Outbreak News Today

At least two people in China one year ago are believed to have contracted rabies after receiving kidneys from a common organ donor, according to Chinese researchers in a paper published in the journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases. The donor was a 6-year-old boy who lived in Guangxi Province, a region with high numbers of human rabies cases, […]

US Federal and state health officials are now investigating eight separate multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to contact with live poultry in backyard flocks, with the addition of a Salmonella Infantis outbreak reported in six states. In the past month and a half, health officials have reported an additional 287 cases and 10 more states […]

The first five-year phase of the global programme to eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) has taken a step closer to finalization, following a two day strategy session (11-12 July) at FAO’s Rome headquarters that brought together animal health experts, government representatives, livestock professionals and other stakeholders from around the world. Convened by FAO and […]

The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) has confirmed a second case of Zika virus illness reported in a North Dakota resident. The individual who tested positive for Zika virus is a man who traveled to Costa Rica. This case was not hospitalized for his illness. “People who travel to areas with Zika virus need […]

Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) has confirmed the third human case of West Nile infection in Dallas County for the 2016 season. The resident lives in the 75228 zip code in Dallas and was diagnosed with West Nile Fever. For medical confidentiality and personal privacy reasons, DCHHS does not provide additional identifying information. […]

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) is warning Kentuckians, particularly pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant, to avoid traveling to areas of the world with active Zika virus transmission. The virus is primarily spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. “We strongly warn everyone – especially pregnant women or women planning […]

The outbreak of mumps in Brazil’s Federal District, which includes the Brazilian capital city, Brasília, has grown to nearly 1000 cases and has residents concerned as more cases are reported weekly, according to a Radio Agencia Nacional report (computer translated). The case count currently stands at 960. According to the CDC, symptoms for mumps include fever, headache, muscle […]

The Florida Department of Health announced today that it is conducting an investigation into a possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County. The department is actively conducting an epidemiological investigation, is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and will share additional details as they become available. Mosquito control has already conducted […]

The New Mexico Department of Health, the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, and the Bernalillo County Health Protection Section announced today a confirmed case of plague in a 77-year-old man from Bernalillo County. The case was confirmed at the Department of Health’s Scientific Laboratory Division. This is the second human case of plague in […]

A family from Seringal Miraflor in Acre state in northern Brazil have tested positive for the parasitic disease, Chagas disease, according to a G1. Globo report (computer translated). Ten people from the same family are hospitalized at General Hospital of Feijó with Chagas disease, while three other patients of the same family are awaiting the result […]

While so much attention has been placed the Zika virus epidemic and to a lesser extent dengue fever in Brazil this year, another virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito is being reported at a nearly 10 times amount compared to the first five months of the year in 2015. According to a g1.globo.com report (computer translated), the […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on a correction Monday concerning the Burkholderia cepacia case count. Last Thursday, federal health officials reported the case tally to be 53. However, on Monday, July 18, CDC published the following: Case count corrected as of July 18, 2016, CDC has confirmed 49 cases from 5 states. On […]

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease recently awarded the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics contracts totaling $11.5 million under its Broad Agency Announcement mechanism to support two studies to be conducted at UAB and its partner academic sites. The studies will assess treatment of babies born with congenital cytomegalovirus without […]

Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development is studying an investigational vaccine for yellow fever, a potentially deadly disease that is spread by the same mosquito that transmits Zika virus. The research is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. Yellow fever is among a […]

A joint investigation by the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) found inadequate reprocessing and sterilization of medical devices at the Northtown Medical Clinic (140-9450 137 Ave NW, Edmonton) may have put specific clinic patients at risk of infections such as Hepatitis B and C. The risk of […]

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published in PLOS ONE shows that symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, a complex and disabling multisystem disorder, can be provoked by imposing a mild to moderate strain to the muscles and nerves. Eighty individuals, 60 […]

Tri-County Health Department, which serves over 1.3 million people in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties in Colorado, is warning of possible exposure to a baby with measles who was at various locations in the south metro area. Measles is a respiratory illness that can be spread by coughing and sneezing, and can be very dangerous […]

CDC is assisting in the investigation of a case of Zika in a Utah resident who is a family contact of the elderly Utah resident who died in late June. The deceased patient had traveled to an area with Zika and lab tests showed he had uniquely high amounts of virus—more than 100,000 times higher […]

Purple blotch and Anthracnose disease fungal diseases have resulted in a 50 percent decrease of red onion crop in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, according to a Philippines media report. Cornelio Dinong, municipal agricultural technologist said that fungal diseases in onions usually develop during drizzle and rainy season and has prompted farmers to grow other crops. Purple Blotch is caused […]

The number of leptospirosis cases in the northern province of Pangasinan are down 17 percent this year; however, health officials do caution the public not to get complacent. Dr. Anna Maria Teresa de Guzman, provincial health officer (PHO), said their office has, so far, recorded 19 cases of leptospirosis from January 1 to July 4 this […]

The number of dengue fever cases in the Western Visayas province of Aklan is up more than 130 percent this year to date compared to the same period in 2015. From January through July 12, Aklan provincial health officials have recorded 525 dengue cases. Aklan Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance and Response Unit (APESRU) says the same […]

A Oahu man in his 30’s who contracted hepatitis A may need a liver transplant, according to a Honolulu news source. A hepatitis A outbreak that began in June on the Hawaiian Island has seen at least 52 illnesses to date. According to KHON 2 report last week, the patient has been transferred to Queen’s Medical […]

The Republican National Committee affirmed an amendment to its platform declaring pornography a public health crisis. The full draft of the platform will be sent to the floor of the Republican National Convention this week. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation commends this development, and asks the Democratic National Committee to take similar action. “The […]

Though the West African Ebola outbreak that began in 2013 is now under control, 23 countries remain environmentally suitable for animal-to-human transmission of the Ebola virus. Only seven of these countries have experienced cases of Ebola, leaving the remaining 16 countries potentially unaware of regions of suitability, and therefore underprepared for future outbreaks. These findings […]

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When used consistently for a month at a time, a vaginal ring containing an antiretroviral (ARV) drug called dapivirine provides significant protection against HIV, suggest results of new data analyses from the ASPIRE study announced today at The International Conference on AIDS (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa. Among women who appeared to use the […]

For HIV-infected mothers whose immune system is in good health, taking a three-drug antiretroviral regimen during breastfeeding essentially eliminates HIV transmission by breast milk to their infants, according to results from a large clinical trial conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and India. These findings from the ongoing Promoting Maternal and Infant Survival Everywhere (PROMISE) study, funded […]

As the 21st International AIDS Conference gets underway in Durban this week, UNICEF warned that despite remarkable global progress in tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic, much work remains to be done to protect children and adolescents from infection, sickness and death. Since 2000, concerted action to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence has […]

Dengue fever is up overall in the Philippines by some 40 percent in 2016 to date, according to the latest data from the Department of Health. In the Davao City area and Region XI, dengue is up by 147 percent, prompting officials to call the situation “alarming”. Engr. Antonietta Ebol, program manager of the Dengue […]

As early as January this year, Argentina Health Minister Jorge Lemus called dengue fever in the country, including Buenos Aires City, an “epidemic”. In a February 2016 New York Times report, Hernán G. Solari, a physics professor at the University of Buenos Aires who researches dengue and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes said concerning the dengue situation at the time, “We’re expecting […]

In a update on the E. coli O157 outbreak in the United Kingdom, Public Health England (PHE) officials report an additional 42 cases in England bringing the outbreak total to 151. This is 144 in England, 6 in Wales and 1 in Scotland, with the South West of England particularly affected. 62 of the cases are […]

With reports of an additional 32 travel associated Zika virus cases on mainland France, the total case count is now 620 through Jul 13, according to French health authorities (computer translated). Fifteen cases of the total case count have been reported in pregnant women and three cases of neurological complications. French health officials have also reported […]

In the July 14 edition of Scientific Reports (Nature), 39 researchers from 14 leading institutions in the United States, United Kingdom and France suggest novel approaches that could hasten the development of better medications for people suffering from toxoplasmosis. This chronic, currently incurable infection, caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, infects the brain and eye […]

The Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been notified of the death of a dengue patient at Changi General Hospital (CGH) on Saturday. This is the sixth dengue fatality of the year. The patient was a 72-year-old Singaporean female who stayed at Simei Street 1. She was admitted to […]

Nearly 200 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis have been reported recently in the Safi Tehsil (administrative division) of the Mohmand Agency district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (FATA) concerning health officials of its possible spread into other tehsils, according to a Daily Times report. Mohmand Agency Surgeon Dr. Razaullah said health officials in other tehsils have been warned […]

The Rochester Hills Lifetime Fitness day camp employee who contracted bacterial meningitis died from the serious infection, according to county health officials. 21-year-old Central Michigan University senior, Kristy Malter, lost her battle with meningococcal meningitis on Jul 14. The Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) first notified the public of the situation on Jul 13 and started contacting parents of campers […]

In a follow-up report on the increase in leptospirosis cases in Mumbai, India, local media reports the city has seen 27 cases in the past two days and the city’s first leptospirosis-related fatality in a 35-year-old woman. Doctors say that with the rains slowing down, they are expecting a surge in leptospirosis cases in the […]

Health officials in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines is warning the public about another mosquito borne viral threat, Japanese encephalitis, after a 52-year-old man from Bacaca was confirmed positive for the serious infection, according to a local media report. According to Davao City Health Officer, Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, the patient survived and has been discharged from the hospital; however, […]

The American Institute of Homeopathy defines homeopathy, or Homeopathic Medicine, as the practice of medicine that embraces a holistic, natural approach to the treatment of the sick. Homeopathy is holistic because it treats the person as a whole, rather than focusing on a diseased part or a labeled sickness. Homeopathy is natural because its remedies […]

With the number of dengue fever cases in Baguio City up significantly during the first half of 2016, OIC City Health Officer Dr. Sorayda Clavio said public-private partnership must be strengthened in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease, admitting that the government cannot do it alone. Dr. Donnabel Tubera, head of the City Epidemiology and Surveillance […]

The South Carolina state veterinarian received laboratory confirmation of another new equine case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) on Friday. A five-year-old Mustang mare located in Berkley County was confirmed. This horse was unvaccinated and did not survive. This is the first confirmed case in Berkley County this year. The total number of confirmed cases in […]

Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals that PharmaTech LLC, Davie, Florida, is voluntarily recalling all non-expired lots of Diocto Liquid, a docusate sodium solution distributed by Rugby Laboratories, Livonia, Michigan. The agency confirmed the product has been contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia. Through July 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

“I fell down the deep, dark rabbit hole of chronic Lyme disease sometime during the summer of 2014. My headlong descent was not by choice. No awakening ever is. Without warning, I was forced into a painful and unending journey into the abyss of a disease I knew nothing about … [one] that had invaded our […]

Public Health Officials in Pueblo confirmed a wild rabbit tested positive for tularemia in southwestern Pueblo County. The rabbit appeared to have no contact with people and was collected from the Hatchet Ranch area of Pueblo County. “Pueblo residents are advised that tularemia-causing bacteria may be present in some of the mammals – especially rabbits, […]

Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) has confirmed the second human case of West Nile infection in Dallas County for the 2016 season. The resident lives in the 75216 zip code in Dallas and was diagnosed with West Nile neuroinvasive disease. For medical confidentiality and personal privacy reasons, DCHHS does not provide additional identifying […]

Health officials are reporting at least 26 cases of Carrión’s disease, or Bartonella bacilliformis infection in residents of Sánchez Carrión province in Northern Peru, according to a local media report (computer translated). The cases include children, young adults and elderly patients from Succha Centro and Yacopampa. In addition, a 7-month old infant from Huamachuco died from the infection after suffering from severe anemia and […]

An individual from Orange County is the latest confirmed Vibrio vulnificus case in the state of Florida, according to data released by health officials Friday. To date, Florida has seen 14 cases–Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Duval (2), Manatee, Marion, Orange, Palm Beach, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Volusia and Wakulla counties. So far four fatalities have been […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an additional six infections caused by Burkholderia cepacia complex Thursday, bringing the outbreak total to 53 in five states, At this time, CDC continues to recommend that clinicians not use any liquid docusate product as a stool softener or for any other medical purpose. This recommendation is […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xiidra (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) for the treatment of signs and symptoms of dry eye disease this week. Xiidra is the first medication in a new class of drugs, called lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) agonist, approved by the FDA for dry eye disease. “Normal tear production is needed […]

The City of Hamilton Public Health Services received confirmation of the first positive rabid bat case this year. Nearly all human cases of rabies in Canada over the past several years have been a result of bites from rabid bats. Bat bites may be hard to see. “While residents should always steer clear of wild animals, Hamilton […]