Author: Claudinne Miller
Rwanda is dealing with its first outbreak of deadly Marburg virus disease
CNN For the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry is dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola – but unlike Ebola, there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88%. So far, 26 people have gotten sick, 18 are […]
Oct 1, 2024
Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off
Wayne Bishop, owner of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland, likes that the National Pumpkin Weigh-Off event, which will be held for the second year on Saturday at his farm, benefits the community. “It brings attention to Yuba County and Wheatland, and then the best thing about it is that we’re getting kids interested in agriculture […]
Sep 25, 2024
BARDA awards $29 million to Basilea Pharmaceutica for first-in-class anti-fungal treatments
BARDA BARDA awarded an initial $29 million under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. Allschwil, to develop two anti-fungal therapeutics, Fosmanogepix and BAL2062, both with the potential to treat drug-resistant invasive fungal infections. Additional funding could be awarded by BARDA if contract options are exercised. Under the terms of the OTA […]
Sep 25, 2024
First northern dengue cases detected in New Taipei
Taipei Times This year’s first cluster of dengue fever cases in northern Taiwan was detected in New Taipei City, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported yesterday, adding that the number of enterovirus cases continued to increase, with the epidemic period likely to extend into November. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said […]
Sep 25, 2024
Was It Really a Hot Zone Summer?
NY Times From Covid to dengue, viral outbreaks seemed to be popping up all over. But maybe Americans are just more attuned to threats now. Bird flu. Mpox, formerly monkeypox. Eastern equine encephalitis. West Nile. Listeria. Dengue. Oropouche. And, of course, Covid. Have the past few months felt like an unending parade of infectious disease? […]
Sep 25, 2024
COVID cases are on a downward trend. How long will this last?
USA Today COVID-19 cases continue to fall throughout the country after a large summer wave peaked in early August, surveillance data shows. The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests dropped from 17.8% the week of Aug. 10 to 14.9% the week of Sept. 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walgreens’s national respiratory disease tracker showed […]
Sep 25, 2024
The story of a scientist who tried to stand for the truth and avoid Covid politics
NPR A scientist tried to stand up for the truth during a pandemic when political rhetoric and conspiracies were clouding everyone’s world. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the truth has often felt elusive. As conspiracy theories, misinformation and political rhetoric took hold early on, many people found themselves unsure of what to believe. Rund Abdelfatah and […]
Sep 25, 2024
Los Angeles sees unprecedented cluster of locally acquired dengue fever in people bitten by mosquitoes
ABC News For the first time, Los Angeles County health officials have identified a cluster of dengue fever cases that are not travel-related. Could we be seeing more of this disease in places it’s not usually found? Experts say it’s important for residents to protect themselves. We’ve grown accustomed to these aggressive ankle-biting insects. But […]
Sep 25, 2024
A virus that could lead to paralysis in kids is on the rise. How worried should parents be?
CNN Rates of enterovirus D68 infections are on the rise across the United States, according to the nonprofit WastewaterSCAN network. This common virus can lead to a rare but serious polio-like complication known as acute flaccid myelitis. Symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis include limb weakness and paralysis. Children are among those most affected by this condition. What is enterovirus D68, and how is it spread? What are its […]
Sep 25, 2024
Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation
KFF In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and others at highest risk from covid-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous. Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like […]
Sep 25, 2024