Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
An unprecedented flu strain is attacking hundreds of animal species. Humans could be next.
Washington Post An avian flu panzootic — a pandemic among animals — has struck some 320 bird and mammal species, including. It felt like watching one of those blockbusters about the end of the world. Like witnessing an apocalypse, but in real life. Which, in a way, it was. The beaches of Valdes Peninsula in […]
Jan 16, 2024
Treatment for acute sleeping sickness has been brutal — until now
NPR Acute sleeping sickness – the treatment is almost as horrific as the disease. But now there is encouraging news about an oral medication – one that’s also been used for chronic sleeping sickness to great success. Symptoms for both forms of sleeping sickness start with fever and aches. Then things get worse. The parasite […]
Jan 2, 2024
Four years on, long covid still confounds us. Here’s what we now know.
Washington Post Many people now view covid-19 as an almost routine inconvenience, much like flu, RSV and other seasonal infections. But four years after reports surfaced of a new respiratory illness, prompting a massive response among researchers, the disease’s aftereffects — commonly called long covid — continue to confound doctors and patients alike. “We know […]
Jan 2, 2024
Here’s How Common Long COVID Is in Children
MedPageToday Six to 12 months after COVID-19 infection, very few children developed post-COVID-19 conditions (PCCs) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), a prospective Canadian study found. At 6 months after being tested for SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric emergency departments (EDs), just 0.52% of children who tested positive had symptoms and changes in quality of […]
Jan 2, 2024
Maryland hospitals see increase in COVID-19, RSV, flu cases
WBAL Hospitals across Maryland are seeing an increase in patients with respiratory illnesses. Doctors said cases of the flu, COVID-19 and RSV are spiking. “Influenza is really increasing, particularly over the last two weeks,” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health virologist Dr. Andy Pekosz said. “All of them, you’ll often feel very lousy. You’ll […]
Jan 2, 2024
COVID-19 vs Seasonal Influenza: A Comparative Analysis Reveals Alarming Trends
Infection Control Today A recent article by Yan Xie and colleagues1 presented strong data that COVID-19 is much worse than seasonal influenza. The researchers observed increased rates of delayed and long-term death and disability in US military veterans who were hospitalized with COVID-19 as compared to those hospitalized with seasonal influenza. The COVID-19 group of patients had […]
Jan 2, 2024
Watch here: https://bit.ly/3vh3RRD Dr. Lawler discusses a Brazilian cohort study titled “Developmental impairment in children exposed during pregnancy to maternal SARS-COV2”. Plus, updates on COVID-19 hospital admissions and wastewater data.
Jan 2, 2024
Iceland Review The falcon population in Iceland has never been smaller, at least not since research into it began in 1981. Bird flu is the likely cause, experts at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History told RÚV. The gyrfalcon is the largest of the falcon species and its Icelandic population is genetically unique compared to other […]
Jan 2, 2024
COVID, flu severity similar, but Omicron BA.5 patients more likely to die, 2021-22 study suggests
CIDRAP In 2021 and 2022, the proportion of hospitalized COVID-19 and influenza patients admitted to a US intensive care unit (ICU) were similar, but COVID-19 patients admitted during the Omicron BA.5 variant period were more likely to die in the hospital, according to a study published late last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. A team led by […]
Jan 2, 2024
Every COVID Infection Increases Your Risk of Long COVID, Study Warns
Science Alert Vaccines ensure bouts of COVID are far less deadly than they were at the pandemic‘s start, yet multiple studies now suggest even seemingly mild cases of the coronavirus have a cost. With every single infection, our risk of long COVID increases. While this risk starts (relatively) low for most of us, particularly those vaccinated and in […]
Dec 27, 2023