Three more MERS hospital-cluster cases reported in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia today reported three more MERS-CoV illnesses linked to ongoing hospital-related outbreaks in Riyadh, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).
All three of the people contracted their MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infections while they were hospital patients. All are men, including two Saudis ages 29 and 79 and a 67-year-old expat. All have symptoms. Two are listed in critical condition, and the other is stable.
With the new cases reported today, 35 illnesses since Jun 1 have been linked to illness clusters in Riyadh involving three hospitals.
The cases lift Saudi Arabia's overall MERS-CoV total since the first human cases were detected in 2012 to 1,642, including 673 deaths. Twenty people are still being treated for their infections.
Jun 15 Saudi MOH statement
Jun 13 CIDRAP News story "WHO details Saudi MERS clusters as outbreak grows"
DRC reports new suspected case of Ebola
The World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office released a new situation report on the current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), noting one additional suspected case of the viral disease since the last report on Jun 9.
In the last week, DRC health officials have investigated 33 suspected cases, with only 1 being a possible infection.
The last confirmed case was isolated on May 17. To date, there have been 5 confirmed, 3 probable, and 1 suspected case. Ninety percent of simulated modeling predictions show no more cases in the next 30 days, the WHO said.
In addition, the overall national risk of Ebola has been downgraded from "high" to "moderate." All cases have been located in the Likati Health Zone, a remote part of northern DRC.
Jun 12 WHO update
Researchers confirm natural chikungunya infection in Brazilian mosquitoes
A research team based in Brazil has for the first time in the country identified natural chikungunya infection in a mosquito carrier to the virus.
They detailed their experience collecting and analyzing 248 mosquitoes in and around homes in Aracaju, Brazil, yesterday in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The city is the capital of Sergipe state in northeast Brazil, and its residents had reported being sick with symptoms similar to chikungunya or other related diseases.
Experts have said it's difficult to find positive mosquito samples, even in outbreak settings. Several months passed in Brazil's Zika outbreak before the virus was isolated in a mosquito sample.
In the new study, researchers collected the mosquitoes during the first week of February 2016. They captured four types of mosquitoes, and Culex quinquefasciatus were most common, making up 78.2% of the insects. Chikungunya virus was identified in one female Aedes aegypti mosquito, a type that made up 20.2% of the mosquitoes. No Zika or dengue viruses were found in any of the mosquitoes they examined.
Genetic analysis showed that the virus isolated from the mosquito belonged to ECSA, one of three chikungunya genotypes. Both ECSA and Asian genotypes have been reported in Brazilian patients.
Ae aegypti and Ae albopictus are found in all of Brazil's states, and lab studies have shown that they are possible chikungunya vectors. The researchers said their findings will help with the design of surveillance and vector-control programs.
Jun 14 PLoS Negl Trop Dis report
WHO launches new emergency preparedness and response portal
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the launch of an online video series designed to arm public health responders with the latest information on epidemics, pandemics, and health emergencies.
The OpenWHO platform has three main channels. One is "Outbreak," which features scientific information on high-threat diseases such as Ebola, yellow fever, and pandemic influenza. The others include "GetSocial!" with a focus on risk communication, community engagement, and social mobilization, and "Ready for Response," which includes courses on the WHO's emergency response framework, the incident management system, and predeployment training for those who may be sent for emergency response.
Other advantages of the system are that it can host an unlimited number of subscribers, beyond what the WHO's Web sites can offer. The platform is hosted by the Hasso Plattner Institute, an external service provider based in Germany. Also, the video, audio, and animation can be presented in multiple languages. All content is in English, with much of it available in French and Arabic.
In a note to journalists, the WHO said it can make the courses available in local languages and dialects, as it recently did for responders in the Democratic Republic of Congo when it translated the introductory Ebola course into Lingala, the local language used in the outbreak area.
The courses use a smaller bandwidth so that people from any country can use them, and courses are available for offline viewing through applications for Android and IOS devices.
OpenWHO portal
OpenWHO FAQ
Study finds 5% CRE rate in DC-area healthcare facilities
A study today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology found a 5.2% rate of the highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Washington, DC–area acute-care hospitals (ACHs) and long-term care facilities (LTCFs), establishing a baseline figure for the city.
This study included 16 facilities in the district: all 8 ACHs, 5 of 19 skilled nursing facilities, both of the city's long-term acute-care facilities, and the sole inpatient rehabilitation facility. Of 1,022 perianal swabs tested, 53 were positive for CRE, for an overall prevalence of 5.2%. The rate varied from 5.0% in ACHs to 7.0% in LTCFs. The inpatient rehab center had no CRE-positive patients.
The median prevalence rate by facility was 2.7%, with one center having a 29.4% rate. Male patients demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence (7.1%) compared with females (3.7%). Patients aged 20 to 39 years had the highest prevalence of any age-group, at 8.0%.
Of the positive samples, 18 (34.0%) were genetically similarity to at least 1 other sample, possible evidence of CRE spread within and between facilities.
"CRE is a significant clinical and public health concern, with a potential for widespread and rapid transmission within and between facilities," said lead author Roberta DeBiasi, MD, MS, in a press release from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), publisher of the journal. "Our study demonstrates the strength of a collaborative approach within a city or region to determine the prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms in healthcare facilities."
Jun 15 Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol study
Jun 15 SHEA news release
UK Campylobacter rates decreasing in store-bought chicken
A survey published yesterday by the Food Standard Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom showed a 30% reduction of Campylobacter in poultry sold in retail grocers. Across the market, 6.5% of chickens tested positive for the bacteria; during the same time last year, that percentage was 9.3%.
The survey was based on samples from 1,051 whole fresh chickens tested from January through March of this year. This is the third year the survey was conducted, part of the FSA's effort to reduce bacterial foodborne illnesses.
According to the FSA, Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the United Kingdom. Major retailers, including Aldo and Lidl, had lower levels of the bacterium on their chicken than did independent butchers.
The pathogen reduction saved the country an estimated £13 million ($16.6 million US) in terms of fewer days off work and National Health Service costs.
Jun 14 FSA news release
Jun 14 FSA full report