Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Measles outbreak grows in South Carolina, mobile vaccine unit deployed
WYFF News The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is adding eight new confirmed cases of measles in Spartanburg County since Friday, bringing the total number of cases in South Carolina this year to 33 and the total number of cases in the current Upstate outbreak to 30. All eight new cases were linked to close […]
Oct 29, 2025
New Paper-Based COVID-19 Test Uses Aptamer ‘Cocktails’ for Faster, More Accurate Detection
Doc Wire News Researchers in Turkey have developed a new kind of paper-based test for COVID-19 that uses aptamer “cocktails,” special short strands of DNA or RNA that can bind tightly and specifically to parts of the virus. This test is designed to detect two key proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus: the spike (S) protein […]
Oct 29, 2025
Long COVID associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among children and adolescents in the omicron era (RECOVER-EHR): a retrospective cohort study
The Lancet Background Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) remain a major public health challenge. Although previous studies have focused on characterising PASC in children and adolescents after an initial infection, the risks of PASC after reinfection with the omicron variant remain unclear. We aimed to assess the risk of PASC diagnosis (U09.9) and symptoms […]
Oct 29, 2025
Secondary Infections and Long COVID in Kids: What Pediatricians Need to Know
Medscape When Lucas Denault was first infected with COVID in January 2021 at the age of 15, his symptoms were relatively mild. A high school athlete at the time, the Pennsylvania resident experienced a brief bout of cold-like symptoms, recovered, and resumed his life. But 3 months later, he was infected a second time, and […]
Oct 29, 2025
Long-term cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 survivors according to disease severity
Nature Post-sepsis syndrome is a major concern affecting sepsis survivors. COVID-19 increases the risk of long-term complications, but existing data lack detail on patient-specific factors and long-term cardiovascular complications, namely major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Our objective was to analyze and compare the MACE occurrence, among COVID-19 survivors, according to the severity of infection. Adults […]
Oct 29, 2025
Covid and Flu Can Triple Your Risk of Heart Attack
NYT A new analysis adds to the research about the link between viral infections and heart disease. A number of viral infections, including flu, Covid-19 and shingles, are linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study affirmed. The risk of a heart attack triples within the first few weeks after […]
Oct 29, 2025
Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent
NYT A Somali hospital ward packed with gasping children shows how war, climate and mistrust of vaccines is fueling the disease’s return. Qurraisha Mukhtar’s two youngest children fell sick in early September, with a fever, cough and short gasping breaths. Their throats turned white, their necks swelled. She asked a healer in the neighborhood for […]
Oct 29, 2025
What to know about the ‘Frankenstein’ variant of COVID-19
Euronews The currently dominant COVID-19 variant in Germany has been referred to as the ‘Frankenstein’ variant. Here’s why. As is the case every year, new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating in Europe. In Germany, the variant XFG is now dominant. It is often referred to in the media as the “Frankenstein […]
Oct 29, 2025
Canada is likely to lose its measles elimination status. The U.S. could be next.
NBC News Neither country has been able to stop continuous spread of the highly contagious virus within the past year. Canada is on track to lose its measles elimination status as an outbreak that began a year ago continues to spread. The United States could follow in the coming months. The Canadian outbreak began in […]
Oct 29, 2025
Louisiana officials waited months to warn public of whooping cough outbreak
NPR When there’s an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, state health officials typically take certain steps to alert residents and issue public updates about the growing threat. That’s standard practice, public health and infectious disease experts told NPR and KFF Health News. The goal is to keep as many other vulnerable people as possible from […]
Oct 29, 2025