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KSU reports student with mumps, vaccine clinic scheduled for Monday

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Kansas State University has confirmed one student case of mumps. The university is directly notifying anyone who may have been in close contact with the student. The university’s Lafene Health Center...

Nicaragua/CIA

Nicaragua and Curacao confirm local transmission of Zika

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Health officials in Nicaragua and the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao have reported autochthonous, or local transmission of Zika virus, according to each of the local health departments. In Nicaragua,...

Image/ C. S. Goldsmith, P. Rollin, M. Bowen This transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicted numbers of Lassa virus virions adjacent to some cell debris. The virus, a member of the virus family Arenaviridae, is a single-stranded RNA virus, and is zoonotic, or animal-borne that can be transmitted to humans. The illness, which occurs in West Africa, was discovered in 1969 when two missionary nurses died in Nigeria, West Africa.In areas of Africa where the disease is endemic (that is, constantly present), Lassa fever is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. While Lassa fever is mild or has no observable symptoms in about 80% of people infected with the virus, the remaining 20% have a severe multisystem disease. Lassa fever is also associated with occasional epidemics, during which the case-fatality rate can reach 50%. There are a number of ways in which the virus may be transmitted, or spread, to humans. The Mastomys rodents shed the virus in urine and droppings. Therefore, the virus can be transmitted through direct contact with these materials, through touching objects or eating food contaminated with these materials, or through cuts or sores. Because Mastomys rodents often live in and around homes and scavenge on human food remains or poorly stored food, transmission of this sort is common. Contact with the virus also may occur when a person inhales tiny particles in the air contaminated with rodent excretions. This is called aerosol or airborne transmission. Finally, because Mastomys rodents are sometimes consumed as a food source, infection may occur via direct contact when they are caught and prepared for food.

Lassa in Nigeria update, Benin reports case in Tchaourou

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Between August 2015 and 24 January 2016, 172 suspected and confirmed Lassa fever cases have been reported in Nigeria with 83 suspected and confirmed deaths (CFR 48%), according to Nigerian health officials. The...

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) /United States Congress

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to Gov. Ige on dengue outbreak: Appoint a Dengue Czar

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Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) today called on Governor David Ige to declare the Hawaiʻi Island dengue fever outbreak a state of emergency and deploy State resources, including the National Guard,...

Salmonella bacteria (red)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Salmonella in Minnesota, other states: Garden of Life Organic Shake & Meal Replacement implicated

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Minnesota health officials are investigating an outbreak of foodborne illness associated with eating “Garden of Life Organic Shake & Meal Replacement” in Minnesota and several other states. Two...

Taiwan map/CIA

Taiwan reports 1st German measles case of 2016, linked to travel to Hong Kong

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Taiwan health officials are reporting this year’s first case of rubella, or German measles in a 39-year-old female who resides in northern Taiwan. According to the CDC, she sought medical attention...

Jamaica Image/CIA

Zika virus confirmed in Jamaica

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The Ministry of Health in Jamaica has confirmed one case of the Zika virus in a child from Portmore, St. Catherine. Four-year old child. The four year old child began showing symptoms on January 17,...

Image/CDC

Kansas norovirus outbreak update: Nearly 400 people sickened

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In a follow-up to a report on the norovirus outbreak linked to the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) anounced late last week they...

Western hemisphere map Public domain image/ E Pluribus Anthony

WHO to meet Monday: Zika a public health emergency?

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WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan, will convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations. The Committee...

Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding on a human host/CDC

New Caledonia reports two chikungunya cases

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Health officials on the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia have reported two imported chikungunya cases from Indonesia, according to a Radio New Zealand report Thursday. In addition, they have diagnosed...