Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Will bird flu spark a human pandemic? Scientists say the risk is rising
Nature H5N1 is adapting to new mammalian hosts, raising the possibility of the virus spreading between humans. Ten months on from the shocking discovery that a virus usually carried by wild birds can readily infect cows, at least 68 people in North America have become ill from the pathogen and one person has died. Although many […]
Feb 4, 2025
Could the Bird Flu Become Airborne?
NYT Scientists were slow to recognize that Covid spreads through the air. Some are now trying to get ahead of the bird flu. In early February 2020, China locked down more than 50 million people, hoping to hinder the spread of a new coronavirus. No one knew at the time exactly how it was spreading, but Lidia […]
Feb 4, 2025
Uganda begins Ebola vaccine trial after new outbreak
BBC Uganda has launched a trial of a vaccine against the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus, following an outbreak in the country that has killed one person and infected two others. The first patient, a 32-year-old male nurse, died last week. On Monday, the initial participant in the trial, who is currently in isolation, […]
Feb 4, 2025
Nurse dies from Ebola in Uganda as country declares first virus outbreak since 2022, health ministry says
PBS A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, a health official said Thursday, in the first recorded fatality since the last outbreak ended in 2023. The 32-year-old male nurse was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters Thursday. […]
Feb 3, 2025
‘Quad-demic’ Hitting US With Flu, COVID-19, RSV, Norovirus Surging
Forbes This is not how you want to go viral. The U.S. is currently going through surges of not one, not two, not three, but four different viruses. That’s prompted folks to nickname the current situation a “quad-demic.” Here’s what you can do to protect yourself. What Is The ‘Quad-demic’? The Centers for Disease Control […]
Jan 29, 2025
Potential Ebola outbreak reported in DRC at a time of strained U.S.-WHO relations
STAT Tanzania is separately confronting an outbreak of Marburg fever. A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in a western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in what would be the second viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the region at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the World Health […]
Jan 29, 2025
Why scientists’ fears about bird flu are intensifying
NPR Bird flu or avian influenza is continuing to spread among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising fears that another pandemic is in our future. Last month, California declared a state of emergency due to rising cases in dairy cattle, and there have been over 65 human cases in the U.S. during […]
Jan 29, 2025
Ring vaccination effective in containing Ebola
Nature Success of targeted vaccination in curbing Ebola outbreaks in DRC, paving the way for future strategies against similar infectious diseases. A new study1 in the New England Journal of Medicine has highlighted the effectiveness of ring vaccination in containing Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ring vaccination is a public health strategy where […]
Jan 29, 2025
Rare bird flu strain found in California raises potential of wider spread
Washington Post First U.S. detection of virulent H5N9 strain, at a California duck farm, draws scrutiny as evidence of genetic reassortment that could trigger human outbreaks. A new strain of avian influenza has been identified for the first time in the United States, raising concerns that the virus is transforming in a way that could eventually cause […]
Jan 28, 2025
The Marburg virus outbreak is a critical moment for Rwanda’s one health policy
Nature The Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak in Rwanda underscores the serious threat posed by zoonotic diseases. These pathogens, which are transmitted between animals and humans through direct contact or environmental factors, result in an estimated 2.4 billion infections and 2.2 million deaths annually1. MVD, which originates from bats, can spread rapidly to humans, with […]
Jan 28, 2025