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U.S. officials are tracking a possible plague case in Russia, they confirmed on Oct. 5. “CDC is monitoring the situation closely with the State Department and our other interagency partners,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Epoch Times in an email. “The safety and security of U.S. citizens is our highest priority,” the spokesperson added. Russia’s consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor reported over the weekend that a worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in southeastern Siberia was...

Hundreds of people are currently under medical observation after a laboratory worker died from an "unspecified form of plague" in Russia. Health authorities in Siberia’s Irkutsk region said nearly 200 people are under medical observation, according to media reports and a statement by a regional leader on Friday. The Moscow Times said that Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighbouring republic of Buryatia, confirmed that the woman had died from an unspecified form of plague. Tsydenov, however, said “there are no plague outbreaks in the republic, including in areas bordering Mongolia”. Russian media outlets have identified the woman as Daria Sh.,...

The White House is monitoring a plague outbreak in Russia after a lab technician died and hundreds of people she came into contact with were placed in quarantine. An official with the Trump administration told Axios on Sunday that the administration is 'aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.' Darya Shipilova, 28, was reportedly working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia when she was exposed to pneumonic plague

Whenever I watch a movie where people wear suits to enter a biohazard facility, my first thought is, "Are you CRAZY?!" The answer is obviously yes, yes, they are. While everybody is fretting about whether expensive computer programs are planning to kill us all, real people are messing around with dangerous bugs that really could kill quite a few of us. Ask Dr. Fauci about that. He'll trot out the Fifth Amendment, of course, but you get the idea. Just kidding. Sort of. Well, it appears to have happened again, this time in Russia, and I am just waiting to...

Documents show concerns about Ebola shipment from National Microbiology Lab, no relation to COVID-19 (according to the CBC) Newly-released access to information documents reveal details about a shipment of deadly pathogens last year from Canada's National Microbiology Lab to China — confirming for the first time who sent them, what exactly was shipped, and where it went. CBC News had already reported about the shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses but there's now confirmation one of the scientists escorted from the lab in Winnipeg amid an RCMP investigation last July was responsible for exporting the pathogens to the Wuhan Institute...

Fresh produce giant Taylor Farms is preparing to recall ingredients linked to a parasite outbreak that has caused severe diarrhea and sickened thousands of people in Michigan and nearby states, according to a report. The California-based lettuce supplier told federal regulators that it was preparing a recall tied to the widening cyclospora outbreak, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing a document viewed by the outlet. The parasite can cause severe diarrhea, fatigue and nausea. The scope of the recall was not immediately clear. The move would mark the clearest sign yet of a potential source of the outbreak, which prompted Taco...

A new report says health officials are investigating Taco Bell as a potential part of the cyclosporiasis outbreak that’s sickened thousands of people across the U.S., with many suffering from extreme diarrhea. The Washington Post cites two anonymous sources close to the investigation, which is said to involve both federal and state health officials. Taco Bell has reportedly removed lettuce, cilantro, pico de gallo and guacamole from its menu in some areas as a precaution. Michigan’s health department has pointed to lettuce or other salad greens as a potential source of the outbreak, but said some people infected with the...

Olivier le Polain, an epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), said on Friday that there are still “many blind spots in some areas that are high risk,” so the full extent of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains unclear. “Surveillance really needs to be strengthened in ​those areas,” he advised. “The full scale of the outbreak is not yet clear, and we’ll get more clarity as surveillance improves.” Le Polain, who spoke from the North Kivu provincial capital of Beni in the DRC, delivered the alarming revelation that new Ebola cases are still...

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement on Friday that attributed 246 suspected infections and 65 deaths to a new Ebola outbreak in the remote Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Africa CDC said it was convening an emergency meeting with health officials from the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, and other global partners to coordinate a response to the outbreak, including cross-border surveillance of the possible spread of the deadly disease. The statement said most of the infections to date have been reported from two areas within the Ituri province, Mongwalu and...

The deadly hantavirus outbreak has spread to Europe after a passenger who had already left the MV Hondius cruise ship tested positive once back home, authorities announced in an alarming update Wednesday. Swiss authorities said the man returned home last month following a trip to South America with his wife before testing positive for the virus, which can lie dormant for up to eight weeks. He went to a Zurich hospital for testing after the cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, emailed recent passengers about the spreading virus that has killed three people and sickened at least five, the World Health Organization...

Distraught passengers onboard the stranded MV Hondius could face quarantine for up to eight weeks, a health expert warned Tuesday – as officials scrambled to contain a deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise liner. “I’m sure people are isolated or quarantined in their rooms or cabins, but unfortunately, that quarantine period can take up to eight weeks,” New Jersey-based emergency medicine physician Sampson Davis told The Post. “The virus usually has a quick onset, but it can linger up to about eight weeks before it has an impact.” Hantavirus is typically only spread through rodent droppings, but one rare strain,...

CDC Update: Tularemia Outbreak in Prairie Dogs in Texas Tuesday, August 06, 2002 4:15 PM Eastern US http://www.videonewswire.com/CDC/080602/event.html?id=7237

An extensive investigation based on declassified government documents and previously suppressed scientific research has uncovered compelling evidence that U.S. biological weapons programs contributed to the emergence of Lyme disease, which now affects hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. The investigation reveals a pattern of concealment spanning six decades, including the systematic suppression of critical medical research and the release of nearly 300,000 radioactive ticks across Virginia to study how the disease-carrying insects would spread. In 2014, researchers discovered extensive unpublished materials in the garage of deceased scientist Willy Burgdorfer, who identified bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The materials revealed that...

An outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in India's West Bengal state has sparked concern in parts of Asia, with some tightening screening measures at airports. Thailand has started screening passengers at three airports that receive flights from West Bengal. Nepal has also begun screening arrivals at Kathmandu airport and other land border points with India. Two cases have been confirmed in West Bengal since December, reportedly in healthcare workers. Some 196 people who were in contact with them have been traced and tested negative for the virus, India's health ministry says. The virus can spread from animals to humans....

Indian authorities are rushing to contain a Nipah virus outbreak after five cases were reported and nearly 100 people quarantined in the eastern state of West Bengal, Azernews reports via The Independent. Among those infected are two nurses, a doctor, and a healthcare worker, raising concerns over hospital-based transmission. Health officials said some patients remain in critical condition, while others are showing signs of recovery. The Nipah virus is classified by the World Health Organization as a priority pathogen due to its high epidemic potential and fatality rate. At present, there is no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for...

The South Carolina measles outbreak is growing at an astounding speed. “Over the last seven to nine days, we’ve had upwards of over 200 new cases. That’s doubled just in the last week,” Dr. Johnathon Elkes, an emergency medicine physician at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, said during a media briefing Friday. “We feel like we’re really kind of staring over the edge, knowing that this is about to get a lot worse.”... The number of cases is expected to grow. The health department’s report only reflects the number of people whose illness has been confirmed as measles by...

The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials said Wednesday. As of Wednesday, 111 measles cases had been reported in what’s known as upstate South Carolina — an area in the northwest of the state that includes Greenville and Spartanburg. “We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Wednesday.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — Congo’s health ministry on Thursday announced a new Ebola outbreak, the 16th in the central African country, after a case was confirmed in the southern Kasai province. “To date, the provisional report shows 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including 14 in Boulapé and 1 in Mweka, as well as four healthcare workers,” said Samuel-Roger Kamba, Congo’s health minister. He added that the case fatality rate, estimated at 53.6%, showed the gravity of the situation. He said that the figures were provisional and research was ongoing. The suspected cases and deaths presented symptoms such fever,...

Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Edited By Updated on: August 21, 2025 / 11:48 AM CDT / CBS News If you look up at the sky in Texas and see what could be a flying burrito, you may not be imagining things: Chipotle on Thursday launched an autonomous aerial delivery service for digital orders in the Dallas area. Through a partnership with Zipline, a drone...

Texas health officials on Monday declared the measles outbreak that began in West Texas earlier this year is now over after more than 700 cases were confirmed. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said that as of Aug. 18, 762 measles cases were confirmed since January, with the majority of infections occurring in children and most cases involving people who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination statuses. Two deaths occurred in unvaccinated school-age children who lived in the outbreak area, marking the first U.S. measles death in more than a decade. “The Texas Department of State Health Services...