Coronavirus Scan for Oct 07, 2015

News brief

Jordan MERS cases rise to 16; no new Saudi cases

Jordan's health ministry today reported another MERS-CoV case, involving a 53-year-old man who had contact with an earlier case, according to a report from Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). The story's Amman dateline and the man's status as a contact suggest that his infection is likely related to a hospital outbreak in the Jordanian capital.

The latest MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) illness reflects the 16th recent case in Jordan, 6 of which were fatal. A hospital outbreak has been under way in Amman since the end of August.
Oct 7 KUNA story

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has now gone 6 days without a MERS case, according to an update today from the country's Ministry of Health (MOH). It reported one more recovery from the disease and noted that 16 people are still being treated for their infections. Since the virus was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012, a total of 1,251 illnesses have been reported, 536 of them fatal.

In a related development, representatives from Saudi Arabia's agriculture and health ministries will hold a meeting with camel owners later this month to discuss ways to protect people and animals from MERS-CoV, Arab News reported today. Camels are thought to be the main source of the virus, but it's still unclear what other animals might play a role.

The government recently barred the practice of camel sacrifice during the Hajj pilgrimage as a step to reduce the threat. Health officials have had a tough time getting camel owners on board with some of the measures, and some owners have threatened legal action against government agencies that say camels are the main source of MERS-CoV.
Oct 7 Saudi MOH statement
Oct 7 Arab News story

Chinese scientists find SARS-like virus in horseshoe bats

Chinese researchers have identified SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs) in horseshoe bats in that country, highlighting a potential reservoir of human SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), according to a new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

The researchers conducted genetic analyses on bat samples from across the country, as well as samples from wild and domestic civets in three provinces. They found 15 SL-CoVs from nine bat species in 11 provinces but no such viruses in the civets.

They noted that the SL-CoVs are characterized by a set of unique accessory open reading frames (ORFs) located between the M and N genes of the virus. Among the unique accessory ORFs, ORF8 was noted as highly variable, and the investigators noted that one of its three types—type 1—had not before been identified in bat populations. Further, they noted that the two ORF8 type 1 viruses that were identified only in Rhinolophus sinicus, or Chinese horseshoe bats, were closely related to human SARS viruses.

The authors conclude, "This finding provides new genetic evidence for Chinese horseshoe bats as the source of human SARS-CoV."
Oct 3 J Infect Dis abstract

News Scan for Oct 07, 2015

News brief

Salmonella cases linked to cucumbers top 700

The multistate outbreak of salmonellosis linked to imported cucumbers has grown by 61 cases, to 732, and an additional death has been reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in an update.

One more state is affected, bringing that total to 35, the CDC said. The outbreak has now caused four deaths.

Among 536 people with available data, 150 (28%) have required hospitalization. Most patients are young, and half are children. Though ages of patients range from less than 1 to 99 years, the median age is 17. Illness-onset dates vary from Jul 3 to Sep 25.

Maryland reported its first case since the CDC's previous update, on Sep 29. Hardest-hit states are California (192 cases), Arizona (114), Utah (53), Wisconsin (40), and Minnesota (37). (See CDC map.)

The outbreak, caused by Salmonella Poona strains, has been linked to cucumbers imported from Mexico by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego. The company announced a voluntary recall of its cucumbers on Sep 4.
Oct 6 CDC update

Conference data show low H3N2 vaccine effectiveness

The H3N2 component of influenza vaccines has been only 38% effective on average in the past decade, substantially below the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the other components, according to research presented this week at IDWeek in San Diego.

Edward Belongia, MD, director of the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Marshfield, Wis., said that VE for the H1N1 and influenza B components of the vaccine since 2005 have been 60% and 75%, respectively, the Boston Globe reported today.

The new data come after a season of low overall VE, of 19%, and low H3N2 VE, of 18%, in a year when the vaccine strain did not match well with H3N2 viruses circulating in the community. VE against "B" viruses last season was 45%; there were not enough H1N1 cases to get good VE data on that strain. Overall VE since 2004-05 against all strains has ranged from 10% that year to 60% in 2010-11, according to CDC data.

"Nobody responds all that well to H3N2 vaccine. The vaccine has some effectiveness and 30% to 40% effective is better than nothing, but it's certainly not as good as we would like to see," Belongia said.
Oct 7 Boston Globe story
CDC data on flu VE since 2004-05 (note that the 23% figure for 2014-15 reflects midseason data)

Meta-analysis finds low levels of group B meningococcal disease

Serogroup B meningococcal disease is widespread globally but at low levels, with higher incidence in some regions, according to a systematic review yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

An international team reviewed 37 articles and data on 12 Web sites to determine a yearly incidence of fewer than 2 cases of group B meningococcal disease per 100,000 people in most countries. They noted, however, that New Zealand, Australia, and some European countries had notably higher levels.

New Zealand had a rate per 100,000 of 4.26, followed by Ireland at 2.08, the United Kingdom at 1.44, the Netherlands at 1.40, Malta at 1.33, Iceland at 1.22, and Belgium at 1.2. All other countries had levels below 1 case per 100,000, including Australia and Denmark at 0.99. By comparison, Canada had 0.3 cases per 100,000 people, and the United States had 0.16.

The authors noted that, with few exceptions, case-fatality rates for the disease ranged from 3% to 10%. High-income countries generally had lower rates of the disease. The investigators also noted that incidence rates seem to be declining.
Oct 6 Lancet Infect Dis study