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A large outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda is drawing international concern about the possibility of spread beyond the country’s borders. The number of cases detected so far, 27, already makes the outbreak one of the biggest involving Marburg on record. Nine of those individuals have died. There are currently no licensed vaccines to combat the disease. In a statement issued late Monday, the World Health Organization categorized the risk of spread to neighboring countries as high. It also suggested there is a risk of spread beyond East Africa. (Branswell, 9/30)

If you are healthy, live life as normal and do "not panic," he said. But those feeling sick must seek immediate medical attention. Nsanzimana is Rwanda's health minister — and his country is in the grips of its first-ever outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus. The virus comes from fruit bats and is in the same family as the Ebola virus. There are no known treatments or vaccines, although supportive care like IV fluids is helpful. The death rate can be as high as 88%. (Emanuel, 10/2)

U.S. health officials have run into obstacles in their efforts to determine whether a Missouri person infected with H5N1 bird flu passed the virus on to others, causing a delay that will likely fuel concerns about the possibility that there has been human-to-human transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has blood samples from several health workers and a household contact of the Missouri case that it plans to test for antibodies that would indicate whether they too had been infected with the virus, an agency official told STAT. (Branswell, 10/2)

Chances are low that human-to-human spread of bird flu occurred in a group of people who were exposed to a patient infected with the virus in Missouri, US health authorities said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is assisting Missouri health officials in its investigation of seven people who began experiencing symptoms after contact with the H5N1-infected patient. (Suvarna, 10/2)

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed H5N1 avian flu in one more dairy herd in Idaho, pushing the national total to 244 across 14 states. Idaho has now reported 34 H5N1 outbreaks on dairy farms, three of them since early September. (Schnirring, 10/2)

Connecticut officials have reported the first human case in the state of the tickborne disease Rickettsia parkeri. This is also the first case detected in the Northeastern region of the country. The disease is spread by the Gulf Coast tick Amblyomma maculatum. Unlike other ticks in the region, Gulf Coast ticks favor grassland habitats. (Soucheray, 10/2)