Outbreak News Today

The mumps outbreak in Dallas County has risen to 59 cases in 2017, up 14 cases in a week, according to the latest numbers from the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) Tuesday. DCHHS has identified 45 mumps cases (76 percent) between students and teachers in Cedar Hill High School. The remaining cases have been reported […]The post Dallas mumps tally now 59, 3/4 at Cedar Hill High School appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Local public health officials have confirmed measles infection in a 6-month-old infant and the infant’s father, both King County residents who had recently traveled to Asia. The infant and the adult were both unimmunized. Before they were diagnosed, they may have exposed others to the measles at a few public locations. Most people in our […]The post Seattle: Measles confirmed in two unvaccinated people, potential exposure locations listed appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the increase in Shigellosis cases in southeastern New Mexico, The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) continues its investigation of a 10-month increase in cases of Shigella sonnei infections in Lea, Chaves, and Eddy counties. Since May 2016, 226 confirmed and epidemiologically-linked cases have been identified in the southeastern counties. The cases, […]The post Shigella sonnei cases in southeastern New Mexico update appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xadago (safinamide) tablets as an add-on treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease who are currently taking levodopa/carbidopa and experiencing “off” episodes. An “off” episode is a time when a patient’s medications are not working well, causing an increase in Parkinson’s symptoms, such as tremor and difficulty walking. […]The post Parkinson’s disease drug, Xadago, gets FDA nod appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The South Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit is advising people who have had diarrhoea not to swim in pools until at least two weeks after they have fully recovered following an increase in the number of cases of cryptosporidiosis notified to the Public Health Unit. There have been 71 cases of cryptosporidiosis […]The post Sydney area reports rise in cryptosporidium appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

State Veterinarian, Dr. Tony Frazier, confirms that a flock of chickens at a commercial poultry breeding operation located in Pickens County and a backyard flock located in Madison County have both tested positive for low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). During routine screening, a commercial company collected samples from their Pickens County flock and submitted them […]The post Alabama: Additional poultry flocks test bird flu positive appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A pilot study of a class of drugs used to treat hepatitis and some forms of multiple sclerosis has been shown for the first time to ease symptoms of Ebola patients, while also increasing their survival. The study, entitled, “Interferon ß-1a for the treatment of Ebola virus disease: A historically controlled, single-arm proof of concept […]The post Ebola: Interferon drug shows promise in pilot study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

EuroCan Manufacturing is voluntarily recalling Lot Number 84 consisting of it’s individually shrink-wrapped, 6-pack, 12-pack and 25-pack bags of Barnsdale Farms®, HoundsTooth® and Mac’s Choice® Pig Ears because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet […]The post Dog treats, ‘Pig Ears’ recalled due to Salmonella potential appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Federal and state authorities say a case of low pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a commercial poultry flock in western Kentucky. Kentucky State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout said the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the presence of H7N9 low pathogenic avian influenza in samples taken from the Christian County premises. […]The post Kentucky reports avian influenza in Christian County poultry flock appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Public Health is investigating a confirmed travel-related case of measles and asking people who may have been exposed and notice measles symptoms to call for further instructions. People at the following locations, on the dates and in the time-period specified, may have been exposed to measles: WestJet flight WS254 – departed Toronto on March 10 […]The post Nova Scotia reports travel-associated measles case appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A suspected norovirus outbreak has been implicated in an gastrointestinal illness outbreak on board the Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess, according to federal health officials. The 10-day long voyage arrived in Fort Lauderdale Saturday and according to the CDC, 157 of the 2,016 (7.79%) passengers and 25 of the 881 (2.84 %) crew were sickened presenting the symptoms of vomiting […]The post Cruise ship outbreak: Suspected norovirus sickens scores on Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last week, the state of Rio de Janeiro reported its two first confirmed autochthonous yellow fever cases in the municipality of Casimiro de Abreu, located 135 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro. This has prompted the World Health Organization Secretariat to determine that the State of Rio de Janeiro, with the exception of the urban areas of Rio […]The post Rio de Janeiro State reports yellow fever, Ecuador confirms 1st case in 5 years appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In March 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received official reports of possible locally-transmitted cases of malaria detected in non-endemic areas of Limpopo, North West, and Gauteng Provinces. Forty-nine cases were reported between the end of February through March 12, 2017 in Thabazimbi and Lephalele municipalities in the western Waterberg District of […]The post Malaria situation in South Africa: CDC appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The number of mumps cases reported in Toronto have risen to 48, according to Toronto Public Health today. Most of the cases are among 18-35 year old individuals and at least five of the cases are related to schools in Toronto, either among staff or students. At Ryerson University, Heather Adam, manager of operations and strategy […]The post Toronto mumps update: Case confirmed at Ryerson University appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Add rapid, mobile testing for Zika and other viruses to the list of things that smartphone technology is making possible. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that weighs under a pound, costs as little as $100 and can detect Zika, dengue and chikungunya within 30 minutes. Testing for these […]The post Zika, dengue testing on your smartphone appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

New data released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe ahead of World TB Day show that new tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths in the 53 countries of the WHO European Region declined each year by 4.3% and 8.5% respectively between 2011 and 2015. […]The post TB/HIV co-infections up 40 percent across Europe over the last five years appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In October 2016, NHS Lothian in Scotland reported on a measles outbreak with links to the University of Edinburgh. Now, the school’s Health and Safety Department issued a warning of an increase in mumps. According to a letter to students from Karen Darling, Deputy Director of Health and Safety Department (see below): There is currently an increase […]The post University of Edinburgh students warned about mumps appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

José Ángel Martínez, in charge of Sanitary Regulation of Jurisdiction 3 of the Secretariat of Health of Zacatecas (SSZ), reported that there is an outbreak of brucellosis in the community Rancho Grande in the city of Fresnillo in Zacatecas State, according to an NT report (computer translated). Martinez said there have been five confirmed cases to […]The post Mexico: Brucellosis outbreak reported in Zacatecas, linked to tainted cheese appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company developing human vaccines, announces a major step forward in the development of a vaccine candidate for protection against Zika virus (ZIKV). Preliminary testing in a highly rigorous challenge model showed the candidate, GEO-ZM02, provided 100% protection to mice infected with a lethal dose of ZIKV. The study was funded […]The post Zika vaccine: GeoVax reports promising results in mice appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On the Sunday airing of the Outbreak News This Week Radio show, I was joined by two special guests discussing two important topics. In the first half, I look at the rare condition, usually brought on by medications or infections, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) with a person that actually went through this painful immune-complex–mediated hypersensitivity complex. Donna Rushing of […]The post Podcast: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, C. diff-Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) research appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A new study predicts that when e-cigarettes are available as alternative to cigarettes, by 2050 the 32% of smokers in the UK that otherwise would have continued smoking would have completely switched to e-cigarettes. ‘Our results show an overall beneficial effect of e-cigarettes on a population, reducing smoking prevalence and smoking-related deaths,’ says Dr James […]The post E-cigarettes: A new tool to predict the potential public health benefit appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today reported the latest number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) in Hong Kong, and stressed the importance of using and maintaining properly designed man-made water systems, and that susceptible groups should strictly observe relevant precautions. From March 12 to 18, one community-acquired LD […]The post Hong Kong reports additional Legionnaires’ disease case appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the anthrax situation in Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia, Agriculture Victoria reports sheep deaths on four properties near Swan Hill have been confirmed as being caused by anthrax in March. Agriculture Victoria on Monday said it was continuing to respond to the anthrax outbreak to include vaccinating animals–“There have been around 4300 animals vaccinated to […]The post Swan Hill anthrax: Four properties affected, 4300 animals vaccinated appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

EpiPen 300 recall The Therapeutics Goods Adminstration (TGA) in Australia announced the recall of four batches of Alphapharm EpiPen 300 microgram adrenaline injection syringe auto-injectors. It has been identified that EpiPens from the four affected batches may contain a defective part that could result in the auto-injector failing to activate or a need to apply more force […]The post Australia: EpiPen recall, girl with tetanus update, 3rd M. chimaera infection appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The number of cats affected by sporotrichosis rose 400 percent in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, according to the Sanitary Surveillance. In all, the city had 13,536 cases reported in cats and 580 in humans only last year, according to a Estado de São Paulo report (computer translated). Sporothrix brasiliensis, a subcutaneous mycosis in Brazil, is […]The post Rio de Janeiro reports big rise in Sporotrichosis in cats appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Brazilian province of Minas Gerais has reported 419 mumps cases in 2017 to date and 55 percent of the cases have been reported in the southern region, according to a Globo.com report (computer translated). Southern Minas has seen 232 cases. In the city of Pouso Alegre, two outbreaks have been reported this year. In all of […]The post Minas Gerais: Most mumps cases reported in the south appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a health advisory concerning Cryptosporidium, or “crypto” infections linked to a farm in Northhampton County. Health officials report they are investigating gastrointestinal illness among members of the public who visited or volunteered at Heaven on Earth Farm in Easton. At least 5 laboratory-confirmed Cryptosporidium infections, and at least […]The post Pennsylvania Cryptosporidium advisory: Heaven on Earth Farm closes, calls media report ‘misleading’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Europe is currently seeing three outbreaks of hepatitis A that are linked to adult men who have sex with men (MSM). Since February 2016, 287 cases have been reported in a total of 13 countries, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In December, England, the Netherlands and Germany informed the […]The post Europe: Hepatitis A outbreaks in MSM appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Odisha media reported Saturday that two people are dead and nine other are sickened due to anthrax in the Bisra block of Sundargarh district of Odisha in eastern India. The nine affected are currently being treated. Deputy CMO of the Rourkela Government Hospital SK Kabisatpathy commented, “The hospital medicine specialist and skin specialist have clinically […]The post Two dead from anthrax in Bisra, India appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Following the imported measles case earlier this month in a unvaccinated one-year-old girl who resides in northern Taiwan, health officials report announced this year’s second imported measles case in an 11-month-old girl who visited Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia with her family in mid-February. On March 5, the baby developed symptoms, including fever, diarrhea, Koplik’s spots and rash. […]The post Taiwan reports 2nd imported measles case appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today issued a clinical practice guideline on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for the prevention of cervical cancer. This is the first guideline on primary prevention of cervical cancer that is tailored to multiple regions of the world with different levels of socio-economic and structural resource settings, offering evidence-based […]The post First global guidance for HPV vaccination for cervical cancer prevention appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

An international research team with prominent Canadian leadership has found that the blood thinner rivaroxaban is as safe as aspirin, and more effective at preventing recurrence of life-threatening blood clots in the legs and lungs, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. At least one out of 1,000 Canadians will […]The post Blood thinner, rivaroxaban, better at preventing recurrent blood clots than aspirin appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In a follow-up on the mumps outbreak at Penn State University, University Health Services (UHS) is reporting Forty-nine probable or confirmed mumps cases are being investigated at University Park. Of these 49 cases, 23 have been confirmed by lab tests since Jan. 29. The outbreak has prompted Penn State UHS to offer a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) […]The post Penn State mumps update: 49 confirmed and probable cases, MMR vaccine clinic scheduled appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In an update on the yellow fever outbreak in Brazil, the number of confirmed cases now stand at 396 since December 2016. Of this total, 134 death were reported putting the case fatality rate (CFR) at 34 percent among confirmed cases. The confirmed cases are distributed in three states: Minas Gerais (303), Espírito Santo (89), and São […]The post Brazil yellow fever update: Health ministry acquires 12 million vaccine doses appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Health officials in Lagangilang, Abra province in the northern Philippines are reporting at least 15 suspected human anthrax cases, according to a GMA Network report (computer translated). According to the report, the patient displayed symptoms of skin irritation, sores on the body and chest tightness. It is believed they contracted the serious bacterial infection from consuming anthrax-tainted […]The post Anthrax: Tainted carabao linked to possible outbreak in Abra appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The UST College of Science “Microbiology Society” was recently recognized by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) as one of their International Student Chapters in the Philippines. With this, ASM will award the Microbiology Society an official plaque of recognition. The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over […]The post Philippines: UST ‘Microbiology Society’ recognized by ASM appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Plague activity has been reported near the Great Western Reservoir Open Space related to a prairie dog die off, according to Broomfield Public Health and Environment Friday. This is the first incident of plague activity seen in Broomfield this season. The open space and nearby residential homes have been posted with signs listing precautionary measures […]The post Colorado: Plague activity reported in Broomfield appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Advanced Fresh Concepts Franchise Corp. (“AFC”) of Rancho Dominguez, California is recalling its Edamame (Soybeans) – UPC 0-23012-00261-9, dated between 01/03/2017 and 03/17/2017 because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Contamination was discovered via random testing under AFC’s Quality Assurance Program. Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and […]The post Edamame recalled due to Listeria risk appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Clostridium difficile is the No. 1 hospital-acquired infection in the United States and leads to 29,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness most commonly affects people in hospitals and nursing homes who are taking antibiotics and may have an underlying medical condition. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is a procedure […]The post Treating recurrent C. diff with freeze-dried FMT: An interview with Dr Herbert DuPont appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a rare, serious disorder of your skin and mucous membranes. The NIH says SJS affects 1 to 2 per million people each year. It’s usually a reaction to a medication or an infection. It is often triggered by a medication or an infection and can cause some serious and painful symptoms. Tampa […]The post Stevens-Johnson syndrome: Tampa woman tells her story appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reports that cases of mumps are beginning to appear in Louisiana. As of Wednesday, there have been 12 cases of mumps reported by the LDH Office of Public Health. “There has been a large outbreak of mumps cases in Arkansas and we’re starting to see cases in Louisiana now,” […]The post Mumps arrives in Louisiana appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The mumps outbreak in Toronto has grown to 43 confirmed cases, according to Toronto Public Health. 100 km west of Toronto in Guelph, health officials there reported via Twitter that three confirmed cases of the mumps in the city are likely linked to a recent keg party. In Alberta, health officials say the number of mumps cases are at […]The post Toronto mumps tally tops 40, Guelph confirms three appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Officials in Brisbane, Australia are reporting a tetanus case in a 7-year-old girl who was unvaccinated, according to a Sky News report. The child was initially treated at Lismore Base Hospital and transferred to Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. She is currently in critical condition. Pediatrician Dr Chris Ingall said, “She was suffering very painful spasms to her […]The post Australian girl contracts tetanus: Unvaccinated and in critical condition appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Nigerian health officials report five deaths due to bacterial meningitis in Sokoto state, according to a Premium Times report. The five victims in Gada and Wauru towns of Gada Local Government area. In Lagos, two human rabies deaths have been reported at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), according to a Daily Trust report. The victim […]The post Nigeria: Meningitis in Sokoto, Rabies in Lagos appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Government of Somalia has launched an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign today with the support of WHO, targeting over 450 000 people in 7 high-risk areas around the country. It is the first OCV campaign to be conducted in the country, and comes at a critical time after Somalia announced the ongoing drought as […]The post Somalia reports 11,000 cholera cases in 2017, oral cholera vaccination campaign begins appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

China The China National Health and Family Planning Commission reported 21 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), including four deaths, from March 10 to 16. The 19 male and two female patients, aged from 33 to 77, had their onset from February 28 to March 13. The cases were six cases from Guangxi, five cases […]The post Avian influenza update: China, Alabama and Tennessee appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Manitoba Horse Council has confirmed cases of Equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) which has caused abortions and neurologic disease starting 3 weeks ago in southwest Manitoba, according to a Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) alert. Veterinarians initiated a strict quarantine of 105 horses on the property. Eight fatalities have resulted from neurologic disease with an additional […]The post Canada: Equine herpesvirus reported in southwest Manitoba appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

At least nine Pacific Island Nations today are experiencing dengue fever outbreaks, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The Solomon Islands has experience the highest number of cases, with more than 10,000 suspected infections since a dengue outbreak was declared in October 2016. Red Cross personnel have just completed […]The post Dengue in the Pacific: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, other report outbreaks appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

An undergraduate student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC has tested positive for bacterial meningitis, according to a message from Joanne Clinch, Clinical Director, Student Health Service sent to the campus Thursday morning. Wake Forest University Student Health Service says the student is currently being treated for this condition at a local hospital. No other recent cases […]The post Meningitis reported in Wake Forest student appeared first on Outbreak News Today.