A retrospective cohort study of 1,687 COVID-19 patients at two New York City hospitals published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that 31% were obese, and obese patients were at higher risk of respiratory failure.
Officials reported five more illnesses and three more deaths in a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to figures reported today by the country's multisectoral Ebola response committee (CMRE).
The new developments raise the outbreak total to 17 cases, 14 of them confirmed and 3 listed as probable. The new deaths raise the fatality count to 11.
A study of new mothers in 16 US states and 1 city published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases found that, while over 90% of women pregnant during the 2016 Zika virus outbreak knew about the risks posed by infection, only half discussed it with their doctors.
A mosquito-borne virus, Zika can cause microcephaly (abnormally small head) and other defects in babies born to infected women.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its state partners today updated surveillance data on birth defects related to prenatal Zika virus infection and found that defects in 22 US jurisdictions reached a peak prevalence of 7.0 per 1,000 live births in February 2017.
In kids at low risk of neurodevelopmental problems, deficits emerged in the first year of life without a smaller head circumference.
One more Ebola case was reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) outbreak today, raising the overall total to 3,292 cases, which includes 118 listed as probable, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) online Ebola dashboard.
Outbreak responders are still investigating 527 suspected cases. Meanwhile, the number of deaths held steady at 2,192.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reported its first MERS-CoV case since 2018, and Saudi Arabia today reported two new illnesses, according to official reports.
In the UAE, the patient is a 44-year-old farmer who is not a citizen of the country but lives in the city of Al Ain in Abu Dhabi region, according to a statement today from the World Health Organization (WHO), which was notified by the UAE of the case on Oct 7.
Saudi Arabia reported a MERS-CoV infection in a child, which is relatively rare, according to an Oct 26 report from the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the launch of a new study to detect and better understand acute febrile illnesses (AFIs) in Belize, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
Today the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed one new case of Ebola in the ongoing outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, but the World Health Organization (WHO) spotlighted some troubling signs in its weeks update.