Disease

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – Canada

On 27 January 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of Canada notified WHO of 1 laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. On January 30, 2015 a second individual, travelling to China with the index case, was laboratory confirmed to also have influenza A(H7N9) infection.

The two individuals flew from Hong Kong, SAR China to British Columbia, Canada after travelling together through China. During their travels, they were exposed to live poultry, although they had no direct contact with poultry.

Ebola Not the Only Dangerous Virus in African Wild

Scientists studying the source of the somewhat waning West Africa Ebola outbreak say they have found 16 other animal-borne viruses that threaten to infect the human population.

Presenting their findings at a conference in London on tackling infectious disease, researchers from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa said they were unsure how serious a threat the newly identified viruses pose.

It’s believed the current outbreak started when a child became infected after coming in contact with a bat or its droppings, or snacking on one.

Eating the meat of monkeys, bats and other wild animals, known as bush meat, is thought to be a way people can become infected.

Africans have supplemented their diet with bush meat for thousands of years, making efforts to end the practice virtually impossible.

Health officials have recently begun to provide information on how to safely prepare and cook bush meat to prevent infection.

Nigel Lightfoot of the London-based Centre on Global Health Security told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the animals should be prepared well-done, “so it’s monkey stew, not monkey tartare.”