Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

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First human screwworm case in US traced to person in Maryland who traveled from Guatemala, sources say

By Cassandra Garrison and Tom Polansek

BUENOS AIRES/CHICAGO (Reuters) -A case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been identified in a person in Maryland who had traveled to the United States from Guatemala, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

The person, who received treatment in Maryland, is the first confirmed case in the U.S. of New World screwworm, a parasite that eats cattle and other warm-blooded animals alive, since an outbreak began to escalate and move northward from Central America and southern Mexico late last year.

Beth Thompson, South Dakota's state veterinarian, told Reuters on Sunday that she was notified of the case within the last week by a person with direct knowledge of the Maryland case.

A second source, who asked not to be identified, said they had seen emails sent by an executive of the industry group Beef Alliance on August 20 to about two dozen people in the livestock and beef sectors, informing them that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed a human case of screwworm in Maryland in a person who had traveled to the U.S. from Guatemala.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/exc ... 39321.html

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This was also the result of antivaxxers.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/me ... en-5316571

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Trump’s new CDC chief: A Washington health insider with a libertarian streak

https://apnews.com/article/jim-oneill-c ... 2b09f85ff4

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First human screwworm case in US traced to person in Maryland who traveled from Guatemala, sources say

By Cassandra Garrison and Tom Polansek

BUENOS AIRES/CHICAGO (Reuters) -A case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been identified in a person in Maryland who had traveled to the United States from Guatemala, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

The person, who received treatment in Maryland, is the first confirmed case in the U.S. of New World screwworm, a parasite that eats cattle and other warm-blooded animals alive, since an outbreak began to escalate and move northward from Central America and southern Mexico late last year.

Beth Thompson, South Dakota's state veterinarian, told Reuters on Sunday that she was notified of the case within the last week by a person with direct knowledge of the Maryland case.

A second source, who asked not to be identified, said they had seen emails sent by an executive of the industry group Beef Alliance on August 20 to about two dozen people in the livestock and beef sectors, informing them that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed a human case of screwworm in Maryland in a person who had traveled to the U.S. from Guatemala.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/exc ... 39321.html

Here is another article on that topic (see link below). It covers a lot of the same ground but does contain new information and offers a slightly different perspective:

https://sentientmedia.org/the-new-world ... man-flexh/

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News article from LiveScience as well for context.

https://www.livescience.com/health/medi ... g-children

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News article from LiveScience as well for context.

https://www.livescience.com/health/medi ... g-children

Religion makes people do stupid and evil shit. The logical mind shouldn't allow such idiocy but religion is a death cult and somehow has more power in our society then rationality. Insane.

This is why most of human history never advanced as religion literally forced people to expect something in the clouds to help you and f*ck helping yourself.

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To be clear, this particular decision was the result of more generic incompetence as opposed to religious extremism.

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Decoding Wildlife Movement to Predict the Next Pandemic
September 14, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) As zoonotic diseases like avian flu and COVID-19 continue to threaten both human and wildlife populations, a new study introduces an innovative framework for disease detection—using wild animals themselves as sentinels. By equipping wildlife with biologging devices that track movement and behavior in near-real-time, researchers can detect early signs of illness, monitor disease spread, and inform public health interventions before outbreaks reach crisis levels. The study outlines six key applications of this approach and calls for global collaboration across health, conservation, and environmental sectors to make biologging-based surveillance a central tool in the fight against future pandemics.
[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]– When the next pandemic threat looms, help may come from an unexpected source: wild animals. In a groundbreaking new study led by Prof. Ran Nathan from the Movement Ecology Lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, researchers propose a bold new approach to detecting and managing disease outbreaks—by tracking wildlife in near real-time.[/i]

Published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, the study presents a comprehensive framework for using animal movement data—gathered through tiny, wearable biologging devices—to identify signs of disease before outbreaks spiral out of control. It’s a shift from reactive treatment to proactive prevention, and it could revolutionize how we approach zoonotic diseases like avian flu and even future COVID-like pandemics.

“The winter 2021/22 avian flu outbreak at the Hula Valley was Israel’s largest wildlife outbreak, killing 8,000 cranes and threatening human health. At that time, we had 10 GPS-tracked cranes, some of which died. The mass mortality scene at the Agamon Hula was devastating, but the data from the tracked cranes provided unprecedented insights for guiding rapid management decisions. This prompted us to develop a general framework applicable to multiple diseases and host species.” said Prof. Nathan. “Thanks to advances in biologging, we can now track wild animal in near-real-time, far faster and more effectively than before. This allows early detection of outbreaks, targeted mitigation, and the potential to save both human and animal lives.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098333

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People with conservative political leanings more likely to believe in health disinformation, study finds

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-people-po ... ation.html

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Inside Texas’s Grand Laboratory of Dangerous Mosquitos
By Umair Irfan
September 17, 2025

Introduction:

(Vox) Austin, Texas — Under a microscope, a mosquito can look stunning. Their blue-green iridescent scales, purple bands, and attractive spotted wings shimmer — dazzling enough to forget, for a moment, the insect lives to take a sip of your blood.

Mosquitoes range in size, from smaller than your pinky fingernail to a commanding presence in your palm, but it takes a skilled eye and a steady hand to sort the most dangerous species.

At the Arbovirus-Entomology Laboratory of the Texas Department of State Health Services, getting a close-up look is a key step in an active statewide effort to keep vector-borne diseases at bay — and alert the rest of the country when a major outbreak is looming.

The US has proved successful in driving away some of the most common mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria and yellow fever, during the 20th century. With less worries about insect-borne illnesses, there are few local and state health agencies in the US investing in active efforts to find and eliminate dangerous insects. Now, these old diseases are starting to creep back in, and new ones are lurking in stagnant puddles, garbage dumps, and culverts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the rates of infections spread by animals has more than doubled over the past 20 years. Yet, the picture of these illnesses across the US is spotty at best, and they are likely far more prevalent than we may realize.

However, Texas has been looking out for mosquitoes since 1954, and it’s still a priority. “Texas and Florida are the most vulnerable. … A lot of times, we’re the ones that see the first human cases of emerging diseases because of our climate, the vectors that we have, and the population levels,” said Bethany Bolling, who manages the zoonotic virology group at the Texas state health office. “We have active programs throughout Texas that are weekly collecting mosquitoes. We’re monitoring the population levels. We monitor the species, where they are. And then we’re also looking for pathogens.” The state of Texas spends $755,000 per year on its arbovirus surveillance program and employs seven molecular biologists on the team.

In addition to a fairly detailed discussion of mosquitos, the article briefly mentions the West Nile virus, dengue outbreaks, Chikungunya, and malaria. Trump administration budget cuts are also discussed.

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/climate/460842/arb ... e-threats

This same article can also be read here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... esearch/

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Guangdong Faces Largest Chikungunya Outbreak on Record
September 17, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new editorial in Biocontaminant reports that Guangdong Province is experiencing the largest outbreak of chikungunya fever ever recorded in China, with more than 4,000 confirmed cases since late July. Shunde District of Foshan alone has reported over 3,600 infections, and cases have also spread to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Chikungunya fever is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, the same vectors responsible for dengue and Zika. The disease, marked by fever and severe joint pain, does not spread directly between people, making mosquito control the key to prevention.

“The outbreak reflects both the global spread of chikungunya and the favorable conditions for mosquito-borne diseases in southern China,” said lead author Guang-Guo Ying of South China Normal University.

Authorities have launched a province-wide campaign urging residents to remove stagnant water and reduce mosquito breeding sites. The editorial also stresses that climate change, urbanization, and global travel are expanding the reach of arboviruses worldwide, posing growing public health challenges.

The World Health Organization has recently introduced updated clinical guidelines and reinforced its Global Arbovirus Initiative to strengthen monitoring, prevention, and coordinated response. The authors call for investment in genomic surveillance, community engagement, and international cooperation to mitigate future outbreaks.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098952

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Mapping 100 years of antibiotic resistance evolution to pinpoint the genetic culprits

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-years-ant ... netic.html

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Thanks, Trump Administration! Measles Hits 30+ Year High

Source: crooksandliars.com



This is entirely the fault of RFK Jr and the president who hired him.



By NewsHound Ellen — September 25, 2025

Just as Sec. Robert F. “Brainworm” Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration are making vaccines and health care harder to get, at least one entirely preventable disease is surging.

Via Bloomberg:


The surge in measles cases this year, which has reached levels not seen since 1992, have alarmed public health experts. There have been 40 outbreaks this year, compared with 16 for all of 2024.

What's different about this year? Instead of a legit medical expert in charge of our public health, we have an unqualified anti-vaxxer......................

Read more: https://crooksandliars.com/2025/09/meas ... -year-high

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Mississippi Baby Dies of Whooping Cough, the State's First Pertussis Death in 13 Years

Source: Mississippi Free Press

A baby in Mississippi has died of whooping cough, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced on Monday, marking the state’s first whooping cough death in 13 years. The infant was less than two months old and was not old enough to receive the pertussis vaccine, the agency said.

Mississippi has seen 115 pertussis cases from Jan. 1, 2025, to Sept. 29. Through all of 2024, the state had only detected 49 whooping cough cases, MSDH reported. Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said that Mississippi’s last whooping cough deaths were in 2008 and 2012.

“We do believe that declining vaccination rates are impacting this,” he told reporters on Sept. 29. “Mississippi, as you know, scores very high with our rate of vaccination for our infants and school-aged children, but we don’t score nearly as well with adults. And so, our concern is that adult Mississippians are not maintaining the pertussis immunity, which puts our babies at risk.”

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Pertussis could linger anywhere between two to eight weeks in a person if left untreated, Edney said. In adults, pertussis is typically mild, and he said people usually think they have a common cold. People should quarantine for anywhere between six to 21 days if they have pertussis, he said.

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Read more: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mi ... -13-years/