CDC Issues Travel Advisory For China Following Chikungunya Virus Outbreak

San Francisco Chronicle:
Chikungunya Outbreak In China Prompts U.S. Travel Alert

U.S. well being officers have issued a journey advisory for elements of China following a surge in chikungunya infections, a mosquito-borne viral illness that has sickened greater than 7,000 individuals in Guangdong province since mid-June. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging vacationers to train “increased caution,” significantly within the metropolis of Foshan, the epicenter of the outbreak. (Vaziri, 8/5)

Bloomberg:
Chikungunya Virus: China Revives Covid-Era Measures To Battle Outbreak

More than two years after ending pandemic emergency procedures, China has revived some Covid-era well being controls in southern Guangdong province to forestall the unfold of a painful mosquito-borne viral illness. Recording the identities of individuals shopping for generally used medicines, reinstating mass testing, requiring journey historical past experiences and endeavor community-level disinfection are amongst measures put in place to test chikungunya, after a metropolis within the industrial hub reported a uncommon however large outbreak of the virus this summer season. (Kan, 8/5)

In associated information about mosquito-borne illnesses —

BBC:
Ten Years After The Zika Outbreak: What Happened To The Babies Born With Microcephaly?

When Rute Freires was advised by a physician that her new child daughter Tamara would not stay lengthy, she began crying uncontrollably. Tamara had microcephaly – an abnormally small head – considered one of many circumstances ensuing from her mom being contaminated with the Zika virus whereas pregnant. Now nine-years-old, Tamara eats via a abdomen tube. Her palms are more and more stiff and contracted and he or she has a tough time holding her head nonetheless. “I was told early on that she wouldn’t walk, she wouldn’t speak nor smile,” says Rute. Rute’s daughter is likely one of the almost 2,000 infants born to girls who contracted the mosquito-borne virus in Brazil between 2015 and 2016. (Mota, 8/3)

On covid and flu —

USA Today:
New COVID Variant ‘Stratus’ Spreading In US: Symptoms, What To Know

A brand new COVID variant is climbing the ranks within the U.S., changing into the third-most frequent pressure of the summer season. Variant XFG, colloquially often known as “Stratus,” was first detected in Southeast Asia in January however accounted for lower than about 0% of instances within the United States till May. By late June, it was estimated to account for as much as 14%, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Walrath-Holdridge, 8/5)

Newsweek:
Map Shows States Where COVID Is Rising

COVID-19 instances are reported to be rising in 27 states and “likely growing” in 12 states extra in addition to in Washington D.C., based on the newest information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The nationwide well being physique warned that COVID-19 infections are estimated to be “growing or likely growing in 40 states [including D.C.], declining or likely declining in zero states, and not changing in nine states,” as of July 29. (Kim, 8/5)

CIDRAP:
Influenza, Not Tamiflu, May Raise Risk Of Neuropsychiatric Events In Kids

For 20 years, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) has carried a black-box warning suggesting that use in pediatric sufferers could also be linked to neuropsychiatric occasions, together with confusion, delirium, and irregular habits. But a brand new research in JAMA Neurology debunks this affiliation and means that influenza itself, not Tamiflu use, will increase a baby’s danger of experiencing neuropsychiatric occasions when ailing. (Soucheray, 8/5)

MedicalXpress:
New Flu Drug Combo With Chocolate Compound Outperforms Tamiflu

In a possible game-changer for a way we deal with the flu, scientists have unveiled a brand new drug pairing that outperforms Tamiflu—essentially the most extensively used anti-influenza medicine—in opposition to even the deadliest flu strains, together with chicken (avian) and swine flu. The stunning duo? One of them is theobromine, a compound present in chocolate. (Lock, 8/4)

New Atlas:
The 1918 Spanish Flu Virus Has Been Reconstructed From 107-Year-Old Lung

The preserved lung of an 18-year-old Swiss man has been used to create the complete genome of the 1918 “Spanish flu,” the primary full influenza A genome with a exact date from Europe. It affords new insights into the lethal pandemic that claimed the lives of as much as 100 million individuals. (Thompson, 8/3)

Also —

CIDRAP:
Many Studies Of Air-Cleaning Tech Say They Curb Viral Spread, But New Review Raises Questions

Although many research on air-cleaning applied sciences conclude that they stop the indoor unfold of respiratory viruses resembling SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, solely a small fraction study whether or not they cut back human infections or establish potential dangerous emissions, finds a scoping assessment printed immediately within the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 8/5)

KFF Health News:
Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s information: The Republican megabill President Donald Trump signed July 4 could lead on rural well being services to shut, and beforehand uncommon mosquito-borne diseases like dengue are on the rise within the U.S. July 24 Sam Whitehead reads the week’s information: Affordable Care Act well being plans will doubtless be costlier subsequent 12 months, and work necessities for Medicaid recipients could be costly and laborious to navigate for enrollees. (Cook, 8/5)