Author: Claudinne Miller
Acute COVID-19 Might Cause False-Positive HIV Screens
NEJM In Michigan, COVID-19 brought a wave of erroneous HIV test results. Serologic screening tests are fast and inexpensive, but their accuracy can be compromised by a range of unpredictable circumstances. Several years ago, Michigan physicians noted a surge in false-positive HIV screening tests, just as the COVID-19 epidemic also was surging. A retrospective chart […]
Jun 13, 2023
Epidemiological Update – Dengue, chikungunya and Zika – 10 June 2023
PAHO During 2022, several countries in the region registered increases in the number of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya cases compared to those reported in 2021. During the first months of 2023, chikungunya and dengue fever outbreaks of high magnitude were recorded in South America. Before the start of the high season of dengue transmission in […]
Jun 13, 2023
Strengthening diagnostics capacity
WHO (Contributed by a Transmission Subscriber) Decided to recommend to the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly the adoption of thefollowing resolution: Recognizing the Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978), which identified primary health care as“essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methodsand technology […] at a cost that the community and country can afford […]
Jun 13, 2023
200k cases, 200 dead: Peru Battles Worst Dengue Outbreak In Its History
MSN Peru is battling the worst dengue outbreak in the country’s history with over 200,000 cases being reported so far and more than 200 fatalities recorded so far. The outbreak has been attributed to torrential rains and mosquitoes caused by El Ni o climate phenomenon. A Fox News report quoted a Peru health ministry official […]
Jun 13, 2023
Australia’s having an intense flu season, and it could be a signal of what’s to come in the US
CNN It’s only June, but scientists in the US are already thinking about flu season. As always at this time of year, they’re keeping a close eye on Australia, which saw an early start to its flu season. Some parts of the country are seeing a spike in illness, and the highest number of cases are […]
Jun 13, 2023
MicroRNA May Explain Individual Differences in COVID-19 Severity
Neuroscience News Researchers uncovered an association between specific microRNAs and COVID-19 severity in a group of 259 unvaccinated patients. The team identified these microRNAs as crucial factors related to a weakened immune response and ICU admission. This study provides the first genomic picture of blood microRNAs in COVID-19 patients from the Middle East, North Africa, […]
Jun 13, 2023
Fungal meningitis outbreak death toll rises as officials rush to find patients at risk
NBC News Nearly 200 people in the U.S. may have been exposed to the deadly illness at two medical clinics in Mexico. A fungal meningitis outbreak linked to cosmetic procedures performed at clinics in Mexico has killed four patients from the U.S. and infected over two dozen others. Nearly 200 in the U.S. may have been exposed to the deadly […]
Jun 13, 2023
Vaccine Candidate for Chikungunya Virus Safe and Effective
MedPageToday A single dose of the live-attenuated vaccine candidate VLA1553 for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus produced a strong immune response, a phase III randomized trial showed. At 28 days post-vaccine, 98.9% of participants in the per-protocol population who received the vaccine had seroprotective chikungunya virus neutralizing antibody levels (95% CI 96.7-99.8, P<0.0001), […]
Jun 13, 2023
Social media fueling risky bushmeat sales, study finds
Phys.org The use of social media by West African vendors to promote the illegal sale of bushmeat should be regulated to help prevent the emergence of diseases transmitted from animals to humans, a new study suggests. “Due to the widespread impacts of social media and evidence of the bushmeat trade in other countries such as in Europe, […]
Jun 13, 2023
Next COVID Vaccine Should Only Target XBB Strains, FDA Staff Says
MedPageToday The next COVID vaccines should exclude the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and exclusively target the Omicron XBB subvariants, according to FDA staff members. They unveiled their recommendation in a briefing document ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), stating that “the totality of available evidence suggests that a monovalent […]
Jun 13, 2023