Public Health Alerts
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November 26, 2024Posted: November 26, 2024Read MoreThe cold and flu season is upon us.
Flu season tends to peak in the winter months, between December and February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have not stocked up yet on necessary testing supplies for your laboratory, we are listing a few key...
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October 08, 2024Posted: October 08, 2024Read MoreCarbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) refers to a group of bacteria within the Enterobacterales order that have developed resistance to carbapenem antibiotics. Carbapenems are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics used as a last-resort treatment for serious infections caused by multi-drug-resistant bacteria.
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October 07, 2024Posted: October 07, 2024Read MoreDengue cases in the Americas surged threefold in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay are the most severely affected countries. PAHO officials warn that this outbreak has the potential to be the worst the Americas have faced to date.1
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September 03, 2024Posted: September 03, 2024Read MoreOn Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the most recent mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, outbreak in Africa is a global health emergency. “This is something that should concern us all ... The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
To aid in the testing procedures...
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July 22, 2024Posted: July 22, 2024Read MoreThe World Health Organization (WHO) recently released its 2024 Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL). The 72-page document builds on its first list, released in 2017. The WHO BPPL 2024 focuses on the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that present the greatest unmet needs and pose the most significant public health burdens. The list includes 15 families of antibiotic resistant pathogens grouped as critical...
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July 15, 2024Posted: July 15, 2024Read MoreFor a human pathogen with no known environmental reservoir, Mycobacterium tuberculosis has honed the art of survival and has persisted in human communities from antiquity through modern times. Tuberculosis is a preventable and treatable infectious disease. Having said that, it is still one of the major contributors to morbidity and mortality in developing countries where there is less-than-adequate...
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July 11, 2024Posted: July 11, 2024Read MoreAs we navigate through 2024, the avian flu, or H5N1, continues to make headlines around the globe. Recent reports indicate an alarming spread of the virus, with new human cases anticipated, highlighting the urgent need for robust surveillance and diagnostic measures. At Hardy Diagnostics, we are committed to supporting the global healthcare community in the fight against infectious diseases with our...
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May 21, 2024Posted: May 21, 2024Read MoreThe CDC attributes the rise in C. auris cases during the height of the pandemic as a result of inadequate staffing, supply shortages, the increased number of seriously ill patients, and changes in infection prevention and control practices. The CDC encourages all U.S. laboratories that identify C. auris to notify their state or local public health authorities. ...
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April 10, 2024Posted: April 10, 2024Read MoreThe CDC is alerting doctors to be on the lookout for certain types of rare, serious meningococcal infections that are on the rise in the United States.
This alarming increase is caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, which has caused 1 in 6 people to die, a higher fatality rate than they typically see with meningococcal infections.
These cases are also unusual because they...
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April 03, 2024Posted: April 03, 2024Read MoreThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its 2022 Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Surveillance Report providing U.S. data for nationally notifiable STI’s for federally funded control programs.
According...
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January 12, 2024Posted: January 12, 2024Categories: Clinical, Industry Insights, Public Health Alerts, Health & Wellness, Product SpotlightsWe began to see an increase in the number of strep throat cases in beginning in late spring of 2023, not only in pediatric patients, but adults as well. Now in December, cases of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) continue to rise. During one newscast out of the Midwest, some physicians say 2023 was the worst year for strep throat that they can remember...Read More -
November 17, 2023Posted: November 17, 2023Read MoreA total of 1,957 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in the United States so far this year.
That is already surpassing the 1,129 cases reported in all of 2022. (1) The investigation of this outbreak is ongoing with no specific food item being identified as the source of most of these illnesses, although the outbreak count does include 20 patients in...
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September 13, 2023Posted: September 13, 2023In some cases in Florida, patients with leprosy report contact with armadillos, but others to not. These are the only animals known to harbor the disease and have been known to spit when people get too close...Read More -
September 08, 2023Posted: September 08, 2023Read MoreMay 11th of 2023 marked the end of both the public health emergency and the national state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, health professionals are concerned with the rise of the EG.5 variant, an up-and-coming SARS-CoV-2 strain that is potentially more transmissible than any of the current circulating strains in the United States. (1) EG.5 is a descendant of the Omicron lineage XBB.1.9.5...
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May 19, 2023Posted: May 19, 2023Read MoreCDC issues an alert...Super Shigella on the Rise
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