Outbreak

Weeks after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned health care providers to stop using a popular brand of eye drops in the wake of infections that led to one known death, an additional two people have reportedly lost their lives.As of March 14, 68 patients across 16 US states have been diagnosed with infections caused by a rare drug-resistant strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.In addition to the deaths, eight people have been reported to have lost their vision, with another four cases…

At least eight people have been infected and five are dead (including one healthcare worker) in a new outbreak of the Marburg virus in Tanzania, according to a Monday statement from the World Health Organization. It is Tanzania’s first-ever confirmed outbreak of the deadly disease.Yet even so, the country has quickly sprung into action to respond to the Marburg emergence, said the WHO. Tanzania’s National Public Health Laboratory was able to test and confirm all eight cases. Officials identified 161 contacts of the…

An outbreak of botulinum poisoning has been traced back to two private hospitals in Türkiye, where patients underwent a medical procedure intended to help them lose weight.According to a report by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a total of 67 cases of botulism have so far been reported, mostly from Türkiye, with a dozen in Germany, one in Austria, and another in Switzerland.No deaths have yet been reported, though some of the more severe cases have been admitted for intensive care…

Anyone hoping to stay ahead of the next viral outbreak might want to avoid TikTok, new research suggests. The study, published Tuesday in BMJ Global Health, found that TikTok videos discussing the viral disease monkeypox, which spread widely around the world and infected tens of thousands of Americans last year, often provided inaccurate or incomplete information, and were generally poor quality. Videos made by self-identified medical professionals did tend to be more informative than those made by the general public,…

U.S. prosecutors are dropping felony fraud charges they brought against a former chief executive of ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries LP in the wake of a 2015 listeria outbreak that led to three deaths.   As part of a settlement reached Wednesday, Paul Kruse, Blue Bell’s CEO from 2004 until 2017, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge over food safety violations. He will pay a $100,000 fine and avoid jail time, according to a plea agreement filed in…

Artificial intelligence forecasts the timeline of the next pandemic before it starts The World Health Organization (WHO) defines zoonosis as the transmission of infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, which can be fatal enough to cause pandemics such as the Covid outbreak. In this article, we have discussed the capabilities of artificial intelligence in forecasting and spotting of next pandemic such as covid. the timeline of the next covid outbreak. Read to know more. The primary causes of transmission are human…

These demented-looking hot dogs are an illustration of Shigella bacteria.Illustration: Stephanie Rossow/CDCA trip to the scenic island country of Cape Verde off the coast of Africa has turned into a queasy nightmare for hundreds of tourists returning home. A multi-country outbreak of Shigella bacteria, a common but sometimes serious stomach bug, has been traced back to travel from the island since last fall. Over 200 cases have been documented, including in those returning to the U.S., and some cases are thought to have…

A new outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus has infected a suspected 25 people and potentially killed nine in the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization announced this week. There have been 15 previously confirmed Marburg outbreaks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the current one, with a beginning that dates back to early January, is Equatorial Guinea’s first.Following the WHO’s official confirmation of the outbreak on Monday, neighboring…

This week, Argentina and Uruguay declared national health emergencies following outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, the fast-moving virus that destroys poultry flocks and wild birds, and for decades has been feared as a possible spark for a pandemic among people. That makes 10 South American countries that have recently marked their first-ever encounter with the virus, including Peru—where more than 50,000 wild birds died last fall, and more than  600 sea lions in January. Combine the sea lion infections…

Photo: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant bacteria linked to contaminated eye drop products. Over 50 cases have been found to date, with most patients having reportedly used EzriCare Artificial Tears, while the CDC has found the bacteria in opened bottles of the brand from two states. At least one person has died from the infection, while some have been hospitalized or permanently lost their vision.News of the outbreak emerged in…