Title: Mumps Outbreaks Hitting U.S. Migrant Detention Centers
Category: Health News
Created: 8/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Peaches Has Now Sickened 78 People in 12 States: CDC
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Salmonella Outbreak in 17 States Tied to Italian-Style Meats
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: Fratelli Beretta Antipasto Trays Are the Source of Salmonella Outbreak: CDC
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM

Title: CDC Investigating E. coli Outbreak in Ohio, Michigan
Category: Health News
Created: 8/18/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/19/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Wendy's Pulls Lettuce Due to E. Coli Outbreak
Category: Health News
Created: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: 84 People Now Sickened in E. Coli Outbreak Tied to Wendy's Restaurant Lettuce
Category: Health News
Created: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM

Sequence variation observed in populations of pathogens can be used for important public health and evolutionary genomic analyses, especially outbreak analysis and transmission reconstruction. Identifying this variation is typically achieved by aligning sequence reads to a reference genome, but this approach is susceptible to reference biases and requires careful filtering of called genotypes. There is a need for tools that can process this growing volume of bacterial genome data, providing rapid results, but that remain simple so they can be used without highly trained bioinformaticians, expensive data analysis, and long-term storage and processing of large files. Here we describe split k-mer analysis (SKA2), a method that supports both reference-free and reference-based mapping to quickly and accurately genotype populations of bacteria using sequencing reads or genome assemblies. SKA2 is highly accurate for closely related samples, and in outbreak simulations, we show superior variant recall compared with reference-based methods, with no false positives. SKA2 can also accurately map variants to a reference and be used with recombination detection methods to rapidly reconstruct vertical evolutionary history. SKA2 is many times faster than comparable methods and can be used to add new genomes to an existing call set, allowing sequential use without the need to reanalyze entire collections. With an inherent absence of reference bias, high accuracy, and a robust implementation, SKA2 has the potential to become the tool of choice for genotyping bacteria. SKA2 is implemented in Rust and is freely available as open-source software.

The World Health Organization has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern – a new variant of the virus has caused an outbreak in Central and West Africa and spread to Sweden

After an mRNA vaccine for mpox achieved promising results in monkeys, researchers say it could have several advantages over existing vaccines – but cold storage requirements mean it will be hard to roll out in some hard-hit countries

Genetic testing on samples collected during the earliest days of the covid-19 outbreak suggests it is likely that the virus spread from animals to humans at the Huanan seafood market

A vaccination campaign targeting ducks, the farm birds most at risk of getting and spreading bird flu, succeeded in greatly reducing outbreaks of the virus on poultry farms in France

Federal officials are investigating a new outbreak of E. coli O121:H19. A source of the pathogen has not yet been identified. The investigation is in its early stages, and 33 patients have been discovered. The Food and Drug Administration has not released any patient information, such as where the patients... Continue Reading

Germany has reported a decline in outbreaks for 2023, but more people were sick than in the previous year. In 2023, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) received 190 reports of foodborne outbreaks that caused 2,248 illnesses, 283 hospitalizations, and... Continue Reading

An investigation into a Salmonella outbreak in Sweden has been restarted after more people fell sick. From August to October, 81 people from 18 regions contracted Salmonella Typhimurium with sequence type (ST) 36. Where information about the country of infection is available, all cases were infected in Sweden. Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public... Continue Reading

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention typically coordinates between 17 and 36 investigations of foodborne illnesses involving multiple states each week.  A report is posted weekly, but does not include any information about where the outbreaks are occurring, what foods are involved, or how many patients have been identified.... Continue Reading

Montana public health officials are investigating an outbreak of infections caused by Salmonella. The Cascade City-County Health Department in Great Falls is reporting that six students at Sacajawea and Valley View elementary schools have tested positive for the pathogen. A staff member at another school has also tested positive. There... Continue Reading

A multi-country Salmonella outbreak in Europe linked to tomatoes from Italy has sickened more than 250 people. From January 2023 to November 2024, 266 confirmed cases of Salmonella Strathcona have been identified in 16 European countries and the United Kingdom. Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the... Continue Reading

NEW YORK — McDonald's on Sunday (Oct 27) ruled out beef patties as a source of the E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder hamburgers, which has killed at least one person and sickened nearly 75 others. "We remain very confident that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald's restaurants," the fast-food chain's chief supply chain officer Cesar Pina said in a statement. The Colorado Department of Agriculture said that all subsamples from multiple lots of McDonald's brand fresh and frozen beef patties had tested negative for E. coli, adding that it had completed beef testing and does not anticipate receiving further samples. McDonald's said it would resume distribution of fresh supplies of the Quarter Pounder and that it is expected to be available in all restaurants in the coming week, according to the statement.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that slivered onions served on McDonald's, opens new tab Quarter Pounder hamburgers and other menu items were the likely source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened 90 people. The outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder was first reported on Oct 22, and slivered onions were suspected to be the source of the infections. The US Food and Drug Administration and the company have confirmed that Taylor Farms was the supplier for the affected locations, and it has since recalled several batches of yellow onions produced in a Colorado facility. The FDA on Wednesday said it had initiated inspections at a Taylor Farms processing center in Colorado, a state where 29 people have fallen ill due to the outbreak. An onion grower of interest in Washington state is also being investigated, the FDA added. The CDC said the number of infected people has risen by 15 people from 75 and 27 persons have been hospitalised due to the illness, which has already killed one person.

Virginia Bioinformatics Institute Video Case Study

In Uttar Pradesh the DEN-2 variant of dengue is increasingly common among people who have tested positive for this mosquito-transmitted disease (!--ref1--).

Over the past week, an alarming surge in new medlinkdengue/medlink cases has been observed in Kolkata, causing concern among health authorities as the Durga Puja celebrations approach next week.

The number of dengue cases in Patna has been rising over the past few days, with 15 to 20 people admitted to hospitals daily. On Thursday, the city commemorated

Highlights: Adenovirus, typically seen in winter, has affected young swimmers this summer, suggesting pools as

A recent study published in iEmerging Infectious Diseases,/i reveals that medlinkdeforestation/medlink in Costa Rica heightens the vulnerability

Nilam Patel, Additional Director of the Gujarat Health Department, reported that by July 24, 23 confirmed cases of Chandipura virus (!--ref1--) had

The World Health Organization (WHO) is raising serious concerns about a potential polio outbreak in the war-torn Gaza Strip. The alarm comes after the

The Agriculture Ministry reported that South Korea confirmed its second case of lumpy skin disease (LSD) this year on a cattle farm in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Although Tamil Nadu has not reported any cases of medlinkMpox/medlink, the state's health department has issued a precautionary alert to all district medical officers.

Rwanda has confirmed six deaths and 20 cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the epidemic, according to the country's health minister, Sabin Nsanzimana.

Kerala's Health Minister, Veena George, arrived in Kozhikode, where two individuals have reportedly succumbed to medlinkNipah virus infection/medlink (!--ref1--).

Indonesia's Health Ministry has heightened its vigilance regarding medlinkmonkeypox/medlink as the number of confirmed cases has risen to 14 since the initial detection on October 13.

Research indicates that Mpox, previously identified as medlinkMonkeypox/medlink, has been present in human circulation since 2016, predating the 2022 global health crisis it triggered.

Monkeypox occurrences in Indonesia have extended to five provinces, said the Health Ministry. "The total has reached 51 confirmed cases, including

According to Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka has seen a 42% increase in medlinkdengue/medlink (!--ref1--) cases compared to last year.

The South Korean government announced that they have increased disinfection efforts and inspections at pig farms in response to a confirmed medlinkAfrican

The Africa CDC has sounded the alarm over a surge in medlinkMonkeypox/medlink (mpox) (!--ref1--) cases across the African continent, announcing a coordinated response plan with the WHO.

Health authorities in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, are urging individuals at risk of medlinkmonkeypox/medlink (mpox) (!--ref1--)

Japan has reported an avian flu outbreak at a poultry farm in Kagawa prefecture, leading to the culling of thousands of chickens. Minister of

In Iraq's Salahudin province, a bird flu outbreak has been reported, said authorities. Health authorities have taken all protective measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Japan confirmed a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak at a poultry farm in the eastern prefecture of Ibaraki. This

Cows at the US dairy farms have tested positive for the medlinkbird flu (H5N1) virus/medlink in recent months, report medlinkpublic health/medlink experts.

Climate change-fueled extreme weather, like devastating floods and prolonged droughts, frequently triggers outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, especially

As countries loosen Covid-19 restrictions, Hong Kong is sticking to a “dynamic zero-Covid” approach – with help from Beijing. A surge in cases has overwhelmed hospitals and threatens business confidence in the global financial hub. Photo: Bertha Wang/Bloomberg

First shipment of vaccines expected to arrive in Congo within days: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

A look at state-wise data shows that states with larger numbers of fatalities are also those with less successful public health infrastructure as a whole

National Bureau of Economic Research