A Russian Influenza Epidemiology Report To Ponder

UPDATED:  See An Update On The Russian Influenza Epi Report# 10,936Every winter since the end of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic we've seen frequent, vague, often hyperbolic reports of H1N1 outbreaks around the world carrying an unusually high mortality, often suggesting that a `mutation' was responsible.In India and the Middle East, the (now) seasonal H1N1pdm virus is still regarded...

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CDC Adds Two Destinations To Zika Travel Advisory

Credit PAHO - Epi Week 3#10,935Twelve days ago the CDC issued a Level-II travel advisory for 14 countries and territories over the Zika Virus threat, asking pregnant women to considered postponing travel to regions that were affected. Seven days later they added 8 additional countries and/or territories.   Last night two more travel destinations were added to the list...

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NIH Director's Blog On Zika: An Emerging Health Threat

# 10,934The geographic range of two type of Aedes mosquitoes known to transmit the Zika virus includes much of the United States, and according to a blog post today by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, that conceivably puts as many as 200 million Americans at risk - at least during the summer months.  Another  22.7 million Americans live in parts of the country...

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WHO MERS Updates - Saudi Arabia & UAE

Credit WHO#10,934Normally when we get MERS updates from the WHO involving multiple cases it is a mixed bag; primary cases with no known exposure, primary cases with camel contact, and household or nosocomial infections from exposure to previously identified cases. Today, we've reports on 6 cases from two countries (4 from KSA & 2 from UAE), and five are listed as...

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#CascadiaEQ Tweetchat Today - Earthquake Preparedness

#10,933The graphic above says it all.  Today at 10am (PST)  1pm EST there will be a tweetchat on the Cascadia Earthquake threat, and how to prepare.  Use hashtag #CascadiaEQ to follow along and participate. Today is the 316th Anniversary of the Magnitude 9 mega thrust quake that struck the Pacific Northwest in 1700.   A quake that was only the latest...

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MMWR: Evaluation and Testing of Infants with Possible Congenital Zika Virus Infection

#10,932As the Zika virus continues to spread across the Americas it is inevitable that U.S. doctors will be called upon to evaluate and test pregnant women and infants for (congenital) Zika virus infection. While a conclusive link between maternal Zika virus infections and microcephaly has yet to be established, the CDC views the risks as too great to ignore and has already...

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WHO: Influenza at the Human-Animal Interface - January 2016

 A(H5N1) cases in humans by week of onset, 2004-2016#10,931Reports to the World Health Organization from China and Egypt on human avian flu cases are dramatically lower this winter over last, although it is not yet certain whether that has more to do with delays in reporting than with the actual level of activity. Despite almost daily headlines in Arabic papers announcing...

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