Outbreak News Today

For more than one year, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone have been experiencing the largest and most complex outbreaks of Ebola in history. Outbreaks are continuing in Guinea. Currently, there are no known cases of Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone. This Saturday will be the 42nd day post new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case […]

Diphtheria is caused by a potent toxin produced by certain strains of the bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae. This very serious disease can be prevented through vaccination. In the Asian country of Laos, diphtheria outbreaks have been reported in a third of the country’s provinces accounting for 588 cases through October 2015. The cases occurred mainly in children under […]

2014 was a brutal year for measles in the Philippines as the country saw more than 58,000 cases and 110 fatalities. For the first nine months of last year, the archipelago reported in excess of 53,000 cases and 102 deaths. What a difference a year makes. For the first nine months of 2015, the Philippines […]

In a follow-up to a report last week concerning locally acquired cases of dengue fever in Hawaii, state health officials now put the case tally at 10. Officials have identified at least one dengue “hotspot”in South Kona, in the Ho’okena / Honaunau area; however, there could be more. Local transmission means that mosquitoes in the […]

The contagious viral disease, mumps, has been seen in high levels, particularly on the campuses of several Midwestern universities this year to include the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign among a number of other schools and community colleges. Here is what is happening at three other schools currently: Penn State The university, in […]

Health authorities in Weld County, Colorado have confirmed three cases of typhoid fever among individuals who had eaten at a restaurant in Firestone in August, two which required hospitalization for their illness. Colorado state and county health officials believe the illness was acquired from an infected food handler at a franchised Qdoba Mexican restaurant in Firestone. […]

A new campaign is calling for an end to human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030. The End Rabies Now campaign urges the international community to step up efforts to eliminate human deaths due to canine-mediated rabies around the world in just 15 years’ time. End Rabies Now is an initiative of the Global Alliance […]

In a follow-up to a report three weeks ago concerning the ongoing malaria epidemic in Venezuela, health officials now have put the case tally in the epidemic to 105,757, according to a local media report (computer translated). The number of cases in 2015 is the highest number recorded since Venezuela began keeping records in 1936. 88,500 […]

Up to 176 travelers from the UK and Canada contracted the parasitic infection, Cyclosporiasis, while on holiday in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico this summer, according to Eurosurveillance report last week. Cyclospora cayetanensis was identified in 176 returned travelers from the Riviera Maya region of Mexico between 1 June and 22 September 2015; 79 in the […]

Many people remember the arrival of West Nile in North America in 1999, if only because the initial outbreak killed not just wild crows but also exotic birds in the Bronx Zoo. In the following years, a trail of dead crows marked the spread of the virus from the East through the Midwest on to […]

Hong Kong health officials are investigating a confirmed local case of dengue fever (DF) today in a 22-year-old male patient. This is the second confirmed local transmission of the mosquito borne virus this year in the city. The patient with good past health, has developed fever, headache, muscle pain and rash since October 27. He consulted a […]

While our own immune systems offer some protection against most illnesses, they can still be susceptible to potentially dangerous airborne germs and viruses. Here are 7 ways to protect your family from airborne illnesses. 1.Wash your hands This is an important first line of defense. As we spread bacteria and germs from objects that we […]

An estimated 250 000 displaced persons will be targeted during the oral cholera vaccine (OCV) campaign to help control cholera outbreak in Iraq. The World Health Organization (WHO) has mobilized 510 000 doses of OCV, and the 2-dose campaign is part of a strategy to prevent cholera transmission in high-risk areas and avert a potentially large-scale […]

Health officials in Pakistan have reported the death of a 30-year-old Lahore man who contracted the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri. The parasitic infection has been a problem in Pakistan in recent years as more than a dozen died from it last year and to date in Sindh province in 2015, at least 12 people have […]

Indiana state health officials are urging healthcare providers to educate patients about their risks of syphilis and to be aggressive about testing and treatment following a sharp increase in the number of infectious syphilis cases being reported across the state this year. Preliminary data show 357 early syphilis cases, or those less than a year […]

Some 43 Chipotle restaurants in several counties in Oregon and Washington have been closed while health officials investigate an outbreak of Shiga toxin E. coli that has sickened 22 people, hospitalizing eight. As of October 31, there are three cases in Oregon and at least 19 in Washington. Four cases were reported in King County, nine in […]

Spontaneous knee effusion, also known as “water on the knee,” can be a primary symptom of Lyme disease, even when patients do not exhibit a “bull’s eye” rash, another common Lyme disease symptom. According to a literature review appearing in the November issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), early diagnosis and […]

Just over a year ago, the Ebola virus arrived in the United States via Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, who eventually died after being treated in a Dallas hospital. Despite the West Africa Ebola outbreak beginning months prior to that, not too much media coverage was given to the tragedy that was overseas, much like […]

India is no stranger to infectious diseases, this includes mosquito borne diseases like malaria, chikungunya and dengue fever. In fact, 2015 has been a particularly heavy season for dengue fever even in the country’s capital of Delhi. A study published one year ago revealed that India’s dengue burden is much higher than official stats reveal. The […]

More than 1,600 human West Nile virus (WNV) cases have been reported thus far in the United States with more than a quarter of all cases reported from California. According to officials Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data Oct. 27, 1,566 WNV cases were reported from 44 states and the District of Columbia. […]

For more than five decades, Taiwan was rabies-free–that was until 2013 when the lethal virus reappeared in a Formosan ferret-badger. Now the Taiwanese news source, Focus Taiwan reports a 79-year-old woman from Meishan Township in Chiayi County was bitten by a ferret-badger that was later found to be infected with rabies. This is the first rabies case […]

With the arrival of hot and rainy season, the country of Mozambique is on the verge of a cholera outbreak, according to a O País report (computer translated). Since September, the southern African nation has reported 479 cholera cases, including three fatalities. Health officials say most cases were diagnosed in Nampula province, particularly in the provincial […]

Out of an abundance of caution, Publix Super Markets, Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall for Publix German Chocolate Layer Cake. The cakes contain pecans as an ingredient that is not declared on the package label. The Publix German Chocolate Layer Cakes were distributed companywide to Publix Bakery locations. The product is sold in the […]

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today issued an advisory for travelers to Tanzania in response to the large cholera outbreak in the East African country. The cholera outbreak has more than quadrupled in the past two months as the latest data reveals as of October 15, 2015, Tanzania has reported 4,407 cholera cases […]

National Video Supply located in Santa Clarita, California is voluntarily recalling the following product to the consumer level: RHINO 7 3000 Platinum Capsules packaged in single 1 count blister hang tab cards with UPC # 700729253748 ALL LOT NUMBERS WITHIN EXPIRY. Lot numbers are located on the back top right of the (1) count and […]

Hormel Foods Sales LLC is voluntarily recalling 153 cases, or 1,871 total pounds, of a single code date of SKIPPY® Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread, due to the possibility that some jars may contain small pieces of metal shavings which were discovered on an in-line magnet check during routine cleaning. Foodborne objects that are […]

The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) is investigating two confirmed and four probable cases of dengue fever in Hawaii residents and visitors that was locally-acquired on the Big Island of Hawaii. Further testing and confirmation at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pending. The department sent out a medical advisory […]

Oregon state health officials and the Crook County Public Health Department confirmed yesterday a human plague case in a Crook County teen. This is the 16th human plague case reported in the US in 2015. The teenage girl is believed to have acquired the disease from a flea bite during a hunting trip near Heppner in Morrow […]

In a follow-up to a report concerning the 1st animal anthrax case in Great Britain in 9 years, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Animal and Plant Health Agency has reported the death of a second cow from the same farm today. A case of anthrax disease in a cow was confirmed at […]

There has been a lot of secrecy and unanswered questions surrounding a Legionella outbreak at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, NY as detailed in a report by James Mulder at Syracuse.com. What have we learned since Mulder’s report? Kathryn Ruscitto, President & CEO, St. Joseph released the following statement Wednesday: “Over the past several […]

The fight against tuberculosis is paying off, with this year’s death rate nearly half of what it was in 1990. Nevertheless, 1.5 million people died from TB in 2014. Most of these deaths could have been prevented, according to WHO’s Global tuberculosis report 2015, which was released Wednesday. To reduce TB’s overall burden, detection and […]

The number of laboratory-confirmed cholera cases in the current outbreak in Iraq is now at 2,055 since September 15, 2015, according to the World Health Organization Tuesday. The UN agency says as an integrated part of the current outbreak response strategy oral cholera vaccines have been mobilized through the international coordination group based in Geneva. […]

One new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) was reported in the past week in Madagascar, with onset of paralysis on 22 August from Sud-Ouest province, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). This brings the total number of cVDPV1 cases for 2015 to ten. The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the […]

The non-stop advance of science in all fields is a fascinating process. Knowing how differently things are done today compared to fifty or even twenty years ago, we can see what an incredible world we live in–and we can imagine the even more amazing one that’s coming. Medicine is no exception. What has evolved, revolved, […]

The number of dengue fever cases in Taiwan continue to rise as the country’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported an additional 328 cases. This brings the total cases on the island country to 28,429 since May, nearly double the previous high of 15,732 cases seen last year. As of Wednesday, 21,523 cases had been reported in […]

Two companies issued recalls of various fish due to the risk of Clostridium botulinum, the agent of the dangerous foodborne illness, botulism. Sockeye Suzy’s Fish Co. of White Swan, Washington is voluntarily recalling ALL canned catfish, salmon, sturgeon, and walleye with any codes starting with “OC”, sold under brand Sockeye Suzy Fish. Consumers are warned […]

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approved use of Yervoy (ipilimumab) to include a new use as adjuvant therapy for patients with stage III melanoma, to lower the risk that the melanoma will return following surgery. Melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer, is the leading cause of death from skin […]

It was recently revealed that in 2012 Australia experienced its largest outbreak of Q fever associated with a single farm in the country’s history, according to a report that aired earlier this month on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program Landline. At least 24 people contracted Q fever during an outbreak – that is still ongoing, […]

During the first nine months of 2014, health officials in the Philippines saw 82,000 cases of the mosquito borne viral disease, dengue fever, nationwide. With the massive surge in cases in recent months, Philippine officials now put the case tally so far in 2015 to over 100,000. From 1 January to 3 October 2015, there were […]

Officials with the Public Health England, Wiltshire Council, and DEFRA confirmed a case of anthrax in a cow on a farm in the Westbury area of Wiltshire. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Animal and Plant Health Agency reported Monday: An isolated case of anthrax disease in a cow was confirmed at a farm in Wiltshire in […]

A novel and affordable diagnostic test for chikungunya will soon be available thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in partnership with a commercial lab. Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness that while not often deadly causes severe, incapacitating and often chronic joint pain, is spreading throughout the Americas. […]

The insect transmitted parasitic infection, kala-azar, or visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has taken more than 150 lives in South Sudan, according to a recent local media report. United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that so far in 2015, a cumulative 4939 cases and 152 deaths due to VL since January have been […]

In a follow-up to a report last week on a Shigellosis outbreak linked to a San Jose, California restaurant, Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) officials now put the case count at 190 in six counties. Of the 190 cases, 151 of these cases are Santa Clara County residents and 39 reported cases are people who […]

More than 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 – or 67% of the population – are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), according to WHO’s first global estimates of HSV-1 infection published today in the journal PLOS ONE. Herpes simplex virus is categorized into 2 types: herpes simplex virus type 1 […]

The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) group in charge of policy for Lyme disease violates federal law by participating in clandestine advisory meetings with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) says a group of patient advocates who collaborated on a petition calling on CDC to End Preferential Treatment of the IDSA Guidelines […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Tuesday approved Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec), the first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy, for the treatment of melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes. “Melanoma is a serious disease that can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes difficult to treat,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., director […]

The human brain is a highly complex organ, which relies on a lot of different processes in order to work properly. Not only does the brain rely on many different processes, it’s also responsible for many different functions within your body. Your brain controls your heart rate, body temperature, and rate of breathing. It also […]

In 2002, a brand new virus was discovered – not in the jungles of Africa – but in an unlikely place, a biotech company in suburban Maryland. The Seneca Valley virus was originally isolated as a contaminant in cell culture medium – likely from the pig trypsin used for the cultivation of the cells. The […]

The Health Department today launched a public awareness campaign reminding New Yorkers that the flu vaccination is the best protection against “Pain. Fever. Chills. Misery.” The campaign will feature four English and two Spanish ads, which will run in subway cars. The campaign will also have a social media presence. Influenza is a highly contagious […]

Drug-resistant forms of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest species among malaria parasites, are able to infect the type of mosquito that is the main transmitter of malaria in Africa, according to findings from scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and global partners. The discovery suggests […]