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Showing posts from August 29, 2025

The Trans-Kingdom #Spectrum of #Mpox-like Lesion Pustules of Suspect #Patients in the Mpox Clade Ib #Outbreak in Eastern #DRC

  Abstract During infectious disease outbreaks, acquiring genetic data across various kingdoms offers essential information to tailor precise treatment methodologies and bolster clinical, epidemiological, and public health awareness. Metagenomics sequencing has paved the way for personalized treatment approaches and streamlined the monitoring process for both co-infections and opportunistic infections. In this study, we conducted long-read metagenomic DNA sequencing on mpox-like lesion pustules from six suspected patients who were positive and confirmed to be infected with MPXV during the MPXV subclade Ib outbreak in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The sequenced data were taxonomically classified as bacterial, fungal, and viral in composition . Our results show a wide spectrum of microorganisms present in the lesions . Bacteria such as Corynebacterium amycolatum, Gardnerella vaginalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterobacter clocae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Stenotro...

#Cholera – Multi-country with a focus on countries experiencing current surges (#WHO D.O.N., August 29 '25)

  {Summary} Situation at a glance The global cholera situation continues to deteriorate , driven by conflict and poverty, posing a significant public health challenge across multiple WHO regions.  Between 1 January and 17 August 2025, a total of 409 222 cholera/Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) cases and 4738 deaths were reported globally, from 31 countries , with six of the 31 countries reporting case fatality rates above 1%, indicating serious gaps in case management and delayed access to care.  Cholera is resurging in a number of countries , including some that had not reported substantial case numbers in years, like Chad and the Republic of Congo , while other countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo , South Sudan , and Sudan , are experiencing outbreaks that are continuing from 2024, with significant geographic expansion. This complicates containment efforts and strains fragile health systems.  Conflict, mass displacement, disasters from natural hazard...

Modelling a potential #zoonotic #spillover event of #H5N1 #influenza

  Abstract Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a prominent candidate for a future human pandemic arising from a zoonotic spillover event . Its best-known subtype is H5N1 , with South- or South-East Asia a likely location for an initial outbreak. Such an outbreak would be initiated through a primary event of bird-to-human infection, followed by sustained human-to-human transmission . Early interventions require the extraction, integration and interpretation of epidemiological information from the limited and noisy case data available at outbreak onset. We studied the implications of a potential zoonotic spillover of H5N1 influenza into humans . Our simulations used BharatSim , an agent-based model framework designed primarily for the population of India , but which can be tuned easily for others. We considered a synthetic population representing primary contacts in an outbreak site with infected birds. These primary contacts transfer infections to secondary ( household) cont...

#USA, #Wastewater Data for Avian #Influenza #H5 (#CDC, August 29 '25)

  {Summary} Time Period: August 17, 2025 - August 23, 2025 -- H5 Detection :  2 sites ( 0.5% ) -- No Detection :  429 sites ( 99.5% ) -- No samples in last week :  31 sites (...) Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html ____