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A patient in a South Carolina children's hospital has died of a brain-eating amoeba, according to the facility. In a news briefing Tuesday, Prisma Health Children's Hospital-Midlands confirmed the patient died of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, also known as PAM, a rare but often fatal brain infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri organism. ... According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, the patient's exposure likely occurred at Lake Murray, though officials said they cannot be completely certain. (Moniuszko, 7/23)

Two children in Tennessee are now recovering at home after being hospitalized for La Crosse virus, a rare mosquito-borne virus that can, in severe cases, lead to inflammation of the brain. The Knox County Health Department said the two children were hospitalized earlier this month. They mark the first cases of the virus this year in the county, according to health officials. (Hollingsworth and Nethers, 7/23)

As of July 15, Covid cases were growing or likely growing in 27 states including Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates of positive Covid tests have also been increasing in recent weeks, the CDC says, specifically in the southern region of the country. N.B.1.8.1 is the current dominant variant in the United States, accounting for 43% of all new Covid cases, according to the CDC. It’s an offshoot of the XVD.1.5.1 strain, a descendant of the omicron variant. (Srinivasan and Lovelace Jr., 7/23)

Amid ongoing record post-elimination measles activity in the United States, four states have reported more measles cases, including Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Meanwhile, in its weekly update, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added 10 more cases to the national total, which has now reached 1,319 cases. (Schnirring, 7/23)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Tribal Health Officials Work To Fill Vaccination Gaps As Measles Outbreak Spreads

Cassandra Palmier had been meaning to get her son the second and final dose of the measles vaccine. But car problems made it difficult to get to the doctor. So she pounced on the opportunity to get him vaccinated after learning that a mobile clinic would be visiting her neighborhood. “I was definitely concerned about the epidemic and the measles,” Palmier, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said at the June event. “I wanted to do my part.” (Zionts, 7/24)

The H5N1 bird flu virus has historically extracted a heavy toll when it infects humans, with nearly half of confirmed cases ending in death over the past three decades. But of the 70 cases reported in the United States over the past 18 months, only a single death occurred, leaving experts puzzled at how to explain the phenomenon. (Branswell, 7/23)

Each year, 263 million people get malaria. But from the parasite's perspective, infecting humans is harder than you might think, and requires completing an epic journey within the tiny body of a mosquito. First, the mosquito must suck the blood of an individual infected with malaria — bringing the Plasmodium parasite into the insect's gut. Then the parasite must travel to the critter's salivary glands, where it's poised to be injected into the mosquito's next victim via a bite. (Lambert, 7/23)

The University of Minnesota is launching a new institute focused on identifying and responding to infectious diseases. The new effort comes at a critical time, said University of Minnesota Institute on Infectious Diseases director Michael Gale. (Wurzer, Stockton and Alvarez, 7/23)