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By Category: Public Health

Ebola Strikes 30 in Northeastern Congo, Kills 14, WHO Reports

(BloombergBusiness) An outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever killed 14 people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo by Sept. 1, the World Health Organization said. Thirty cases of the virus have been reported around the town of Isiro in Congo’s Orientale province since last month, the Geneva-based organization said in a Sept. 2 report, while 169 Read More »

September 5, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, International, and Public Health
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TB outbreaks could be ‘solved’ by DNA tracking

(EurekAlert) Reconstructing the spread of killer diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) from person to person using DNA sequencing quickly identifies the origin and movement of pathogens. This approach is directly informing public health strategies to control infectious disease outbreaks, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn Conference at the University of Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under North America, Public Health, and Research
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Ebola in Uganda – update

(World Health Organization) There have been no new confirmed cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever reported in Kibaale district, Uganda, since 3 August 2012, indicating that the outbreak is coming to an end. A total of 24 probable and confirmed cases including 17 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the outbreak. Of these, 11 Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Any Foodborne Transmission Among Hantavirus, Swine Flu or WNV?

Not a lot, but some Mangoes are likely responsible for the ongoing Salmonella Braenderup outbreak and Cantaloupes are almost certainly the source of the recent Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak, but what roles do food and water play in spreading Hantavirus, swine flu and West Nile Virus?None of the three are typically thought of as foodborne diseases, Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under Public Health
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Anti-HIV drug simulation offers ‘realistic’ tool to predict drug resistance and viral mutation

(EurekAlert) Pooling data from thousands of tests of the antiviral activity of more than 20 commonly used anti-HIV drugs, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities have developed what they say is the first accurate computer simulation to explain drug effects. Already, the model clarifies how and why some treatment regimens fail in some Read More »