Press reported this week.

H7N9 hospitalizes 2 in Shanghai; study estimates transmission risk

Shanghai health officials reported two new H7N9 avian influenza cases, in a 52-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, the first infections reported in the city since the middle of February.

Ebola infection reported in former Sierra Leone hot spot

A 9-month boy tested positive for Ebola after he died in Sierra Leone's Kailahun district, a former hot spot for the disease that had not seen a case over the past 4 months, Reuters reported today.

Study: Germany had low-level EV-D68 circulation in 2014

German researchers yesterday reported evidence that enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which caused a widespread outbreak of respiratory illness in American children last fall, also circulated at low levels in Germany at about the same time.