TB Back On Top As World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease, WHO Reports
“The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. Meanwhile, a Georgia high school student sick with tuberculosis might have infected hundreds.
Fox News:
This Is Now The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease, According To WHO
Tuberculosis (TB) is once again the infectious disease responsible for the most deaths worldwide, according to a Tuesday announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO). The contagious disease was responsible for 1.25 million global deaths in 2023, WHO reported, including 161,000 people with HIV. COVID-19 had overtaken TB as the world’s leading infectious killer for the previous three years. (Rudy, 10/31)
USA Today:
Tuberculosis Patient Possibly Exposed Hundreds At Georgia School, Amid Global Rise
A student sick with tuberculosis could have exposed hundreds at a Georgia high school, amid an alarming global spread of the disease. Local public health officials identified the infected student at Walton High School, in Marietta, the Cobb County School District told USA TODAY in an email. (Cuevas, 10/31)
Reuters:
Oregon Identifies 3 Human Cases Of Bird Flu In Farm Workers From Washington State
Bird flu has infected three more people from Washington state after they were exposed to poultry that tested positive for the virus, according to health authorities in Washington and in Oregon, where the human cases were identified. A total of 39 people have tested positive in the U.S. this year, including nine from Washington, as the virus has infected poultry flocks and spread to more than 400 dairy herds, federal data show. All of the cases were farm workers who had known contact with infected animals, except for one person in Missouri. (Polansek, 10/31)
The Washington Post:
Walking Pneumonia Cases Are Rising Among Kids. Here’s What To Know.
Walking pneumonia cases in the United States, especially among children, are on the rise and have been since early spring, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections from Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the bacteria that can cause walking pneumonia, are common, with about 2 million cases in the United States every year; they typically affect youths age 5 to 17. But from March to October this year, the CDC found that the largest increase in cases was among children age 2 to 4, whose emergency visits related to the bacteria went up from 1 to 7.2 percent. (Ortega and Nirappil, 10/31)
Los Angeles Times:
McDonald's E. Coli Outbreak Now Has 90 Victims; Lawsuits Multiply
At least 90 people have been infected with E. coli in a multistate outbreak that health officials say likely stems from onions served on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders and could see the fast food chain taken to court. (Harter, 10/31)
USA Today:
WHO Database Does Not Link Mpox To COVID-19 Vaccine | Fact Check
The WHO made no such admission. The COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause mpox, and the claim originated with a website that has repeatedly shared misinformation. (Trela, 10/31)
