Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Once-rare fungal diseases are killing millions in an unprepared world
Dallas Morning News An estimated 6.5 million people develop invasive fungal infections each year. When most people think of dangerous infections, they picture bacteria or viruses. But for infectious disease specialists like Peter Chin-Hong, one of the most insidious threats lurking in hospitals and clinics today is fungal. Chin-Hong’s case list is long: a healthy 29-year-old marathon […]
Apr 9, 2025
Avian flu in raw milk found to be broadly sensitive to heat
Cornell Chronicle In March 2024, when the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza were identified in dairy cows in Texas, Cornell researchers – led by Diego Diel, associate professor of virology in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) – immediately began assessing how long the virus survived in the raw milk of infected cows. At the same […]
Apr 9, 2025
USDA to lose bird flu response employees, source says
Reuters Several U.S. Department of Agriculture employees who worked on the agency’s bird flu response will leave at the end of April, straining the federal capacity to monitor the spread of the virus, according to a source familiar with the situation. The USDA on April 1 gave employees seven days to decide whether to take financial incentives […]
Apr 9, 2025
New ‘surprising’ case of mpox variant clade lb detected in England
Retuers Britain’s health security agency said on Monday another case of the mpox variant clade lb had been detected in England in a person who had no reported travel history or link with previously confirmed cases in the country. The case was diagnosed in March and all contacts have been followed up and no further […]
Apr 9, 2025
An animal source of mpox emerges — and it’s a squirrel
Nature Researchers solve the mystery of a disease outbreak through long-term surveillance of wildlife in Africa. One of the great mysteries of the monkeypox virus has been pinpointing its ‘reservoir’ hosts — the animals that carry and spread the virus without becoming sick from it. Now, an international team of scientists suggests that it has an answer: […]
Apr 9, 2025
Tuberculosis Is Back in the Spotlight. Does the U.S. Even Care?
MedPage Today This is a column about tuberculosis (TB), the world’s single, most deadly-yet-curable infection that killed one in seven Americansopens in a new tab or window as recently as the 1880s. That said, it was not until 8 decades later that patients who received long courses of treatment were reliably cured. And even though rich countries […]
Apr 9, 2025
H5N1 detections in US dairy cattle reach 1,000
CIDRAP The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today reported two more H5N1 avian flu detections in dairy herds, one in California and the other in Nevada, raising the nation’s total to 1,000 since March 2024. California has been the hardest-hit state, and though detections have dropped sharply, sporadic H5N1 […]
Apr 9, 2025
Dozens of free measles vaccine clinics close in Texas as federal funding is cut
NBC News Many clinics had been planned at schools in the Dallas area with low vaccination rates. Steep federal funding cuts have forced public health officials in one of Texas’ most populous counties — Dallas — to cancel dozens of vaccination clinics and lay off 21 workers on the front lines of combatting the state’s growing […]
Apr 9, 2025
Hawaii confirms travel-related measles case in child under 5
Hawaii Tribune The Hawaii Department of Health has confirmed its first measles case this year in an unvaccinated child on Oahu under the age of 5. Gov. Josh Green made the announcement during a press conference this morning, in which he urged everyone to get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella. The case was confirmed […]
Apr 9, 2025
What will it take to get measles under control?
NPR It’s been 25 years since measles was officially “eliminated” from the United States. That’s a technical term. In public health, it means measles has not had a steady twelve month spread. Right now there are measles cases in several states The biggest number of cases are in West Texas where two kids have died. […]
Apr 9, 2025