First paediatric case of bird flu reported in the US
Health authorities have reported the first known US case of H5N1 avian influenza in a child. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…
Tag: Infectious diseases
Cryptosporidiosis outbreak smashes records with 13,400 cases this year
Doctors have diagnosed over 13,400 cryptosporidiosis cases this year, 3.5 times higher than last year’s total case count and 2.5 times higher than the previous…
Trump chooses anti-fluoride anti-vaxxer as his US Health Secretary
Robert F Kennedy Jr is one of the world’s most prominent vaccine sceptics, and now the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense has…
Benign antibiotic creating ‘almost untreatable superbug’ via cross-resistance
Prophylactic use of the antibiotic rifaximin is fuelling a dangerous multidrug-resistant pathogen, Australian scientists say. The team says rifaximin causes cross-resistance to the unrelated antibiotic…
An anti-vax conspiracy theorist could become Trump’s health tsar — what it means for Aussie doctors
I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual congress of the US Center for Inquiry – an organisation promoting science and reason, and countering…
What’s behind this year’s historic pertussis outbreak?
A record-breaking 42,428 pertussis cases have been notified this year compared with the previous high of about 39,000 in 2011 and a mere 2454 cases…
‘World-leading’: RSV vaccine free for pregnant women from 2025
Pregnant women can access respiratory syncytial virus vaccination under the National Immunisation Program starting next winter, the Federal Government has announced. Single-dose respiratory syncytial virus…
Cranberry juice and antiseptic help prevent UTIs: new guidance
International guidance backs cranberry juice for reducing symptomatic UTI risk in children, women with a history of recurrent UTIs and other high-risk cohorts. Methenamine hippurate…
Aged care nurse suspended over surprise baby shower weeks before COVID-19 outbreak killed 38 residents
A nurse who attended a surprise baby shower thrown for him at an aged care facility during a COVID-19 lockdown has been suspended for a…
Group A strep: a post-COVID threat
Need to know: Strep A (Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococcus) is estimated to cause over 18 million cases of severe disease and 500,000 deaths…
