Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
The Lancet – Singapore offered the BNT162b2 vaccine (tozinameran; Pfizer-BioNTech) to adolescents aged 12–17 years in May 18, 2021, and extended booster vaccines to this group in Jan 21, 2022. Literature on the effectiveness of primary series and booster vaccination among adolescents is scarce outside of Europe and North America. We aimed to determine primary […]
Sep 29, 2022
What comes after Omicron? New variants are emerging.
National Geographic – Infections over the last three months have been dominated by new sublineages of Omicron: BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4., and BA.5. In the U.K., symptomatic infections have steadily increased since August 27—the day they hit lowest level this year—according to the ZOE COVID-19 study, an App-based project in which patients enter their symptoms on their […]
Sep 29, 2022
Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
NIH – Both SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected the mental health of adults and children. In a 2021 study, nearly half of Americans surveyed reported recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder, and 10% of respondents felt their mental health needs were not being met. Rates of anxiety, depression, and substance […]
Sep 29, 2022
Uganda is racing to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak
CBS News – Ugandan Ministry of Health Officials said Tuesday that a total of 36 cases, including 18 confirmed and 18 more listed as probable, had been reported. There were 23 deaths within that number, five among confirmed cases and 18 among probable ones. Officials have confirmed to CBS News separately that five people are confirmed to […]
Sep 29, 2022
Ebola experimental vaccine trial may begin soon in Uganda
STAT News – A clinical trial of one or perhaps two experimental vaccines designed to protect against the Ebola Sudan virus could soon begin in Uganda, as long as the country agrees to allow the research to take place, an official of the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The trial could get underway within a couple […]
Sep 29, 2022
Repurposing existing drugs to fight new COVID-19 variants
Michigan State University – MSU researchers are using big data and AI to identify current drugs that could be applied to treat new COVID-19 variants. Finding new ways to treat the novel coronavirus and its ever-changing variants has been a challenge for researchers, especially when the traditional drug development and discovery process can take years. […]
Sep 29, 2022
Should I still be worried about monkeypox?
Washington Post – New monkeypox cases are declining in the United States, a trend public health officials and clinicians attribute to vaccination and changes in behavior. Eligible individuals who did not receive the monkeypox vaccine were about 14 times more likely to become infected than those who received a first dose of the two-dose vaccine, […]
Sep 29, 2022
CDC Warns About Enterovirus D68, the Virus Linked to Paralysis in Kids
Prevention – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning about an increase of a respiratory illness that’s linked to paralysis in kids. It’s called enterovirus D68, and the CDC says it’s currently on the rise in the U.S. The CDC shared the news in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which points out […]
Sep 29, 2022
CDC MMWR Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) caused biennial outbreaks of severe respiratory illness and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in the United States in 2014, 2016, and 2018. After an extended period of low EV-D68 circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, surveillance data suggest increased detection of rhinovirus/enterovirus and EV-D68, concurrent with increased emergency department visits by children […]
Sep 29, 2022