Recent News

By Region: North America

Possible Pandemic: Is MERS the New SARS?

(NationalGeographic) A 65-year-old man infected with a new SARS-like virus died of multiple organ failure on Monday in France. He was the first French patient to die from the condition, which is known as Middle East Respiratory Symptom Coronavirus, or MERS-CoV. As of Wednesday, 49 people have been infected with the virus since September; of Read More »

May 31, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Middle East, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Experts Call For Increased Monitoring Of Drug Resistant Bird Flu

(MedicalNewsToday) Drug resistance was detected in more than half of human H5N1 viruses in a new study published in the journal Antiviral Research, causing experts to call for increased monitoring of the bird flu. Highly pathogenic influenza viruses (H5N1) mostly impact birds but can sometimes cross the species barrier and infect people. H5N1 flu outbreaks Read More »

May 30, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Ebola’s secret weapon revealed

(VirtualMedicalCentre) Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus’ most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that Ebola short-circuits the immune system using proteins that work together to shut down cellular signaling related to interferon. Disruption of this activity, Read More »

May 30, 2013
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
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6 suspected cases of Ebola fever reported in DR Congo

(GlobalTimes) Six suspected cases of Ebola fever were reported between May 1 and 12 in the Mongo health zone in Orientale province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The revelations were made on Wednesday in a statement released in Kinshasa by the United Nations Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “Through Read More »

May 30, 2013
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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MRSA study slashes deadly infections in sickest hospital patients

(CDC) Using germ-killing soap and ointment on all intensive-care unit (ICU) patients can reduce bloodstream infections by up to 44 percent and significantly reduce the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in ICUs. A new Department of Health and Human Services-funded study released today tested three MRSA prevention strategies and found that using germ-killing soap Read More »