Author: Claudinne Miller
Flu Outbreak in China Intensifies as Infection Rises for Sixth Week
Bloomberg An influenza outbreak in China picked up intensity over the past week as a major city prepared to enforce pandemic-style lockdowns to curb the surge in infections. The positivity rate for flu jumped to 41.6% in the week beginning March 5 from 25.1% the previous week, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention […]
Mar 14, 2023
Cameroon Situation Update on Marburg
DOWNLOAD Marburg Virus Disease (MVM) Situation Report No. 3 HIGHLIGHTS Machine Translated AREAS OF INTERVENTION 1. MONITORING 1.1 Alert management Alerts come from health facilities (71.4%), calls from the community (21.4%) and investigation teams (7.2%). 1.2 Surveillance at points of entry In total 285 Disembarked, 285 Screened, 285 Sensitized and no suspected cases 2. CONTACT INVESTIGATION […]
Mar 14, 2023
Marburg virus outbreaks are increasing in frequency and geographic spread – three virologists explain
(The Conversation) The World Health Organization confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease in the central African country of Equatorial Guinea on Feb. 13, 2023. To date, there have been 11 deaths suspected to be caused by the virus, with one case confirmed. Authorities are currently monitoring 48 contacts, four of whom have developed symptoms and […]
Mar 14, 2023
How to Handle the Bird Flu
(Foreign Affairs) In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush stood at a podium in Bethesda, Maryland, to make an important announcement. He was joined by five members of his cabinet, two senators, three congressmen, and multiple international guests. It was an unusual show of force for a press conference, and with two unpopular wars underway […]
Mar 14, 2023
Association of healthcare worker behaviors with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk during four pandemic periods and characteristics associated with high-risk behaviors
(Cambridge Press) In a large healthcare worker cohort, we quantified the association between behaviors and risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during different pandemic phases, adjusting for prior infection and vaccination. Individual characteristics, including personal concerns, were associated with these behaviors. Public health messaging should target high-risk populations and behaviors as the pandemic evolves. Transmission […]
Mar 14, 2023
Stella Immanuel Highest U.S. Prescriber of Ivermectin and HCQ
(MedPageToday) Stella Immanuel, MD, was the nation’s top prescriber of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin over the past 2 years, a MedPage Today analysis of prescription data has found. In 2021, Immanuel wrote just over 69,000 prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine — vastly above the average of 43 prescriptions in the database MedPage Today reviewed. Rheumatologists, who prescribe hydroxychloroquine for autoimmune diseases, wrote […]
Mar 14, 2023
It’s Time for a Flu Vaccine—for Birds
Wired Avian influenza has killed millions of birds. Shots to prevent it already exist. Why isn’t the entire poultry industry using them? The wave of avian influenza H5N1—which so far has hit 76 countries, triggered national emergencies, and created the worst animal-disease outbreak in US history—keeps roaring through wild birds and commercial poultry. More than 140 […]
Mar 8, 2023
Covid backlash hobbles public health and future pandemic response
Washington Post When the next pandemic sweeps the United States, health officials in Ohio won’t be able to shutter businesses or schools, even if they become epicenters of outbreaks. Nor will they be empowered to force Ohioans who have been exposed to go into quarantine. State officials in North Dakota are barred from directing people […]
Mar 8, 2023
Masks Cut Secondary SARS-CoV-2 Infections by Half
JAMA After exposure to someone with SARS-CoV-2 infection, an uninfected person’s risk of infection is cut in half if both people wore masks, researchers reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Public health authorities in Johnson County, Iowa, launched their study after the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) in September 2020 overrode the CDC’s recommended 14-day quarantine […]
Mar 8, 2023
How to stop the bird flu outbreak becoming a pandemic
Nature From tracking the disease’s spread in wild birds to updating human vaccines, there are measures that could help keep avian influenza in check. Fears are rising about bird flu’s potential to spark a human pandemic, as well as its destruction of wildlife and farmed birds. An 11-year-old girl tragically died in Cambodia last week after […]
Mar 7, 2023