Disease

Novel Coronavirus - Saudi Arabia - Update

WHO has been informed of an additional four laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). These include the first laboratory-confirmed case from Oman and three additional laboratory-confirmed cases from Saudi Arabia.

US Malaria Cases At 40 Year High

The number of malaria cases in the United States is the highest in more than 40 years, according to a new report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2011, there were 1,925 reported malaria cases in the country, the highest since 1971, and a 14 percent increase from 2010, the CDC said.

Almost all U.S. residents who got malaria acquired the disease while traveling in another country. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. malaria cases in 2011 were acquired in Africa, the CDC said. India had the most imported cases of any single country, with 223, followed by Nigeria, which had 213.

Dengue Fever in Nicaragua

According to the Nicaraguan government, more than 5,000 cases of dengue have been reported this year, claiming 14 lives. Dengue, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, occurs in Central America mostly during its rainy season from May to November. The disease causes fever, muscle and joint ache as well as potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.