Outbreak News Today

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 The Ireland Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) reported today confirmed cases of the UK coronavirus variant. According to the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan: “I can confirm that we have detected the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 by whole genome sequencing at the National Virus Reference Laboratory […]The post Ireland reports new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 The Bulgaria Ministry of Health announced today that the immunization campaign against COVID-19 will be launched throughout the country on Dec. 27. The campaign is organized by the regional health inspectorates, and the immunizations are carried out by doctors in outpatient and inpatient medical facilities, regional health inspections, by doctors in specialized structures […]The post Bulgaria: COVID-19 vaccination campaign to start Dec. 27 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 On Christmas Eve, the Bolivia Ministry of Health and Sports reported 1,057 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the accumulated total to 153,121. Of the 1,057 new cases, 474 confirmed cases were reported in Santa Cruz, in La Paz 334, in Chuquisaca 70, in Cochabamba 66, in Tarija 52, in Oruro 22, in Potosí […]The post Bolivia reports 1,000 additional COVID-19 cases, Government plans to purchase COVID-19 vaccines before March appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study followed 127 pregnant women who were admitted to Boston hospitals during the spring of 2020. Among the 64 […]The post Pregnant women in third trimester unlikely to pass SARS-CoV-2 infection to newborns appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) wishes to raise awareness of Member States regarding the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which was reported in South Africa and the United Kingdom over the past week. Africa CDC is closely following up with authorities in South Africa, where the […]The post SARS-CoV-2 variant: Africa CDC statement appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Last week, the South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced changes in SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) reports detecting a new lineage, which is a group of mutated viruses, of SARS-CoV-2 in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. This […]The post South Africa detects new SARS-CoV-2 lineage, Cases found in the UK appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 In a follow-up on the Yersinia enterocolitica O3 outbreak in Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health says the source of the outbreak is likely a pre-cut lettuce product, the investigation concludes. The National Institute of Public Health’s analysis of patient interviews shows that everyone states that they have eaten a pre-cut salad […]The post Norway Yersinia outbreak over, Linked to pre-cut lettuce appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa In response to another bird flu outbreak in the country, Japanese prefecture Chiba has ordered the culling of more than one million chickens. The announcement came after workers in a chicken farm in Chiba found around 220 chickens dead last Wednesday, to which they reported immediately to local government officials. In response, […]The post 1M chickens to be culled after Japan deals with another bird flu outbreak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa As the Southeast Asia nation gears up in celebration of the Christmas festivities, the nation’s Department of Health has recorded a total of 1,776 new cases today, December 24. As the country now has a total of 465,724 cases, today’s statistics include that 533 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, while 7 individuals […]The post Philippines records more than 1,700 new COVID-19 cases on Christmas Eve appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa A yellow fever outbreak has been recorded in the African nation of Guinea, a report from the World Health Organization shows. The data, collected from November 6 and December 15 this year, reported a total of 52 suspected cases, including 14 deaths. Out of these numbers, a total of 50 cases were […]The post Yellow fever outbreak reported in Guinea: WHO appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), a privately-owned electric utility company, is appealing to the national government to allow private companies procure and purchase their own stock of COVID-19 vaccines for the sake of their employees. In an online statement, NGCP President and CEO Anthony Almeda further elaborated that lawmakers […]The post PH’s NGCP appeals to nat’l gov’t to allow private purchases of COVID-19 vaccines appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews The Malaysia Ministry of Health reported an additional human rabies case in Sarawak province, the ninth of the year. The case is a 53-year-old woman from Selangau district, Sibu who was admitted to the Sibu Hospital on 8 December 2020 with symptoms of shortness of breath and cough. She also complained of sore […]The post Malaysia: Another rabies death in Sarawak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews In a follow-up on the tick-borne dog disease, Ehrlichiosis, in Australia, vets in Top End in Australia’s Northern Territory say some 1000 dogs have died of the bacterial infection. ABC News in Australia report Bonny Cumming, a vet with Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities (AMRRIC) working across the Top End, […]The post Ehrlichiosis in Australia: Cases are exploding in some regions appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 By drawing from decades of studies, scientists created a timeline marking the arrival of black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, in hundreds of counties across 10 Midwestern states. They used these data – along with an analysis of county-level landscape features associated with the spread of ticks – to build a model […]The post Predicting the future geographic spread of Lyme disease in the Midwest appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 One human case of infection with a swine influenza A(H1N1)v virus was reported by the Netherlands, which occurred in September 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report. The infection was detected in a 43-year-old male farmer who developed an influenza-like illness on 25 September 2019. Samples were collected from the farmer, […]The post The Netherlands reports ‘swine flu’ case that occurred in 2019 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 On December 21, 2020, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) issued the self-declaration submitted by Belgium on October 27 for regaining the disease-free status “African swine fever” (ASF) for all suidae (pigs and wild boars, both in the wild and in captivity) ) approved. It will soon be officially published on the OIE […]The post Belgium declared African swine fever disease free appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 A study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has found that a very large share of people infected with coronavirus in the spring still had detectable antibodies six months later. The main aim of the study was to find out how long the antibodies last in SARS-CoV2 virus infected persons, […]The post Majority of people who have had a coronavirus infection retain antibodies for over six months: Finland health officials appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 South Carolina health officials report that a rabid raccoon entered the Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina. It is reported that at least one person was exposed and has been referred to their healthcare provider. “To reduce the risk of getting rabies, always give wild and stray animals plenty of space”, […]The post Rabid raccoon enters South Carolina hospital, One person exposed appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) should be considered a livestock pathogen with potential to affect other mammals, including people, according to National Institutes of Health scientists. The caution comes from a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which the scientists found that experimental piglets infected with RESTV developed severe respiratory disease and shed the […]The post Ebola: Reston virus spreads efficiently in pigs, according to researchers appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa Recent statistics provided by the organization Pacific Community have seen a spike in dengue cases across several island communities in the Pacific region. A total of 3,869 dengue-like-illness cases and 1,973 laboratory confirmed cases of dengue 3 were reported in the Republic of Marshall Islands over the course of May 2019 and […]The post Dengue 2, 3 outbreak still on the loose across Pacific communities, statistic shows appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa After a suspected Shigella outbreak that claimed the life of an 11-year old child in the city of Kozhikode, Kerala health prime minister KK Shailaja has stated that the aforementioned outbreak has been ‘under control’ by health authorities. “An 11-year-old child died last week in Kozhikode. After that tests have been done […]The post Kerala health minister on Shigella outbreak: ‘Everything is under control’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa The Ministry of Public Health announced in a press conference that 516 migrant workers from the Sumat Sakhon province in Thailand were tested positive for COVID-19. The testing, done on December 19, was subjected to 1,192 migrant workers in the province, and those that came positive had either little to no symptoms […]The post Thailand health ministry reveals 516 COVID-19 positive migrants on Sumat Sakhon outbreak appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has discovered an increased incidence of the gastrointestinal bacterium Yersinia enterocolitica O3. So far, infection has been detected in 10 people who live in several counties. Outbreak investigation has been initiated in collaboration with relevant municipal chief physicians, the Veterinary Institute and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. The […]The post Yersinia enterocolitica outbreak reported in Norway appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Animal toxins are research targets owing to their therapeutic and biotechnological potential. Researchers at the Federal University of the ABC (UFABC), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and Federal University of Ceará (UFC) in Brazil have discovered that VmCT1, an antimicrobial peptide isolated from the venom of the scorpion Vaejovis mexicanus, and its analogs kill […]The post Chagas disease: Scorpion venom molecules kill Trypanosoma cruzi, according to Brazilian researchers appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By News Desk @bactiman63 The official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China, Xinhua, reported today on a confirmed human case of H5N6 avian influenza Ningyuan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province. It is believed the patient contracted the disease at a live poultry trading market in Ningyuan County. The patient is being treated […]The post China reports H5N6 avian influenza case in Hunan Province: Media report appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The President of the American Medical Association (AMA) said Sunday in a statement concerning the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine: “The recommendation approved today by the CDC Director for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. population is another major step toward vaccinating millions of people across the country. With a second vaccine soon […]The post AMA statement on the Moderna vaccine, Reaching out to social media giants appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Teddy Cambosa The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has shown readiness on the recent announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in authorizing the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in various states in the United States. In a press release, Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, executive vice president and CEO of the American […]The post APhA on Moderna vaccine use: “Pharmacists are again prepared to step forward” appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By Robert Herriman @bactiman63 Most years, I put out an end of year list of the Top 10 infectious disease news stories; however, this year is different with COVID-19. Instead, I want to do a Top 10 list of the most downloaded Outbreak News Interviews podcasts of 2020. The list is based upon the number […]The post Outbreak News Interviews: The Top 10 podcasts of 2020 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Los Angeles County health authorities announced this weekend that since Dec.11, more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported To date, Public Health identified 610,372 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 8,817 deaths. There are 5,424 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of […]The post Los Angeles reports 100,000 COVID-19 cases in a week appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews Ukraine health officials reported an additional tetanus case on November 21 in a 59-year-old man from Volyn region. The tetanus case was due to an injury to his right forearm. The victim was hospitalized in the intensive care unit and diagnosed with tetanus. The patient had a severe condition: dizziness, tilted head, tense […]The post Ukraine reports 12 tetanus cases in 2020 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 In a follow-up to a report in July, health officials in Paraná state, Brazil are reporting a H1N2v influenza case in the municipality of Rebouças, in the 4th Regional of Irati. The case is a 4-year-old. The parents took the girl to the Darcy Vargas Hospital, on November 16, with a fever of […]The post Paraná state reports 2nd H1N2v influenza case appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or if they are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized […]The post COVID-19 mortality risk besides age: Men, obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure have highest risk appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 In a follow-up on the new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) that has been identified across the South East of England, Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty released the following statement: As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s […]The post England authorities: New COVID-19 strain can spread more quickly, Boris Johnson’s statement, Netherlands travel restrictions appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Health officials in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) of northern Luzon in the Philippines have reported a decrease in incidence in 20 out of 21 monitored infectious diseases due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts like lockdown and quarantine, the government-run Philippine News Agency reports. For the first 49 weeks of 2020, dengue fever cases […]The post Dengue, measles and 18 other diseases down in Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Bruker Corporation announced Friday the launch of the FluoroType SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV winter four-plex PCR panel, which enables the sensitive and simultaneous detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of both influenza A and B viruses, as well as of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In the winter season, multiple viruses need to be differentiated in one assay to facilitate diagnosis […]The post Bruker announces launch of Winter four-plex PCR panel for important respiratory viruses in Europe appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 After reporting a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases since the peak in August, Philippines health officials are seeing a slowing down of the previous improvement in the epidemic curve. On Saturday, the Department of Health reported an additional 3597 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 458,044. In addition, 36 additional fatalities […]The post Philippines reports 3600 new COVID-19 cases, ‘There has been a continuous growth of cases in Metro Manila, signaling the start of a surge’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Officials with the Scottish government have confirmed a flock of birds from a farm on the Island of Sanday in Orkney has tested positive for H5N8 avian influenza. In order to limit the further spread of disease, appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the premises and any identified contact premises. The remaining birds […]The post Scotland confirms H5N8 avian influenza on Island of Sanday farm appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Cambridge, MA biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, Moderna, Inc., announced Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) has authorized the emergency use of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age or older. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is now authorized for distribution and use under an […]The post U.S. FDA authorizes Moderna mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency use appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 The French Public Health Unit in the region, ARS is reporting that the department of Réunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean, has recorded 16,055 cases indigenous confirmed dengue fever cases in 2020 through Dec. 15. Officials say 782 hospitalizations were attributed to dengue, including 22 deaths (including 11 directly related to dengue). In […]The post Réunion reports more than 16,000 dengue cases in 2020 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health (MOH) have reported three confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection since December 1. The cases are as follows: One case reported by MOH on December 1 is a 62-year-old man from Riyadh who reported no contact with camels. Then on December 10, MOH reported […]The post Saudi Arabia reports 3 additional MERS cases in December appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 According to a new study published in the journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Naegleria fowleri is a free-living ameba that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but usually fatal disease. Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed trends in recreational water exposures associated with PAM cases reported during 1978–2018 […]The post Naegleria fowleri study: PAM incidence remained stable, the geographic range of exposure locations expanded northward appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with the Johns Hopkins schools of Nursing and Medicine and in partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department, is launching two free online educational courses for administrators, owners, and managers of assisted living and senior housing communities to help prepare for and respond to COVID-19. During the […]The post Johns Hopkins launches two free courses on COVID-19 best practices for assisted living and senior housing communities appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Through the week ending Dec. 12, Nigerian health officials have reported a total of 1163 confirmed Lassa fever cases, of which, 241 were fatal cases, or 20.7 percent. This includes the five confirmed cases and one death reported last week. One new healthcare worker (HCW) was affected last week, bringing the HCW total […]The post Nigeria reports 241 Lassa fever deaths in 2020 to date, One-third in Ondo state appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Wednesday a new emergency use authorization (EUA) for the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which is authorized for use by patients at home with a prescription. The BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test is authorized for prescription use at home with self-collected nasal swab samples from individuals […]The post COVID-19 testing: BinaxNOW Ag card home test gets FDA authorization appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report this week, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation said that preliminary results from the investigations of children manifesting weakness of the limbs, referred to as ‘Acute Flaccid Paralysis’ (AFP) have led to the isolation of poliovirus type 2 from three cases of AFP […]The post Polio in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan tops 200 vaccine derived cases appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In late 2018 into early 2019, an outbreak of a form of hantavirus called Andes virus, swept through a small town in Argentina infecting 34 and killing 11. Researchers led by a team from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) attribute the size of the outbreak to a super spreader event. […]The post Andes virus: Outbreak linked to a super-spreader event in Argentina appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 A live skunk was found and captured this morning at a maritime container yard at Pier 1 in Kahului, Maui. The skunk was spotted roaming around in the container yard early in the morning and was reported to harbor security by a biologist surveying for stranded sea bird fledglings. Harbor security personnel contacted […]The post Hawaii: Officials investigate how skunk made it’s way to Maui appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A study tracking seroprevalence across Iran suggests that the number of people who have had the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 17.1% overall and 20.0% in high-risk occupations. The findings suggest that an estimated almost 4.3 million people across the 18 cities sampled were infected with the virus by the end of April 2020, compared with 800,000 […]The post Iran COVID-19: Number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 may be higher than expected, according to seroprevalence study appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 For the first time since routine surveillance for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was instituted in 2002 in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has identified a positive test for CWD in a wild Ohio white-tailed deer in Wyandot County. Officials are gathering additional details about the adult male […]The post Chronic Wasting Disease case reported in wild white-tailed deer in Wyandot County appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

By NewsDesk @bactiman63 Mexico health authorities are reporting the first cases of the multi-drug resistant fungus, Candida auris, according a Saludiario report. The Ministry of Health (SSa) issued an alert due to the detection of at least 10 cases inside a hospital in Nuevo León. Although the name of the hospital has not been revealed, it is stated that the […]The post Mexico reports first Candida auris cases in Nuevo León hospital appeared first on Outbreak News Today.