US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, today weighed in on steps the FDA it taking to improve the effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines, which includes collaborating with partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to use a large database that includes information on flu vaccines given to 4 million people.
In a joint statement today the World Health Organization (WHO) and South Korean health officials issued public health recommendations for people attending the upcoming winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang.
A growing number of vaccine makers are expressing concerns about their ability to quickly develop new vaccine candidates against emerging disease threat, such as Zika and Ebola viruses, Stat reported today, based on interviews with pharmaceutical executives, government officials, and infectious disease experts.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a new case of MERS-CoV in Taif today.
A 45-year-old Saudi woman is in stable condition after presenting with symptoms of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection. Her source of infection is listed as "primary," meaning it's unlikely she contracted the virus from another person. She is not a healthcare worker.
SIGA Technologies of New York City announced yesterday that it has submitted its smallpox drug TPOXX (tecovirimat) for priority review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
An analysis of 40 human H7N9 avian flu clusters from five waves of disease activity in China found a stable pattern in number and size, suggesting that the human-to-human transmission risk hasn't changed since the virus emerged in 2013. A team from China and their collaborators at the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention reported its findings yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Tests on a traditional healer in Kenya who was a contact of one of the lab-confirmed Uganda Marburg patients has tested negative, and other high-risk contacts in Kenya have completed their 21-day monitoring periods, with no other illnesses detected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.
Strains in Africa are becoming more drug resistant.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a total of 1,309 suspected cases, including 93 deaths, in an update yesterday on the plague outbreak in Madagascar. The case-fatality rate for the outbreak is now 7%.
The numbers reflect an increase of 12 cases and 9 fewer deaths from the WHO's previous update on Oct 20.
The Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) today reported the state's first locally acquired Zika case of the year, putting the nation's total this year at three local cases.
In a statement, Florida Health said the locally transmitted case has been confirmed in Manatee County, which wasn't one of the areas to report cases last year.