Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/06/news-scan-jun-20-2019
News Scan for Jun 20, 2019
Saudi MERS case; US flu season severity; Guillain-Barre in Peru
Filed Under:
Guillain-Barre Syndrome; MERS-CoV; Influenza, General
[h=3]MERS sickens 1 more in Saudi Arabia[/h] Health officials in Saudi Arabia today reported another MERS-CoV case, which involves a 70-year-old man from Medina who had recent contact with camels.
The country's Ministry of Health (MOH) classified the patient's illness as primary, meaning he likely didn't contract MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) from another patient. Contact with camels is a known risk factor for contracting the disease.
Saudi Arabia has now reported 152 cases for the year. The World Health Organization said in a recent update that it has received reports of 2,442 cases since the virus was first detected in humans in 2012, the vast majority of them from Saudi Arabia. At least 842 people have died from their infections.
Jun 20 Saudi MOH epidemiologic week 25 report
[h=3]CDC calls past flu season 'moderately severe,' with 2 waves[/h] In a wrap-up of the 2018-19 flu activity today, officials said the season was moderately severe, longer than usual, and marked by two similarly large waves, the first from 2009 H1N1 and the second from H3N2. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its snapshot of the season today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Very little activity was reported from influenza B, which made up only 4% of flu viruses that tested positive at public health labs, lower than previous seasons. Most 2009 H1N1 viruses were similar to the cell-cultured vaccine virus, but health officials saw considerable diversity in clade 6B.1A viruses, part of the reason vaccine advisors updated their recommended vaccine strain for the upcoming season. Labs noted antigenic drift in the H3N2 strain, with increased circulation of 3C.3a viruses, which prompted an update to that vaccine strain for the season ahead.
Hospitalization rates were lower for adults last season compared with the year before, but about the same for children. As of May 18 the CDC had received reports of 116 pediatric flu deaths, and of 104 of those with known histories, about half of the children had an underlying medical condition that put them at increased risk for flu complications.
The CDC said flu caused from 37.4 million to 42.9 million infections, 17.3 million to 20.1 million clinic visits, 531,000 to 647,000 hospitalizations, and 36,400 to 61,200 deaths.
Jun 21 MMWR report
[h=3]Peru notes Guillain-Barre spike in first half of 2019[/h] Peru has noted a more than doubling of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in 2019 compared with 2018, according to a risk assessment today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
As of Jun 13, Peru has reported 548 GBS cases since the beginning of the year. Among these cases, 391 (71%) were detected during epidemiologic weeks 23 and 24 (Jun 3 through 16). From January through June 2018, Peru recorded only 215 cases.
Because of the increase, the Peruvian Ministry of Health has declared a state of emergency in five regions: Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, and Piura. The cases are widespread, and the source of the infections is unknown at this time.
"Guillain-Barre is known to be triggered by bacterial infections, respiratory viruses, enteroviruses and arboviruses such as dengue and Zika," the ECDC said.
Jun 20 ECDC report
News Scan for Jun 20, 2019
Saudi MERS case; US flu season severity; Guillain-Barre in Peru
Filed Under:
Guillain-Barre Syndrome; MERS-CoV; Influenza, General
[h=3]MERS sickens 1 more in Saudi Arabia[/h] Health officials in Saudi Arabia today reported another MERS-CoV case, which involves a 70-year-old man from Medina who had recent contact with camels.
The country's Ministry of Health (MOH) classified the patient's illness as primary, meaning he likely didn't contract MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) from another patient. Contact with camels is a known risk factor for contracting the disease.
Saudi Arabia has now reported 152 cases for the year. The World Health Organization said in a recent update that it has received reports of 2,442 cases since the virus was first detected in humans in 2012, the vast majority of them from Saudi Arabia. At least 842 people have died from their infections.
Jun 20 Saudi MOH epidemiologic week 25 report
[h=3]CDC calls past flu season 'moderately severe,' with 2 waves[/h] In a wrap-up of the 2018-19 flu activity today, officials said the season was moderately severe, longer than usual, and marked by two similarly large waves, the first from 2009 H1N1 and the second from H3N2. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its snapshot of the season today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Very little activity was reported from influenza B, which made up only 4% of flu viruses that tested positive at public health labs, lower than previous seasons. Most 2009 H1N1 viruses were similar to the cell-cultured vaccine virus, but health officials saw considerable diversity in clade 6B.1A viruses, part of the reason vaccine advisors updated their recommended vaccine strain for the upcoming season. Labs noted antigenic drift in the H3N2 strain, with increased circulation of 3C.3a viruses, which prompted an update to that vaccine strain for the season ahead.
Hospitalization rates were lower for adults last season compared with the year before, but about the same for children. As of May 18 the CDC had received reports of 116 pediatric flu deaths, and of 104 of those with known histories, about half of the children had an underlying medical condition that put them at increased risk for flu complications.
The CDC said flu caused from 37.4 million to 42.9 million infections, 17.3 million to 20.1 million clinic visits, 531,000 to 647,000 hospitalizations, and 36,400 to 61,200 deaths.
Jun 21 MMWR report
[h=3]Peru notes Guillain-Barre spike in first half of 2019[/h] Peru has noted a more than doubling of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in 2019 compared with 2018, according to a risk assessment today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
As of Jun 13, Peru has reported 548 GBS cases since the beginning of the year. Among these cases, 391 (71%) were detected during epidemiologic weeks 23 and 24 (Jun 3 through 16). From January through June 2018, Peru recorded only 215 cases.
Because of the increase, the Peruvian Ministry of Health has declared a state of emergency in five regions: Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, and Piura. The cases are widespread, and the source of the infections is unknown at this time.
"Guillain-Barre is known to be triggered by bacterial infections, respiratory viruses, enteroviruses and arboviruses such as dengue and Zika," the ECDC said.
Jun 20 ECDC report