Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
New viruses identified in bats in China
Live Science Bats found near orchards harbor pathogens that could be passed to livestock or humans. Scientists in China have discovered a host of never-before-seen viruses in bats that live near humans. These viruses include two that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses, which can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in […]
Jul 2, 2025
Meet the Oropouche virus. It may be visiting your city soon.
Vox Oropouche virus disease was a relatively rare illness for decades, lurking on the margins of tropical rainforests in the Caribbean and South America. Sporadic reports of an infection causing fevers, coughs, chills, and body aches emerged among people living near or moving into the jungle. A tiny insect called a midge spreads the disease, […]
Jul 2, 2025
As Mosquito Season Peaks, Officials Brace for New Normal of Dengue Cases
KFF Dengue Case Rates Rise in California, Florida, and Texas The number of dengue cases per million residents nearly doubled in the contiguous United States from 2023 to 2024 — and almost tripled in California. Florida’s big jump came earlier. Most cases were contracted abroad. As summer ushers in peak mosquito season, health and vector control […]
Jul 2, 2025
What to Know About Measles When Traveling
NYT Summer travel raises fears that the highly infectious virus will spread. Here’s how to protect yourself and your family. Measles, most unfortunately, is back in the news and in the air. In the United States, more than a thousand cases have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2025, the […]
Jul 1, 2025
A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400.
KFF In the early days of the West Texas measles outbreak, Thang Nguyen eyed the rising number of cases and worried. His 4-year-old son was at risk because he had received only the first of the vaccine’s two doses. So, in mid-March, he took his family to a primary care clinic at the University of […]
Jul 1, 2025
A new COVID variant is spreading in the US: What are the symptoms?
USA Today A new COVID-19 variant that was unheard of just months ago is now projected to be the second-most common strain in the United States. Variant NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China in January but accounted for about 0% of cases in the United States until May. By early June, it was estimated to account for […]
Jun 25, 2025
‘I Feel Like I’ve Been Lied To’: When a Measles Outbreak Hits Home
NYT From a lone clinic in Texas to an entire school district in North Dakota, the virus is upending daily life and revealing a deeper crisis of belief. He was a chiropractor by training, but in a remote part of West Texas with limited medical care, Kiley Timmons had become a first stop for whatever […]
Jun 25, 2025
Illinois confirms first 2025 human case of West Nile virus
Chicago Sun Times The case this year is the earliest detection in nearly a decade. The virus carried by mosquitoes poses the greatest risk to people over 65 and the immunocompromised. A downstate resident has tested positive for West Nile virus, marking the first detection of the mosquito-transmitted disease in humans in Illinois this year […]
Jun 25, 2025
Veterinarian dies from tick-borne disease after treating infected cats in west Japan
Mainichi A veterinarian in Mie Prefecture who treated cats infected with an ixodid tick-borne disease has died from the same illness, the local veterinarians’ association told the Mainichi Shimbun on June 13. The veterinarian is believed to have contracted “severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS)” from one of the cats, prompting the Japan Veterinary Medical […]
Jun 18, 2025
Health officials warn of measles case from traveler at Dulles Airport
Washington Post Health officials in the D.C. region have issued warnings about a person infected with measles who landed at Dulles International Airport and traveled throughout the area during the past week. The D.C. health department listed in a statement posted to its website Saturday the various places the person visited. The international traveler landed at Dulles […]
Jun 18, 2025