Recent News

By Region: North America

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

(WorldHealthOrganization) WHO has been informed of two laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in Saudi Arabia on 18 and 19 October 2013, and three laboratory-confirmed cases in 18 September 2013. Of the five laboratory-confirmed cases, two died. The ages of the five patients range from 35 to 83 years old; four Read More »

October 24, 2013
| Filed under Middle East, North America, International, and Public Health
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Polio Vaccination Campaign Launched in Eastern Equatoria

(VoiceofAmerica) Health officials in South Sudan have launched an emergency campaign to vaccinate 700,000 children under the age of 15 in Equatoria state against polio by the end of the week after a child in the state was diagnosed with the crippling and potentially deadly disease last month. The national Ministry of Health has also Read More »

October 24, 2013
| Filed under Africa, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Dengue Fever Has Been in Houston For Years — You May Commence Panicking

(HoustonPress) Just in case you needed a new reason to fear for your life, a Baylor College of Medicine scientist has co-authored a new study showing that a fatal strain of mosquito-carryin’ dengue fever has been in Houston for years. High-five! “There was dengue circulating, and we had no idea that it was here because Read More »

October 23, 2013
| Filed under North America and Public Health
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New China H7N9 strain gives kick to mutant bird flu research

(Reuters) Dutch scientists hidden away in a top-security laboratory are seeking to create mutant flu viruses, dangerous work designed to prepare the world for a lethal pandemic by beating nature to it. The idea of engineering viral pathogens to be more deadly than they are already has generated huge controversy, amid fears that such viruses Read More »

October 23, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, and Research
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Researchers Keep Mum on Botulism Discovery

(ScientificAmerican) Scientists have discovered a new strain—the first in 40 years—of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that is ultimately responsible for causing botulism. And although they have reported their findings in a scientific journal, the investigators have taken the extraordinary step of withholding key details of the discovery. That’s because the toxins made by C. botulinum Read More »