Interior Health announced on Monday, February 9, 2026, the successful containment and conclusion of a COVID-19 outbreak that had affected the third-floor medical unit at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. The declaration of the end of the outbreak serves as an acknowledgment of the effective application of rigorous infection prevention and control measures implemented to handle…
The COVID-19 pandemic, declared in March 2020, challenged healthcare systems globally. To successfully manage and plan resources, there was an immediate need to gather high-quality data to understand the disease’s characteristics and epidemiology. Singapore Health Services, commonly known as SingHealth, responded to this need by developing a comprehensive COVID-19 registry serving clinical, operational, and research…
In October 2022, an outbreak of Sudan Virus Disease (SVD), caused by Orthoebolavirus sudanense (SUDV), was confirmed in the Kampala Metropolitan area (KMA) by Uganda's Ministry of Health. This report elucidates the multicomponent infection prevention and control (IPC) strategy implemented to mitigate the virus spread and its resultant effects on IPC capacities. This detailed analysis…
Half a decade following the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems the world is again on high alert as China battles with an epidemic of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV). Predicated on varied reports and an increasing number of social media posts, hospitals are reaching overwhelming capacities with the wave of HMPV infected individuals, and crematorium capacity is…
King's Mill Hospital, located in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, experienced a wave of norovirus, commonly referred to as the 'winter vomiting bug,' prompting the closure of multiple wards. This highly infectious disease initially affected nine patients, necessitating the immediate shutdown of the first ward last Wednesday. While this ward was later reopened, the hospital had to close…
Andrea Thomas and Mariana Torres Portillo, both reputable figures from the infectious disease surveillance company, BlueDot Global, have recently shared intriguing insights about the mpox outbreak. With Thomas as the Director of Epidemiology and Portillo as the Infectious Disease Surveillance Manager at BlueDot Global, they recently discussed this significant public health concern during a webinar.
The…
On 14th August, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international state of emergency in response to an alarming resurgence of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). This resurgence, primarily concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and multiple African nations, has rapidly turned into a widespread epidemic causing high levels of concern…
In an unprecedented case reported on 23rd May 2024, the Mexico International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point announced a confirmed instance of avian influenza A(H5N2) in a human. The afflicted individual was a 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico with no recorded contact with poultry or other animals. The patient, suffering from multiple…