India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and mainland China also experienced new outbreaks of H5 N1 influenza in December. During the same period, four new human cases - in Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia - were reported to the World Health Organization. A 16-year-old girl in Egypt and a 2-year-old girl in Indonesia have died.
HMPV infection incidence ranged from 2.2% to 10.5% in outpatient cohorts. Infections were asymptomatic in at least 38.8% of each of these cases. Symptoms when apparent were typical of upper respiratory tract infection.
The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo has declared an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. As of 26 December, WHO is aware of 34 suspected cases including 9 deaths associated with the ongoing event.
Increased routine measles vaccine coverage implemented during 2000-2007 resulted in a 74% decrease in the estimated number of measles deaths globally. An estimated 197 000 deaths from measles occurred in 2007.
The causative agent of the disease which has resulted in the recent deaths of 3 people from Zambia and South Africa is a new virus from the Arenaviridae family.
The death toll in China's outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease has risen to 42 children, with the capital Beijing reporting its first case on Wednesday.
A report from Sun 11 May 2008 shows that 183 children from the capital city Ulaanbataar and provincess have been infected and have been admitted to hospitals for treatment.
A mood of deep pessimism has spread among the international community of AIDS scientists after the failure of a trial of a promising vaccine at the end of last year.
A woman whose husband died after receiving a liver transplant infected with a rodent virus is suing PetSmart claiming the chain should have warned customers that hamsters can carry lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.
As of 28 March, 2008, the Brazilian health authorities have reported a national total of 120,570 cases of dengue including 647 dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases, with 48 deaths.
Officials are deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic.
An experimental, combination vaccine against Ebola and Marburg viruses using virus-like particles (VLPs) provides complete protection against infection in monkeys.
The 1918 influenza strain developed two mutations in the hemagglutinin which allowed it to bind tightly to receptors in the human upper respiratory tract.
Scientists are no further forward in developing a vaccine against HIV after more than 20 years of research says Nobel Prize-winning biologist David Baltimore.
The Ministry of Health, Brazil has reported a total of 48 cases of yellow fever including 13 deaths. This outbreak of yellow fever follows an epizootic outbreak in monkeys that started in April 2007 and has since spread to 80 municipalities.
Scientists announce that they had been able to pass on human rhinovirus to a special strain of genetically modified mice – the first time a non-primate has caught a cold.
There is seemingly consistent and compelling evidence that there is no association between breastfeeding and breast cancer. We challenge the assumption follows that milk borne viruses cannot be associated with human breast cancer.
This study shows that Campylobacter bacteriophage can easily be isolated from free-range chickens and form part of the normal microbiological biota of environmentally exposed birds.
In a 13-month period in the UK there were six deaths and 112 cases of severe complications among children. Vaccinating all children is the only way to prevent severe illness and death from chickenpox.
South Africa is in danger of losing the battle against HIV/AIDS, Unicef has warned. If present trends continue there could be five million orphans in South Africa by 2015 and the country is one of just nine countries worldwide where infant mortality is ri
The finding that mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) can replicate and spread in human cells adds weight to the theory that MMTV might be involved in causing human breast cancer.
Dengue fever is reaching epidemic levels in the Caribbean and Latin America. Changing weather patterns and increased tourism and migration have raised the prevalence of the disease.
Sewage systems do not break down Tamiflu, which means the main weapon against bird flu could seep into natural waters and make certain viruses resistant to the drug during a pandemic.
A vaccine against Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is being used to stimulate the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. Initial tests show the vaccine has produced promising results.
A mumps outbreak has been identified among university students in Adelaide. The highly infectious disease has been diagnosed in at least 8 students in the past 2 weeks, with more cases likely.
New research in the USA has concluded there is not enough evidence to support the effectiveness of immunising older people against influenza. The findings echo a controversial 2006 British Medical Journal study.
Parents are being urged to protect their children against measles by getting them immunised with two doses of MMR before they return to school this September, following an increase in cases of measles over recent weeks.
Health officials say 2 recent incidents in which swimmers in Maryland were attacked by a rabid beaver should remind people that those "no swimming" signs are there for a reason. One rabid beaver, now dead, was responsible for an attack on a swimmer on Sun