10 most important infectious disease stories of 2018

It’s that time again to go over the past year and determine what is believed to bethe most important infectious disease and outbreak news stories. Every year this is a difficult task and 2018 is no different: 10. Rat hepatitis E virus (HEV) in humans Hong Kong researchers conclusively proved for the first time in the world that rat HEV can infect humans to cause clinical infection (two human cases were discovered). This news should keep us constantly alert for new and possible zoonotic infections not seen before. 9. Tickborne diseases up in the US The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that all tickborne diseases, from Lyme disease to Powassan virus, were up in 2017. There were 48,610 total cases in 2016 and it rose to  59,349 cases in 2017. Using the CDC’s general estimation figure of 10 times, the 42,743 Lyme disease cases reported would equate to 427,430 estimated cases. 8. Monkeypox in Nigeria and the exported cases We...