NEWS

WHO Updates

• Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo February 21, 2019
  The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is continuing with moderate intensity. Katwa and Butembo remain the major health zones of concern, while simultaneously, small clusters continue to occur in various geographically dispersed locations. During the last 21 days (30 January – 19 February 2019), 79 new cases have been reported from 40 health areas within […]
• Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 – Papua New Guinea February 20, 2019
  On 26 June 2018, an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) was declared in Papua New Guinea following laboratory confirmation of cVDPV1 isolation in two healthy community contacts of the index case. Since the declaration, a total of 26 confirmed cVDPV1 cases have been reported in the following nine provinces: Eastern Highlands (six), […]
• Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia February 15, 2019
  From 1 January through 31 January 2019, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported fourteen additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including three deaths.
• Lassa Fever – Nigeria February 14, 2019
  From 1 January through 10 February 2019, 327 cases of Lassa fever (324 confirmed cases and three probable cases) with 72 deaths (case fatality ratio = 22%) have been reported across 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with the majority of cases being reported from Edo (108) and Ondo (103) States.

Zika Updates

• Archived Zika virus classification tables June 29, 2017
  WHO: Zika virus classification tables
• Zika virus classification table April 13, 2017
• Zika situation report March 10, 2017
• Zika: Then, now, and tomorrow February 9, 2017
  They are tiny animals that live near or inside human dwellings where contact with people is high. Every few days, they lay 100-150 eggs which develop into adults in about a week. They are mosquitoes. The adult females feed on people’s blood, several times during the day.

Dengue Updates

• Interaction between two immune cells may play key role in fight against dengue virus February 8, 2019
  Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have demonstrated for the first time a physical interaction between two types of immune cells that plays an important role in the early fight against dengue virus infection.
• Scientists wean mosquitoes off blood with dieting drugs February 8, 2019
  Researchers have found a way to reduce the blood thirst of mosquitoes and prevent mosquito bites and spread of mosquito borne illnesses such as Zika, dengue fever, malaria and chikungunya.
• Researchers discover first sour taste receptor used by flies to choose between foods February 6, 2019
  Taste is so familiar a sensation that you might think scientists had long ago sorted out how the sense works. Yet such research is far from settled.
• Researchers develop CRISPR-based method to control pests with precision-guided genetics January 8, 2019
  Using the CRISPR gene editing tool, Nikolay Kandul, Omar Akbari and their colleagues at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley devised a method of altering key genes that control insect sex determination and fertility.

PAHO.org Updates