Category: Featured
Alarming 30-fold rise in measles in Europe – WHO
BBC There was an “alarming” 30-fold increase in measles cases in Europe last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Health chiefs are warning that cases are still rising and “urgent measures” are needed to prevent further spread. More than 30,000 people were infected in 2023, compared to 941 during the whole of 2022. The […]
Jan 23, 2024
We Are in a Big Covid Wave. But Just How Big?
NYT Wastewater data has become perhaps the best metric to track the spread of the virus in the U.S., but it’s an imperfect tool. The curves on some Covid graphs are looking quite steep, again. Reported levels of the virus in U.S. wastewater are higher than they have been since the first Omicron wave, according […]
Jan 16, 2024
RSV, flu and COVID: demystifying the triple epidemic of respiratory viruses
The Conversation Since 2022, a triple epidemic of respiratory viruses — RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 — has been disrupting our daily lives. In addition, the media constantly reminds us of how this is straining emergency departments. How does the present respiratory virus season differ from seasons during the pre-COVID era? As a specialist in virus-host […]
Jan 16, 2024
Avian influenza death of Alaska polar bear is a global first and a sign of the virus’ persistence
Juneau Empire A polar bear found dead on Alaska’s North Slope is the first of the species known to have been killed by the highly pathogenic avian influenza that is circulating among animal populations around the world. The polar bear was found dead in October near Utqiagvik, the nation’s northernmost community, the Alaska Department of […]
Jan 2, 2024
WHO declares new JN.1 COVID strain a “variant of interest.” Here’s what that means.
CBS News The World Health Organization announced Tuesday it would step up its classification of the new COVID-19 variant JN.1 to a standalone “variant of interest,” after tracking the strain’s rapid ascent around the world. Health officials have been careful to say that JN.1 has so far not been found to lead to different or more severe symptoms compared […]
Dec 19, 2023
Ivermectin is a great drug – just not for treating COVID-19. While a handful of studies early in the pandemic suggested that ivermectin might be helpful for the treatment of COVID, multiple large and well-executed randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials subsequently have provided overwhelming evidence that ivermectin provides no benefit in the treatment of COVID in […]
Dec 11, 2023
How the New Outbreak in China Is Hitting Clinics Elsewhere
Medscape The social media images from China are a heart-rending déjà vu with photos of young children connected to intravenous lines receiving fluids from overcrowded hospital waiting rooms. For a world still reeling from the recent coronavirus pandemic, news from China about a sudden rise in respiratory ailments has prompted understandable concern. Just 4 years […]
Dec 5, 2023
National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS)
COVID-19 NWSS Wastewater Monitoring in the U.S.
Nov 28, 2023
What’s behind China’s mysterious wave of childhood pneumonia?
Nature Scientists expected a surge in respiratory disease, but what is happening in China is unusual. China is grappling with a surge in respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that common winter infections — rather than any new pathogens — are behind the spike in hospitalizations. A […]
Nov 28, 2023
What to know about a mysterious dog respiratory illness
NBC News Scientists at the University of New Hampshire may have identified a pathogen that has sickened possibly thousands of dogs and killed some of them across the country. The mysterious respiratory illness that may have sickened scores of dogs across the country could be caused by a new type of bacterial infection that may be very […]
Nov 21, 2023