Outbreak News Today

The number of blastomycosis cases linked to recreation at the Little Wolf River in Waupaca County near New London, WI has increased by two during the past week, bringing the total confirmed cases to 40, with an additional 37 probable cases being investigated. The Wisconsin Division of Public Health advises the public who have visited the […]

A newly published report from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC) reveals a marked and continuous increase (49.1% overall) in crude syphilis incidence rates during the period between 2010 and 2014, and an increase in primary and secondary syphilis in active duty military members that mirrors trends reported in the civilian population as a whole. In […]

Health officials in North Dakota are investigating a salmonella outbreak centered around the Ward County area, which has sickened some 22 people since July. The outbreak strain has been identified as Salmonella Thompson and because the infections all have the same genetic pattern, they may have all originated from a common source. However, so far the investigation […]

CDC today launched its redesigned Healthy Pets Healthy People website, with expanded information about diseases people can catch from pets, farm animals, and wildlife. Users can now search alphabetically by animal and learn which zoonotic diseases they may carry. It is a unique “one-stop shop” where people can learn simple actions to protect themselves – […]

The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) is reported a suspected Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) death that has prompted mobilization of a MERS Task Force to create heightened awareness and vigilance among the public and prevent the spread of the communicable disease. On Tuesday, DOH received a report of a Saudi national who developed cough, high fever […]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), human rabies cases in the United States, thanks to modern day prophylaxis is almost non-existent with only one or two per year. On Friday, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported the “first confirmed human rabies case ever” in the state in a Fremont County woman. Confirmation […]

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and The Carter Center congratulate President Enrique Peña Nieto and the people of Mexico for eliminating onchocerciasis (river blindness) within its borders, as verified recently by the World Health Organization (WHO). Mexico is the world’s third nation to receive official verification of elimination of the disease. “Together with The Carter […]

Health officials in Washoe County, NV say a gastrointestinal outbreak, currently of unknown etiology, has struck 10 county schools and two daycares affecting some 400 students, staff, and faculty. The following schools have been affected: Alice Smith Elementary School, Bernice Mathews Elementary School, Stead Elementary School, O’Brien Middle School, Bud Beasley Elementary School, McQueen High School, Desert Heights Elementary School, Grace Warner Elementary School, Nancy Gomes […]

The contagious viral disease, mumps, has been confirmed at two university campuses this week–Northern Illinois University (NIU) and the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Whitewater. The DeKalb County Health Department reported investigating a case of mumps in a Northern Illinois University (NIU) student Thursday. Jane Lux, Public Health Administrator, said that while there has been only one […]

The following is from a World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific news release in July 2014: Mongolia is officially measles free. The Government received a measles-elimination certificate from the WHO-WPRO. ”It demonstrates that measles elimination is not only theoretically feasible, but also achievable in middle- and low-income countries and areas of the Western Pacific”, […]

Health officials in Hillsborough County, FL are reporting the first human West Nile virus (WNV) case of 2015 in an adult male. This is the eighth WNV case in Florida this year–Other cases have been reported in Escambia County (3), Pinellas County (1), Volusia County (1) and two in Walton County. “Residents and visitors should take […]

Cempra, Inc. announced recently that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a qualified infectious disease product (QIDP) designation to Cempra’s investigational antibiotic product candidate, Taksta™ (CEM-102, sodium fusidate, the sodium salt of fusidic acid). The designation is for Taksta oral tablets for the indication of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections […]

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) today announced a 14-day closure of oyster beds located in Duxbury Bay, Kingston Bay, Bluefish River, Back River, and Plymouth Harbor. This closure is due to two additional confirmed illnesses traced to oysters harvested from […]

Two individuals in western Bangladesh who recently had different surgeries at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital ended up contracting tetanus from the procedure, according to the Dhaka-based news source, The Daily Star. The report notes that both patients underwent surgery on Sep. 15, one had a tumor removed and the other had a hernia operation. The patients […]

Deerfield Beach, FL company, Salix Animal Health announced yesterday the recall of a voluntary recall of one lot of “Good ‘n’ Fun – Beefhide Chicken Sticks”, distributed nationwide to Dollar General and Dollar Tree retail stores, because it may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled product is packaged in a 2.8 ounce bag […]

Through the month of September this year, nearly 19,000 dengue fever cases have been reported in Taiwan this year, a whole 3,000 cases above the annual record set in 2014 and it’s only the beginning of October. Although 514 new indigenous cases were reported Wednesday, the Taiwan CDC says the number of average new weekly […]

The dengue fever epidemic in Vietnam continues to escalate as the Southeast Asian country has seen a whopping 85 percent increase in cases this year compared to the same period in 2014. Local media puts the outbreak at 40,000 confirmed dengue cases, including 25 deaths. HCM City has the highest number of patients of 9,000. The […]

In a follow-up report on the inpatient outbreak of salmonella at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan health officials have now identified the specific strain as Salmonella Isangi, according to a Detroit Free Press report. The relatively rare strain, in this case, is not believed to be foodborne. To date, 14 patients from one hospital […]

Six medical tourists, five from New York and one from Canada, contracted the bacterial infection, Q fever, last year after receiving a “live cell therapy treatment” in Germany, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report to be published Friday. During September–November 2014, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) was notified of […]

In a follow-up report on the Legionnaires’ disease cluster in the Morris Park section of the East Bronx, New York City health officials put the updated case count at 13, including one fatality as of Wednesday. This is up from seven cases reported Monday. Health officials say that 35 cooling towers in the area were sampled on […]

More great news in the world of polio eradication… Earlier this week it was reported that Nigeria has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus and is no longer a polio endemic country. Now, in some belated news from the polio eradication front, the Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) on Sep. 20 concluded that wild poliovirus […]

In a follow-up to a report two weeks ago, Public Health Wales has declared the outbreak of E. coli O157 that affected three children in the Conwy area over. A total of 83 other people were screened for the infection as part of the Public Health Wales and Conwy County Borough Council investigation. Everyone screened […]

The Student Health Centre at the University of South Wales announced Tuesday that a freshman student living in halls of residence at Treforest has been confirmed positive for meningococcal meningitis/septicemia. The unnamed first year student was admitted to the hospital on Sep. 28. Public Health Wales are arranging issue of antibiotics to all those who have had such contact with […]

The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI is investigating an unusual outbreak of salmonella on one of it’s units that has affected 14 patients since last week. The source of the outbreak has not been determined; however, hospital officials say they don’t believe the salmonella outbreak is linked to food. “Seven patients remain in the […]

Taiwan health officials say heavy rains and flooding as a result of Typhoon Dujuan will likely cause an increase in dengue activity in the country that has already seen a record dengue season in 2015. Commander Chang San-cheng of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Dengue Outbreak specifically instructed relevant government agencies and local governments […]

Denver environmental and health officials have issued a warning to the public concerning a health risk concerning Rx Green’s Autopilot capsules, a marijuana-infused product. The advisory is due to concerns regarding the manufacturing process and lack of temperature controls in place to prevent bacterial growth. There have been no reports of illness at this time. This advisory […]

Leprosy, the disfiguring bacterial infection that was believed to been eradicated, has taken Malawi health officials by surprise as they report nearly two dozen cases in Balaka district in the eastern part of the country, according to local media source, Nyasa Times. At least 20 people are quarantined and 23 total cases have been reported. […]

Jamaican health officials are reporting an outbreak of the viral disease, Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease (HFMD) in at least nine schools, which are being advised to close until the outbreak resolves. The Jamaica Gleaner reports, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites said, “We are talking about infant schools and basic schools; there are 2,600 of them in Jamaica. […]

Neonatal herpes simplex (HSV) is a relatively rare but very serious disease that can range in severity from localized infections of the skin or eyes to life threatening disseminated infections of the organs and central nervous system. This potentially life-threatening infection had prompted one mom in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England to warn others of the dangers lurking in an […]

When chemical testing proves that most of the top-rated products for a popular supplement barely contain the supplement itself, it’s easy to be concerned. This is the current quality control issue for garcinia cambogia, the tropical-fruit-turned-weight-loss-supplement. A record number of consumers and supplement companies are jumping on unproven media claims that garcinia cambogia can rapidly […]

Alabama has joined 33 other states during the past week recording their first case of Salmonella Poona outbreak strain illness linked to imported cucumbers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update today. During the past week, 113 new ill people have been reported from 19 states, bringing the outbreak total to 671 cases […]

An international coalition working with countries in the Americas are pushing for the final elimination of onchocerciasis, or river blindness in the Western hemisphere. “Today, four of the six river blindness-endemic countries in the Americas have eliminated transmission of the disease, but I am not ready to celebrate until the task is complete,” said former U.S. […]

Platinum Camp Records announced Friday that veteran reggae star, 51-year-old Barrington Levy was rushed to the hospital with a dangerously high temperature that caused him to collapse. It was later determined that Levy was infected with the mosquito borne virus, dengue fever. According to Daddy Biggs, CEO of Platinum Camp Records, “He said he’s hanging in there. He’s […]

A billboard campaign by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in Los Angeles has raised a few eyebrows and the ire of the dating app, Tinder, prompting the latter to demand the billboards be taken down. Two weeks ago, the AHF commenced a billboard campaign designed to bring attention to the growing sexually transmitted infection (STI) situation in […]

“If your child has been sick or is suffering from any such symptoms please keep them off school for 48 hours” scrolls across the website of the New Milton Junior School in Hampshire, England today as a norovirus outbreak that began last week continues to keep children out of school suffering from the gastrointestinal virus. On Friday there […]

Health authorities in Honduras are reporting a surge in the parasitic disease, leishmaniasis, seen primarily in Cortés department, according to a La Tribuna report (computer translated). The Health Ministry says more than 200 cases of leishmaniasis disease has been reported in seven municipalities in the country including San Pedro Sula, Choloma, Puerto Cortes, Omoa, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, […]

A human death from rabies is a tragic but rare thing in the United States and most developed nations. It’s just as tragic but sadly common in parts of the world where some 3 billion people are at risk of being bitten by a rabid dog. More than 59,000 people die of rabies each year […]

New York City health officials are currently investigating a cluster of seven Legionnaires’ disease cases in the Morris Park section of the Bronx. This cluster is unrelated to the outbreak in the South Bronx this summer that was attributed to Legionella found in the cooling tower of the Opera House Hotel. Patients in the current cluster […]

In a follow-up to a report last week, The Iraq Ministry of Health and Environment announced Saturday that the cholera outbreak has now increased to 239 cases, according to an Al-Mada Press report (computer translated). Health officials note that all the cases have recovered from their illnesses and no deaths are reported. The Minister for Health and […]

Dengue fever The dengue fever outbreak in Delhi has jumped by another 1,700 cases during the past week, bringing the total in the capital city to 5,471, including 33 deaths. In all of 2014, Delhi saw only approximately 1,000 cases. To help with the treatment of the surge of dengue patients, the India Health Ministry announced […]

French health officials have reported an indigenous dengue fever in the area of the city of Nimes in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, according to health department surveillance report (computer translated). As of Sep. 17, the region has seen six confirmed and one probable locally acquired dengue fever cases in 2015. Gard Department, where Nimes is the […]

OC Raw Dog of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA is voluntarily recalling 640 lbs. of Chicken, Fish & Produce Raw Frozen Canine Formulation. This is being done in an abundance of caution, as the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported and no other OC Raw Dog manufactured products […]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (September 25) investigating a case of puffer fish poisoning affecting a man aged 59 and hence reminds members of the public not to consume puffer fish. The patient developed tingling and numbness in limbs as well as dizziness and vomiting about two […]

The number of autochthonous, or locally acquired chikungunya cases have reached a new milestone this past week, eclipsing the 7,000 mark (7,007), prompting US health authorities to reissue their travel notice for the country south of the border. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says local transmission means that mosquitoes in Mexico have […]

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Nigeria, one of the three remaining polio endemic countries on the globe, has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus and is no longer polio endemic. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the public-private partnership leading the effort to eradicate polio, called this a ‘historic achievement’ in global health. […]

Manitoba health officials reported Friday that the geographic reach of the black-legged tick in the province, increasing the risk for diseases like anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease. The annual blacklegged tick surveillance program has identified a number of new and expanded Lyme disease risk areas northward and westward in the province. While blacklegged ticks can be […]

The death of a Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) student found in his dormitory room Wednesday has been confirmed as caused by the serious bacterial infection, meningococcal meningitis, according to state health officials Saturday. 19-year-old freshman, Beau Keeter, reportedly suffered from flu-like symptoms prior to his death. The death of the DWU student has prompted South Dakota health […]

Two zoonotic infections have made headlines in the United States this year, plague and tularemia, due to increased reports of each infection in humans, which has some people scratching their heads asking “why?”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a zoonotic disease as a “disease that can be passed between animals and […]

An outbreak of the parasitic infection, trichinosis, has been reported in the city of Bahía Blanca, a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to a La Verdad Online report (computer translated). The local media reports that more than 100 people have been infected with 20 percent of those sickened being children. […]

Thailand For the first nearly nine months of 2015, the Thailand Bureau of Epidemiology puts the dengue fever case count at 76857 cases in 77, or all provinces in the country (morbidity rate was 118.02 / 100,000 population). Thai health officials say 74 people have died from dengue-related illness. The top five morbidity rate were from […]