Tick-borne Disease

US imported chikungunya cases climb to 114

The number of chikungunya cases imported into the United States rose by 41 in the past week, to 114, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update yesterday. The number of states reporting imported cases climbed from 22 to 27, plus the US Virgin Islands.

Saudi Arabia reports another MERS-CoV case

Saudi Arabia reported one new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case today, raising the country's official total to 706 cases.

The latest patient is a 45-year-old expatriate who is hospitalized in Riyadh, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in today's update. He has no preexisting conditions and is not a healthcare worker. The ministry gave no information about how he was exposed to the virus.

Report profiles first fatal Heartland virus case

A recently published case report on the nation's first death from Heartland virus, in an 80-year-old man who had been reported as Tennessee's first case, sheds light on the clinical profile and hints that older people who have underlying complications may be more vulnerable to complications from the disease.

Oklahoma reports fatal Heartland virus case

Oklahoma health officials today reported the state's first Heartland virus infection, in a Delaware County resident who died from complications from the illness.

New phlebovirus related to Heartland virus discovered in Tasmania

A novel tick-borne phlebovirus related to the recently discovered Heartland virus that has infected at least eight US residents has been discovered in Tasmania state, Australia, according to a report yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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.

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.

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.

Societies endorse multiple mandatory immunizations for health workers

Three major infectious-disease societies said this week that healthcare personnel (HCP) should be required to receive all six vaccines that are recommended for them by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

WHO confirms fatal MERS-CoV case in Saudi Arabia

The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed a fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia, adding to information in an Oct 31 statement from the Saudi government about the death of a 56-year-old.