WHO News

WHO has received notification from the National IHR Focal Point of Iraq of additional laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera. As of 8 October, a total of 1,263 laboratory-confirmed cases of Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba were reported. These cases were reported from at least 15 governorates of the country – These are Babylon (469 cases), Baghdad (304 cases), Qadisiyyah (146 cases), Muthanna (155 cases), Basra (61 cases), Wassit (41 cases), Karbala (33 case), Najaf (32 cases), Thi-qar (6 cases), Maysan (6 cases), Diyala (2 cases), Duhok (2 cases), Erbil (2 cases), Kirkuk (2 cases), Salah al-din (1 case) and Suleimaniyah (1 case).View the full article

Between 27 September and 1 October 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 1 additional case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. A 38-year-old, non-national male from Riyadh city developed symptoms on 21 September and, on 28 September, was admitted to hospital. The patient, who has no comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 30 September. Currently, he is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward. Investigation of history of exposure to the known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing. Contact tracing of household and healthcare con…

On 8 October 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) notified WHO of one confirmed type 1 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) case. In Lao PDR, one case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) was confirmed, with onset of paralysis on 7 September. The patient was 8 years old when he died on 11 September. View the full article

On 7 October 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of 1 additional case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). A 53-year-old male from Amman city developed symptoms on 26 September and sought health care at a hospital, where he was treated symptomatically and sent home. On 29 September, as symptoms worsened, the patient returned to the hospital, where he was admitted to an isolation room. The patient was discharged on 1 October. On the same day, as his conditions did not improve, he visited a second healthcare facility, where he was treated symptomatically and sent home. On 3 October, as his condition deteriorated, the patient so…

Between 21 and 23 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of 4 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.View the full article

Between 20 and 26 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 6 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

On 15 September 2015, WHO received a notification from the IHR National Focal Point of Iraq of laboratory-confirmation of cholera in at least five governorates. As of 23 September 2015, a total of 120 stool samples have been tested positive at the Central Public Health Laboratory of Baghdad for Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba. Laboratory-confirmed cases have so far been reported from at-least five Governorates of the country- Baghdad Babylon, Najaf, Qadisiyyah, and Muthanna. The preliminary investigation revealed contaminated water source as the cause of this current outbreak. View the full article

Between 12 and 18 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 13 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

On 19 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Kuwait notified WHO of 1 additional fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. A 78-year-old male from Kuwait city developed symptoms on 8 September and, on 13 September, was admitted to hospital. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 14 September. The patient owned dromedary camels and had a history of frequent contact with them. He had no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. The patient passed away on 19 September. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for this case…

Between 7 and 10 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of 5 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 2 deaths. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.View the full article

On 3 August 2015, WHO was notified by the National IHR Focal Point for Spain of a case of chikungunya infection in the city of Gandia, Valencian Community. The patient, a 60-year-old man, had no history of travel outside the European Region. The patient was identified after detection at the regional laboratory of IgM in his serum by ELISA in samples taken on 23 July. A second sample taken on 19 August showed an IgG seroconversion at the same laboratory. View the full article

On 14 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for Portugal notified WHO of a confirmed human case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection. The patient is a 71-year-old male from the town of Almancil (Loulé municipality) – Algarve Region, Portugal with no recent history of travel. On 20 July, he was hospitalized with neurological symptoms. Following a full recovery, on 4 August, the patient was discharged from hospital. Seroconversion (IgM and IgG) was confirmed in two separate samples on 7 and 19 August. Real-time PCR was negative in the first sample. Neutralization tests were positive for WNV on samples collected on 14 September.View the full article

Between 6 and 11 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 22 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Three (3) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city. Five (5) of these reported cases are associated with another MERS-CoV outbreak occurring in a hospital in Madinah city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

On 9 September 2015, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (MOHSA) of Senegal notified WHO of active circulation of chikungunya virus in the region of Kédougou. The circulation began on 27 August 2015. Samples were collected from 14 suspected cases for laboratory-confirmation at the Institut Pasteur of Dakar. Ten (10) samples tested positive for chikungunya virus. As of 8 September 2015, ten (10) chikungunya confirmed cases were reported. The latest active circulation in the affected area was reported between 2009 and 2010. On 7 September 2015, the MOHSA discussed the situation during the routine weekly meeting. The meeting provided technical directives to the differ…

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) of Tanzania has notified WHO of foci of cholera outbreaks in the country. Rorya district in the Mara region of Tanzania was the first area to report a cholera outbreak. By late July 2015, the Kigoma region also became affected – although no new case has been recorded in this area in more than three weeks. On 25 August, new foci of cholera were identified in Dar es Salaam, Pwani (Coast), Iringa and Morogoro. The cholera outbreak in the Dar es Salaam region began on 15 August, whilst the outbreak in the Morogoro region started on 18 August. As of 6 September, the cumulative number of cholera cases (both suspected and confirm…

Between 1 and 5 September 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 25 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Ten (10) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

Between 26 and 31 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 22 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 3 deaths. Fifteen (15) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

Between 30 and 31 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of 2 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. Both cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Amman city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.View the full article

The Ministry of Health of Madagascar has notified WHO of an outbreak of plague. The first case was identified on 17 August in a rural township in Moramanga district. The case passed away on 19 August. As of 30 August, 14 cases, including 10 deaths, were reported. All confirmed cases are of the pneumonic form. Since 27 August, no new cases have been reported from the affected or neighbouring districts. The national task force has been activated to manage the outbreak. With support from partners – including WHO and the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar – the government of Madagascar is implementing thorough public health measures, including active case and contact finding, p…

Between 24 and 25 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 15 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 2 deaths. Eleven (11) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

In Ukraine, 2 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) have been confirmed, with dates of onset of paralysis on 30 June and 7 July 2015. Both are from the Zakarpatskaya oblast, in south-western Ukraine, bordering Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. One child was 4 years old and the other 10 months old at the time of onset of paralysis. Ukraine had been at particular risk of emergence of a cVDPV, due to inadequate vaccination coverage. In 2014, only 50% of children were fully immunized against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.View the full article

Between 26 and 28 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of 4 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. All these cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Amman city. Contact tracing of household contacts and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. The National IHR Focal Point of Jordan informed the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about the index case to trace contacts in Saudi Arabia.View the full article

Between 22 and 23 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 13 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Twelve (12) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article

Between 18 and 21 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 29 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 6 deaths. Twenty-four (24) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh city.View the full article

Between 13 and 17 August 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 19 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death. Fifteen (15) of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases. View the full article