Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

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The US has surpassed 1,100 measles cases in two months. Expect more deaths next

Source: CNN Health

PUBLISHED Feb 27, 2026, 10:17 AM ET

The US has recorded more than 1,100 measles cases so far this year, according to data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a troubling milestone that has many in public health bracing for the worst.

According to the CDC, out of every 1,000 children who are infected with measles, one may develop encephalitis, ​which is a dangerous swelling of the brain. Up to 3 out of every 1,000 infected children will die.

The US is on track for another record-breaking year for measles: The number of measles cases reported in the first eight weeks of the year — ​1,136 as of February ​26, according to CDC data — is already six times more than typical for an entire year. A tracker from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Outbreak Response Innovation has tallied an even higher the annual case total than the CDC.

The current US trajectory for measles cases is “disappointing and depressing and ominous,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center — especially because there is a safe and highly effective vaccine available to protect against measles infection and its complications.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/27/health/m ... ses-deaths

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CDC Issues Urgent Travel Warning: Polio Spreading in 32 Countries

The CDC has issued a travel warning due to polio spreading in 32 countries worldwide as cases of poliovirus continue to rise. Find out which countries are named in the advisory and the specific precautions travelers should take before international trips.

In March 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a level 2 travel advisory for 32 different countries across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The CDC issued the warning because the affected regions have cases of polio spreading among their populations. The following countries were named in the official advisory:

Afghanistan

Algeria

Angola

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Chad

Côte d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Ethiopia

Finland

Gaza

Germany

Ghana

Guinea

Israel

Niger

Nigeria

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Poland

Senegal

Somalia

South Sudan

Spain

Sudan

Tanzania

United Kingdom

Yemen

Zimbabwe

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cdc ... 07761.html

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Robotics Meets Genetics: Joining Forces to Explore Fusarium
March 31, 2026

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Filamentous fungi of the genus Fusarium belong to the rare group of so-called trans-kingdom pathogens: they can infect plants, animals, and humans alike. They pose a significant risk particularly to immunocompromised patients, but can also cause infections of the body surface in otherwise healthy individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has therefore classified Fusarium species as particularly problematic pathogens.

“Fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, yet there are hardly any new drugs in development,” explains Dr. Luzia Gyr, who heads the junior research group Robotic-assisted Discovery of Antiinfectives. “This makes it all the more important to discover new bioactive molecules and to lay the foundation for future therapies.” In the case of Fusarium, their pronounced natural resilience further complicates treatment. “They are resistant to many commonly used antifungal drugs,” adds Dr. Slavica Janevska, head of the junior research group (Epi-)Genetic Regulation of Fungal Virulence. “There is an urgent need for new therapeutics.”

Both researchers successfully lead independent junior research groups. Through FUSION, they are now bringing together two complementary scientific approaches to discover new antifungal agents – targeting Fusarium, but also those derived from Fusarium.

Tracking down new compounds together

Gyr’s group develops automated methods to systematically test natural products and synthetic molecules for their activity against fungal infections – including compounds that are often overlooked by conventional methods. At the core of this work is the JenXplor robotic platform, which enables high-throughput screening experiments. “With our platform, we can test thousands of compounds under different conditions. We also implement new experimental approaches that are not feasible in conventional laboratory setups,” explains Gyr. She adds: “To achieve this, we develop test systems and combine automated experiments with comprehensive data analysis to identify potential drug candidates at an early stage.”

Within FUSION, her team has, for the first time, integrated filamentous human-pathogenic fungi into the automated platform. Their filamentous growth and spore formation pose particular challenges for the system, but these could be overcome through adapted procedures.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1122140

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The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead If Vaccines Vanished
By Lucas Waldron and Patricia Callahan,
March 27, 2026

Introduction:

(Pro Publica) Before vaccines, death and disability stalked children. Then shots turned once-common infections into something doctors only read about in textbooks.

When immunization rates drop, however, plagues from the past can come roaring back, as measles has in American communities where parents decided not to vaccinate their children.

Imagine what would happen if even the people who wanted shots couldn’t get them.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an antivaccination group, is considering changes that could prompt the handful of companies that make most shots for American children to stop selling them here. Over the last year, he has been transforming a government that long championed the lifesaving benefits of vaccines into one that questions their safety here and around the world.

Shortly after Kennedy was nominated, questions swirled over how he might overhaul America’s immunization system. Two Stanford University researchers wondered how many people would suffer if vaccination rates dropped or shots became entirely unavailable for four of the most infamous diseases: polio, measles, rubella and diphtheria

Read more here: https://projects.propublica.org/childh ... odel ing/

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Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz as new CDC director

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA214tWa

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This article (see below) is slightly dated. I am citing it here because there does not seem to be any previous reference in this thread to the cited study.

As Measles Outbreaks Grow, the Economic Cost of Anti-vaccine Misinformation Could Become Clearer
By Matt Field
March 12 , 2026

Introduction:

(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) On the preventable infectious disease front, 2026 started off worse than 2025. A South Carolina measles outbreak that began last fall kept growing in the new year. Though crowded out of the headlines by events such as President Trump threatening to invade Greenland, US immigration agents shooting and killing two citizens during militarized operations, or US helicopters swooping into Caracas to steal away Venezuela’s president, by late January the outbreak had surpassed the size of one in Texas last year—then the largest since measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. It took a mere 16 weeks for the South Carolina outbreak to grow larger than the Texas outbreak did in seven months (Edwards 2026). The United States now stands to lose its measles-free badge when international health authorities meet next month (PAHO 2026).

The second-in-command at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ralph Abraham, told reporters that escalating measles numbers are just the “cost of doing business” (Sun 2026). This common expression, usually meant to convey a casual “it-is-what-it-is” acceptance of some inconvenience or another, might be more apt in this case than perhaps Abraham intended: Measles outbreaks literally cost money. And with vaccination rates dropping, experts say those costs will grow as anti-vaccine activists like Abraham’s boss Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gain greater influence over public health policy and public perceptions of vaccination.

One recent study looking at the costs of outbreaks in the United States between 2000 and the fall of 2025 found that many measles outbreaks had cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to address. The cost of starting a response, the fixed cost of the outbreak, is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, on average, the report found. While response cost is not the only important consideration when it comes to outbreaks of a deadly disease, if more and bigger measles outbreaks become the new normal, costs could become more salient, especially in regions where budgets are tight.

Read more here: hebulletin.org/premium/2026-03/as-meas ... -heading

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More than 100 People Stranded on Cruise Ship After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak.
By Lex Harvey and Issy Ronald
May 5, 2026

Introduction:

(CNN) Almost 150 people, including 17 Americans, are stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of west Africa, after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the vessel killed at least three people and left several others ill.

The MV Hondius, operated by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, left Ushuaia, Argentina last month on a journey through remote parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, several passengers became sick with a rapidly progressing respiratory illness, the company said.

Seven cases of the rare rodent-borne hantavirus have been identified so far, including two confirmed cases and five suspected cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

The vessel with 149 people on board is currently anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa, after being refused entry to the port.

There is no plan yet for disembarking the remaining crew and passengers, with Oceanwide Expeditions saying they are considering sailing on to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other ... 314&ei=98

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More than 100 People Stranded on Cruise Ship After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak.
By Lex Harvey and Issy Ronald
May 5, 2026

Introduction:

(CNN) Almost 150 people, including 17 Americans, are stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of west Africa, after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the vessel killed at least three people and left several others ill.

The MV Hondius, operated by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, left Ushuaia, Argentina last month on a journey through remote parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, several passengers became sick with a rapidly progressing respiratory illness, the company said.

Seven cases of the rare rodent-borne hantavirus have been identified so far, including two confirmed cases and five suspected cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

The vessel with 149 people on board is currently anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa, after being refused entry to the port.

There is no plan yet for disembarking the remaining crew and passengers, with Oceanwide Expeditions saying they are considering sailing on to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other ... 314&ei=98

Mortality rate of around 40%, incubation period of up to 8 weeks, human-to-human transmission, three confirmed deaths now... this thing had better stay contained.

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More than 100 People Stranded on Cruise Ship After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak.
By Lex Harvey and Issy Ronald
May 5, 2026

Introduction:

(CNN) Almost 150 people, including 17 Americans, are stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of west Africa, after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the vessel killed at least three people and left several others ill.

The MV Hondius, operated by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, left Ushuaia, Argentina last month on a journey through remote parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, several passengers became sick with a rapidly progressing respiratory illness, the company said.

Seven cases of the rare rodent-borne hantavirus have been identified so far, including two confirmed cases and five suspected cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

The vessel with 149 people on board is currently anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa, after being refused entry to the port.

There is no plan yet for disembarking the remaining crew and passengers, with Oceanwide Expeditions saying they are considering sailing on to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other ... 314&ei=98

Mortality rate of around 40%, incubation period of up to 8 weeks, human-to-human transmission, three confirmed deaths now... this thing had better stay contained.

I absolutely have no faith NIH and CDC will come to the rescue.

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At least the r0 has been historically low. Let's hope it stays that way.

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More than 100 People Stranded on Cruise Ship After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak.
By Lex Harvey and Issy Ronald
May 5, 2026

...
Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other ... 314&ei=98

More background regarding that outbreak: https://theconversation.com/health-auth ... eak-282343