Post Archive by Year

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Shigellosis, a gastrointestinal infection caused by one of four species of Shigella bacteria, continues to pose a significant public health problem, even in major cities.
Researchers recently reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases an increase in severe, multidrug-resistant (MDR) shigellosis cases in Vancouver, Canada, and a shift in these patient demographics.

Younger and middle-aged patients have higher burden of neurologic symptoms, fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive dysfunction

The sudden multi-year increase of chikungunya (CHIKV) and dengue cases in the Federative Republic of Brazil has raised concerns about the impact of arbovirus outbreaks on public health throughout the Region of the Americas.
As of November 21, 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had reported 412,089 chikungunya cases this year, 411,548 cases in 2023, and 273,841 in 2022.
Seperately, the PAHO has reported 12,522,878 dengue cases and 7,598 related fatalities in 2024.

Oral cholera vaccines (OCV) have been used for years to help prevent and control cholera outbreaks. Unfortunately, with limited supply, cholera cases and related deaths are impacting about 33 countries.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Edition #20, from January to late October 2024, a cumulative total of 486,760 cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases and 4,018 deaths were reported from 33 countries across five WHO regions.  

Ticks are very effective disease vectors, connecting humans to diseases in wild reservoirs like Lyme disease. Although mammals commonly serve as hosts for ticks, they typically travel relatively short distances before ticks complete their blood meal and drop off.
However, parasitizing birds, especially migratory birds, allows them to travel very long distances.
For example, the Asian long-horned tick was first detected in New Jersey in 2017 and has since been found in 14 other states.