Is it just me or is there an abundance of important infectious disease articles floating around this week?  Here are just a few that we have found particularly interesting.

• How one unvaccinated child sparked Minnesota measles outbreak — This is a scary look back at a 2011 measles outbreak in Minnesota where 21 people (19 kids and two adults) became ill. A new report determined that one unvaccinated two-year-old contracted measles while traveling with her family in Kenya and brought the disease back home. It only takes one.
• Rotavirus Vaccine Still Reaping Dividends With Fewer Hospitalizations, ER Visits, And Healthcare Costs — A new study shows that since the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in the 1990s, nearly $1 billion in health care costs have been saved. Fewer sick people means fewer hospital stays, fewer trips to the emergency room and fewer doctor visits. Talk about return on investment!
• US Virgin Islands Confirms 1st Chikungunya Case — Chikungunya is a painful mosquito-borne virus that has been plaguing people in the Caribbean for some time. CDC is anticipating its arrival in the mainland US this summer. We are watching it creep closer and closer with imported cases arriving in Florida, cases in Puerto Rico and now a case in the US Virgin Islands. Public health labs are prepared.
• 11 amazing images from high-powered microscopes –  Despite the seriousness of these diseases, they sure do pose beautifully for photos!  The image of the immune system cell swallowing anthrax looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book.