Disease

Bangladesh: Anthrax outbreak

Twenty five people have been sickened, 10 in critical condition and one boy died from a suspected anthrax outbreak in Bhangpur upazila in Pabna District in west central Bangladesh, according to a Daily Star report. The outbreak is linked to the handling and consumption of tainted cows late last month.

Indonesia: Leptospirosis

Health officials in Kulon Progo in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia are reporting 58 cases of the bacterial disease, leptospirosis, including eight fatalities since the beginning of the year. According to health officer Bambang Haryatno, leptopirosis is not only caused by rodents in the rice fields, but rat urine in homes can cause this disease.

Puerto Rico declares Zika outbreak over

Puerto Rico on Monday declared that the 2016 Zika epidemic is over, saying transmission of the virus that can cause birth defects when pregnant women are exposed has fallen significantly.

About 10 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported in each four-week period since April 2017, down from more than 8,000 cases reported in a four-week period at the peak of the epidemic in August 2016, the Puerto Rico Health Department said in a statement.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, has not changed its travel advice, noting that pregnant women should not travel to Puerto Rico.