Global measles cases nearly doubled in one year, researchers say | CNN The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries. Katherine Dillinger CNN

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Almost half of this year’s cases have been in WHO’s European Region, with the highest incidence in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen.

US respiratory virus levels continue to decline as officials track shift in SARS-CoV-2 proportions Amid further declines in COVID activity, the CDC reported a steady rise in JN.1 spinoffs that have 2 added spike mutations, part of a group nicknamed FLiRT. CIDRAP

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The Power of Us: Climate change has disproportionately impacted these vulnerable US communities, experts say The disproportionate impacts of climate change on the poorest communities are already affecting pockets of the U.S. ABC News ABC News

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Dubai’s deadly floods were made worse by climate change, scientists find | CNN The record-breaking rain that fell over the UAE and Oman was driven partly by the climate crisis, an analysis shows, pointing to the role of burning fossil fuels. Angela Dewan CNN

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COVID may have eroded doctors' belief that they are obligated to treat infectious patients A systematic review posted in Clinical Infectious Diseases reveals that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians felt less ethically obligated to provide care to infectious-disease patients if they fear contracting the disease. CIDRAP

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Experts call for global genetic warning system to combat the next pandemic and antimicrobial resistance (medicalxpress.com)

...genomic surveillance could do much more to reduce the toll of disease and death worldwide than just protect us from COVID-19. Writing in Frontiers in Science, an international collective of clinical and public health microbiologists from the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) calls for investment in technology, capacity, expertise, and collaboration to put genomic surveillance of pathogens at the forefront of future pandemic preparedness.

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Data: Optimal initiation of Paxlovid in hospitalized COVID patients is 3 to 5 days Taking the SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) 3 to 5 days after COVID-19 symptom onset—not earlier or later—may result in the greatest reduction in viral loads, viral transmission, and viral rebound in hospitalized patients, a University of Hong Kong–led study finds. CIDRAP

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Monkeypox virus: dangerous strain gains ability to spread through sex, new data suggest Nature - A cluster of mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sparks worries of a wider outbreak. Kozlov, Max nature

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Evidence from past outbreaks indicates that this strain, called clade I, is more lethal than the separate strain that sparked the 2022 outbreak. Clade I has for decades caused small outbreaks, often limited to a few households or communities, in Central Africa. Sexually acquired clade I infections had not been reported before last year.

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Teen vaccination cut COVID-19 cases by 37% in California, new data show Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction. CIDRAP

JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction.

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New study uses AI to predict malaria outbreaks in South Asia (medicalxpress.com)

Researchers from NDORMS in collaboration with international institutions have demonstrated the potential of using environmental measurements and deep learning modeling to predict malaria outbreaks in South Asia. The study offers promising insights into improving early warning systems for one of the world's deadliest diseases.

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Tough new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down A rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency would force power plants fueled by coal or natural gas to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. AP News

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