Nigeria Meningitis Case Count Tops 8000 (
Outbreak News Today) The meningococcal meningitis numbers keep piling up in parts of Nigeria as officials now put the case count at 8,057 suspected cases and 745 deaths as of Monday, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
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Zika Virus Can Trigger Epilepsy (
CBS News) Beyond its known links to birth defects and other problems, the Zika virus may also trigger cases of epilepsy in infants, warn experts from CDC. Among 48 babies from Brazil with probable congenital Zika infection, "50% reportedly had clinical seizures," said Dr. Daniel Pastula, Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp and Rosemarie Kobau.
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Domestic Preparedness & Response
Documents Shed Light on Officials' Actions During Dam Crisis (
AP News) An Associated Press examination has revealed federal and state managers made a series of questionable decisions before and during a recent crisis at America's tallest dam. For nearly a week in February, Oroville Dam managers assured the public there was no immediate danger after a massive crack opened in the main concrete chute that carries water from the dam.
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Government Affairs & National Security
Global Health Security
Medicine & Public Health
Crowdsourcing Was Right About Weston Jimmy John's Outbreak (
Food Safety News) Iwaspoisoned.com, the crowdsourcing site for safer dining, was correct in finding norovirus was making people sick after they ate at the Weston Jimmy John's near Wausau, WI. The Marathon County Health Department reports a norovirus outbreak was responsible for making about 100 people sick since April 7. The department began collecting reports from people who picked up food from the nationally franchised sandwich shop shortly before becoming ill.
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Michigan's 'Stealth Move' to Increase Vaccination Rates (
STAT News) Just 3 years ago, Michigan had the fourth-highest rate of unvaccinated kindergartners in the nation. But when a charter school in northwestern Traverse City reported nearly 2 dozen cases of whooping cough and several cases of measles that November, state officials were jolted to action.
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Science & Technology
Wolbachia-infected Mosquitoes Released in Florida (
The Scientist) Kentucky-based MosquitoMate released 20,000 male
Aedes aegypti this week (April 18) in a field trial in the Florida Keys, testing the insects' abilities to tamp down the local mosquito population. These male mosquitoes were treated with the bacterium
Wolbachia, which causes eggs to perish when infected males mate with uninfected females.
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Other 21st Century Threats
