Author: Claudinne Miller
UKHSA detects human case of influenza A(H1N2)v
gov.uk The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of influenza A(H1N2)v. Influenza A(H1N2)v is similar to flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the UK. This is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human in the UK. As is usual early in emerging infection events, UKHSA is […]
Nov 28, 2023
New Evidence of Wider Infections in North America With ‘Rare’ Mosquito-Borne Virus
IDSE Human infections with a dangerous mosquito-borne disease called Cache Valley virus (CVV) may be more common in the United States and Mexico than previously thought. The disease, discovered decades ago, mainly has been seen as a threat to livestock, with only seven cases ever documented in humans—all in the United States, two fatal and […]
Nov 28, 2023
WHO authorizes emergency use of Novavax’s updated COVID shot
Reuters Novavax’s updated vaccine has been granted emergency-use authorization by the World Health Organization (WHO) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged 12 and older, the company said on Tuesday. The updated Novavax shot, which was authorized in the U.S. last month, targets a descendant of the XBB lineage of the coronavirus that was […]
Nov 28, 2023
Bacterial infection causing concern in China detected in Ireland
Irish Times First Irish outbreak of mycoplasma pneumoniae in a number of years occurred in October, Health Protection Surveillance Centre warns. A bacterial infection implicated in a surge in respiratory illnesses in China is on the rise in the community in Ireland, authorities have confirmed. An outbreak of mycoplasma pneumoniae notified to the Health Protection […]
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
Mystery child pneumonia outbreak reported in China hospitals
Telegraph Alert issued over reported epidemic of ‘undiagnosed pneumonia’ among Chinese children. Chinese hospitals have been “overwhelmed with sick children” as an outbreak of pneumonia escalates in cities across the country, including Beijing, according to reports. ProMed – a large, publicly available surveillance system which monitors human and animal disease outbreaks worldwide – issued a notification […]
Nov 22, 2023
That time Sharon Weiss burned a Marie Calendar pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving
It was Thanksgiving 2021 when Sharon Weiss, a grandma from Georgia, posted a photo to the Marie Calendar Facebook page, bitterly writing, “Thanks Marie Calendar for ruining Thanksgiving dessert.” It was early in the pandemic and people needed to vent. The post went viral, and will probably go down in the meme hall of fame. Start with […]
Nov 22, 2023
Inside one of the world’s deadliest forests – and the bushmeat hunters risking contagion
Telegraph Ebola, Marburg and never-before-seen infections are spilling over into Guinea’s hunter communities. Scientists fear biological catastrophe. The village of Bouolazou, nestled away in the sprawling bush of southern Guinea, cannot be reached by car. Only motorbikes with deep-grooved tyres can make the journey, navigating an estuary of narrow tracks that wind over rocky hills […]
Nov 22, 2023
How do viruses get into cells? Their infection tactics determine whether they can jump species or set off a pandemic
The Conversation COVID-19, flu, mpox, noroviral diarrhea: How do the viruses that cause these diseases actually infect you? Viruses cannot replicate on their own, so they must infect cells in your body to make more copies of themselves. The life cycle of a virus can thus be roughly described as: get inside a cell, make more […]
Nov 21, 2023
Omicron, Now 2 Years Old, Is Not Done With Us Yet
New York Times The dominant variant of the coronavirus has proved to be not only staggeringly infectious, but an evolutionary marvel. By November 2021, nearly two years after the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan and spread across the world, the surprises seemed to be over. More than four billion people had been vaccinated against the virus, […]
Nov 21, 2023