Outbreak News Today

Health officials are reporting some 277 passengers and crew onboard Royal Caribbean’s vessel, Oasis of the Seas, have fell ill with vomiting being the predominant symptom. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 266 of 6,285 (4.23%) passengers and 11 of 2,169 (0.51%) crew were sickened. While media reports state the cause of the outbreak as norovirus, […]The post Oasis of the Seas: 277 sickened on cruise, voyage cut short appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice for Tijuana, Mexico after some US residents who retuned were diagnosed with infections caused by an antibiotic-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. All of the travelers with this particular infection had an invasive medical procedure performed in Tijuana, CDC notes. Most (but not […]The post Travel warning: Drug-resistant Pseudomonas infections linked to surgeries in Tijuana, Mexico appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Measles Chile health officials announced (computer translated) the commencement of a vaccination campaign against measles as part of the prevention against the outbreak of imported cases. “It is important to say that today we are with an outbreak that is controlled, and to continue with this control from January 2 we started a vaccination campaign against measles […]The post Chile begins measles vaccination campaign, First hantavirus case confirmed appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Chagas disease is a parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. It is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 Latin American countries where infection is transmitted mostly by vectors to humans by contact with feces or urine of triatomine bugs (also known as “kissing bugs”). It effects tens of millions of people living in these areas. The Pan […]The post Chagas disease diagnosis and treatment: PAHO issues new guide appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Wyoming state health officials are reporting a rare antibiotic-resistant infection in a patient being treated at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC). Testing on the patient from Laramie County reveals the bacterium causing the infection, an enterobacteriaceae, also included a rare antibiotic-resistant gene known as MCR-1. It does not appear the infection was acquired at the hospital. Dr. HooFeng […]The post Wyoming: Rare antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection reported in Cheyenne appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Singapore officials reported an increase in dengue fever cases in 2018, including an increase in cases during the past three weeks. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the total number of dengue cases reported in 2018 was 3,285, which is almost 20 per cent more than in 2017, but lower than the annual number […]The post Singapore: Dengue cases up in 2018, may see a surge in 2019 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Ireland health officials are warning the public to be vigilant regarding meningococcal meningitis/septicemia as there has been a noted increase in meningococcal disease in the country in the last two weeks. Since the last week of December, 11 cases, including three fatalities have been reported. Provisional data on the strain types identified since week 52 2018 indicates […]The post Ireland issues warning over increase in meningococcal disease appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: Did Charles Darwin Have Lyme Disease? During his lifetime, Charles Darwin complained of so many different ailments that it’s no small miracle the pioneering evolutionary biologist got any work done. Historians have struggled to understand the exact nature of his illness […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: Charles Darwin and Lyme disease, DRC polio appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

There is a new medication that in one dose successfully protected nonhuman primates against a lethal infection of all strains of the deadly Ebola virus. The findings are now available in Cell Host & Microbe. Dr. Thomas Geisbert, a world-renowned Ebola researcher at The University of Texas Medical Branch, said that previous therapeutics typically were of […]The post Ebola drug: UTMB experimental treatment effective in single dose in animals appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Officials with the Government of Chubut in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina is reporting an unprecedented hantavirus outbreak. According to the latest numbers (computer translated), 24 cases have been reported, including eight fatalities. But the biggest concern of this outbreak is its person-to-person contagion. Dr. Teresa Strella said that this contagion occurs “due to close […]The post Argentina: Hantavirus outbreak in Epuyén is ‘unprecedented’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Ugandan health officials have confirmed that a health worker has died of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) at the end of December, according to a Daily Monitor report. This is part of an outbreak in Masindi District in Western Uganda. The disease has been confirmed in Kikingura village in Bwijanga Sub County. According to Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the senior public […]The post CCHF death confirmed in Uganda appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is voluntarily recalling 5 lots of Ceftriaxone for Injection, USP, 250mg, 10 lots of Ceftriaxone for Injection, USP, 500mg, 24 lots of Ceftriaxone for Injection, USP, 1g and 3 lots of Ceftriaxone for Injection, USP 2g, to the hospital/physician level. The products have been found to contain visual grey particulate matter in […]The post Antibiotic recall: Lupin pulls ceftriaxone; particulate matter found in reconstituted vials appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Why is it so challenging to increase the number of people who get vaccinated? How does popular resistance to vaccination remain strong even as preventable diseases make a comeback? A new study from Dartmouth College shows that past problems with vaccines can cause a phenomenon known as hysteresis, creating a negative history that stiffens public […]The post Why does there continue to be resistance to vaccines? Ever heard of hysteresis? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: How Common Pain Relievers May Promote Clostridium difficile Infections Clostridium difficile causes the most common and most dangerous hospital-born infections in the United States and around the world. People treated with antibiotics are at heightened risk because those drugs disturb the microbial […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: C. difficile-NSAID link, unique Staph strain appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

While working out has many benefits, including weight control, disease prevention, and even mood improvement, germs can thrive at the gym. This could put gym goers at risk for a variety of common skin infections, including ringworm, plantar warts, or impetigo, unless they take certain precautions. This is because bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cause […]The post How to prevent common skin conditions at the gym appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States, meaning an absence of endemic measles transmission for 12 months or longer. Since September 2018, New York state health officials have seen approximately 170 measles cases to include 55 confirmed cases in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, 105 cases in Rockland County, 7 in Orange County and […]The post Measles in New York: Largest outbreak since elimination appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Michigan state health officials are reporting an increase in norovirus activity and are urging residents to take precautions to stay healthy. Although several viruses can cause vomiting and diarrhea, norovirus is the most common. These viruses are easily spread through food, by person-to-person contact or through contaminated surfaces. Therefore, take caution if someone in your household […]The post Norovirus activity up in Michigan, Residents urged to take precautions appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Western Australia (WA) Health reported this week that three adults have been treated in hospital after being diagnosed with serogroup W meningococcal disease. There is no link between the cases. Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain, and […]The post Western Australia reports 3 meningococcal disease cases appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the dengue situation in Oman, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported 40 locally transmitted dengue fever cases from Dec. 12-Jan. 6, according to a Times of Oman report. “The majority of these 40 cases are among Omanis,” according to health officials. “Initially, the cases were mainly from Northern and Southern […]The post Oman reports 40 dengue local transmissions in past month appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Novavax, Inc. announced recently of top-line results of its Phase 2 clinical trial of NanoFlu™. The trial compared the safety and immune responses of various quadrivalent formulations of NanoFlu, with or without Novavax’ Matrix-M™ adjuvant, with two U.S.-licensed influenza vaccines in 1,375 healthy adults 65 years of age and older. Key findings of the Phase […]The post Novavax Announces Positive Phase 2 NanoFlu Results in Older Adults appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Researchers from Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School, in collaboration with scientists in China, have identified and characterised a new genus of filovirus from a Rousettus bat in China. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Microbiology. Bat-borne viruses around the world pose a threat to human and animal health. Filoviruses, especially Ebola virus and Marburg virus, are notoriously […]The post New bat-borne filovirus, Měnglà virus, discovered in Yunnan Province, China appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last May, Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) introduced HR 5878, the National Tick-Borne Diseases Control and Accountability Act. Today, it was announced that Rep, Smith would reintroduce the legislation to create a new national strategy on Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and to strengthen efforts across the federal government to fight, treat and prevent tick-borne […]The post Historic Lyme disease bill to be reintroduced appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Togo government confirmed last week a Lassa fever case reported in Doufelgou district in the north of the country, according to a Agence de Press Africaine report (computer translated). This was a hemorrhagic fever case according to officials. Lassa fever is a rare but potentially life-threatening viral hemorrhagic disease. The risk of contamination is low, […]The post Lassa fever case reported in Doufelgou, Togo appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Just weeks after announcing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for VLA1553, their Chikungunya vaccine candidate, Valneva announced today positive Phase 1 interim results for the vaccine. The primary objective of VLA1553-101 Phase 1 study was to assess the overall safety and immunogenicity profile 28 days after a single vaccination across three dose levels. […]The post Vaccines: Valneva announces positive Phase 1 interim results for Chikungunya vaccine candidate appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the measles situation in Poland, health officials reported a five-fold increase in measles cases in 2018, according to local media (computer translated). According to Jan Bodnar, spokesperson for the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS), Poland recorded 339 measles cases in 2018, a significant increase from the 63 cases reported the year prior. The […]The post Poland reports a 5-fold increase in measles in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Health officials in Clark County, WA report investigating a confirmed case of measles in a child. The child, whose immunization status is unverified, traveled to Clark County from outside of the country in late December. Clark County Public Health is advising people who visited the PeaceHealth Urgent Care – Memorial, 3400 Main St., Vancouver from noon to […]The post Measles case confirmed in Vancouver, Washington appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: Monkey fever claims 6 lives in Karnataka’s Shivamogga At least six people have died due to Monkey fever or Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) in Karnataka’s Shivamogga this week. Several cases of Kyasanur Forest Disease have emerged in the district. Read […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: Monkey fever, Elections in DRC and Ebola appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Monroe County Health officials in Monroe County, NY are reported Thursday on a confirmed measles case in an unvaccinated female toddler, according to a Democrat and Chronicle report. This is the first case of measles in Monroe County since 2014. According to health officials, she likely contracted on an international trip to an area that was in […]The post Rochester measles case, Rockland County cases top 100 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the measles situation in New South Wales, NSW Health reports on a third infectious measles case in the Christmas-New Year period. A child visiting from overseas developed measles symptoms while visiting NSW on Christmas Eve. Prior to being diagnosed with measles and isolated the child visited the several locations. People who were at […]The post Measles: NSW Health warns of 3rd case appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Health officials in Bani Walid Municipality in northwest Libya are reporting an outbreak of the disfiguring parasitic disease, leishmaniasis, according to a local media report. 290 cases have been reported although it is not clear when this upsurge of cases began. The report notes that Director of the Office Ayman al-Hawadi said that the disease has become […]The post Leishmaniasis outbreak in northwest Libya town appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Directorate General of Health (DGS) in Portugal announced recently the 37 measles cases have been confirmed in the country, mostly in adults, since November, according to a Diario de Noticias report (computer translated). In addition, it was noted that there are three different and distinct outbreaks. In Cascais, 24 confirmed cases and two probable cases have been reported, which […]The post Portugal reports three ‘distinct’ measles outbreaks appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Oregon state health officials are reporting a confirmed measles case that spent time in Portland, The Dalles and Hood River. The individual traveled from out of the country. “Measles is a highly contagious disease with the potential to cause significant health complications,” said Miriam McDonell, MD, North Central Public Health District’s Health Officer. “Fortunately, due to very […]The post Oregon health officials report measles case: Patient was in Portland, The Dalles and Hood River appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the syphilis outbreak in Japan in 2018, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo has reported an additional 600 cases in the past four weeks. The annual tally has risen from 6,096 to 6,661 from Epi week 46 to 50. Tokyo has seen 1,694 cases, followed by Osaka (1,142), Aichi (429) and Kanagawa […]The post Japan reports an additional 600 syphilis cases in past 4 weeks appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Officials with Public Health England report that influenza is starting to circulate in the community and is at moderate levels. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 is the dominant subtype, which is well matched to the strain included in this season’s vaccine. Richard Pebody, Head of Flu at Public Health England said: We have seen a rise in several of the […]The post Influenza at ‘moderate’ levels in the UK appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Ohio state health officials declared a hepatitis A outbreak last June and at the time, 79 outbreak cases were reported. As 2018 came to a close, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported 1,311 cases, which included 821 hospitalizations and four fatalities. Sixty-six of the 88 Ohio counties saw cases in 2018 with Butler (240), Montgomery (180) […]The post Ohio hepatitis A outbreak tops 1,300 in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to the Florida Department of Health, a total of 33 human cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) illness was acquired in Florida in 2018 and Duval County in northeast part of the state accounted for 36 percent of the cases. Health officials report 12 cases in Duval County, much more than any other county. Other counties […]The post Florida: Duval County accounts for more than 1/3 of West Nile cases in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here are the top five posts on Outbreak News Today for the week Dec. 29, 2018 through Jan. 4, 2019: 5. Johns Hopkins researchers: Plant compounds may be better than current antibiotics at treating persistent Lyme bacteria This post makes the top 5 once again. It’s about a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health which demonstrated […]The post Infectious disease news: Top 5 posts for the week Dec. 29, 2018- Jan. 4, 2019 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: Pakistan and Afghanistan: the final wild poliovirus bastion As recently as 30 years ago, wild poliovirus paralysed more than 350 000 children in more than 125 countries every year. Today, the virus has been beaten back to less than 30 reported […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: Polio, Where will the next Zika come from? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Since the first appearance of local transmission of chikungunya virus in the Caribbean in late December 2013, US health officials have been on continuous watch for the mosquito borne viral infection. In 2014, the US was hit hard with about 2,800 imported cases and 12 autochthonous cases from Florida. Since that time, the number of chikungunya cases has dropped […]The post Chikungunya in the US: No locally transmitted cases in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

For the third time in the past six months, Wyoming state health officials reported a plague case in a cat. The most recently confirmed case was in a Johnson County cat. No human cases have been identified. The others were in Sheridan and Campbell counties. Only six human cases of plague have been exposed in Wyoming since […]The post Plague: Wyoming reports 3rd infected cat in 6 months appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the hepatitis A outbreak in Florida in 2018, state health officials reported 147 cases from 22 counties in December to bring the annual total to 559 in 31 counties. West Central and Central Florida, the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and the Orlando area, respectively recorded the most cases. 96% of cases (534) […]The post Hepatitis A: Florida closes out the year with 147 additional cases appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Jamaican Government announced this week that 123 dengue case reports (suspected, presumed and confirmed) were reported in Dec. 2018, prompting officials to allocate an additional $250 million to support enhanced measures to contain the spread of the virus. This was the first month of 2018 to exceed the threshold. “This has been a more […]The post Jamaica: Dengue fever surpasses epidemic threshold, Gov’t allocates additional money to battle virus appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Sindh Malaria Control Program reported 108,262 lab-confirmed malaria cases in 2018, according to a Pakistani media report today. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported. The city of Karachi saw 2,400, which was low along with other other urban areas, compared to rural areas in the province. Malaria is a potentially lethal disease caused by parasites of […]The post Pakistan reports 100,000 malaria cases in Sindh province in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Ukrainian health officials reported this week (computer translated) the measles tally for 2018 and that number was an astounding 54,481. Of this total, 20,204 adults and 34,277 children were affected. In addition, 16 people have died from the complications of measles: 12 children and 4 adults. As of December 1, the number of children who received the first […]The post Ukraine: 54k measles cases in 2018, Vaccination campaign to start in February appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: Wound Botulism Outbreak Among Persons Who Use Black Tar Heroin — San Diego County, California, 2017–2018 During September 29–October 6, 2017, the County of San Diego Public Health Services (COSD) was notified of two patients with suspected wound botulism and a […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: San Diego wound botulism, HIV in the Philippines appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on report from last May, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published this week gave some more details of the rabies death of a Virginia woman. According to the report, the 65-year-old woman aged 65 years with no preexisting health conditions sought medical attention in May 2017 […]The post Virginia rabies death in 2017: Bitten by puppy in Rishikesh, India appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Samaritan’s Purse will soon open a treatment center in northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in response to an Ebola virus disease outbreak that has killed more than 300 people. This recent outbreak was declared Aug. 1 and is now the second deadliest in history. At the 20-bed treatment center, our medical team will […]The post Samaritan’s Purse to open Ebola treatment center in DRC appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

At least a dozen countries in the Western hemisphere reported an increase in dengue fever cases nationally or in parts of the country, including Paraguay. In 2018, more than 31,000 total dengue cases, including 3,414 confirmed cases were reported. This is up from 1,800 total cases and some 600 confirmed cases in 2017. In addition, while Paraguay […]The post Paraguay reports increase in dengue in 2018 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here is a look at some important infectious disease news reported across the globe: DRC Ebola total tops 600; vaccination team attacked With 10 new Ebola infections reported on New Year’s Day and today, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ebola outbreak passed the 600-case mark, as a fresh round of violence—this time in […]The post Infectious disease bric-a-bracs: Ebola update, Malawi hippos appeared first on Outbreak News Today.