infectious diseases

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After Humans Spread COVID to Deer, They Got Us Back

Researchers identify cases of deer-to-human transmission

(Newser) - Humans spread COVID-19 to American deer more than 100 times, according to a new analysis, which shows the "deer-adapted" virus jumped back to humans on a few occasions. The study, confirming early alpha and gamma variants were circulating in deer after becoming rare in people, raises concerns that the...

At &#39;Disease Detectives&#39; Forum, a COVID Outbreak
181 Caught COVID
at CDC Conference
May 31, 2023 10:55 AM CDT

181 Caught COVID at CDC Conference

Gathering of 'disease detectives' gets unwanted surprise

(Newser) - A group of CDC specialists described as "disease detectives" by the Washington Post have gotten an unexpected case study to examine—their own. Of the 1,800 people who attended an agency conference in Atlanta last month, at least 181 contracted COVID, reports Ars Technica , citing an agency news...

When It Comes to Bird Flu, 'It's a New War'

Virus emerges in record amounts, and in new places, meaning it may be here to stay

(Newser) - Will bird flu lead to the next pandemic? That's the question making the headline rounds of late, and the short answer is—it's possible, though the threat isn't currently high. What is the concern of the moment is that wild birds have spread avian influenza, which is...

Rare Outbreak of Deadly Marburg Disease Is Detected

WHO: It's Equatorial Guinea's first outbreak

(Newser) - On Monday, the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea announced a deadly outbreak of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease similar to Ebola. The World Health Organization says at least nine people have died there of the illness, with 16 others suspected of having it. Then, on Tuesday, authorities...

Couple Likely Gave Monkeypox to Their Dog

WHO's Rosamund Lewis says it's first apparent case of human-to-animal transmission

(Newser) - What appears to be the first known human-to-pet transmission of monkeypox has surfaced in France. A nonexclusive, cohabiting couple developed symptoms of the virus, which has been appearing mostly in men who have sex with other men, a few days after sleeping with other partners, reports CBS News . Twelve days...

'Alarming' New Find on Polio in New York State

After emerging in Hudson Valley, virus pops up in NYC sewage, suggesting local circulation

(Newser) - Polio appears to be working its way south through New York state, now making an appearance in New York City sewage after earlier showing up in wastewater in Orange and Rockland counties, reports CNBC . That suggests the virus is now circulating locally, spreading quietly among the unvaccinated. It's an...

Newly IDed Virus in China Looks to Be a 'Viral Spillover'

Langya appears to have passed from shrews to humans, infecting dozens, though with no fatalities

(Newser) - Scientists have identified a virus in China that appears to have spread from animals to dozens of humans—a "zoonotic" spread—though they're urging that there's "no need to panic." Citing a study by researchers in China, Singapore, and Australia published last week in the...

'Hundreds' of People in NY May Be Infected With Polio

So says state's health commissioner after virus turns up in wastewater in a 2nd county

(Newser) - News last month of an unvaccinated man in New York's Rockland County contracting polio and suffering paralysis was soon followed by reports of the virus being found in wastewater there. Now, nearby Orange County has also turned up polio in its sewage, in samples taken from two different locations...

Monkeypox News Is Only Getting Worse
Monkeypox News
Is Only Getting Worse
Jul 18, 2022 10:59 AM CDT

Monkeypox News Is Only Getting Worse

Former FDA chief criticizes response, as 'NYT' reports on painful cases among patients

(Newser) - Comments from two well-known officials suggest that the monkeypox outbreak in the US is way undercounted and about to get worse.
  • Gottlieb: "I think the window for getting control of this and containing it probably has closed, and if it hasn't closed, it's certainly starting to close,
...

CDC Says Pandemic Caused Rise in Superbug Infections

Overprescribed antibiotics and overburdened health-care system to blame

(Newser) - Superbugs got an unfortunate boost during the pandemic. Per Reuters, the bad news comes in a recent CDC report, which says antimicrobial-resistant bacteria killed 15% more people in 2020 compared to 2019. It's a reversal of what was a good trend, as deaths from superbugs had fallen since 2012....

Most Contagious Variants Yet Now Dominating US
These 2 New Variants
Are Extra-Contagious
THE RUNDOWN
Jul 5, 2022 10:20 AM CDT

These 2 New Variants Are Extra-Contagious

BA.4 and BA.5 are great at evading protections, including from past omicron infections

(Newser) - Two new extra-contagious variants of omicron with transmissibility similar to measles are together dominating COVID-19 cases in the US, leading to talk of new indoor mask mandates. Here's what you need to know:
  • Background: BA.4 was first detected in South Africa in January, while BA.5 was first
...

Chipmunks With the Plague Lead to Closures in Resort City

Sections in southern part of Calif. resort area to remain shuttered through end of week after rodents test positive

(Newser) - Last year was the year of the murder hornets and flying ants . This year, it's plague chipmunks. The AP reports that certain sections on the south shores of California's Lake Tahoe have been temporarily closed after some of the striped rodents tested positive for the infectious disease. Due...

New Coronavirus Found in Humans Has Surprising Source

Scientists say this version has jumped from dogs to people—a first

(Newser) - Most of researchers' attention over the past year has, understandably, focused on COVID, and on SARS-CoV-2, the particular coronavirus that causes it. But when the pandemic initially took hold, one doctor started wondering about what other coronaviruses were out there—and now scientists say that, for the first time, they'...

Renowned Infectious Disease Expert Is Felled by COVID

Dr. Rajendra Kapila, 81, had traveled to India to care for family before his death

(Newser) - COVID-19 has claimed an infectious disease expert who put his brilliant mind to work on the coronavirus itself. Dr. Rajendra Kapila, a professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a founding member of the New Jersey Infectious Disease Society, tested positive for COVID-19 in India on April 8 before...

In This Nation, a 'Fearsome Intruder' Is Surging

Australia slammed with a spike of flesh-eating Buruli ulcers

(Newser) - Australia has been hit with a spike of what the New York Times calls a "fearsome intruder," though it's not a new one. Stretching back as far as the 1940s, cases of Buruli ulcer —an infectious disease caused by the flesh-devouring Mycobacterium ulcerans bacterium, typically found...

COVID Jumped From Bats to Animal to Humans: WHO

Joint report with China finds that virus likely didn't originate in a lab

(Newser) - A joint China-World Health Organization study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is "extremely unlikely," according to a draft obtained by the AP . The findings offer...

A Deadly Rabbit Disease Is Spreading
A Deadly Rabbit
Disease Is Spreading
Dec 14, 2020 10:25 AM CST

A Deadly Rabbit Disease Is Spreading

It's mostly in the western US, but isolated case turns up among domesticated rabbits in NYC

(Newser) - The year 2020 has been a rough one not just for humans but for rabbits, with the appearance of a deadly and highly contagious disease in North America. Now it appears that the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease is getting worse here. Last week, wildlife officials in Utah announced that...

Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to Trio Who Discovered Hep C

Honor for Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, Charles M. Rice is 'long overdue'

(Newser) - We've spent most of 2020 in a tangle with one virus , but now, advances regarding another are receiving their due accolades as Nobel Prize week kicks off. The prize for physiology or medicine was awarded to scientists Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice for their "...

China's New Worry: the Bubonic Plague

Herdsman contracts it, likely from a marmot

(Newser) - China has another infectious disease worry on its hands, but this one is old school. As in, it's the bubonic plague, reports the BBC . It seems a herder in Inner Mongolia came down with the disease, and he's now undergoing treatment in a hospital, per the New York ...

61 Singers Went to Choir Practice. 87% Caught the Virus

Report out of Wash. state documents alarming 'superspreader event' that sickened 52

(Newser) - It's a good thing only half of the Skagit Valley Chorale's 122 members showed up at their March 10 practice—because one of the singers had the coronavirus and managed to spread it to 87% of those in attendance. A new report on this "superspreader event" by...

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