Disease

Rift Valley Fever - Sudan

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan reports that since late September, Sudan has seen 193 Rift Valley Fever (RVF) cases, including four deaths. The cases were reported from Red Sea, River Nile and Khartoum states.

Measles - Ukraine

The measles outbreak in the Ukraine seems to be declining. In an update on the measles outbreak in Ukraine, 45 additional people became ill with measles during the past week, which includes 18 adults and 27 children.

Killer brain disease arrives in UK

A disease that can harm the brain and which is spread to humans by tick bites has been identified in the insects in Britain for the first time. Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed the presence of the tick-borne encephalitis virus in Thetford Forest and on the Hampshire-Dorset border. PHE says the risk is ‘very low’, but it is investigating how common the infected ticks might be. Ticks are becoming more common in parts of the UK, mainly due to increasing deer numbers. They can also live in other animals, such as dogs, and in undergrowth.

Leptospirosis - Ireland

People have been warned not to swim or go boating in the Royal Canal in north Dublin after there was an outbreak of rat-borne diseases recently. There have been a number of cases of Leptospirosis reported to the HSE recently after people had been exposed to the water in the canal. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection usually spread through contact with rats or rat urine.