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University of Nebraska Medical Center

Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases

Promising Mpox Drug Fails in Trials as Virus Spreads

Wired AS MPOX CONTINUES to spread in Central Africa, a promising antiviral drug to treat the infection has failed to improve patients’ symptoms in a trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak. In the trial, the drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, did not alleviate the characteristic blisterlike rash seen in […]

Aug 28, 2024

Extreme heat and rain are fueling rising cases of mosquito-borne diseases

Science News When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, mosquitoes pop up. A series of storms slammed the northeastern United States on August 18, unleashing torrents of rain and causing flash floods across parts of New York and Connecticut. In Oxford, Conn., a potentially record-breaking rainfall of roughly 38 centimeters (15 inches) fell in […]

Aug 28, 2024

What to Know About the Rare Mosquito-Borne Illness Eastern Equine Encephalitis

NYT The disease has caused one death in New Hampshire and the virus has also been identified in humans in neighboring states, health officials said. One person has died in New Hampshire after contracting the mosquito-borne virus Eastern equine encephalitis, and two others in the Northeast have been infected this summer with the rare disease. […]

Aug 28, 2024

Back to school, COVID edition

The Hill Health experts are urging families and schools administers to take active steps in preventing the spread of COVID-19 amid potential fall and winter spikes in cases.  Weekly COVID-19 deaths have been on the rise since June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID Data Tracker.   Rising COVID-19 cases seem to be […]

Aug 27, 2024

Valley Fever in California: Symptoms, Protecting Yourself and Why Cases Are Way Up

KQED Cases of valley fever — a lung infection that can cause severe sickness in some people — are rising across California. And state health officials said they’re seeing an increasing number of cases of the disease reported outside the Central Valley and Central Coast areas where valley fever is traditionally most common — including cases in Bay Area […]

Aug 27, 2024

Fauci contracted West Nile. How risky are mosquitoes in the D.C. region?

Washington Post Anthony S. Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious-disease expert, was hospitalized last month with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. On Monday, Maryland announced its first confirmed case of the diseasethis year. And the biting insects seem to be everywhere in the Washington region. Attention on West Nile, the most common disease spread by mosquitoes, is […]

Aug 27, 2024

What is Oropouche virus? The emerging threat is raising concern among health officials

CNN A little-known disease spread by insect bites has turned deadly, and health officials are sounding the alarm. More than 8,000 cases of Oropouche virus have been reported this year as of August 1. Most have been in South America, but infections are also spreading in countries where it hasn’t been seen before, and dozens […]

Aug 27, 2024

India reports largest Chandipura virus outbreak in 2 decades

CIDRAP India has reported a surge in Chandipura virus infections this summer, with 245 acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) cases reported since July, with 82 of them fatal. So far, polymerase chain reaction testing has confirmed the virus in 64 cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an August 23 outbreak announcement. Chandipura virus is endemic […]

Aug 27, 2024

A ‘Critical Pathogen’: The Rise of Drug-Resistant Fungal Diseases

Johns Hopkins Until recently, most fungal infections did not pose a significant threat to human health. Our advanced immune system and hot body temperature created an inhospitable environment for fungi, which mostly infected hospitalized patients or those taking immunosuppressive medication.  But over the past 10 years, the fungus Candida auris has emerged independently on three continents, suggesting […]

Aug 27, 2024

Thousands of birds die of bird flu and botulism at wildlife refuges in southern Oregon

Oregon Live At least 5,000 birds have died so far this summer at a network of wildlife refuges on the Oregon-California border, sparking fears of another large outbreak of disease and calls for more water releases in a region roiled by drought and water uncertainty made worse by climate change. The deaths are likely caused […]

Aug 27, 2024

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