(World Scientific 27 February 2015) With a group of like-minded scientists, editors Asit K Pattanaik and Michael Whitt have compiled a timely publication entitled ‘Biology and Pathogenesis of Rhabdo- and Filoviruses’ discussing the most recent findings on processes and current status of development of vaccines and antivirals to mitigate the diseases caused by viruses like Ebola and Rabies.
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Click here to request purchase of Biology and Pathogenesis of Rhabdo- and Filoviruses (Feb 2015) edited by Pattnaik and Whitt (QH Staff Only)
ABC News | February 24, 2015 | Sharnie Kim & Adam Stephen
A long-time resident of the north Queensland town of Tully has blamed the lack of a council clean-up day on the spike in dengue fever cases.
Queensland Health confirmed four more cases in the Tully – El Arish area yesterday, taking the total number this season to 29. Continue reading…
ABC News | Wednesday 25 February, 2015 | Charmaine Kane
Health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus Ross River in southern Queensland, with one expert saying he expects thousands more cases to emerge.
Heavy rain and high tides have been blamed for a rise in mosquito numbers and a significant increase in the number of people falling ill due to being bitten.
Earlier this month 380 people had been infected with the virus, and this figure has now risen to 1,000 cases since the start of the year, according to Queensland Health figures. Continue reading…
From other news sites:
Weatherzone: Ross River virus outbreak in south-east Queensland confirmed, thousands more cases expected
News.com.au: Number of Ross River virus cases on the Gold Coast explode, with more expected after heavy rains
Gold Coast Bulletin: Ross River virus may hit hundreds on mozzie-infested Gold Coast
NT News: Rare virus prompts mozzie warning
Townsville Bulletin: Spike in Ross River fever
Townsville Bulletin Rachel Riley 23 February 2015
ROSS River virus has struck down 90 people in Townsville in just six weeks as the number of cases across the region reaches almost three times the average for this time of year.
Gold Coast Bulletin Lucy Kinbacher 24 February 2015
A ROSS River epidemic is emerging on the Gold Coast with the number of cases usually recorded in the first six weeks of the year jumping from seven to 98. Medical experts warn the unprecedented levels of the “painful” mosquito-inflicted fever could rise into the thousands following the wet start to the year.
BBC News 20 February 2015
Drug-resistant malaria has been detected at the Myanmar-India border and now poses an “enormous threat” to global health, scientists have said.
The ability of the malaria parasite to shrug off the effects of artemisinin has been spreading since it emerged in South East Asia.
Tests, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, now show this resistance on the verge of entering India.
Link to The Lancet Infectious Diseases article
For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.
In fact, most of the plague-causing bacteria – called Yersinia pestis – get trapped in a bottleneck either in the skin, while en route to the lymph node, or in the node itself. Only a few microbes break free to infect the lymph node and cause disease.
Link to article in PLOS Pathogens