Outbreak News Today

Florida health officials reported on three new confirmed Zika cases, one in Orange County and two in Miami-Dade County. This brings the state total to 35. Of the travel-related cases confirmed in Florida, only four cases are still exhibiting symptoms. According to the CDC, symptoms associated with the Zika virus last between seven to 10 days. Yesterday, […]

The Japanese Health Ministry announced Wednesday an imported Zika virus infection case in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, according to a news release (computer translated). The male teenager patient, who traveled to Brazil for a stay of some 10 days, was admitted to the hospital after the appearance of a rash and fever on Feb. 22. The […]

Health officials in Colombia are reporting a possible (unconfirmed) case of microcephaly in a aborted fetus in the city of Popayan in southwest Colombia, according to South American media (computer translated). The report notes that the 18-year-old mother terminated the pregnancy after testing and medical examination demonstrated a congenital abnormality, although it is noted what abnormality. […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that the current Zika virus epidemic has raised questions as to whether transmission can also occur during breastfeeding. Today, the UN health agency has provided interim recommendations to guide breastfeeding practices in the context of Zika virus. WHO recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of birth, are exclusively […]

Collaboration between two Texas Medical Center institutions has resulted in today’s release of the country’s first hospital-based rapid tests for the Zika virus. Pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists at Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital developed the Zika direct test in a matter of weeks as part of the L.E. and Virginia Simmons Collaborative […]

The Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division, collaborating with the Lincoln County Health & Human Services and the Oregon Department of Agriculture are investigating an outbreak of norovirus that sickened 17 people who ate oysters from Yaquina Bay earlier this month. All 17 people, who were among three separate groups totaling 32 people who ate at […]

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment received the first confirmation of Zika virus fever in St Vincent and the Grenadines from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) late yesterday afternoon, February 23, 2016. The adult patient has, however, already recovered completely. The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment has, therefore, taken the […]

The Southern Nevada Health District has identified a 128 percent increase in reported syphilis cases in Clark County since 2012 and is now considering the increase to be an outbreak for early syphilis cases. The increase is seen mostly among men with 615 of the 694 cases diagnosed in 2015. Early syphilis is an infection […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today reported preliminary overall influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 59 percent this season. These data were presented at a meeting of the agency’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) in Atlanta. This finding is comparable to past estimates for seasons when most circulating flu viruses and vaccine viruses […]

Hy-Vee, Inc., based in West Des Moines, Iowa, is voluntarily recalling Hy-Vee 2-ounce Macadamia Nuts because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience […]

It’s not too late to get your flu shot! Flu season may have started slowly, but we are now seeing increased influenza activity throughout the U.S. and Florida, particularly in children. Increased activity in children typically comes ahead of increased influenza activity in other age groups. “It is crucial for Floridians to get vaccinated to […]

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has reported an additional three Zika virus cases today, all in pregnant women, according to a daily update. All three women contracted the virus while traveling outside the US. Health officials, out of respect of the privacy of these women, is not providing names or any demographic info including […]

Medical research at the Functional Alternative Research (FAR) Clinic in Bountiful, Utah, is led by prominent Lyme disease expert, Dr. Brett J. Earl, MD. The FAR Clinic has unique medical equipment that Dr. Earl and his team developed during their years of extensive research and now employ in diagnosing the causes and symptoms, and determining […]

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, and the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, are meeting this week with top Brazilian officials, including Minister of Health Marcelo Castro, to assess the Zika virus situation and response. In their visit to Brazil, Chan and Etienne will meet […]

Many of the 300,000 patients who contract Lyme disease each year know that curing it isn’t easy. Often, it seems to recur as soon as the antibiotics are discontinued, and doctors are reluctant to offer more and more rounds of antibiotics. But now a new study, whose lead author is Eva Sapi, professor and head […]

Health officials in Wales have announced the death of a Wrexham, North Wales teen from meningococcal septicemia. Dr Chris Whiteside, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Public Health Wales said, “Public Health Wales can confirm that a teenager has died after receiving hospital treatment in Wrexham for meningococcal septicemia. “All close contacts have been identified and those requiring preventative […]

Health officials in Townsville, Queensland, Australia have confirmed the first locally acquired case of dengue fever, the Townsville Hospital and Health Service reported earlier this week. Local media reports that the individual from Pallarenda, a suburb of Townsville, was diagnosed with the disease after another person brought it into the city from Papua New Guinea. […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health departments are now investigating 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of Zika virus, including several involving pregnant women. In two of the new suspected sexual transmission events, Zika virus infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual […]

CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus‎ transmission. Today, CDC added the following destinations to the Zika virus travel notices: Trinadad and Tobago and the Marshall Islands. CDC has issued a travel notice (Level 2-Practice Enhanced Precautions) for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with health officials in multiple states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen. A total of 13 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Muenchen have been reported from four states. The number of ill people identified in […]

Florida state health officials have reported today an additional case of Zika virus infection in Seminole County, the first case there and the 29th case seen in Florida. The Declaration of Public Health Emergency has been expanded to include the county, the 11th to date. All cases are travel-associated. There have been no locally-acquired cases […]

The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) today called on Congress to pass the President’s $1.8 billion emergency funding request designed to prepare for and respond to the Zika virus. The Coalition membership consists of the 28 largest public health departments in the United States, representing 1 in 6 Americans. Many of these local health departments are […]

Brazilian health officials are reporting 73,872 cases of dengue fever in the country through Jan. 23. Six out of 10 cases have been reported from Southeast region, according to the Epidemiological Bulletin (computer translated). The Midwest and Southeast have the highest incidence: 67.2 cases / 100,000 inhabitants. and 52.8 cases / 100,000 inhabitants, respectively– continuing the trend […]

Health officials in Hong Kong are investigating the first imported human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong this year. This has prompted health officials to urge the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel. “Due to the seasonal pattern, our risk assessment shows that the activity of avian […]

In a follow-up to a report one week ago, federal health officials are now putting the total passengers and crew of the Oceania Cruises, Oceania Riviera sickened by the rapidly spreading gastrointestinal pathogen, norovirus at 127, up from 82 last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) reported yesterday that the […]

A Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) while treating patients in Sierra Leone in late 2014, has been admitted to a Glasgow hospital for the third time since returning to the UK. In a statement today, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said, Under routine monitoring by the Infectious Diseases Unit Pauline Cafferkey has been admitted to […]

The Washington State Department of Health received confirmation today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that a Mason County man in his 20’s, who visited a Thurston County hospital, is the first person in the state to test positive for Zika virus. The person recently traveled to the South Pacific before returning […]

Global vaccine experts and officials from all 26 African “meningitis belt” countries have convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to celebrate one of Africa’s biggest public health achievements—the introduction of a vaccine, MenAfriVac®, designed, developed, and produced for use in Africa, that in five years of use has nearly eliminated serogroup A meningococcal disease from meningitis […]

More than a hundred new cases of cholera, including two deaths, were recorded in the health area of ​​Uvira (South Kivu) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January, according to a Radio Okapi report (computer translated). Cholera is an acute bacterial intestinal disease characterized by sudden onset, profuse watery stools (given the appearance […]

A ring that continuously releases an experimental antiretroviral drug in the vagina safely provided a modest level of protection against HIV infection in women, a large clinical trial in four sub-Saharan African countries has found. The ring reduced the risk of HIV infection by 27 percent in the study population overall and by 61 percent […]

Parents who do not get their children flu shots rate flu vaccine less favorably than other childhood vaccines, a national poll finds. Fifty-nine percent of parents whose child did not receive the flu vaccine this season say it is less important than other childhood vaccines – compared to only 14 percent of parents whose child […]

Florida health officials reported an additional two new Zika cases in Miami-Dade County and Orange County. This brings the total to 28 cases in 10 counties. Health officials say all cases are travel-associated. There have been no locally-acquired cases of Zika in Florida. None of the confirmed cases involve pregnant women. It was announced today that State […]

The Department of Health & Human Services has been notified of a further five cases of measles, following an outbreak in Brunswick. The five new cases takes the outbreak tally to nine. The five are three women and two men all in their 20s and 30s. Two of the five are being treated in hospital. […]

The Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) reported the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) of the year in a 66 year old Qatari national yesterday. The man developed symptoms of fever, cough, and diarrhea associated with abdominal pain upon returning from Saudi Arabia where he owns a sheep and camel barn. He was taken to Hamad General […]

Registered Dietitian and author of the book, Stop The Diet, I Want To Get Off, Lisa Tillinger Johansen joined me for the whole hour Sunday on the Outbreak News This Week radio show to discuss the myriad of fad diets out on the market and to answer the questions– What are they?, How effective are they? and […]

Iowa health officials have reported the first Zika virus case in the state Friday, The patient is an older adult female with recent travel history to Central America. “The general public is not at risk of contracting this virus, because the mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not established in Iowa,” said Iowa Department of Public […]

Antibiotics may be linked to a serious disruption in brain function, called delirium, and other brain problems, more than previously thought, according to a “Views and Reviews” article published in the February 17, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Delirium causes mental confusion that may be accompanied […]

Health officials in Romania are reporting an outbreak of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) during an 11 day span, which has affected some 10 children and killing three. According to the Ministry of Health of Romania, the children are ages 5-16 months from Arges County. They were admitted to a Bucharest hospital with the symptoms of vomiting and […]

In November 2015, Samoa reported local transmission of Zika virus infection. Since then, the Pacific Islands of American Samoa and Tonga have reported confirmed cases and ongoing transmission of the mosquito borne virus. This weekend, health authorities in the Marshall Islands are reporting their first case of Zika infection, according to local media. The case is […]

The number of laboratory and clinically confirmed and suspected Zika virus cases in Colombia since last October has increased by an additional 5456 cases during the past week, bringing the total cases to 37,011, according to health ministry data. Cases have been reported in 33 of the 37 governmental entities with the highest frequency of […]

A simple blood test that can accurately diagnose active tuberculosis could make it easier and cheaper to control a disease that kills 1.5 million people every year. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a gene expression “signature” that distinguishes patients with active tuberculosis from those with either latent tuberculosis or other […]

Health Matters America of Cheektowaga, NY, is recalling specific lots of Organic traditions SPROUTED FLAX SEED POWDER and Organic traditions SPROUTED CHIA & FLAX SEED POWDER because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others […]

Singapore has reported more than 3,400 dengue fever cases since the beginning of the year and experts say that this number could increase 10-times in 2016 due to a number of factors. The Singapore Health Ministry says the number of dengue cases in 2016 may exceed 30,000 – higher than the record in 2013 when […]

Health officials in Mexico updated the current Zika virus situation Friday and it reveals that the count of confirmed cases has risen to 80, up from 50 cases reported Jan. 31, according to a government news release (computer translated). The breakdown of the cases by state is as follows: Chiapas (45), Oaxaca (25), Nuevo Leon (4), […]

The University Health Service (UHS) with the University of Kentucky (UK) announced three confirmed mumps cases, This follows reports of a cluster of cases of parotitis (swelling of the salivary glands) within the student population last week. The school says a cluster of cases of parotitis (swelling of the salivary glands) within our student population. In addition, UK […]

An influenza outbreak in the Ukraine has resulted in 319 fatalities, according to local media. Health officials said that most of the deaths were caused by the H1N1 influenza virus. The deaths occurred in all but two Ukrainian regions, with the southern Odessa region and the country’s capital city of Kiev being the hardest hit. Approximate […]

Although we reported on the human case of influenza A (H3N2) variant (H3N2v) virus last month, a New Jersey Department of Health release offers more details on the first case of variant influenza A H3N2 (“H3N2v”) identified in the state last month. According to a NJLINCS Health Alert Network Public Health update on Jan. 7, the […]

Butler University has confirmed nine cases of mumps among our student population. The first cases were identified on Thursday, February 11, and confirmed Friday, February 12, by the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD). The University is taking proactive measures to prevent the further spread of mumps in our community. All diagnosed students have been […]

Health officials in Auckland, New Zealand have confirmed a measles alert for Skycity Casino and Sugar Tree Apartments after an individual ignored medical instructions to go into quarantine. “By ignoring our instructions this person has put the health of the public at risk. There are many people who could potentially be exposed to measles and they […]

The outbreak of gastrointestinal illness at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus has been confirmed to have been caused by norovirus, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More than 100 students have sought treatment for vomiting and diarrhea during the course of the week, first being seen among students living in University Housing […]