In this episode of Outbreak Watch, we're tracking several outbreaks that are expanding, crossing geographic boundaries, or raising important questions about how well public health responses are keeping pace.
New World screwworm continues to spread across the southwestern United States, with rising animal case counts and new detections that raise questions about surveillance, wildlife involvement, and the cost of responding to a threat once kept at bay through sustained prevention programs.
In Washington state, H5N1 has now affected 40 dairy herds across two counties, with three human infections and one reported death. Meanwhile, the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 10,500 confirmed cases, and secondary infections in Kenya and an imported case in Nigeria are complicating the regional picture.
We also examine the latest measles developments in Pennsylvania and New York, including the death of a seven-month-old infant and why early MMR vaccination during outbreaks is different from the routine childhood schedule.
Florida's locally acquired dengue cases continue into autumn, raising questions about whether cooler weather will interrupt transmission. And our international roundup covers yellow fever in Venezuela, cholera in Zambia, hand, foot and mouth disease in Vietnam, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Afghanistan.
Throughout the episode, we focus on what's changed since our last update, what the evidence actually tells us, and what remains uncertain.
See the companion blog post for sources and transcript.
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