Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Stopping mpox: wild meat markets are a root cause and must be made safer
The Conversation In many countries around the world, wild animals are sometimes killed for food, including monkeys, rats and squirrels. Wild meat makes significant contributions to nutrition in Africa and to satisfying food preferences in Asia. In Africa, the annual harvest of wild meat, estimated at between 1 million and 5 million metric tonnes, is substantial compared […]
Nov 5, 2024
Britain detects two more cases of new mpox variant
Reuters Britain has detected two more cases of the new mpox variant clade Ib in household contacts of the first case, the country’s health security agency (UKHSA) said on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to three. The government agency that added the risk to the population remained low. The clade Ib variant is a new […]
Nov 5, 2024
Novel way to beat dengue: Deaf mosquitoes stop having sex
BBC Scientists believe they have found a quirky way to fight mosquito-spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika – by turning male insects deaf so they struggle to mate and breed. Mosquitoes have sex while flying in mid-air and the males rely on hearing to chase down a female, based on her attractive […]
Nov 5, 2024
Cost of Mpox Shot Deters Americans at Risk, Critics Say
New York Times The epidemic in Africa continues to grow, prompting fears of another outbreak in the U.S. But the vaccine is no longer free, and vulnerable people are going without. A particularly deadly form of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, has led to more than 48,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths in Africa this […]
Nov 5, 2024
USDA will launch testing of bulk raw milk for bird flu contamination
Food Safety News The USDA is set to begin testing bulk raw milk for bird flu contamination in an effort to control the rapid spread of the virus. In addition to more than 100 million chickens having been infected, more than 400 dairy herds have also become infected with the virus, with more than 200 […]
Nov 5, 2024
CDC: Pertussis case reports 5 times higher than at this time last year
Washington Post More than five times as many pertussis cases had been reported as of mid-October compared with the same time last year, according to provisional numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is characterized by persistent, chronic fits of coughing followed by a “whoop” sound, and is sometimes called the “100-day […]
Nov 5, 2024
Bird flu detected in pigs – here’s why virologists are concerned
The Conversation H5N1 influenza has now been detected in pigs. This was something virologists had been worrying about ever since this highly pathogenic strain of bird flu started its rapid global spread in 2020. But why were we worrying specifically about pigs? And does this case – detected on a farm in Oregon on October 29 – […]
Nov 5, 2024
An ‘unprecedented’ good news story about a deadly viral outbreak
NPR Marburg virus is notorious for its killing ability. In past outbreaks, as many as 9 out of 10 patients have died from the disease. And there are no approved vaccines or medications. That was the grim situation in Rwanda just over a month ago, when officials made the announcement that nobody wants to make: The […]
Nov 5, 2024
Bird Flu in Pigs Is One Step Closer to Endangering Humans
Bloomberg If a pig infected with human flu got infected with the H5N1 bird flu, a new virus could emerge with parts of both. That’d be bad. When the USDA issued an announcement on Oct. 30 that the worrisome H5N1 bird flu turned up in a pig, I dropped what I was doing to read it. The situation […]
Nov 5, 2024
Three people with bird flu traveled to Oregon during Washington State outbreak
KOIN.com A week after Washington reported human cases of bird flu in the state, officials have announced that three of those cases had traveled to Oregon during their infection and were monitored during their stay. All three cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) were reported in Washington after they were exposed to poultry that tested […]
Nov 5, 2024