Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Why is it so hard to find the source of a legionnaires’ outbreak?
CBC From sampling to testing, the bacteria behind the illness presents many challenges. It took months of mapping cases, dozens of locations sampled and weeks of lab sequencing to determine the likely culprit behind a recent outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in London, Ont. — one that killed four people and infected about 100 others. It’s just the latest example […]
Sep 3, 2025
An ancient disease makes yet another comeback
NPR “Action is needed, not tomorrow, but really now,” said Yap Boum of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He’s talking about a disease that has been around for centuries — cholera — and is rearing its head again in Africa. Over the past three years, cases have more than doubled, with over […]
Sep 3, 2025
Lessons from HPAI in dairy cattle: Preparing for the next disease outbreak
Ohio Country Journal In 2017, as I was preparing for the board exam for the College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, I spent long days buried in textbooks and long evenings in small-group discussions about hypothetical disease outbreaks. These tabletop scenarios covered everything from foot-and-mouth disease to zoonotic threats, and one in particular still sticks with […]
Sep 3, 2025
Avian flu found in North Dakota, South Dakota turkeys
North Dakota Monitor Avian flu has hit turkey farms in North Dakota and South Dakota, the first cases in commercial flocks in the United States since early July. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Aug. 28 confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Faulk County in northeast […]
Sep 3, 2025
Colorado sees worst measles year in 3 decades after an additional 5 cases are confirmed in Mesa County
ABC News Denver Denver7 is continuing to inform the community about additional exposures in the Grand Junction area over the Labor Day weekend. Colorado is experiencing the worst measles year in three decades after five additional cases of the highly contagious virus were confirmed in Mesa County over the Labor Day weekend. The Colorado Department […]
Sep 3, 2025
The U.S. confirms its first human case of New World screwworm. What is it?
NPR The U.S. has confirmed its first human case of the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite whose northward creep from South America has put the country’s cattle industry on high alert in recent months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in coordination with the Maryland Department of Health, confirmed the case on Aug. 4 […]
Sep 3, 2025
Sorting Lyme disease fact from fiction
Stanford Report An infectious disease expert explains the tick-borne illness and why it’s so often misunderstood by patients and the practitioners advising them. A significant portion of Jake Scott’s practice involves helping patients who believe they have “chronic Lyme disease” understand what may actually be causing their symptoms. “My role combines patient care with education,” said […]
Sep 3, 2025
COVID cases, hospitalizations ticking up in the US but remain lower than last year
ABC News COVID-19 cases are ticking up in the U.S. as children head back to school and the country prepares to enter the colder weather months. For the week ending Aug. 9, the COVID hospitalization rate was 1.7 per 100,000, double the rate from two months ago, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control […]
Sep 3, 2025
Everything You Need to Know About Flu Shots This Fall
NYT It’s that time of year again. School is starting, the days are getting shorter and the familiar “flu shots available” signs are appearing outside pharmacies. Each year, the flu kills tens of thousands of people in the United States, on average, and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized. How can you protect yourself this season? Here’s what […]
Sep 3, 2025
A common nasal spray may block Covid infection, trial results indicate
NBC The over-the-counter antihistamine azelastine works against a range of respiratory infections, including the flu and RSV, according to German researchers. An over-the-counter nasal spray which has been used for years as a safe and effective treatment for seasonal allergies could potentially prevent Covid infections, according to clinical trial results released Tuesday. The antihistamine azelastine works […]
Sep 3, 2025