Top in ID: Rising monkeypox cases; hepatitis A risk from organic strawberries
WHO has raised the monkeypox outbreak to a “moderate” risk to global public health, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said “there may have been undetected transmission for some time.”
Most monkeypox cases have been reported among men who have sex with men, but Tedros urged that everyone must stay informed about monkeypox in order to work against the stigma it has obtained and stop it from spreading. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
Another top story was about the hepatitis A outbreak that has been connected to organic strawberries in the United States and Canada. The FDA said the strawberries are branded as FreshKampo and HEB and were purchased between March 5 and April 25.
Read the top stories in infectious disease below:
Monkeypox outbreak grows, may have been smoldering ‘for some time’
More than 550 monkeypox cases have been reported in 30 countries where the disease is not endemic, suggesting the outbreak may have been smoldering for a while before it was recognized, WHO said last week. Read more.
Strawberries implicated in hepatitis A outbreak in US and Canada
Nearly 30 cases of hepatitis A virus infection have been reported in the United States and Canada in an outbreak that health officials have linked to organic fresh strawberries. Read more.
COVID-19 has disproportionate impact on American Indian, Alaska Native populations
American Indian and Alaska Native people living in Alaska are at an increased risk for COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death compared with white people living in the same area, researchers reported in MMWR. Read more.
Ingestible sensor helps identify PrEP adherence patterns
Pre-exposure prophylaxis pills combined with an ingestible sensor can identify patients who are adherent to the medication and those who are not, according to a study. Read more.
Genetic data suggest multiple monkeypox outbreaks, CDC says
New genetic sequencing data indicate there are at least two separate monkeypox outbreaks underway outside of Africa, the CDC said. Read more.