Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
North Korea’s Pandemic ‘Miracle’ Was a Deadly Lie, Report Says
NYT Officials drastically understated outbreaks and deaths, depriving citizens of help, two U.S. research groups report, citing interviews with people inside North Korea. North Korea has long claimed that it defeated the Covid-19 pandemic without vaccines, losing only 74 lives in what it called “a miracle unprecedented in the world’s public health history.” But a report released […]
Jun 17, 2025
Climate change leads to spread of infection-causing fungi, scientists say
ABC News Climate change may be putting millions more people at risk from an infection-causing fungi, which is likely spreading due to warming global temperatures, scientists say. There will likely be an increased risk of infection due to harmful fungi in the coming years due to climate change, according to researchers from the University of Manchester. The […]
Jun 17, 2025
A cattle disease and the tick carrying it are confirmed in Iowa for the first time
OPR The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said the state’s first case of Theileria orientalis Ikeda was confirmed in a cattle herd in Van Buren County in the southeast corner of the state. The protozoan parasite infects the red and white blood cells of cattle, causing anemia and sometimes death. It’s carried by the Asian longhorned tick, […]
Jun 17, 2025
DC-area pediatrician on CDC urging summer camp operators to screen for measles immunity
WTOP As measles cases near record levels in isolated areas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging summer camps to check for documentation of immunity through vaccination or prior infection for all children. “I think there has been increased concerns about potential for additional outbreaks and spread, especially in the setting of waning or lowering […]
Jun 17, 2025
New ‘razor blade throat’ COVID subvariant quickly gains ground in California
SF Gate A new COVID-19 variant, nicknamed Nimbus, is rising around the world — including in California — and known for giving “razor blade throat” symptoms. Officially called NB.1.8.1, the variant was labeled a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization on May 23, according to a recent report. That means it’s not currently a major threat; […]
Jun 17, 2025
Cambodian human avian flu infection linked to poultry outbreak
WATT Poultry In the Asia-Pacific region, recent outbreaks of HPAI in poultry are reported in Cambodia, the Philippines and South Korea. During the latter half of May, two highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks affecting village poultry were confirmed by the animal health authority in Cambodia. Presence of the H5N1 virus serotype was confirmed in a […]
Jun 11, 2025
Clothing—not agriculture—helped spread a tick disease 5000 years ago
Science New study of a pathogen’s Bronze Age spread challenges longstanding links between disease and early agriculture. A now-obscure cousin of Lyme disease called recurring fever was a scourge of early civilization. Caused by the bacterium Borrelia recurrentis, it results in crippling headaches and repeated bouts of high fever; if left untreated, it damages organs and […]
Jun 11, 2025
A rare tick-borne disease has started spreading into Virginia
WHRO The illness is caused by a parasite, which makes it different from many well-known tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme. A rare disease spread by ticks has slowly established a foothold in Virginia. Babesiosis, a parasitic infection similar to malaria, was traditionally limited to the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. But over the past decade, officials […]
Jun 11, 2025
Bird flu detected at 4th commercial farm in Maricopa County
AZ Central Chickens at a fourth commercial farm in Maricopa County tested positive for bird flu, the Arizona Department of Agriculture said. The virus was detected through “routine surveillance sampling” on June 4 at a facility named “Maricopa 05” before any birds had exhibited obvious symptoms. Samples were sent to the Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Lab […]
Jun 11, 2025
A huge outbreak has made Ontario the measles centre of the western hemisphere
Guardian Outside the emergency room of the St Thomas Elgin general hospital, about 200km (125 miles) south-west of Toronto, a large sign with bright yellow block letters issues an urgent warning: “NO MEASLES VAX & FEVER COUGH RASH – STOP – DO NOT ENTER!” To see such an imperative in the 21st century might have […]
Jun 11, 2025