Author: Claudinne Miller
Some patients in mysterious outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo have malaria, early testing reveals
CNN A mysterious illness outbreak that has sickened at least 416 people and killed 31 in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo may be at least partly caused by malaria, health officials said Tuesday. Information on the situation is still limited. World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that of 12 initial samples […]
Dec 11, 2024
We’re Pandemic Experts. Here’s What Worries Us Most About Bird Flu.
Huff Post Infectious disease experts reveal what does and doesn’t alarm them when it comes to the H5N1 virus. It’s hard to turn on the news or look online without seeing something related to bird flu. Also known as H5N1, the virus is spreading in a few states across the country and sickening animals and farm workers. […]
Dec 11, 2024
Minnesota reporting highest number of whooping cough cases in a decade
Minnesota Post Minnesota has reported 2,324 cases of whooping cough this year, the highest number since 2012. “Health officials expected the spike because the disease peaks every three to five years. Whooping cough cases are increasing across the country, signaling a return to more typical trends seen before a drop-off of many contagious illnesses during the […]
Dec 11, 2024
Investigation launched into Queensland lab breach, with vials of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus missing
ABC News Australia Nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at a state-run Queensland laboratory. An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 in a “major breach” of biosecurity protocol, Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced […]
Dec 11, 2024
H5 Avian Flu Detected at Wastewater Sampling Site in Hilo
State of Hawaii The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) State Laboratories Division has detected H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in a wastewater sample collected on Dec. 2 at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hawaiʻi Island. This is the first detection of bird flu on a neighbor island and indicates an H5 type of bird flu virus […]
Dec 11, 2024
Officials warn of bird flu amid child possibly infected after drinking raw milk in North Bay
NBC There are new health warnings about the growing number of bird flu cases in California and the latest is in Marin County, where health officials say they are investigating a possible new case linked to a child who drank raw milk. Raw milk been under the microscope for weeks in California. On Dec. 6, […]
Dec 11, 2024
DR Congo mystery illness: What we know
DW An undiagnosed ‘Disease X’ is spreading in a remote region of DR Congo. Can it be treated? It is almost impossible to treat an illness like the Disease X that’s spreading in DR Congo — medics don’t even know whether it is a viral or bacterial infection. So far, the DRC has recorded 406 cases of the undiagnosed disease. […]
Dec 11, 2024
Congo’s mpox crisis
Science For the second time in 2 years, a long-overlooked virus poses a global threat. Can it be contained? In late September 2023, a 33-year-old man who co-owned a bar in Kamituga, a remote mining city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), developed lesions on his genitals and a fever. He first sought […]
Dec 10, 2024
Replication Restriction of Influenza A(H5N1) Clade 2.3.4.4b Viruses by Human Immune Factor
CDC ABSTRACT We show that human myxovirus resistance protein 1 (MxA) suppresses replication of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses isolated from mammals in vitro and in MxA-transgenic mice. However, H5N1 can evade MxA restriction through replacement of individual viral polymerase complex components from a human-adapted MxA-resistant strain in vitro. Since 2022, clade 2.3.4.4b highly […]
Dec 10, 2024
Bird flu in California child linked to virus in dairy cows, CDC says
Washington Post There is no evidence the youngster was exposed to livestock or any infected animals, deepening the mystery about the spread of H5N1 bird flu. Federal disease trackers reported Tuesday that the first child diagnosed with bird flu in an ongoing U.S. outbreak was infected with a virus strain moving rapidly through dairy cattle, even though there is […]
Dec 10, 2024