Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced a new MERS-CoV case, involving a 55-year-old expat man from Wadi Aldwasir who is hospitalized in critical condition. It's not clear if his illness is part of a recent hospital cluster reported from Wadi Aldwasir; he is not a healthcare worker and his infection source is listed as primary, meaning he didn't likely contract the virus from another person.
About 4% of patients traveled, a potential target for curbing disease spread.
A new analysis of all 17 H5N6 avian flu cases reported in China since 2014 found that 15 out 16 hospitalized patients required mechanical ventilation, while 12 patients (75%) died from their infections.
The CEPI model could play a role, the experts say.
Zika virus has been silently circulating in West Africa for more than two decades, according to a study of 387 blood samples collected from 1992 to 2016, researchers from Harvard University, Nigeria, and Senegal reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The virus was first identified in 1947 but wasn't linked with known epidemics until 2007 and hadn't been linked to neurologic disease before 2015.
A bipartisan group of 47 lawmakers sent a letter to President Trump yesterday, asking him to continue support for a comprehensive response across US government agencies to the Zika virus threat.
The phase 2 trials will enroll more than 5,000 adults and kids in Guinea and Liberia.
A prime-boost regimen in clinical trials shows immune response 1 year after vaccination.
Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in a regular update today said the mainland from Mar 3 to Mar 9 reported 22 more H7N9 avian influenza cases, 3 of them fatal. The pace of infections in China's fifth and biggest wave has slowed some since illnesses peaked in February, but the country continues to report a steady stream of cases.
Neuraminidase inhibitors, the antiviral drugs given to fight and prevent influenza, pose no safety risks to fetuses or newborns, according to a new study published today in BMJ. This is the largest study on antiviral use and safety in pregnancy conducted to date.