Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Horse euthanised after first Hendra virus case in five years reported in Queensland

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Biosecurity Queensland euthanised the horse in Mackay on Friday after it contracted the virus, which can be fatal in humans

Queensland has recorded its first case of Hendra virus since 2017 after a horse tested positive in Mackay.

Biosecurity Queensland said the result was confirmed on Friday and the horse was euthanised after its condition deteriorated rapidly.

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More Australians to be eligible for fourth dose of Covid vaccine as Omicron infections rise

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Atagi will brief the health minister, Mark Butler, on Thursday after agreeing to recommend the expansion of Australia’s Covid vaccine program

A fourth Covid vaccine will be made available to more Australians as health authorities attempt to starve off further spread of the infectious virus which continues to place the health system under enormous pressure.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) met on Wednesday, and agreed to recommend the booster program be expanded. Nine newspapers reported a fourth vaccine will be made available to anyone aged over 30, with a special recommendation for those aged over 50 to take up the offer.

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Fears two monkeypox cases were transmitted locally and could mark spread of disease in Australia

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NSW has confirmed 11 cases and health authorities are urging people to be aware of symptoms

Monkeypox may be spreading in Australia after New South Wales found infections among the state’s 11 confirmed cases that could have been transmitted locally.

NSW Health says nine of the infections were probably acquired overseas but two may be local cases, which suggests community transmission could be occurring, especially among men who have sex with men.

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China imposes Covid lockdown in Xi’an after handful of cases

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Zero-Covid strategy shuts down north-central city of 13 million following 18 reported cases of Omicron

A highly transmissible Omicron subvariant, which is already dominant in Britain and the US, has sent parts of the ancient Chinese city of Xi’an, home to 13 million, into a seven-day lockdown.

Businesses, schools and restaurants in Xi’an will close for one week, officials said on Tuesday, after the Chinese city logged a handful of Covid-19 cases. The capital city of Shaanxi province has reported 18 cases since Saturday in a cluster driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to official notices.

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Australia surpasses 10,000 Covid deaths as authorities warn of another wave of infections

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Federal health minister Mark Butler says new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants increase the risk of reinfection

Australia has surpassed the grim milestone of 10,000 Covid-19 deaths, as authorities urge people to remain vigilant against the disease.

The country’s toll from the virus stood at 9,984 on Saturday, and tipped past the 10,000 mark with Sunday’s numbers.

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CDC activates emergency operations unit for monkeypox

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The move signals the initial stages of a public health concern as 306 cases of the virus have been recorded in the US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has activated an emergency operations unit for monkeypox that signals the initial stages of a public health concern.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC), was activated on Tuesday to boost operational support for addressing a monkeypox outbreak.

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US ramping up monkey pox vaccine distribution to slow down spread

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The government will expand access to and increase supply of two different formulations to contain the infection

The US government is ramping up efforts to staunch the spread of monkeypox by sending hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses to states in the coming months, expanding access for those most at risk and increasing supply to areas with high case numbers.

The plan, announced on Tuesday, involves rapidly expanding access to doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine – which has so far been limited – to prevent monkeypox in areas with the highest transmission and need.

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Alarm in Beijing after announcement zero-Covid policy may last five years

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Communist party official posts notice saying mass mandatory testing and travel curbs will continue

Authorities in Beijing have sparked confusion and alarm after announcing the strict zero-Covid policy could be in place for the next five years, including mass mandatory testing and travel restrictions.

The notice, published on Monday afternoon, was attributed to Cai Qi, the Beijing secretary of the Chinese Communist party. The original text said: “In the next five years, Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalisation of epidemic prevention and control.”

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Wrist-worn trackers can detect Covid before symptoms, study finds

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Sensor tech can alert wearer to Covid early, helping to prevent onward transmission

Health trackers worn on the wrist could be used to spot Covid-19 days before any symptoms appear, according to researchers.

Growing numbers of people worldwide use the devices to monitor changes in skin temperature, heart and breathing rates. Now a new study shows that this data could be combined with artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose Covid-19 even before the first tell-tale signs of the disease appear.

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Heaven Supermarket: the Beijing bar at centre of Covid outbreak

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Self-service bar popular with locals and foreigners has been shut down after being linked to hundreds of cases

Heaven Supermarket’s ability to attract young Chinese customers and foreigners has always been viewed with envy by its competitor bars in the Chinese capital.

Located in one of the busiest nightlife districts in Beijing, the bar is modelled as a large self-service liquor store with chairs, sofas and tables. It is not the fanciest in its presentation, but on Chinese review websites, patrons highlight its affordability and down-to-earth attitude.

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Is UK at start of new Covid wave driven by BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants?

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Virus may be evolving to refavour infecting lung tissue. We assess what this could mean for the course of the pandemic

If you thought Covid-19 was dead and gone, think again. Early signs indicate that the UK may be at the start of a new wave of Covid infections driven by BA.4 and BA.5 – while new data suggests these variants may have evolved to refavour infecting lung tissue, which could make them more dangerous.

So what can we expect in the coming weeks and months?

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Beijing in ‘race against time’ to tackle serious Covid outbreak

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Latest batch of at least 287 cases has raised new worries about outlook for Chinese economy

Authorities in Beijing have warned that a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases linked to a 24-hour bar was critical and the city of 22 million people was in a “race against time” to get to grips with its most serious outbreak since the pandemic began.

The flare-up means millions of people are facing mandatory testing and thousands are under targeted lockdowns, just days after the city started to lift widespread curbs intended to tackle a broader outbreak since late April.

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Improved disease control in public buildings ‘could save UK billions a year’

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Measures such as improved ventilation would boost economy by helping prevent ill health, says report

Mandating improved ventilation and other forms of disease control in public buildings could save the UK economy billions of pounds each year through the prevention of ill health and its societal impacts, according to a report.

It is the first study to comprehensively evaluate the health, social and economic costs of airborne infections, including Covid. Even without a pandemic, seasonal respiratory diseases cost the UK about £8bn a year in disruption and sick days, said the report by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. In the event of another severe pandemic within the next 60 years, the societal cost could be as high as £23bn a year.

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Majority of UK’s 366 monkeypox cases are in London, says health agency

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Almost 99% of people infected are men and the average age is 38 according to UK Health Security Agency data

Four-fifths of the people in England who have been infected with monkeypox live in London, an investigation by the UK Health Security Agency has found.

Of the cases interviewed, 99% of those infected are men and their average age is 38, the agency added after analysing 336 of the 366 confirmed cases found in the UK since the outbreak began last month.

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China calls theory that Covid originated in Chinese lab ‘politically motivated lie’

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WHO report has said origins of virus are still unknown and recommended further investigation

China has repeated its assertion the theory that the Covid-19 pandemic began with a leak from a Chinese laboratory is “a politically motivated lie”, after the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended continued investigations this week.

“The lab leak theory is totally a lie concocted by anti-China forces for political purposes, which has nothing to do with science,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing on Friday.

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Xi Jinping says ‘persistence is victory’ as Covid restrictions return to Shanghai and Beijing

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Both cities back on high alert, with new lockdowns in Shanghai , and the shutdown of entertainment venues in Beijing

Xi Jinping has reiterated China’s commitment to zero-Covid, declaring “persistence is victory”, as Shanghai and Beijing were hit with new lockdowns, shutdowns, and mass testing drives just a week after the cities celebrated the easing of restrictions.

In response to China’s worst outbreak of the pandemic, Shanghai spent months under an arduous and strict citywide lockdown, while Beijing authorities imposed localised lockdowns, venue and public transport shutdowns, and work-from-home orders. In the last week both had begun easing restrictions, with authorities praising the containment of the community outbreaks of the Omicron variant.

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Shanghai to lock down 2.7 million, a week after easing Covid restrictions

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District of Minhang to be closed on Saturday for mass testing, sparking fears the lockdown could be prolonged if cases found

Shanghai will lock down a district of 2.7 million people on Saturday to conduct mass coronavirus testing, city authorities said, as the Chinese metropolis struggles to fully emerge from punishing curbs.

The city eased many restrictions last week, after confining most of its 25 million residents to their homes since March as China battled its worst Covid outbreak in two years.

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US bird flu outbreak: millions of birds culled in ‘most inhumane way available’

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Controversial asphyxiation method used in 73% of culls this year despite vets urging its use to be limited

The US poultry industry has increasingly switched to “the most inhumane method available” to cull tens of millions of birds during the latest outbreak of avian influenza, according to government data.

Outbreaks of the disease, also known as bird flu, have wreaked havoc across Europe and the US this year, with 38 million birds killed in the US so far.

But how these birds are killed has generated controversy, with veterinarians and animal welfare campaigners urging an end to the use of the ventilation shutdown method, which kills animals by sealing off the airflow to the poultry sheds and increasing temperatures to lethal levels.

Workers have described the method as like “roasting animals alive”. European officials have said it should not be used in the European Union.

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Omicron subvariant drives spike in cases and deaths in Portgual

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Europe faces prospect of further Covid measures later in the year as share of Omicron BA.5 cases rise in Portugal and Germany

A spike of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Portugal driven by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant in spite of warm temperatures is causing capitals across Europe to once again consider measures against a pandemic that has started to fade into public memory.

Portugal confirmed 26,848 new cases and recorded 47 Covid deaths on Wednesday – the highest daily death toll since 17 February, when 51 deaths from the disease were reported.

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Three jabs best for preventing Covid infections, global analysis finds

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Number of doses, not vaccine combinations, key to boosting immunity, according to largest study of its kind

Three doses of the same Covid-19 vaccine or a combination of jabs work equally well in preventing infections, according to the largest study of its kind.

While the effectiveness of individual coronavirus vaccines is well known, the evidence around combinations of jabs has been less clear, especially for particular groups such as older people and those who are immunocompromised.

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