Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
How evasive and transmissible is the newest omicron offshoot, BA.2.86, that causes COVID-19?
The Conversation 1. What is BA.2.86 and how is it related to earlier variants? BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola, is a highly mutated new omicron sublineage of SARS-CoV-2 that was first detected in Denmark in July 2023. The World Health Organization announced that, as of Sept. 6, 2023, BA.2.86 has been detected in 11 countries. A variant is […]
Sep 12, 2023
‘Heart-breaking’ news as avian flu ravages seabird colonies at sites across Wales
WhalesOnline Avian flu has devastated seabird colonies at sites across Wales this summer, according to the National Trust. It said more than 7,000 seabirds had died of the disease at five of its sites across the UK in 2023. Only one of its sites was affected in 2022. In Wales, the worst-affected was in Anglesey where more […]
Sep 12, 2023
India: Nipah confirmed in 3 people in Kerala state
Outbreak News Today Health Minister Veena George says Pune Virology Institute informed that 3 people have been confirmed with Nipah virus in the state. Nipah virus has been confirmed in a 9-year-old who is under treatment in a private hospital in Kozhikode, 25-year-old mother’s brother and 40-year-old who died yesterday. In addition to this, the […]
Sep 12, 2023
HPAI Influenza Devastating Birds, Marine Mammals in Peru–Study Identifies Concerning Viral Mutations
Press Herald NIAID-funded researchers working in Peru have signaled concern about the deaths of birds and marine mammals from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has been spreading globally. Historically, South America’s coastal ecosystems and poultry industry have been spared from HPAI outbreaks. “These viruses are rapidly accruing mutations, including mutations of concern, that warrant further […]
Sep 12, 2023
Why Florida is seeing the highest proportion of counties with ‘moderate’ COVID hospitalization rates
CBS News As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise across the country, Florida is seeing higher admissions levels than other states. As of Monday, 43 of Florida’s 67 counties reported moderate levels of weekly new hospital admissions for COVID-19 — a higher proportion than any other state in the U.S., data from the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Sep 12, 2023
Virginia Department of Health announces statewide outbreak of meningococcal disease
NBC News The Virginia Department of Health announced Wednesday, August 30, a statewide outbreak of meningococcal disease. On average, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were only eight or nine cases in Virginia. The current outbreak now involves 27 confirmed cases, including five deaths in the past year. “Is certainly above what we would expect to […]
Sep 5, 2023
CDC alerts doctors to an increase in RSV cases among young children and babies
NBC News Cases of the respiratory illness are ticking up in Florida and Georgia, the CDC said Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted doctors Tuesday about a rise in severe cases of RSV among young children in Florida and Georgia. Regional increases have usually predicted the beginning of RSV season nationally, the CDC wrote in its […]
Sep 5, 2023
Long COVID symptoms can improve, but their resolution is slow and imperfect
The Conversation Around 5–10% of people who get infected with SARS-CoV-2 will experience symptoms that persist way beyond the initial acute period, a clinical syndrome we are learning more about, known widely as long COVID. Shortness of breath, brain fog, lethargy and tiredness, loss of smell or taste are common features of long COVID, as is the development […]
Sep 5, 2023
More COVID-19 studies suggest BA.2.86 may be less immune-evasive than feared
CIDRAP Two more lab groups—one from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the other from Harvard University—have reported results of antibody neutralization lab experiments, which suggest vaccination or previous infection offer some protection against the highly mutated BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 variant. In other developments, countries uploaded more BA.2.86 samples to genetic sequencing databases, and the United Kingdom updated […]
Sep 5, 2023
What to know about COVID, the flu and RSV this fall
Axios What’s happening: A potent flu virus, resurgent COVID-19 and rebounding RSV are combining to prompt new warnings in Colorado about the coming seasons when all three will be circulating. What they’re saying: “This is why we’re encouraging everyone, and especially kids, parents and grandparents, to get their vaccinations early,” Michelle Barron, the senior medical director of infection prevention […]
Sep 5, 2023