Health news

New TB treatment can cure hardest-to-treat patients, FDA says
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-tb-treatment-can-cure-hardest-treat-patients-fda-says-n1042656


The Food and Drug Administration approved a new tuberculosis medicine that shortens and improves treatment for the hardest-to-treat cases, a worsening problem in many poor countries.

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Ebola virus outbreak spreads, claiming first victims in a new region of Congo
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-virus-outbreak-spreads-congo-south-kivu-confirmed-cases-one-death-today-2019-08-16/

The eastern DR Congo province of South Kivu has recorded its first confirmed cases of Ebola in the country's year-old epidemic, one of which was a fatality, the provincial government said Friday. "Two cases which tested positive for Ebola were confirmed overnight in South Kivu, in Lwindi district in the Mwenga region," it said in a statement.

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Measles claims over 2500 lives in the DRC
https://www.africanews.com/2019/08/18/measles-claims-over-2500-lives-in-the-drc/


A measles epidemic has caused more than 2,700 deaths between January and early August in the DRC, killing more people in seven months than Ebola in one year, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported in a tweet read on Saturday.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) – Health officials say 23 people have contracted the measles in Oregon in 2019. This is the most cases of measles the state has logged in a year since 1991.

Officials says recently, a new outbreak was reported in Clackamas and Multnomah counties and authorities have confirmed nine cases of measles since the beginning of July. That includes two cases that were confirmed since the Oregon Health Authority updated its numbers on Aug. 14.

https://katu.com/news/local/23-measles-cases-confirmed-in-oregon-the-most-in-a-year-since-1991
23 measles cases confirmed in Oregon - the most in a year since 1991

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Ebola Continues to Spread in Congo, Stoking Regional Tension
https://m.theepochtimes.com/ebola-continues-to-spread-in-congo-stoking-regional-tension_3038225.html

BLANTYRE, Malawi—Hundreds of people continue to be exposed to the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising fears of the disease spreading to neighboring countries and the wider region.

The World Health Organization (WHO) team in the DRC has reported 70 to 80 cases a week.

Overall, 2,758 cases and 1,819 deaths have been recorded since August 2018, when the pandemic first broke out in the country’s northern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.

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Spain issues international alert after country's biggest ever listeria outbreak
https://news.sky.com/story/spain-issues-international-alert-after-countrys-biggest-ever-listeria-outbreak-11790743

Spain has issued an international alert after the number affected by the country's biggest ever listeria outbreak rose to 150.

A 90-year-old woman has been killed by the infection as the health ministry said it was checking another 523 suspected cases of listeriosis.

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Third locally transmitted dengue fever case confirmed in Miami-Dade County
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article234329597.html

The third locally transmitted case of dengue fever this year has been confirmed in Miami-Dade County, the Florida Department of Health announced Friday.

The first case of the mosquito-borne ailment was confirmed in March. The second came earlier this month.

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https://www.postguam.com/news/local/guam-has-nd-dengue-case/article_1853990c-c89a-11e9-9cf4-3f0d4ad715fa.html
Guam has 2nd dengue case


Public health officials confirmed the second case of imported dengue fever on Guam this year.

On Tuesday, the Department of Public Health and Social Services sent a press release saying this week's confirmed case came from Yap. The first case this year came from Palau, said Guam Territorial Epidemiologist Ann Pobutsky.

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DR Congo Ebola deaths top 2,000
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49521739
The numbers of people who have died in the current Ebola outbreak in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached the 2,000 mark, government figures show.

The health authorities have struggled to contain the spread of the virus.

Neighbouring Uganda said that a nine-year-old girl with Ebola who had crossed the border had died.

The World Health Organization has called the situation one of the world's "most complex humanitarian crises".

:-(

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Millennial And Gen-X Travelers: Need Another Measles Shot?
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/09/02/753141174/millennial-and-gen-x-travelers-need-another-measles-shot

Destination: Bulgaria. It's a small country in Eastern Europe, often overlooked by American tourists. But my husband's father grew up in Bulgaria, so it's long been on our travel list.

It's also on the list of countries with recent measles outbreaks. Bulgaria has had almost 800 cases this year, according to the World Health Organization.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/09/05/vitamin-e-oil-key-focus-investigations-vaping-related-illnesses/2223726001/
Vitamin E oil a 'key focus' in investigations of vaping-related illnesses

New York state officials are focusing their investigation of vaping-related illnesses on vitamin E acetate after finding very high levels of the substance in marijuana-containing samples being examined.

The announcement Thursday by the New York State Department of Health comes as reports of vaping-related lung illnesses across the U.S. increase and a second death is under investigation in Oregon.

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CDC Warns Americans to Stop Kissing, Snuggling Their Chickens
https://www.newsweek.com/cdc-stop-kissing-chickens-1458082

A recent advisory from the Centers for Disease Control is warning Americans of the hazards of contact with chickens, including the risk of catching salmonella.

This year alone, the CDC has recorded 1,003 cases of salmonella across the U.S., including two deaths. The agency's suggestions include always washing your hands with soap and water after touching backyard poultry, not letting chickens inside the house and setting aside a separate pair of shoes to wear while taking care of backyard birds.

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Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease - External Situation Report 58
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/democratic-republic-congo-ebola-virus-disease-external-situation-73

In the past week, from 2 to 8 September, 45 new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, with an additional 35 deaths, have been reported from five health zones in three affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the 21 days from 19 August to 8 September 2019, 57 health areas in 17 health zones reported new cases. During this period, a total of 175 confirmed cases were reported, with the majority coming from the health zones of Kalunguta (17%; n=30), Beni (17%; n=29), Mambasa (13%; n=23), and Mandima (13%; n=22). Twelve health areas that have previously been reporting cases of EVD since the beginning of the outbreak have not reported a case in more than 21 days.

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Contaminated skin-care cream leaves woman in semi-comatose state, officials say
https://www.foxnews.com/health/contaminated-skincare-cream-woman-semi-comatose-state


A woman in northern California was left in a semi-comatose state after using a skin-care cream she had ordered from Mexico that had been apparently tainted with a dangerous ingredient. According to Sacramento County Public Health, the woman fell ill in late June and had been exposed to methylmercury, a poisonous form of mercury that could cause brain and nervous system damage.

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CSU San Bernardino student diagnosed with tuberculosis, hundreds warned of possible exposure
https://abc7.com/health/csu-san-bernardino-student-diagnosed-with-tuberculosis/5532879/

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A student at Cal State San Bernardino has tested positive for tuberculosis and officials have identified about 400 people who may have come in contact with the individual.

County health officials are notifying the 400 students and employees by email with information about getting tested for tuberculosis. They may have been exposed to the illness sometime between April and August of this year.

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As Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Drags On, Untracked Cases Sow Confusion
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/health/ebola-congo-azar-fauci.html

The United States remains committed to fighting Ebola in Africa, American health officials said on Monday, but the scope of the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become somewhat unclear.

There were rumors that Ebola had reached Tanzania, the officials noted. And the arrest of Congo’s former health minister, who until recently led his country’s response to the outbreak, has raised doubts about how effective that effort ever was.

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Let's hope the article below never happens. :(

The risk of a global pandemic is growing -- and the world isn't ready, experts say
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/18/health/who-pandemic-report-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

(CNN)The chances of a global pandemic are growing -- and we are all dangerously under prepared, according to a new report published Wednesday.

The panel of international health experts and officials pointed to the 1918 influenza pandemic as an example of a global catastrophe. That killed as many as 50 million people -- if a similar contagion happened today, it could kill up to 80 million people and wipe out 5% of the global economy.

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Ebola virus: Tanzania failing to provide details, WHO says
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49786823

The World Health Organization (WHO) has rebuked Tanzania for failing to provide information about possible Ebola virus infections.

The WHO said it had learned of one suspected fatal case in Dar es Salaam and two others but, despite repeated requests, was given no information.

Tanzania has said it has no suspected or confirmed cases.

The latest outbreak has killed more than 2,000 in eastern DR Congo, with Uganda battling to stop any spread.

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Doctors Without Borders Calls For More Transparency In Distribution Of Ebola Vaccine
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763410795/doctors-without-borders-calls-for-more-transparency-in-distribution-of-ebola-vac

Doctors Without Borders is accusing the World Health Organization of restricting the availability of the Ebola vaccine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Isabelle Defourny, the group's director of operations, said in a statement Monday that at least 2,000 people could be receiving the vaccine each day, instead of the maximum of 1,000 who are vaccinated daily at present. She called for WHO to supply more vaccines to medical teams.

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It's time to give flu vaccine another shot, health officials say
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cold-and-flu/it-s-time-give-flu-vaccine-another-shot-health-officials-n1059036

The flu forecast is cloudy and it's too soon to know if the U.S. is in for a third miserable season in a row, but health officials said Thursday not to delay vaccination.

While the vaccine didn't offer much protection the past two years, specialists have fine-tuned the recipe in hopes it will better counter a nasty strain this time around.

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