Author: Claudinne Miller
Tracking HPAIV H5 through a geographic survey of Antarctic seabird populations
Nature An extensive survey for the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (HPAIV) H5 in seabird species is reported here. It was conducted between December 2023 and January 2024, in thirteen breeding sites spanning from the northeastern sector of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea, including the coasts of the Bellingshausen Sea and […]
Aug 13, 2025
Chikungunya – what you need to know
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine LSHTM expert Dr Doris Kemunto Nyamwaya discusses chikungunya virus, and the factors driving a rise in cases in several countries, including China Doris Kemunto Nyamwaya is an Assistant Professor and a Peter Piot Fellow for Global Health Innovation: Epidemic Preparedness and Response at the LSHTM Centre for Epidemic Preparedness […]
Aug 13, 2025
With Drones and ‘Elephant Mosquitoes,’ China Wages All-Out War on a Virus
NYT In a citywide campaign to curb a mosquito-borne virus, residents of Foshan face inspections and warnings for failure to comply. In the southern Chinese city of Foshan, officials are engaged in an all-out battle against chikungunya, a painful, mosquito-borne viral disease that could spread across the country. Soldiers wearing masks are fogging parks and […]
Aug 13, 2025
Hong Kong biotech firm races to develop chikungunya fever test for early detection
South China Morning Post Phase Scientific’s CEO says his team is working on rapid test that can yield results in 10 to 15 minutes by finger pricking. Hong Kong researchers are developing a rapid test for chikungunya fever that they hope will detect the mosquito-borne disease at an earlier stage, as part of the city’s […]
Aug 13, 2025
Lassa fever death toll: ‘Be proactive’ – NCDC urges states
Daily Post The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has urged state governments to strengthen year-round community engagement to curb the spread of Lassa fever. In its latest situation report for epidemiological week 31, the agency confirmed nine new cases in Ondo, Edo, and Taraba, up from three reported the previous week. This, […]
Aug 13, 2025
How the New Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in China Could Reach the U.S.
Scientific American Experts say the painful infection, spread to people from mosquitoes, can get to many countries if it finds the right hosts. Thousands of cases of the chikungunya virus, which sickens people bitten by an infected mosquito, have broken out in China during the past week. The virus causes extremely severe joint pain and fever, both […]
Aug 13, 2025
Inside the Red Zone: Sierra Leone’s terrifying mpox outbreak
Telegraph More than 5,000 have tested positive – including children – and at least 47 have died in Africa’s worst outbreak of the disease. Inside a quarantine zone on the edge of a military hospital, a 32-year-old man with lesions all over his body is losing his battle with disease. Ibrahim Turay, a construction worker […]
Aug 13, 2025
Measles outbreak in US prompts questions over Robert F Kennedy Junior’s mixed messages on vaccination
ABC (Australia) US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has regularly told Americans they should not take medical advice from him. “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” he told Congress in May. But under his watch a vaccine-preventable disease has continued to spread, with more than 1,300 cases in 40 states. The measles outbreak that […]
Aug 13, 2025
Florida COVID cases spike right before the start of schools
Central Florida News Once again, a summer wave of COVID-19 is spiking across the country and in Florida. According to the Department of Health, Orange County reported the third-highest case totals in the state at the end of July, just before kids returned to the classroom. “We’ve seen generally two COVID bumps during the year. […]
Aug 13, 2025
Pregnancy reduces COVID-19 vaccine immunity against novel variants
Nature Pregnant women are at heightened risk for severe outcomes from infectious diseases like COVID-19, yet were not included in initial vaccine trials, which may contribute to low booster uptake (15% or lower). We explored the serological and cellular responses to COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccines (i.e., ancestral and BA.5) in pregnant and age-matched, non-pregnant females […]
Aug 13, 2025