KINSHASA, Congo — A vaccination campaign against mpox in Congo will begin Oct. 2, authorities said Saturday, with workers focusing on the three most affected provinces first. Adults in Equateur, South Kivu and Sankuru provinces will be vaccinated first, Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee, told The Associated Press. Earlier this week, … Read more
Wisconsin health officials initiated a recall of eggs following an outbreak of salmonella infections among 65 people in nine states that originated on a Wisconsin farm. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said in a statement Friday that among those infected by salmonella are 42 people in Wisconsin, where the eggs are believed to have … Read more
ALBANY, N.Y. — Three people who tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease have died after an outbreak at an assisted living facility in upstate New York, officials said Thursday. Albany County health officials became aware of a cluster of cases at Peregrine Senior Living at Shaker in Albany on Friday. Ten people tested positive for the … Read more
A rare but deadly mosquito-spread disease is posing a serious threat in parts of New England, health officials warn, prompting the cancellation of some events and changes to sports schedules to avoid bites by infected bugs. Eastern equine encephalitis, which can cause symptoms including vomiting and seizures, infected a New Hampshire resident who later died, … Read more
BOSTON — Massachusetts’ oversight of nursing homes would be strengthened, LGBTQ+ nursing home residents would be protected against discrimination, and better controls would be in place to protect against the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, under a new bill lawmakers passed this week. Approved on Thursday, the bill would require long-term care facilities to provide … Read more
GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization believes the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months, and said Friday that the agency’s first shipment of vaccines should arrive in Congo within days. To date, Africa has received just a tiny fraction of the vaccines needed to slow … Read more
BOSTON — Massachusetts health officials on Thursday announced a second confirmed case of the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis virus in the state. A second case of the virus in a horse was also confirmed. The human case is a woman in her 30s. Both were exposed in the area of Plymouth County that was aerial-sprayed … Read more
LONDON — The baby in Gaza who was recently paralyzed by polio was infected with a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste, according to scientists who say the case is the result of “an unqualified failure” of public health policy. The infection, which marked the first detection of polio … Read more
LONDON — The rising mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of neglect and the global community’s inability to stop sporadic epidemics among a population with little immunity against the smallpox-related disease, leading African scientists said Tuesday. According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired … Read more
GENEVA — The U.N. health agency on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stanch outbreaks of mpox transmission, including ramping up staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies. The World Health Organization said it expects the plan from September through February next year will require $135 million in funding and … Read more
