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Quick takes: Measles reappears in Connecticut, more infant botulism, avian flu in Florida birds
News brief
22 minutes ago.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Measles
Botulism
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
News brief
Today at 12:48 p.m.
Laine Bergeson
Topics
Mpox
Health officials in Spain have documented what appears to be the first case of human-to-human transmission of mpox clade 1b outside of endemic regions in Africa without any known travel link.
The report, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, describes a 49-year-old man who presented to a Madrid clinic in October 10, 2025, with a single genital ulcer and swollen, painful lymph nodes in his groin area.
The patient, who had previously received two doses of the Imvanex smallpox/mpox vaccine (known as Jynneos in the United States), had not traveled abroad. He reported sexual contact with two local partners, neither of whom had traveled to endemic regions.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the lesion confirmed an infection with mpox clade 1b, a highly transmissible strain that emerged during an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023. In August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) because of the risk of international spread.
Previous cases in Europe tied to endemic regions
After Spanish authorities reported the case, investigations in Europe and the United States identified additional cases not associated with travel to endemic regions. The WHO lifted the PHEIC designation in September 2025 after cases declined in affected countries, but the newly identified infection highlights the need to be alert to possible human-to-human transmission in non-endemic regions.
Several countries in Africa have sustained human-to-human transmission of mpox clade 1b. The first case reported outside of Africa was in a Swedish national who traveled to an endemic African region. Cases have been detected in countries outside of Africa since then, though almost all have been in people who recently traveled to endemic African countries or who had contact with others who had traveled to those regions.
To help prevent mpox spread and ensure an effective publish health response, the authors recommend control measures when a case is detected, clade-specific testing in all confirmed cases, vaccination of individuals at higher risk of exposure (particularly men who have sex with men), and coordination with scientific societies and community organizations.
ALL BRIEFS
Quick takes: Measles reappears in Connecticut, more infant botulism, avian flu in Florida birds
News brief
22 minutes ago.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Measles
Botulism
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
- Connecticut has reported its first measles case since 2021. Media reports say the case is in an unvaccinated child from Fairfield County who had symptoms after traveling internationally.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there are now 51 cases of infant botulism tied to ByHeart powder formula in 19 states—12 new cases, but 10 of those are backdated after California officials discovered 10 cases in sick infants from December 2023 to July 2025. All infants have required hospitalization, but no deaths have been reported. In a press release yesterday, the CDC said this is the first ever outbreak of infant botulism in the United States. “While we typically expect to see 150-180 individual cases of infant botulism annually, an outbreak of infant botulism is unprecedented,” says Jennifer Cope, MD, MPH, chief of the CDC’s enteric diseases epidemiology branch.
- Dozens of new detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in Florida, mostly in hunter-harvested green-winged teal, according to the latest update from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). St Johns County, Florida, has 46 detections in wild birds. Other hot spots include Lake County, Florida, and McIntosh County, Georgia, which each have dozens of detections in waterfowl. APHIS also noted two new positive avian flu tests in bobcats, one in Alpena County, Michigan, and the second in Marion County, Oregon.
News brief
Today at 12:48 p.m.
Laine Bergeson
Topics
Mpox
Health officials in Spain have documented what appears to be the first case of human-to-human transmission of mpox clade 1b outside of endemic regions in Africa without any known travel link.
The report, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, describes a 49-year-old man who presented to a Madrid clinic in October 10, 2025, with a single genital ulcer and swollen, painful lymph nodes in his groin area.
The patient, who had previously received two doses of the Imvanex smallpox/mpox vaccine (known as Jynneos in the United States), had not traveled abroad. He reported sexual contact with two local partners, neither of whom had traveled to endemic regions.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the lesion confirmed an infection with mpox clade 1b, a highly transmissible strain that emerged during an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023. In August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) because of the risk of international spread.
Previous cases in Europe tied to endemic regions
After Spanish authorities reported the case, investigations in Europe and the United States identified additional cases not associated with travel to endemic regions. The WHO lifted the PHEIC designation in September 2025 after cases declined in affected countries, but the newly identified infection highlights the need to be alert to possible human-to-human transmission in non-endemic regions.
Several countries in Africa have sustained human-to-human transmission of mpox clade 1b. The first case reported outside of Africa was in a Swedish national who traveled to an endemic African region. Cases have been detected in countries outside of Africa since then, though almost all have been in people who recently traveled to endemic African countries or who had contact with others who had traveled to those regions.
To help prevent mpox spread and ensure an effective publish health response, the authors recommend control measures when a case is detected, clade-specific testing in all confirmed cases, vaccination of individuals at higher risk of exposure (particularly men who have sex with men), and coordination with scientific societies and community organizations.
ALL BRIEFS