Volume 18, Number 11—November 2012

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease that occurs throughout the Americas. It is contracted by inhaling spores, which are carried in dust. Therefore, it occurs most commonly in dry areas and in persons who work in dusty conditions (such as agricultural workers, construction workers, military personnel, and archeological site workers). A substantial number of people die of this disease each year, so researchers examined what other factors increase the risk for death. They found that risk for death was highest among men, elderly persons (>65 years), Hispanics, Native Americans, residents of California and Arizona, and those who also had HIV or other immune-suppressive conditions. Physicians should be aware of which patients are at increased risk and should ask patients about their travel history or occupation to determine possible sources of exposure.

Disease incidence and case fatality rates declined 4 years after introduction of the vaccine.

Pathogen prevalence differs during periods of health and at onset of acute otitis media.

The risk to public health is absent or extremely low.

Improvement is needed in preventing severe disease and nosocomial transmission in children beyond pandemic situations.

A newly recognized respiratory disease of domestic ferrets is associated with a novel Mycoplasma species.

Vaccines for B. pertussis do not protect against circulating strains of a closely related respiratory pathogen.

The outbreak was an isolated chikungunya epidemic without relevant dengue virus co-transmission.

This virus typically causes illness in young children but was found to be associated with illness in adults.

Reliable, relevant, and timely data guide public health policies that protect and promote health.

Disease trends are driven by HIV co-infection and transmission of a few strains within narrow geographic niches.

Infections increased in a southeastern direction, with highest risk in Greece.

Outbreaks are spatiotemporally associated with litchi harvest, but the causative agent remains unknown.

Adenovirus type 7 caused a high proportion of severe infections.

Three new enterovirus 71 genogroups are geographically widely disbursed.

The risk for livestock-associated MRSA increases with increasing density of pigs and calves.

Molecular epidemiologic analysis shows that travelers returning from Asia are the greatest source of risk.

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 left thousands of people out in the cold without utilities, food, water, or transportation. Cases of pneumonia increased dramatically. Did these harsh conditions change the characteristics of pneumonia before and after the disaster? Researchers found no differences in rapidity of illness onset, illness severity, patient ages, death rates, underlying conditions, or drug resistance. They did, however, find that the type of bacteria responsible varied by region (flooded versus not flooded). Cold shock might have increased susceptibility to certain bacteria. Overall, researchers concluded that pneumonia after the disaster occurred in small regional outbreaks rather than one large widespread outbreak.