For many months, the World Health Organization has confirmed that the spread of the poliovirus remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
This concern was validated during the last few weeks of 2024, when vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) genetically linked to the Nigeria lineage was detected in wastewater samples in 16 cities in five European countries: Spain, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Finland.
Poliovirus Samples Detected in 16 European Countries
Africa's Unknown Disease Outbreak Remains Undetermined
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a Situation at a Glance confirming the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported a cluster of 24 unexplained community deaths in a single village in Ekoto health area, Basankusu health zone, Equateur province.
As of February 25, 2025, a total of 53 deaths have been reported out of 1,318 patients meeting the working suspected case definition.
The WHO's DON557 disclosed on March 3, 2025, that the progression of the unknown disease appeared to be fast, with a median time from the onset of symptoms to death of one day.
Oropouche Virus Has Spread Throughout the Americas
Since first detected in 1955 in the Carribean, Oropouche virus (OROV) has been reported across various countries in the Region of the Americas.
According to an article published in the Journal of Travel Medicine on March 2, 2025, OROV was historically confined to the Brazilian Amazon Basin and was often mistaken for dengue, another mosquito-transmitted virus.
However, since late 2022, OROV cases have also been reported in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, and Peru.
Novel Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis Coming Soon
With millions of women and men impacted by Urinary tract infections (UTIs) yearly, healthcare providers are embracing innovations to avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment for this common bacterial disease.
Most UTIs are caused by uropathogenic E. coli (E. coli), but less common pathogens also cause infections.
About 400 million UTI cases and 236,000 related fatalities were estimated globally in 2019.
Costa Rica Visitors Confront Perpetual Tourism Rules and Infected Mosquitoes
Thousands of international travelers visit the Republic of Costa Rica each month, and many consider how long they can stay in this Central American paradise.
According to the Tico Times reporting on March 2, 2025, visitors have been extending their stays without changing their tourist status, a practice known as 'perpetual tourism.'
Longtime NIH Leader Francis Collins Retires
By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, March 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Dr. Francis Collins, the famed geneticist who led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 12 years and helped …