Outbreak News Today

The number of dengue related fatalities reported in Thailand has reached 80, according to the Bureau of Epidemiology. For the first nine months of 2018, Thai health officials have reported 61,917 dengue cases from all 77 provinces. Of this total, 21,966 cases dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases and 23 deaths and 683 dengue shock syndrome, including 51 […]The post Thailand dengue death count now 80, chikungunya warning issued appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In recent days a number of suspected cases of mumps infection have presented and been diagnosed in the University’s Student Health Centre (SHC), according to a recent Facebook post on UL Student Life. This communication to the student body has been prepared by the Public Health Department at the HSE and the Student Health Centre’s […]The post Ireland: ‘A number’ of suspected mumps cases reported at the University of Limerick appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has reported an outbreak caused by the gastrointestinal bacteria, Salmonella Enteritidis. So far, infection has been detected in 16 people living in several counties. Patient samples have been collected between the end of July and the beginning of September. They are from patients aged from 1 to 74 years. There are 10 women […]The post Norway reports Salmonella outbreak: 16 people affected appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the rubella situation in Japan, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases reports that as of September 23, 770 cases have been reported. This total is 8-times the number of cases reported in 2017 (93). The week ending Sep 23 resulted in 104 cases, the third straight week to eclipse 100 cases. Tokyo […]The post Rubella in Japan: Cases up 8-times compared to 2017 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Ukraine health officials have reported that at least five people who participated in livestock breeding in the village of Minyailivka, Odessa region, were hospitalized with specific symptoms of cutaneous anthrax. According to the results of laboratory tests conducted by the reference laboratory of the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, one […]The post Anthrax in Ukraine: Confirmed human case linked to tainted animal appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported today that 540 additional measles cases – 142 adults and 398 children–were reported in the week ending September 29. Through the first nine months of the year, 31,954 people– 12,874 adults and 19,080 children have contracted measles. A 3-year-old child who has not been […]The post Ukraine reports additional 500 measles cases in last week of September appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Today it was reported that the Pentagon mail facility received two pieces of mail Monday that initially tested positive for the toxin, ricin. CNN reports that the letters were addressed to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and to Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson. It was latter reported that one piece of mail was […]The post Ricin: A weapon of assassination rather than mass destruction appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last week, the CDC reported on a record-breaking estimated 900,000 flu hospitalizations and more than 80,000 deaths in the U.S. last flu season. My guest today, makes the case in Self magazine recently that while the flu shot is not 100 percent effective, you still need it. Joining me now is the author of the piece, Tara […]The post Flu shots: Some protection is better than no protection appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Bartonella are globally distributed bacteria that can cause endocarditis in humans and domestic animals. Bats have been implicated as a likely reservoir host for these bacteria, but little is known about how prevalence varies over time, routes of transmission, and the genetic diversity of Bartonella in bats. My guest today sheds some light on this topic in a […]The post Bartonella and vampire bats: A look at the recent research appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In the controlled trial, women who drank an additional 1.5 liters of water daily experienced 48 percent fewer repeat bladder infections than those who drank their usual volume of fluids, said senior author Dr. Yair Lotan, Professor of Urology and with the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern. The participants self-reported their usual volume as less […]The post Bladder infections in women: Drinking more water reduces these UTIs significantly according to study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Cases of three sexually transmitted diseases (STD), chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, continue to rise in San Diego County, according to health officials. In fact, increases have been reported for the third consecutive year in 2017 and were at the highest level in the last two decades. Cases of infectious syphilis increased by 15.2 percent, from 981 […]The post San Diego reports STDs at highest levels in 20 years appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Health officials in Los Angeles County are reporting the first human case of Saint Louis encephalitis (SLEV) in the county since 1997. The patient is an elderly resident of San Fernando Valley who became ill in late August. This is the first SLEV case in the state this year. One mosquito sample from Playa Vista has tested […]The post Los Angeles County: 1st human Saint Louis encephalitis case reported in 20 years appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A Syracuse University student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, according to Karen Nardella, M.D., Medical Director with Syracuse University Health Services. The student has since left campus and is currently being treated at a hospital near the student’s hometown. School officials did not specify the etiology of the meningitis. Immediately upon learning this news, the University […]The post Syracuse student diagnosed with bacterial meningitis appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In China, the twenty-first human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) since 2014 has been reported in a 22-year-old man from Guangzhou in Guangdong. The patient developed symptoms on September 25 and was hospitalized on the next day. He is now in a serious condition. The patient had contact with live poultry before the onset of symptoms. Avian influenza […]The post China: H5N6 avian influenza case reported in Guangdong appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

When a patient presents with signs and symptoms suspicious for a tick-borne illness, medical providers in central North Carolina regularly test for Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but often don’t think about Ehrlichia, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The failure to test for Ehrlichia, even as […]The post North Carolina: Ehrlichia often overlooked when tick-borne illness suspected appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the plague cases reported in Madagascar, as of 27 September 2018, a total of 25 cumulative cases including five community deaths (case fatality ratio 20%) have been reported. Six of these 25 suspected cases have been laboratory confirmed by RDT, PCR and/or culture at IPM (three pneumonic and three bubonic cases) […]The post Madagascar plague: Bubonic and pneumonic cases confirmed appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Zimbabwean government says the cholera outbreak in Harare is largely under control, with no new infections and the death toll remaining at 49 since Wednesday last week. In his latest epidemiological update issued on Monday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the disease, which broke out in the Glen View and […]The post Zimbabwe says cholera outbreak under control appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A South African hospital says nine newly born children died of ‘Necrotizing Entercolitis’, an infective condition that causes the inflammation of the gut. Rahima Moosa Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Frew Benson told News24 that 43 cases were confirmed at the hospital between March and July 2018. Dr Benson said all the nine fatalities were […]The post Outbreak of rare gut infection kills 9 babies in South African hospital appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In Nigeria, three new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported this week, bringing the total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2018 to eleven. These latest reported cases all had onset of paralysis in August, from Katsina and Borno states, linked to the cVDPV2 outbreak centered around Jigawa. The country continues […]The post Polio update: Nigeria, Niger and Papua New Guinea appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A New Jersey resident has reportedly been infected by the “brain-eating amoeba”, Naegleria fowleri while surfing in a wave pool at BSR Cable Park’s Surf Resort in Waco, Texas, according to a Waco Tribune-Herald report. The individual who died has been identified as 29 year-old Fabrizio Stabile of Ventnor. In a email statement from the CDC’s Candice Hoffmann […]The post Potential Naegleria fowleri exposure linked to Waco water park appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A little over a month ago I did a podcast with today’s guest on various infectious disease topics from her book Gompfs ID pearls and because it was so well received and the fact that we really just scratched the surface on this interesting topic, I had to have her on for another round of […]The post Infectious disease ‘pearls’, part 2: Outbreak News This Week appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Study The city of Karachi, Pakistan has seen large numbers of Naegleria fowleri deaths in recent years, particularly in people with no history of aquatic recreational activities like swimming, etc. A new study published in International Journal of Infectious Diseases (IJID) points to the source of the amoebic parasite as the Karachi water supply. Twenty […]The post Naegleria fowleri in Karachi water supply, source of infections: Study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) continues to report alarmingly high numbers of HIV and AIDS cases as they gear up to battle the epidemic with a new campaign, LHIVE FREE. “The number of Filipinos affected by HIV and AIDS have drastically increased over the last couple of years,” shared DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III. […]The post Philippines: HIV cases ‘drastically increased over the last couple of years’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In 2018 to date, South African health officials have reported 13 human rabies cases–seven cases were from KwaZulu-Natal Province and six from the Eastern Cape Province. In addition, two other cases from Eastern Cape could not be confirmed through laboratory testing, but are considered probable cases. The rise in the number of human rabies cases is […]The post South Africa reports the most human rabies in 10 years appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Here are the top five posts on Outbreak News Today for the week Sept 22 through Sept 28: 5. HIV: Rare father-to-son transmission reported in study In this rare, obscure case of HIV transmission from a study published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, researchers describe how a child contracted HIV from his father with the mother being HIV negative. 4. Cholera outbreak: […]The post Infectious disease news: Top 5 posts for the week Sept. 22-28 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Yersiniosis is an infection caused most often by eating raw or undercooked pork contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. CDC estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year. Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me to talk about Y. enterocolitica infections, transmission via […]The post Yersinia enterocolitica: Chitlins, blood transfusions and Reiter’s syndrome appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health has confirmed West Nile virus in five Louisville residents. Four of the West Nile cases were neuroinvasive, a serious form of the disease in which the virus attacks the brain or the tissues lining the brain and spinal cord leading to encephalitis or meningitis. There have been no deaths […]The post Kentucky: Louisville reports five West Nile virus cases appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up report on the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, in 15 areas across the country a cumulative total of 6,643 suspected cholera cases (98 confirmed) and 48 related deaths (case fatality ratio 0.73 per cent) have been reported three weeks into the outbreak. An estimated 22 per cent of the suspected and confirmed cases […]The post Cholera outbreak death toll rises to 48 in Zimbabwe appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Nunavut Department of Health is advising residents of Sanikiluaq that a walrus has tested positive for trichinella. Health officials advise the public that if you ate uncooked walrus recently, and experienced stomach pain, muscle pain, diarrhea, swollen eyelids, sweating and weakness, you might be infected with trichinella, the parasite that causes worm disease. You should […]The post Trichinella tainted walrus prompts health warning in Nunavut appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In response to bird flu pandemics starting in 2013, officials in China introduced a new vaccine for chickens in September 2017. Recent findings suggest that the vaccine largely worked but detected two new genetic variations of the H7N9 and H7N2 subtypes in unvaccinated ducks. These findings will be published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. […]The post Avian influenza: H7N9 subtypes found in ducks after introduction of vaccine in China appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation. This is the first FDA approval of a drug specifically for advanced CSCC. Libtayo works […]The post Skin cancer: FDA approves Libtayo, first treatment for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Rat hepatitis E virus (rat HEV) was first discovered in 2010 and circulates in house rats (Rattus rattus) and sewer rats (Rattus norvegicus). It is very distantly related to human hepatitis E virus variants. Human infection by rat HEV has never been documented previously. A study led by Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung, Henry Fok Professor in […]The post Rat hepatitis E virus can cause disease in humans: Hong Kong researchers appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) is investigating a case of Listeria infection in a person who consumed food sold at the Druxy’s restaurant located in Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at 610 University Ave. Any individuals who ate non-prepackaged food such as hot and cold deli sandwiches at this restaurant from August 9 to September 26, 2018 […]The post Listeria infection investigated in Toronto appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

San Diego County health officials determined Friday that there is an outbreak of meningococcal disease on the campus of San Diego State University after a second case was confirmed this semester. The most recent case is a male undergraduate student who became symptomatic with meningitis on Sept. 25. Testing done at the California Department of Public […]The post Meningococcal disease outbreak on San Diego State University appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Bartonella are bacteria that cause endocarditis, a potentially life-threatening illness in humans and domestic animals. In Latin America, common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are frequently infected by Bartonella, and their subsistence on blood creates a risk for bacterial transmission from bats to humans and livestock. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Daniel Becker at Montana State […]The post Vampire bats: 2/3s of those tested were found to be Bartonella carriers in study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new drug, Arikayce (amikacin liposome inhalation suspension), for the treatment of lung disease caused by a group of bacteria, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in a limited population of patients with the disease who do not respond to conventional treatment (refractory disease). MAC is a type of […]The post Mycobacterium avium complex: New drug, Arikayce, receives FDA approval appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Infection of the bone–short and sweet, that is the definition of osteomyelitis. Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me to answer a few questions about this topic, something she addresses in her handy guide, Gompf’s ID pearls. During the discussion, Dr Gompf explains what the three basic types of […]The post Osteomyelitis: Types, complications and imaging studies appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in the 4-year old child of an HIV-negative mother led to a forensic analysis to determine the source of the infection and try to date the transmission of the virus. The results of genetic, phylogenetic, and serologic data analysis on both the father and son and the hypothesis for how the […]The post HIV: Rare father-to-son transmission reported in study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) their report this week, Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season and here is a summary of the report: It is recommended that egg based quadrivalent vaccines for use in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season contain the following: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; […]The post Flu vaccines: Recommended composition for use in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), close to the DRC-Uganda border was declared on August 1. As of 25th September 2018, a total of 151 cases of EVD had been reported to WHO by DRC; of these, 120 are confirmed and 31 are probable; 101 […]The post Ebola update: Uganda steps up preparedness, EU response appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Madagascar health officials reported in an update Wednesday that the plague case count has now risen to 22 cases in 10 districts from August 1 to September 24, 2018. To date, five deaths have been reported. The 10 districts include Ambalavo, Ambatofinandrahana, Ambatolampy, Ambositra, Ankazobe, Antananarivo, Antsirabe, Arivonimamo, Fandriana and Miarinarivo. Plague is known to […]The post Plague reported in 10 Madagascar districts appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the multistate outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections linked to fresh crab meat imported from Venezuela, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday that the outbreak investigation is over. As of September 18, 2018, 26 Vibrio parahaemolyticus illnesses were reported from Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, New York City, Pennsylvania, Virginia. Nine people were […]The post Vibrio parahaemolyticus outbreak over: Linked to fresh crab meat imported from Venezuela appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Following a particularly severe 2017-2018 influenza (flu) season with a record-breaking estimated 900,000 hospitalizations and more than 80,000 deaths in the U.S., the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), along with public health and medical organizations, presented the benefits of flu vaccination and urged the public and healthcare professionals to follow the Centers for Disease […]The post Influenza: 80,000 people died from flu last season according to CDC estimates appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Tetanus is a very serious, potentially fatal disease that typically occurs in people who have not been vaccinated. In this short Q&A, I talk to Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD about this topic, something she addresses in her handy guide, Gompf’s ID pearls. I ask her about the […]The post Tetanus: Symptoms, treatment, prevention and more appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to the recently released 2017 Michigan Annual STD Summary Report, cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all increased last year. This growth mirrors national trends published in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance report today but reflects a reversal of previous decreases. The state has experienced between 45,000 and 50,000 cases of chlamydia annually since 2008, […]The post Michigan reports increases in syphilis and gonorrhea appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

An increase in invasive meningococcus W infections in Dijon and Genlis has prompted officials with the Regional Agency for Health (ARS) Bourgogne Franche Comté to organize a campaign of vaccination for 17-24 years in this geographical area. Between December 2017 and June 2018, five cases of invasive meningococcal disease W occurred in Côte-d’Or. Of these five cases, four involved […]The post France: Increase in meningococcus W prompts vaccination campaign appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

After the confirmation of a yellow fever case last month, the Republic of Congo, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners started today a vaccination campaign to control the spread of yellow fever in the port city of Pointe Noire and surrounding areas. More than 1 million people from nine months of […]The post Yellow fever vaccination campaign in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Transmitted by the bite of the tsetse flu (Glossina spp.), African trypanosomiasis, of sleeping sickness is a serious infection caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. Although the infection is not found in the United States, historically, it has been a serious public health problem in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, 3,796 sleeping sickness […]The post African sleeping sickness: A short Q&A with an ID physician appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A measles alert has been issued by NSW Health this week in the South Western Sydney area. An individual who recently traveled to and returned from South-East Asia has been diagnosed with the highly contagious viral infection. The case spent time in Ingleburn and Liverpool, and travelled on the 852 bus route between West Hoxton and Liverpool while unknowingly […]The post Measles alert issued for South Western Sydney appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, killing roughly 1.6 million people in 2017. In the past 200 years, TB claimed the lives of more than 1 billion people — more deaths than from malaria, influenza, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, cholera and plague combined. Recently, the global health community has strengthened its efforts and […]The post Tuberculosis: NIH strategic plan to address TB research released appeared first on Outbreak News Today.