Outbreak News Today

While there has been no new cases of confirmed bubonic plague cases after Nov. 8 and no new cases of confirmed pneumonic have been notified since Nov. 14, the World Health Organization today released the latest numbers from the Madagascar plague outbreak showing that the number of fatalities has reached more than 200 through Nov. 22. From […]The post Plague death toll tops 200 in Madagascar appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry Of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) are reporting that there is an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Kiboga and Mityana districts. This follows laboratory confirmations by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) from two samples collected from both districts. In Kiboga district, the victim was […]The post Uganda reports Rift Valley Fever outbreak in Mityana and Kiboga Districts appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Six children under the age of 10 have died from chickenpox in the northwestern regions of Piura and La Libertad in Peru through October, according to a chimbotenlinea.com report (computer translated). This number is higher than the five deaths recorded during the entire 2016. According to the doctor Pedro Díaz Camacho, of the Bethlehem Hospital of […]The post Peru: 6 chickenpox deaths reported in northwest regions appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Tick-borne infections are a major infectious disease problem in the United States as we see the numbers increase each year and a geographical spread reported. Ticks are arachnids, like spiders, scorpions and mites, from the Class Arachnida. While most tick bites do not transmit infectious disease, some very serious infections can be contracted from the bite of […]The post From Lyme to Powassan: Tick-borne diseases in the US 2016 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Through a few clever molecular hacks, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have converted a natural bacterial immune system into a microscopic data recorder, laying the groundwork for a new class of technologies that use bacterial cells for everything from disease diagnosis to environmental monitoring. The researchers modified an ordinary laboratory strain of the ubiquitous […]The post World’s smallest tape recorder is built from microbes appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Manitoba health officials have reported 1,268 confirmed cases of mumps since Sep. 2016 and more than 1,000 cases in 2017 alone. This is a huge difference from the five or less cases reported in a year. While the number of cases reported monthly remains abnormally high, there are signs of some decline in cases in the […]The post Mumps in Manitoba: More than 1000 cases in 2017, showing signs of decline appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the blockade instituted earlier this month by the Saudi-led coalition, which blocked the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance to children in desperate need in Yemen, UNICEF reports that the first aircraft carrying lifesaving vaccines has landed in Sana’a airport earlier today. The aircraft carried 1.9 million doses of vaccines. The vaccines will […]The post Vaccines arrive in Yemen after blockade appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

War and conflict in Yemen and in Venezuela, a socialistic government and resulting economic and social chaos that goes hand-in-hand with that form of government, has caused a destruction of existing health care systems and an interruption in vaccinations among the population. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently reported the latest diphtheria […]The post Diphtheria: Crises in Yemen and Venezuela result in re-emergence appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on October 20, 2010, an outbreak of cholera was confirmed in Haiti for the first time in more than a century, ten months after the catastrophic earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and displaced over 1 million. Since the beginning of the outbreak, more than […]The post Haiti cholera cases down 66 percent compared to 2016 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Malaysian health officials have reported nine typhoid fever cases this month in Belaga, Kapit division, Sarawak, according to a Malaysian Digest report. All of the patients are hospitalized at Bintulu Hospital, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement. “The situation is under control with no death has been reported. “Preliminary investigations at the locality […]The post Malaysia: Nine typhoid cases reported in Sarawak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

With the end of vector-borne disease season just around the corner (Nov. 30), health officials in Delhi, India still recorded some 500 cases in the past week, according to a Press Trust India report. A total of 8,549 cases of dengue including four fatalities, 4,375 patients belonged to Delhi. Patients from other states who came to […]The post Mosquito-borne illnesses rise in Delhi appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Two people have died in the Blanes Legionairres’ disease outbreak, according to the Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT). The outbreak case total now stands at 19. To date, the ASPCAT have investigated a total of 37 high-risk facilities (cooling towers and hot water installations with return) in which they have taken 78 samples, according to a […]The post Catalonia: Legionella kills two in Blanes appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

There is a measles outbreak reported in Leeds and Liverpool, according to the NHS yesterday. While they offer no specifics on cases and locations on their social media posts, NHS advises people to ensure they and their children are vaccinated. Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to […]The post England: Measles outbreak reported in Leeds and Liverpool appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Two confirmed yellow fever cases in São Paulo State, Brazil (an area considered not at risk for yellow fever transmission) has prompted national authorities to begin vaccination campaigns and strengthening health care services and carrying out risk communication activities. Between July and mid-October 2017, a total of 71 suspected yellow fever cases were reported in São Paulo State, […]The post Yellow fever in São Paulo State prompts vaccination campaign appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District has concluded that the cause of the food-borne illness outbreak related to a catered Thanksgiving meal employee event at Toyo Tire in White, GA, November 14 and 15, was Salmonella. The determination is based on multiple positive lab-test results for salmonella from employees who attended the […]The post Salmonella confirmed as cause of Toyo Tire outbreak in Georgia appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and collaborators at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have detected abnormal prion protein in the skin of nearly two dozen people who died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The scientists also exposed a dozen healthy mice to skin extracts from two of the CJD patients, and all developed […]The post Prion protein found in skin of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients: NIH/Case Western Reserve University appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Flies can be more than pesky picnic crashers, they may be potent pathogen carriers, too, according to an international team of researchers. In a study of the microbiomes of 116 houseflies and blowflies from three different continents, researchers found, in some cases, these flies carried hundreds of different species of bacteria, many of which are […]The post Houseflies and blowflies carry and spread a variety of species of bacteria that are harmful to humans: Study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

There was less H5N1 avian influenza (AI) reported in 2017 as compared to recent years; however, the “5th wave” of H7N9 AI was nearly as large as the first four waves combined, according to information published by the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today. In 2017 (as of November […]The post Avian influenza in humans 2017: Hong Kong officials break it down appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Cutting the budget of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) by 44%, as the U.S. Congress has proposed, would lead to an estimated 67 million additional cases of malaria over the next four years, according to a mathematical model published this week in PLOS Medicine by Peter Winskill of Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues. The PMI, established […]The post Malaria: 67 million additional cases over the next four years if PMI cuts enacted appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this special Thanksgiving airing of the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show, I feature four interviews on four very common parasitic nematodes, or roundworms– the giant intestinal roundworm–Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura or whipworm, the hookworms and Enterobius vermicularis, or the pinworm. These are recordings from interviews I’ve had with parasitologist and author, Rosemary Drisdelle. […]The post Four Roundworms: Ascaris, whipworm, hookworm and pinworm appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Kentucky has become the latest in an ever growing list of states battling a hepatitis A outbreak–following California, Michigan and Utah. On Tuesday, The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) declared an outbreak of acute hepatitis A with cases in multiple counties in Kentucky. In total, 31 cases of acute (rapid onset with symptoms of illness) […]The post Kentucky declares hepatitis A outbreak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Despite being shot multiple time, harboring multiple roundworm parasites and being infected with hepatitis B, the North Korean defector that made it into South Korea more than a week ago is expected to survive, according trauma specialist at Ajou University Hospital, Lee Cook-jong. “His condition is good. It’s much better than we thought. The major operational procedures […]The post North Korean defector riddled with bullets, parasites and hepatitis B expected to survive appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Nigerian health officials have confirmed four additional monkeypox cases since our last report earlier this month, bringing the total cases in the outbreak to 42. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the new confirmed cases were reported from n Cross River (2), Imo (1) and Delta (1) states. Laboratory investigation by the NCDC National […]The post Nigeria monkeypox update: 4 additional confirmed cases reported appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP (Janssen), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved JULUCA®, the first, complete, single-pill, two-drug regimen for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in certain adults living with the disease who are virologically suppressed. JULUCA® is a once-daily, antiretroviral combination of […]The post Single-Pill, Two-Drug HIV treatment, JULUCA®, receives FDA nod appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

For the second time in three months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people who might have consumed contaminated raw milk and milk products to visit their doctor. People who bought and drank raw milk from a company called Udder Milk may have been infected with a rare but potentially serious germ called […]The post CDC issues Brucella warnings over Udder Milk appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On today’s show we will be talking about a trematode or fluke that is not seen often in humans, but is fascinating just the same Dicrocoelium dendriticum, or the lancet liver fluke. Joining me to lend her expertise in answering questions about this flatworm is Parasitology teacher and author of Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome […]The post Dicrocoelium dendriticum: The lancet liver fluke appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Health officials in Nueva Vizcaya, in Cagayan Valley region in Luzon, are reporting eight confirmed cases of the mosquitoborne disease, Japanese encephalitis (JE), according to a Manila Times report. The cases, confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa, were reported from four municipalities in the province. According to Dr. Florejean Albano with the Provincial Integrated Health Office, the cases occurred during May to […]The post Japanese encephalitis: Eight cases confirmed in Nueva Vizcaya appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Global health officials say the dengue fever outbreak in the African nation of Burkina Faso continues to spread particularly in the central region of the country, which contains the capital city of Ouagadougou. Since our last report, the number of cases have essentially doubled in the country (6,699 suspected, probable or confirmed cases and 13 deaths […]The post Africa: Dengue ‘declining slightly’ in Burkina Faso appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Officials with China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission are reporting an additional human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) in a Guangxi man. The case involved a 33-year-old man from Guigang. He developed symptoms on November 7 and was hospitalized on November 12. He is now in a critical condition. The patient had contact with live poultry and […]The post China: Human H5N6 avian influenza case reported in Guangxi appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Malaria parasites, although widespread among wild chimpanzees and gorillas, have not been detected in bonobos, a chimp cousin. Reasoning that previous studies may have missed infected bonobo populations, a team led by Beatrice Hahn, MD, a professor of Microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a more extensive survey, […]The post Malaria: New Plasmodium species found in wild bonobos appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In Australia, the topic of Lyme disease has been a growing issue in recent years with patients sharing their stories about suffering with debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks. The Australian Government Department of Health began engaging with patients and advocacy groups in early 2013 to discuss the concerns about Lyme borreliosis, also known as Lyme […]The post Australia: Health officials support removing ‘Lyme disease’ from discussions with patients–‘unhelpful and divisive’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

WHO continues to support the Ministry of Public Health and other national authorities in Madagascar to monitor and respond to the outbreak of plague. From 6 to 17 November 2017, 216 cases of plague (1 confirmed, 20 probable and 195 suspect) were reported to WHO. The date of onset of the last case of bubonic […]The post WHO plague update: 2,267 cases, 195 deaths appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Scientists have developed a new system to study Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the laboratory, paving the way for research to find treatments for the fatal brain disorder. The team have devised a method of studying the abnormal proteins responsible for the disease – called prions – in specialised brain cells grown from stem cells. The advance […]The post Scientists devise way to study prions using brain cells derived from human stem cells appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The latest in the brucellosis outbreak linked to the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the National University of Asunción in Paraguay shows that fifteen people are in treatment or follow-up, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MSPyBS). There are 15 patients who are in treatment and follow-up, with antibiotics for a period […]The post 15 people being treated for Brucellosis in Paraguay outbreak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Canned fish products from Chinese company TROPICAL FOOD MANUFACTURING (NINGBO) Co. Ltd. are being pulled from the shelves in Peru after the detection of parasitic worms (anisakid nematodes) in a lot of Entero de Caballo en Salsa of Tomato, according to a SANIPES press release (computer translated). The health warning was issued as this contaminated product puts the […]The post Peru: Chinese canned fish pulled from market due to anisakis worms appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

While so much attention has been on the hepatitis A outbreaks in California and Michigan, for good reason, not much attention has been given to the third largest outbreak in the United States—Utah. California, particularly the San Diego area and southeast Michigan, including Detroit have accounted for more than 1100 cases, 800 hospitalizations and 40 […]The post Utah: The 3rd hepatitis A outbreak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a recent World Health Organization (WHO) news release dated Nov. 15 on the Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak in Uganda, officials said of the outbreak that was officially declared on Oct. 19– Contact follow-up is ongoing in Kween for the 56 contacts, while In Kapchorwa District, all the listed contacts have completed the 21 […]The post Suspect Marburg in Moroto: Uganda media appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In 2016 in Ukraine, 119 people were sickened by botulism, in which a dozen people died. So far in 2017, the picture looks very similar according to data from the Center for Influenza and Acute Respiratory Virus Infections of the Ministry of Health, a ukranews.com report states. According to data received from the regions on November 15 […]The post Ukraine reports 132 botulism cases so far this year, most due to home cooking appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The intensive care unit (ICU) at the Hospital de Fuenlabrada has been closed after two patients tested positive for the fungal infection, Aspergillosis. According to a Gente report (computer translated), two patients, ages 60 and 80, were in the ICU due to a general infection and another after an operation, have been transferred to another hospital and are […]The post Spain: Aspergillus outbreak prompts closure of Hospital de Fuenlabrada ICU appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The human Q fever outbreak in Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region has grown to 59 suspect cases and three confirmed cases, according to a latercera.com report (computer translated). While there have been no reports of deaths, 18 patients have required hospitalization for pneumonia and three of them were connected to mechanical ventilation. Of this total, 82 percent […]The post Chile: 82 percent of Q fever cases are livestock workers appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Through October, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) in Portugal says the number confirmed hepatitis A cases now stands at 505, according to a TVi24 report (computer translated). This is up from 471 cases in September. Of the total cases, 85% were men, and more than half of the infections were linked to sexual contact. Most cases continue […]The post Portugal: Hepatitis A cases top 500 this year appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Since Feb. 2017, Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection was confirmed in 8 local government areas (LGAs) of Borno, with transmission still ongoing in Rann Kala Balge. The total number of jaundice cases reported since that time is 1262. A total of 226 specimens were collected in 10 LGAs, of these 182 tested positive using IgM HEV antibody ELISA […]The post Nigeria: Nearly 200 hepatitis E cases confirmed in Borno State appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A new collaborative study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) and UC San Diego School of Medicine has found that a medication used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus. The drug, called chloroquine, has a long history of safe use during pregnancy, and is […]The post Chloroquine shows promise as Zika virus treatment: Research appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

About one month after reporting on the first locally acquired Zika virus infection of 2017 in the State of Florida (in Manatee County), state health officials have reported a second local transmission case, this one in Miami-Dade County. Officials note that the individual tested positive for Zika and had no travel history to an area with ongoing, […]The post Florida reports 2nd Zika local transmission in a month appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year was estimated at around 300,000. This is a 10-times increase over the more than 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to CDC, making it the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States. A […]The post Tick-borne diseases in New York: Big increases in the past decade appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

It has been about two and a half months since we got an update on the multistate Salmonella Agbeni outbreak, but on Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an update that now shows an additional 29 cases linked to contact with pet turtles have been reported. This brings the total outbreak total to 66 […]The post Salmonella outbreak linked to pet turtles: 29 additional cases reported appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

There has been three confirmed mumps cases reported at UBC Sauder School of Business in Vancouver. Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) contacted Students and Faculty of the Bachelor in Commerce Program concerning possible exposure to mumps at the school. Mumps is a disease caused by the mumps virus. Mumps was a common childhood disease before immunization. Now it […]The post Vancouver: Mumps confirmed at UBC Sauder School of Business appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The inappropriate or excessive use of anti-microbial agents in past decades has propelled the emergence and spread of multidrug resistant microbial pathogens. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency, each year about 25.000 patients in the EU die from infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria. Globally, 700.000 people per […]The post Klebsiella: How natural killer cells conquer the superbug appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The number of new plague cases in Madagascar has steadily declined since mid-October. From 6 to 15 November 2017, 149 probable (12) and suspect (137) pneumonic cases, 18 bubonic cases and 8 unspecified cases of plague have been reported to WHO. The date of onset of the last case of bubonic plague was Oct. 29 and […]The post Plague: Epidemic phase of the outbreak is ending appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Coconino County Public Health Services District (CCPHSD) officials have announced a confirmed case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in a recent traveler to the County from outside Arizona. The individual traveled to multiple areas in northern Arizona and it is unknown where the current case contracted the virus. The disease is transmitted to people who […]The post Arizona: Hantavirus confirmed in recent traveler to Coconino County appeared first on Outbreak News Today.