Author: Claudinne Miller
Key Avian Influenza Enzyme Mutates Enabling Virus Replication in Mammals
Technology Networks Immunology and Microbiology A new publication sheds light on how a key avian influenza virus enzyme can mutate to allow the virus to replicate in mammals. In recent years, public health measures, surveillance, and vaccination have helped bring about significant progress in reducing the impact of seasonal flu epidemics, caused by human influenza […]
Aug 20, 2024
Philippines Reports First Mpox Case Since W.H.O. Declared Global Emergency
NYT It was not clear if the patient had contracted the new, potentially more deadly strain of the disease, which first appeared outside of Africa in Sweden last week. The Philippines reported its first case this year of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, on Monday, just days after the World Health Organization declared the disease […]
Aug 20, 2024
Mpox is a global health emergency. Will it cause a lockdown like COVID? Experts say no
NBC News Mpox has been declared a global health emergency by WHO. What does this mean and where is it spreading? Experts discuss mpox outbreaks, symptoms, and risk. Mpox is now considered a global health emergency as cases surge in Central Africa and a new subtype of the virus, which causes severe illness, spreads to […]
Aug 20, 2024
Mpox Declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Now What?
Harvard Medical Making sense of the latest developments with HMS infectious disease specialist Daniel Kuritzkes. On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the latest mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. While the virus is not new, its behavior warrants vigilance and raises critical questions about infectivity, transmissibility, and the optimal […]
Aug 20, 2024
CDC warns clinicians about Oropouche virus disease that has turned deadly
Washington Post The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning clinicians to be on the lookout for a viral disease that is spread by small flies and some types of mosquitoes and that causes sudden fever, severe headaches and chills. Cases of Oropouche virus disease have been climbing in South America and the Caribbean […]
Aug 20, 2024
Mpox virus detected in Pakistan, health authorities say
Reuters Pakistan’s health ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said on Friday, though they did not yet know the strain of the virus. A health ministry spokesperson said the sequencing of the confirmed case was underway, and that it […]
Aug 20, 2024
Massachusetts man diagnosed with first human case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in state since 2020
CBS News A man in his 80s from Worcester County is the first person in Massachusetts diagnosed with EEE since 2020. State officials have not released the man’s name or hometown, but the state is raising the EEE risk level to critical in Douglas, Oxford, Sutton and Webster. The risk level for Auburn, Charlton, Grafton, Leicester, […]
Aug 20, 2024
What to know about the ‘slapped cheek’ virus uptick in the U.S.
NPR Federal health officials are warning doctors to keep watch for a respiratory virus, known as parvovirus B19, as infection rates tick up in the United States. Parvovirus B19 has existed for decades, and its symptoms are typically mild or nonexistent among children and healthy adults. But it can also lead to serious complications for […]
Aug 20, 2024
New covid vaccines for summer variants slated for approval late next week
Washington Post The arrival of updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for the KP.2 variant comes well into a summer wave when Americans have struggled to find an existing shot. Federal authorities are preparing to approve updated coronavirus vaccines targeting the latest virus variants late next week, a move that could make shots available before Labor Day, according to a […]
Aug 20, 2024
Cambodian girl dies of H5N1 bird flu: health ministry
Xinua A 15-year-old girl from southeast Cambodia’s Prey Veng province died of H5N1 avian influenza on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said in a press statement. The patient lived in Kanhchriech district’s Por Marinh village. Health experts were looking into the source of the infection and examining any suspected cases or people who have been […]
Aug 20, 2024