Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Typhoid Is Rapidly Becoming Resistant to Antibiotics
Science Alert Typhoid fever might be rare in developed countries, but this ancient threat, thought to have been around for millennia, is still very much a danger in our modern world. According to research published in 2022, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and it’s rapidly replacing strains that aren’t resistant. Currently, antibiotics […]
Apr 23, 2025
Whooping cough cases surge as vaccine rates fall
Washington Post Whooping cough cases are soaring in the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the Trump administration’s cuts to federal health agencies and funding destabilize programs that monitor disease and promote vaccination. The U.S. has tallied 8,077 cases of whooping cough in 2025, compared with […]
Apr 23, 2025
Measles Surge in Southwest Is Now the Largest Single Outbreak Since 2000
NYT Growing case numbers suggest that the national total will surpass that seen during the last large outbreak in 2019. The spread of measles in the Southwest now constitutes the largest single outbreak since the United States declared the disease eliminated in 2000, federal scientists told state officials in a meeting on Monday. The New […]
Apr 23, 2025
Oregon health officials investigate rare brain disease blamed for two deaths
Los Angeles Times Health officials in Hood River County, Ore., are investigating three cases of a rare and fatal brain disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Two people have died and a third person is showing symptoms consistent with the disease. The disease has been confirmed in one of the deceased through an autopsy; the other […]
Apr 16, 2025
Ex-Foreign Minister Publishes Liberia’s First Insider Ebola Account
MSN In a powerful moment of national remembrance and literary pride, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf joined government officials, survivors, and dignitaries at the National Museum to launch “Stepping Up to the Plate: Liberia’s Untold Ebola Story,” a gripping new book by former Foreign Minister Olubanke King Akerele. The book chronicles the human spirit and […]
Apr 16, 2025
Could polio be poised for a comeback?
NPR The world is so close to wiping out polio. But in 2025, there are signs that the virus is not quite ready to go the way of smallpox — the only disease eradicated by humans. Two countries are seeing an increase in cases caused by the wild polio virus, which can cause paralysis and […]
Apr 16, 2025
CDC says measles cases are most likely underreported as outbreak swells in Texas
NBC News The leader of the CDC’s measles team said the agency was “scraping” to find resources to address an outbreak in the Southwest. Measles cases are most likely being underreported in the United States as public health officials scramble to find resources to address a ballooning outbreak in the Southwest, according to a senior […]
Apr 16, 2025
WHO member states agree to landmark accord on future pandemic responses
France 24 Countries united under the World Health Organization on Wednesday agreed to a milestone accord on how to respond to future pandemics and avoid repeating the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis. The agreement comes despite US foreign aid cuts and possible tariffs on pharmaceuticals casting uncertainty over the talks. Years of negotiations culminated early […]
Apr 16, 2025
Mpox testing gaps raise risk of cross-border spread
The Independent Foreign aid cuts could result in a major outbreak of mpox across the African continent and beyond, with virus control measures already disrupted, public health experts warn. Mpox testing and monitoring efforts in hotspot areas like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were heavily reliant on foreign assistance, which has been slashed under […]
Apr 16, 2025
How bird flu differs from seasonal flu − an infectious disease researcher explains
The Conversation The flu sickens millions of people in the U.S. every year, and the past year has been particularly tough. Although infections are trending downward, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the winter of 2024-2025 a “high severity” season with the highest hospitalization rate in 15 years. Since early 2024, a different kind of […]
Apr 16, 2025