Disease

Tularemia outbreak reported Armenia

An outbreak of the zoonotic bacterial infection, tularemia has been reported in Armenia. According to the report, at least 20 people in the village of Artsvaberd in Tavush province were affected by the outbreak.

Panama: ‘Pink eye’

The number of conjunctivitis, or “pinkeye” cases reported in Panama now stands at 74,661 through mid-September, according to the Panama Ministry of Health (computer translated). The areas where the most cases have been reported are Colón (7057), San Miguelito (14050), Panama Oeste (12313), and Panama Metro (17300).

Mers - Beware of Camels

Health and agriculture authorities around the world – particularly in the Arabian Gulf – must work together to detect and respond to outbreaks of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS), according to officials from the World Health Organization (WHO).

MERS, which has been traced back to dromedary camels to at least 1983, was first detected in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

According to WHO statistics, at least 722 MERS-related deaths have taken place over the last five years from 2,801 confirmed cases – a mortality rate of approximately 35 percent.

Over 80 percent of MERS cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, where the WHO says a “significant proportion” of recent cases are believed to have been caused by direct or indirect contact with infected camels. The disease is then often spread by travelers who have been unknowingly infected.