First Of Its Kind: Labcorp’s At-Home Mpox PCR Test Gets Green Light

CIDRAP: Labcorp Gets FDA Nod For At-Home Mpox PCR Test
Labcorp, a lab services company based in North Carolina, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for its PCR Test Home Collection Kit for mpox, the first at-home sample collection kit of its kind for the virus. In a statement, the company said the test is available for physicians to order for use in adults who have suspected mpox infections. (Schnirring, 4/10)

The Hill: Elevated Mpox Cases Spur Efforts To Avoid Summer Spread 
Mpox cases have been elevated since October, with an average of roughly 200 monthly cases detected per month, spurring efforts to avoid a summer surge like what was seen in 2022. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a startling difference between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, with the first three months of this year seeing nearly double the rate of cases seen the same time last year. (Choi, 4/11)

On measles, bird flu, and botulism —

CBS News: Measles Case Confirmed In 4-Year-Old Detroit Resident
A 4-year-old Detroit resident was diagnosed with measles, health officials announced Wednesday. The Detroit Health Department is alerting residents of the case and the exposure sites, including three healthcare facilities where the 4-year-old was taken for treatment. No other cases have been confirmed in relation to this incident at this time, including with the child's family members, who are following isolation protocols. (Powers, 4/10)

CIDRAP: Avian Flu Detected In North Carolina Dairy Herd 
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDAC) today announced that tests have confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in one of the state's dairy herds, raising the number of affected states to seven. Officials didn't detail the potential source of the virus, but said movements of cattle from earlier affected states has been suspended. (Schnirring, 4/10)

CNN: Counterfeit Botox Injections Linked To Illness, Hospitalization In Two States 
People in at least two states have been hospitalized with botulism-like illness after receiving cosmetic injections – commonly known as “botox” – that were administered in non-medical settings. (McPhillips, 4/10)

On whooping cough, dengue, and sporotrichosis —

Bloomberg: Whooping Cough Is Surging In China With More Than A Dozen Deaths
Whooping cough is making a post-pandemic comeback in China, with cases surging more than 20-fold in the first two months of 2024. The world’s second-most populous country reported a combined 32,380 cases of pertussis — more commonly known as whooping cough — in January and February, compared with 1,421 cases during the same period in 2023, according to the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration. There were 13 deaths. (4/10)

Bloomberg: Argentina Dengue Cases Hit All-Time; Country Runs Out Of Bug Spray
Bug spray is out of stock across Argentina as the country confronts its worst-ever outbreak of dengue, a mosquito-borne illness that’s surged across Latin America amid high heat and heavy rains. Argentina reported 233,000 cases of dengue so far during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer — about eight times the number of case reported during the same week last year — and 161 deaths, according to its Health Ministry. (Tobias, 4/10)

NBC News: A Rare Fungal Infection Was Found In Two Cats In Kansas. The Vet Tech Also Got Sick
A cluster of rare fungal infections was found in two pet cats and a vet who treated them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday in a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The three cases — in late 2022 and early 2023 — were caused by a fungus called Sporothrix schenckii. The CDC is monitoring the spread of a similar fungal infection, also in cats, in South America. That infection is spread by a related fungus, Sporothrix brasiliensis, which hasn’t been detected in the U.S. (Sullivan, 4/10)