Harriman, Brosseau and Triverdi have written to the Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) to express their concerns over the lack of apparent preventative measures undertaken during the Al-Ahsa Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus outbreak communicated by Assiri et al (previously reviewed here).The new letter indicates that with so little...
MERS-CoV and the host: a serious disease of those with disease
Case total currently stands at 150 including 64 deaths (PFC of 43%), with the World Health Organisation's latest update adding in the recent death (their tally says 149/63) and the Oman case and a new death being reported from eastern Saudi Arabia. The details for this latest patient are (FT#152):56-year old maleComorbiditiesContact of a previous case.So, as the Oman case showed,...
New MERS-CoV laboratory test: takes 10-minutes but what can it tell you?
Back in June we heard of a quick test for MERS-CoV to add to the diagnostic armamentarium. I posted on it here.Now that the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress & Exhibition it was presented at is over, we are hearing about it again through a story at The National. Still no details though, so my original concerns about sensitivity (how...
French "probable" case pas vraiment so probable after all
FluTracker's and Mike Coston is busy keeping us up-to-date on the latest with MERS-CoV concerns around the world post-Hajj.Last night's probable case has tested negative for the MERS-CoV according to media - the Health Ministry website has not released this yet.The surviving case of MERS-CoV in France, is still hospitalized.Mike's post.FluTracker's...
First case of MERS-CoV in Oman...home of antibody-positve camels...[UPDATED]
A new country has described, via the media (quoting Mohamed bin Saif al Hosni, Under-Secretary for Oman's Health Affairs), its first Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case, the sultanate of Oman. It seems that the case was acquired locally from someone infected outside Oman.68-year old male with diabetesStill no detail on the supposed confirmed case he was...
Latest confirmed cases and a probable new MERS-CoV case(s) in France [UPDATED]
It's been a couple of days since the last report of a new MERS-CoV case, that of an expatriate, 23-year old asymptomatic male contact of another case in Doha, Qatar (the 7th seemingly acquired on Qatari soil). 23M (FT#150) was mildly ill and was diagnosed through routine screening of contacts. The man worked with animals in a barn owned by a previous case according to...
Alaska, USA - Isaac Benowitz, Resident in Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital - Health Disparities of Alaska Natives
September 12, 2013Access to water has been described as a basic human right. I'd heard plenty from my medical school classmates about the challenges of bringing water to poor villages scattered across Africa but I didn't realize there were places in the US with similar challenges, places where water...
Alaska, USA - Isaac Benowitz, Resident in Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital - Health Disparities of Alaska Natives
August 26, 2013Greetings from America's frontier! I�m spending a month in Anchorage, Alaska, working with the CDC�s Arctic Investigations Program. I came to pursue some interests in the social determinants of health and environmental health, chasing an opportunity to work alongside CDC researchers who...
Why palm tress in the MERS-CoV acquisition model...?
Click to enlarge. See more at earlier post.I have palm trees drawn in as a sort of focus for my hypothetical acquisition model for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). I first posted this graphic back in late August. It shows ways in which humans might acquire/have...
Influenza deaths amongst children...
Influenza-associated paediatric mortality data.US CDC FluView. Click to enlarge.I'm a little bogged down in feeling sorry for myself (no new grants in 2013), paper writing, grant planning/duck aligning just now - but I'm keep an eye on Twitter for gems like this one. Over on his blog, Avian Flu...
