Viral Hemorrhagic Fever

Nigeria's Lassa fever total grows, expands to another state

The number of suspected cases in Nigeria's Lassa fever outbreak has climbed to 1,386 over the past week, which includes 12 more confirmed cases and 4 more deaths, the country's Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in its latest report for the week ending Mar 11. So far 365 confirmed cases and 114 deaths have been reported.

MERS case in Saudi Arabia linked to camel contacts

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a new case of MERS-CoV over the weekend.

A 56-year-old Saudi man from Jeddah diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) is in stable condition. The MOH said he had direct contact with camels, a known risk factor for contracting the disease.

Saudi Arabia records new hospital-related MERS case

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a new case of hospital-acquired MERS-CoV in Riyadh, involving a health worker who is likely part of a hospital-related outbreak.

Multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to guinea pigs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to pet guinea pigs.

Nigeria Lassa fever outbreak grows, with 68 new cases reported

The Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria continues this week with 68 new confirmed cases, including 4 deaths, according to the latest weekly update by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa. That's up from 19 confirmed cases the week before.

New MERS cases reported as hospital outbreak confirmed

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported two new MERS cases yesterday, and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a small healthcare-associated outbreak occurred in Hafar Al-Batin in January.

Immune history, not egg-based problems may have affected 2012-13 flu VE

As researchers work on solving the complex puzzle of all the factors that influence flu vaccine effectiveness (VE), researchers today report that low VE of the H3N2 component during the 2012-13 flu season may have been due to poor immune response rather than adaptations in egg-grown vaccine viruses, as previously thought.

New Saudi MERS case linked to camels

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed one new case of MERS-CoV on Feb 17. The MOH has issued only sporadic updates this month, and this is the second update in 3 weeks.

A 74-year-old Saudi woman from Rafha was diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). She is in stable condition. The probable source of her infection is indirect contact with camels, a likely risk factor for the virus.

Trump budget proposal includes cuts to CDC funding

The Trump administration yesterday released its budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year, and it would cut the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget by about $900 million, with some increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Norovirus outbreak strikes Winter Olympics security staff, others

With the Winter Olympics just getting under way in South Korea, a norovirus outbreak has sidelined 32 workers, including 21 from the security staff, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Authorities have called in military personnel to help with security.