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The most recent, cumulative World Health Organization (WHO) table of human H5N1 cases was published on March 3, 2015.[1] This table notes a total of 88 human H5N1 cases in Egypt through March 3, 2015. As I noted previously [2] the tabulation of counts based on the line list of cases published in the monthly risk summaries only totals 82 cases for Egypt in 2015 based on onset dates in reports of 2015. To understand the confusion in the Egyptian case counts in the WHO table, it is necessary to consider the 2014 totals provided by WHO. The current WHO cumulative table reports 46 cases of H5N1 in 2014 with 31 cases from Egypt.[1] However, individual enumeration of WHO-confirmed H5N1 cases based on line lists in the monthly risk assessments shows a total of 52 H5N1 cases in 2014 (based on onset dates), with 37 of these reported from Egypt.[3] The table below identifies the distribution of WHO-confirmed H5N1 from Egypt by each of the monthly summaries for 2014 through the most recent asse...

Previously, I discussed discrepancies between the MERS case counts for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) ( link ). The WHO case count differed from the number posted on the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health website by 15 cases. At least 12 cases previously announced by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health had not yet been posted in Disease Outbreak News by the WHO through October 21, 2014. Yesterday the WHO reported in aggregate 12 new MERS cases from Saudi Arabia from the period October 18 to October 26, 2014 ( link ). These 12 cases do not equate to the 12-case differential noted in my previous post. The most recent WHO report regarding cases from Saudi Arabia ( October 16 link ) only enumerates cases through October 11, 2014. However, between October 12 and October 16, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health website announced five additional MERS cases, Taif (3), Riyadh (1), and Al Karj (1). Hopefully, the WHO will repor...

As of October 16, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a total of 877 cases of Middle East respiratory virus syndrome (MERS) from WHO member states (through October 11, 2014 link ).   The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC),   a European disease monitoring organization established in 2005 ( link ), has reported a total of 906 MERS cases from around the world through October 21, 2014 ( link ). Both WHO and ECDC provide updates on the MERS outbreak, however neither these agencies provides a publicly available line list of cases. Because it appears that the next MERS wave has started on the greater Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East, is worth discussing the apparent discrepancy in the number of MERS cases between the WHO and the ECDC.    The table below compares the current counts of MERS cases for WHO and the ECDC through specific dates.   The differences in the case counts are discussed below by country.   WHO and the E...

With Saudi Arabia reporting more than 80% of all Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) cases to date, detailed information about the individual cases from Saudi Arabia is critical to understanding the nature and spread of this novel disease. There are some discrepancies among the MERS cases reported by World Health Organization (WHO) from Saudi Arabia. Of course, WHO is constrained by the quality of data provided by its various member states. Generally, WHO provides detailed information on the initial cases of a novel disease outbreak in its online publication, Disease Outbreak News (DON). The first WHO report of a MERS [novel coronavirus] infection was published on September 23, 2012 . Between September 2012 and April 16, 2014, WHO reported details on 228 MERS cases with varying levels of details provided by the reporting member states. Of the 228 cases reported by WHO though that date, 181 were individually reported cases from Saudi Arabia. The DON of April 14, 2014 (15 reported ...

The World Health Organization  (WHO) has not been providing cumulative case counts of H7N9 cases in their Disease Outbreak News reports. This may be due to incomplete and inconsistent case information that has been provided to WHO by the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China. Perhaps the most accurate enumeration of H7N9 cases is provided by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.They report "As of yesterday ( February 27, 2014 ), a total of 367 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (136 cases), Guangdong (81 cases), Jiangsu (42 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Fujian (20 cases), Hunan (16 cases), Anhui (nine cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang), Hebei (one case) and Jilin (one case).cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou...