Latest news with #diseaseoutbreak
CTV News
20-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Dutch Elm Disease spreading in Regina
WATCH: Dutch Elm Disease is spreading in Regina, with city officials confirming 18 new cases in the past two weeks. Wayne Mantyka reports.
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Urgent measles warning as new cases detected in WA
A measles warning has been issued by WA Health after two locally acquired cases travelled on flights between Perth and the Pilbara, in the state's north. WA's total caseload for the year has reached 23. The two latest cases travelled between Perth, Port Hedland and Newman. They visited locations between June 23 and July 8, including Perth Airport and Crown Casino. It comes as WA Health authorities on Friday issued a notice about undetected cases of measles in the state. 'The latest (Friday) case had no recent interstate or overseas travel history or known sick contacts, indicating that there have been undetected cases of measles in WA,' Communicable Diseases Control Directorate director Paul Armstrong said after a locally acquired case was announced on Friday. 'Measles can spread very quickly and anyone who is not immune is at risk of developing the disease if they are exposed.' Anyone who attended the exposure locations during the dates and times listed is urged to monitor for symptoms. A full list is available at Measles can spread through airborne droplets and usually develop around 10 days after exposure. Early symptoms of the virus include fever, fatigue, cough, runny nose and sore eyes, with a red, non-itchy rash emerging three or four days later. WA Health says the rash typically starts on a person's face, spreading to the rest of the body. Measles can lead to serious health complications including pneumonia and encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. The highly infectious virus is particularly dangerous for babies under 12 months, as they are too young to be fully vaccinated. Measles was declared to have been eradicated from Australia in 2014. While there have been small, contained outbreaks in the years since, a disturbing trend is now emerging, with cases rising steadily since 2021, the last time there was zero cases reported in Australia. In 2022, there were seven, 26 were reported in 2023, and in 2024 there were 57.
New York Times
12-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Arizona Resident Dies From Plague, Officials Say
A resident of Coconino County, Ariz., died from pneumonic plague, the first such death in the county in almost two decades, officials announced on Friday. The resident went to Flagstaff Medical Center recently and died the same day despite attempts to provide 'lifesaving resuscitation,' according to a statement on Friday from Northern Arizona Healthcare, which runs the hospital. Rapid diagnostic testing confirmed that the patient was infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes the pneumonic plague, which appears as a severe lung infection. It was the first recorded death from the pneumonic plague in Coconino County, which is north of Phoenix, since 2007, county officials said in a statement. Additional details about the case, including when the patient died, were not released. The risk of exposure to the plague remains low, officials said. It's rare for cases of the disease to appear in humans, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plague occurs naturally in the western United States and circulates among the rodent populations there, the agency said. The plague infamously struck Europe in the 1340s, killing large parts of the continent's population. The outbreak began in a trader settlement in what is now Kyrgyzstan before spreading across Eurasia. The outbreak was known as the Black Death, for the black spots that appeared on the bodies of the sick, who were infected with Yersinia pestis after being bitten by fleas that lived on rodents. According to Arizona officials, the 2007 death happened after the person came into contact with a dead animal infected with plague. Humans are usually infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal, the C.D.C. said. An average of seven human plague cases are reported each year in the United States, according to the agency. Pneumonic plague symptoms include fever, headache and rapidly developing pneumonia, with shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing. Symptoms develop within one to eight days of exposure. Plague can be cured through antibiotics, but the treatment must be given quickly, according to the C.D.C. The risk of human-to-human transmission of the plague is low and the last known case happened in 1924 in Los Angeles, according to the National Institutes of Health. Plague is one of many diseases endemic to the southwestern United States, including West Nile virus, hantavirus and rabies. In New Mexico, Betsy Arakawa, the wife of the actor Gene Hackman, died from hantavirus this year, most likely after coming into contact with infected rodents.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
Singapore Disease Testing Helps Fill the Gap Left by US Funding Cuts
Several times a year, a dozen or so health professionals from across Southeast Asia spend a week in Singapore examining human excrement. They scoop sewage out of manholes and bring it back to a bright, sterile lab at the city-state's environmental agency, where they concentrate the wastewater, dribble it into test tubes and evaluate it for pathogens. At these training sessions, organized by Duke-NUS Medical School —a leader in infectious disease research—they learn how to extract genetic materials that might indicate the presence of viruses. The aim of the workshops is to train scientists from the region to identify disease outbreaks and stop them before they can spread. At the end of the weeklong program, the participants head home, where they'll pass their newfound knowledge on to colleagues. 'The training helps equip countries with a skilled workforce to prepare for future pandemics,' says Vincent Pang, an epidemiologist at the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Life-threatening disease erupts on Australia's doorstep as urgent travel warning is issued
Deadly dengue fever outbreaks have been rising amongst Australia's Pacific neighbours, prompting a travel warning for holidaymakers. The Cook Islands declared the most recent outbreak of the disease after 19 cases of the disease, including two active cases, were recorded as of June 6. Case counts have also been increasing in Samoa, Tonga, French Polynesia, Fiji and Kiribati. Some of the affected nations have several recorded deaths from the disease. Fiji has recorded four deaths from just under 8,000 cases; Tonga recorded three from more than 790 cases; and Samoa recorded one from 110 cases. The director of the Public Health Division at the Pacific Community (SPC) said climate change expanding mosquito habitats and increased regional and international travel were increasing the risk of virus transmission. 'There is a growing incidence of severe dengue amongst children and youth with no prior dengue exposure,' Dr Berlin Kafoa said. 'There are older adults coming from areas historically free of dengue. This suggests immunity gaps. 'Severe cases and fatalities are being reported, especially among youth.' Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Dr Joan Ingram warned the spread of the disease could put travellers at risk. 'Estimates are that around six in 1000 travellers spending a month in a risk area become unwell with dengue, with up to 20 per cent of them being hospitalised,' she said. 'Globally, dengue cases were at a very high level in 2024, particularly in South America. Cases increased almost 30-fold there between 2000 and 2024. 'Urbanisation, globalisation and climate change have contributed to this increase.' Dengue fever is spread by various biting species of 'Aedes' mosquitos which thrive in the same areas as humans. It can develop into severe dengue which is a medical emergency which requires hospital treatment and can cause deaths. Experts recommend those in areas of dengue fever outbreaks take precautions to avoid the mosquitos. 'Aedes mosquitoes are daytime feeders, with two peak times of biting activity two to three hours after dawn, and mid-to-late afternoon,' Dr Ingram said. 'However, they may feed all day indoors or on overcast days.' 'People should regularly apply effective repellent as well as using light-coloured clothing to cover up. In addition, they should take steps to reduce mosquitoes indoors – such as screens on windows and doors – and in the environment by emptying any water-holding containers.' The World Mosquito Program senior director of field entomology, Dr Gregor Devine, said current mosquito control methods were only having a 'limited impact'. Impacted nations have resorted to enacting clean-up campaigns to try control the outbreaks and using insecticides, though 'resistance to insecticides is increasingly documented in the Pacific'. He warned effective vaccines were 'years away' from being universally available and affordable. However, Dr Devine said 'a safe, effective and sustainable solution exists'. 'The Wolbachia method, developed by the non-profit World Mosquito Program, involves releasing mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that reduces their ability to transmit dengue,' he said. 'Following six years of Wolbachia mosquito releases in New Caledonia, the project has been hailed a monumental success, and the French territory hasn't had a dengue epidemic since 2019.' The government's Smartraveller website warned a higher-than-usual number of cases of Dengue fever have been reported around the world, particularly in developing nations. Outbreaks have been recorded in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Pacific. 'This includes places popular with Australians, such as: Indonesia, including Bali; Malaysia; Singapore; and Peru,' the website read.
