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Tag: Disease outbreaks

  • Risk of Covid death almost zero for people who are boosted and treated, White House Covid czar says

    Risk of Covid death almost zero for people who are boosted and treated, White House Covid czar says

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    People who stay up to date on their vaccines and receive treatments when they have breakthrough infections face almost no risk of dying from Covid-19, a top health official said on Tuesday.

    Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the White House Covid task force, said the U.S. has made major strides in fighting Covid since the early days of the pandemic when thousands of people were dying daily from the virus.

    “If you are up to date with your vaccines and if you get treated if you have a breakthrough infection, your risk of dying from Covid is now close to zero,” Jha told reporters at the White House.

    More than 300 people are still dying every day from Covid on average, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Jha told reporters last week that 70% of the people dying from the virus are 75 and older and don’t have the latest shots or aren’t getting treated as needed. He said this level of death is unacceptable given all the tools the U.S. now has at its disposal to manage the virus.

    Jha encouraged people who have Covid symptoms to get tested so they can get diagnosed and receive treatments such as the antiviral pill Paxlovid when needed.

    “Treatments which we have available today for free keep people out of the hospital, keep people out of the ICU, prevent the worst outcome at all,” Jha said.

    People older than 50 and those who are otherwise at elevated risk, such as people with weak immune systems or serious medical conditions, should be seriously considered for treatments, he said.

    The U.S. rolled out new booster shots that target the dominant omicron BA.5 subvariant in September. Although there’s no real-world data on their effectiveness yet, Jha said they should provide a much higher degree of protection based on what scientists know about how the human immune system works.

    Health officials are expecting Covid infections to increase in November through January as they have every fall and winter since the pandemic began, Jha said. But it’s difficult to predict whether the U.S. will face another major Covid surge because the virus continues to evolve, he added.

    “We are not helpless against these challenges. What happens in the weeks and months ahead will have a large impact on how the winter goes and really what happens this winter is largely up to us as the American people,” Jha said on Tuesday.

    He called on everyone ages 12 and older to get their new Covid booster shot by Halloween so they have protection in time for Thanksgiving when the holiday season gets into full swing. Everyone who is eligible should go out and get their annual flu shot as well because health officials are expecting a significant flu season for the first time since the pandemic began, he said.

    One caveat is people who recently caught Covid can wait three months to get their booster because infection also boosts your immunity, Jha said.

    “Don’t wait — get your new flu shot and your new Covid shot today,” Jha said. “If Americans did that we could save hundreds of lives each day this winter.”

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  • UN ponders rapid armed force to help end Haiti’s crisis

    UN ponders rapid armed force to help end Haiti’s crisis

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    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres submitted a letter to the Security Council on Sunday proposing the immediate activation of a rapid action force following a plea for help from Haiti as gangs and protesters paralyze the country.

    The letter, which was seen by The Associated Press but has not been made public, said the rapid action force would be deployed by one or several member states to help Haiti’s National Police. That force would “remove the threat posed by armed gangs and provide immediate protection to critical infrastructure and services,” as well as secure the “free movement of water, fuel, food and medical supplies from main ports and airports to communities and health care facilities.”

    The letter also states the secretary-general may deploy “additional U.N. capacities to support a ceasefire or humanitarian arrangements.”

    However, the letter notes that “a return to a more robust United Nations engagement in the form of peacekeeping remains a last resort if no decisive action is urgently taken by the international community in line with the outlined options and national law enforcement capacity proves unable to reverse the deteriorating security situation.”

    The letter suggests that the rapid action force be phased out as Haitian police regain control of infrastructure, and that two options could follow: member states establish an international police task force to help and advise local officers or create a special force to help tackle gangs “including through joint strike, isolation and containment operations across the country.”

    The letter notes that if member states do not “step forward with bilateral support and financing,” the U.N. operation may be an alternative.

    “However, as indicated, a return to U.N. peacekeeping was not the preferred option of the authorities,” it states.

    The letter also says the Security Council could decide to strengthen the police component of the current United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti known as BINUH, and to call on member states to provide additional equipment and training to local police, which are understaffed and lack resources. Only about a third of some 13,000 are operational in a country of more than 11 million people.

    The secretary-general said the issue is a matter of urgency, noting Haiti “is facing an outbreak of cholera amid a dramatic deterioration in security that has paralyzed the country.”

    On Friday, Haiti’s government published an official document signed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top-ranking officials requesting from international partners “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity,” to stop the “criminal actions” of armed gangs across the country.

    The request comes nearly a month after one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs surrounded a key fuel terminal in the capital of Port-au-Prince, preventing the distribution of some 10 million gallons of diesel and gasoline and more than 800,000 gallons of kerosene stored on site.

    Tens of thousands of demonstrators also have blocked streets in Port-au-Prince and other major cities in recent weeks, preventing the flow of traffic including water trucks and ambulances, as part of an ongoing protest against a spike in the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

    Gas stations and schools are closed, while banks and grocery stores are operating on a limited schedule.

    Protesters are demanding the resignation of Henry, who announced in early September that his administration could no longer afford to subsidize fuel.

    The deepening paralysis has caused supplies of fuel, water and other basic goods to dwindle amid a cholera outbreak that has killed several people and sickened dozens of others, with health officials warning that the situation could worsen amid a lack of potable water and cramped living conditions. More than 150 suspected cases have been reported, with the U.N. warning that the outbreak is spreading beyond Port-au-Prince.

    The outbreak comes as UNICEF warns that three-fourths of major hospitals across Haiti are unable to provide critical service “due to the fuel crisis, insecurity and looting.”

    The U.S. Embassy has granted temporarily leave to personnel and urged U.S. citizens to immediately leave Haiti.

    Haitian officials have not specified what kind of armed forces they’re seeking, with many local leaders rejecting the idea of U.N. peacekeepers, noting that they’ve been accused of sexual assault and of sparking a cholera epidemic that killed nearly 10,000 people during their a 13-year mission in Haiti that ended five years ago.

    A Brazilian general and former U.N. peace mission leader who declined to be identified because he is still involved with the U.N. told The Associated Press this weekend that any peacekeeping mission would be established following a decision by the Security Council if it believes there’s a risk to international security.

    The U.N. would send a team for evaluation, and then the Security Council would decide if money is available and which countries would be available for volunteering. He noted that a military mission could cost between 600 to 800 million dollars and would count with 7,000 military components, plus police and civil components.

    “It is an ongoing crisis, which makes it difficult for short term solutions,” he said. “There needs to be international help, no doubt about that.”

    ———

    Associated Press reporter Carla Bridi in Brasilia, Brazil contributed.

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  • U.S. will screen people arriving from Uganda for Ebola as East African nation battles outbreak

    U.S. will screen people arriving from Uganda for Ebola as East African nation battles outbreak

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    The U.S. will rout and screen passengers for Ebola at five designated airports if they have traveled in Uganda within three weeks prior to their arrival, federal officials said on Thursday.

    Uganda, a nation in East Africa, is battling a deadly outbreak of Ebola with 63 confirmed and probable cases and 29 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. No cases of Ebola have been reported in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The CDC is working closely with Uganda’s health ministry and the WHO to respond to the outbreak.

    The U.S. Embassy in Uganda, in a health alert Thursday, said passengers who have been in the East African nation within 21 days of their arrival in the U.S. will be routed to one of five airports: New York JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare or Washington Dulles.

    Passengers arriving from Uganda at those airports will undergo temperature checks and verification of their contact data, a federal health official said. Airlines will send passenger information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so the agency can conduct health follow ups, the official said. Contact information will also be sent to state health departments so they can conduct follow ups locally.

    Uganda is battling an outbreak caused by a strain of Ebola called Sudan ebolavirus. The virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids of a person who has fallen ill with the virus or died from it, as well as infected animals and contaminated objects, according to CDC. Ebola does not spread through airborne transmission, the health agency said.

    People infected with ebolavirus are not contagious until symptoms appear, which can take anywhere from two to 21 days after contact with the virus, according to CDC. On average, it takes about 8 to 10 days for symptoms to appear.

    Symptoms include unexplained hemorrhaging, bleeding or bruising; fever; severe headache and muscle and joint pain; stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Other symptoms include red eyes, skin rash and hiccups.

    There is no vaccine licensed by the Food and Drug Administration to protect against the Sudan ebolavirus strain. The FDA approved a vaccine to combat Zaire ebolavirus based on animal studies, but it’s not expected to protect against the Sudan strain, according to CDC. There is also no FDA approved treatment for Sudan ebolavirus.

    The CDC, in a health alert Thursday, said health-care providers should be on the alert for any patients suspected of having Ebola. Physicians and other clinicians should obtain a detailed travel history for any patients suspected of having the disease, particularly for people who have been to the regions in Uganda where there is an outbreak.

    This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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  • Monkeypox eradication unlikely in the U.S. as virus could spread indefinitely, CDC says

    Monkeypox eradication unlikely in the U.S. as virus could spread indefinitely, CDC says

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    The monkeypox virus is unlikely to be eliminated from the U.S. in the near future, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.

    The CDC, in a technical brief, said the outbreak is slowing as the availability of vaccines has increased, people have become more aware of how to avoid infection, and immunity has likely increased among gay and bisexual men, the group most impacted by the virus.

    But low-level transmission of the virus could continue indefinitely among men who have sex with other men, according to the report. The CDC said it does not have a projection of how many total people might get infected by the virus.

    The Biden administration declared a public health emergency in August in an effort to ramp up vaccines, testing, treatment and community outreach in an effort to eradicate the virus from the U.S.

    The U.S. is trying to contain the largest monkeypox outbreak in the world, with nearly 26,000 cases reported across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to CDC data. At least two people have died from the disease in the U.S., according to the data.

    The global monkeypox outbreak, the largest in history, is highly unusual because the virus is circulating widely in countries where it is not normally found. Historically, monkeypox has circulated in remote parts of West and Central Africa. In that context, people normally caught the virus from animals. There was little spread between people.

    Monkeypox is now spreading widely between people, mostly through close contact during sex among gay and bisexual men. The disease is rarely fatal, but patients develop lesions resembling blisters in sensitive areas that are extremely painful. In some cases, the pain is so great people require hospitalization and in rare instances people with weak immune systems have died.

    The CDC, in its report, said the virus is still spreading primarily among men who have sex with men. But anyone can catch the virus through close contact with someone who is infected or with contaminated materials. Health authorities have confirmed 29 cases of children catching the virus to date, and 78 total pediatric cases are under investigation as of late September.

    Though 96% of patients are men, 408 women have caught the virus to date in the U.S. Four pregnant women and one who was breastfeeding have caught monkeypox.

    The CDC said the percentage of patients who identify as gay or bisexual men has declined over time, with 75% of people who provided recent sexual history reporting male-to-male contact.

    But a large number of cases are missing data on sexual history and more than 90% of infections are among males, according to CDC. The decline in the percentage of cases reporting male-to-male sexual contact is likely due to missing data rather than a change in how the virus is spreading, according to the public health agency.

    The CDC said the outbreak will likely remain concentrated among men who have sex with men over the long term, with infections continuing to decline over the coming weeks and dropping significantly over the next several months.

    More than 684,000 people have received the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine so far. Earlier this week, the CDC reported preliminary data indicating that the vaccine is providing at least some protection against infection. The vaccination campaign is primarily focused on gay and bisexual men.

    The outbreak could start accelerating again if the virus starts spreading widely among the U.S. population through heterosexual networks or contact that doesn’t involve sex, according to CDC. But there is no country in the current global outbreak that has found clear evidence of sustained spread of the virus outside sexual networks of gay and bisexual men, according to the CDC.

    The public health agency also warned that the virus could start spreading faster again among people if it becomes established in an animal population in the U.S. The CDC said it is unknown which animals in North America are most susceptible to infection.

    In Africa, the virus mostly spread from animals to people. If monkeypox becomes established in animals in the U.S., it would be very difficult to eradicate.

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