Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Measles, Bird Flu, COVID, Oh My!
MedPage Today While the threat of COVID-19 and long-COVID persist, other infectious diseases have re-emerged or come into the spotlight this year. In January, measles outbreaks were reported in a handful of states, raising concerns among experts that this preventable disease might lose its elimination status. Meanwhile, childhood vaccine exemptions and growing vaccine hesitancy have led to renewed calls for awareness and […]
Aug 14, 2024
Why Measles Is ‘Coming in Hot’ in 2024
MedPage Today In part 1 of this Instagram Live discussion, MedPage Today editor-in-chief Jeremy Faust, MD, Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH, and Katrine Wallace, PhD, talk about the recent rise in measles cases in the U.S. Faust: Let’s start with measles because the title says “Measles, H5N1, and COVID, Oh My!“ In the 1950s and ’60s, we would routinely have […]
Aug 14, 2024
Oropouche Virus Outbreak Hits Europe as First Deaths Confirmed in Brazil
Science Alert Health officials have issued a warning to travellers after 19 cases of the insect-borne illness Oropouche virus were confirmed for the first time ever in Europe. Those who had tested positive for the virus had recently returned from holiday in Cuba and Brazil. Parts of South America and Cuba are currently in the midst of an ongoing outbreak of […]
Aug 14, 2024
What is Legionnaires’ disease, and how does it spread?
Washington Post Five cases of Legionnaires’ disease in New Hampshire this summer have raised questions about how the infection spreads. Legionnaires’ is a serious form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. “The Legionella bacteria likes water. It is spread from contaminated air conditioning cooling towers, hot tubs, decorative fountains, misting machines and the like,” said William Schaffner, a professor of […]
Aug 14, 2024
Virus that causes ‘slapped cheek’ rash in kids is rising in US, CDC warns
The Hill The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert Tuesday warning about a highly contagious respiratory illness detected especially among young children. Over the past two years, there has been an uptick of the common seasonal illness, known as parvovirus B19, particularly among kids aged 5 to 9. The CDC said the percentage […]
Aug 14, 2024
NBC News An outbreak of Valley fever among attendees and workers at an outdoor music festival in California’s Central Valley highlights the fungal infection’s mounting threat. Fourteen people who traveled to attend or work at the Lightning in a Bottle Festival in Bakersfield in May have tested positive for Valley fever and developed symptoms, the California Department […]
Aug 13, 2024
Allegheny County Health Department reports first human case of Powassan virus disease
WTAE he Allegheny County Health Department says the first human case of Powassan virus disease in the county has been detected. A child who lives in northern Allegheny County tested positive and is recovering at home after experiencing fever and other symptoms that led to hospitalization, the health department said Tuesday. The tick-borne disease is […]
Aug 13, 2024
Fauci urges at-risk people to keep masking to prevent COVID-19
Baltimore Sun Dr. Anthony Fauci is urging at-risk people to continue wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Speaking to MedPage Today, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explained he became infected with the disease for the third time in July. The illness, he said, came despite being […]
Aug 13, 2024
Will bird flu be the next pandemic? Vaccines are prepped, just in case.
USA Today A quiet effort to prevent the next global pandemic began rolling off an assembly line this summer behind the gates of an office complex in suburban Raleigh. In this sprawling factory, sheltered by thick pine groves, workers at CSL Seqirus are bottling millions of doses of a new vaccine targeting the H5N1 bird […]
Aug 13, 2024
‘Zika-like’ mosquito-borne virus has spread into Europe, health officials warn
Fox News The Oropouche virus is transmitted through bites from mosquitoes and midges, with sloths and birds acting as hosts. Cases of the Oropouche virus (OROV) emerging in Europe have health officials on high alert. As of the end of July, 19 cases had been reported with 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two […]
Aug 13, 2024