Disease

Novel Coronavirus - Saudi Arabia - Update

The Ministry of Health (MoH) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has notified WHO of another laboratory-confirmed case of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the country.

Poliovirus Detected in Israel - Update

Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been isolated in 30 sewage samples from 10 sampling sites in Israel. The samples were collected from 3 February 2013 to 30 June 2013. Most positive WPV1 samples were detected from southern Israel. All viruses have been detected in sewage only; no cases of paralytic polio have been reported.

Dutch elm tree disease outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand

More than 200 elm trees, the oldest of which were planted in Kingseat, near Drury, in the 1930s, have been wiped out by the disease in what is the largest outbreak since its discovery in New Zealand in 1989.