ReportWire

Tag: infection

  • Notorious ‘winter vomiting bug’ rising in California. A new norovirus strain could make it worse

    [ad_1]

    The dreaded norovirus — the “vomiting bug” that often causes stomach flu symptoms — is climbing again in California, and doctors warn that a new subvariant could make even more people sick this season.

    In L.A. County, concentrations of norovirus are already on the rise in wastewater, indicating increased circulation of the disease, the local Department of Public Health told the Los Angeles Times.

    Norovirus levels are increasing across California, and the rise is especially notable in the San Francisco Bay Area and L.A., according to the California Department of Public Health.

    And the rate at which norovirus tests are confirming infection is rising nationally and in the Western U.S. For the week that ended Nov. 22, the test positivity rate nationally was 11.69%, up from 8.66% two months earlier. In the West, it was even worse: 14.08%, up from 9.59%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Norovirus is extraordinarily contagious, and is America’s leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. Outbreaks typically happen in the cooler months between November and April.

    Clouding the picture is the recent emergence of a new norovirus strain — GII.17. Such a development can result in 50% more norovirus illness than typical, the CDC says.

    “If your immune system isn’t used to something that comes around, a lot of people get infected,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco.

    During the 2024-25 winter season, GII.17 overthrew the previous dominant norovirus strain, GII.4, that had been responsible for more than half of national norovirus outbreaks over the preceding decade. The ancestor of the GII.17 strain probably came from a subvariant that triggered an outbreak in Romania in 2021, according to CDC scientists.

    GII.17 vaulted in prominence during last winter’s norovirus surge and was ultimately responsible for about 75% of outbreaks of the disease nationally.

    The strain’s emergence coincided with a particularly bad year for norovirus, one that started unusually early in October 2024, peaked earlier than normal the following January and stretched into the summer, according to CDC scientists writing in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

    During the three prior seasons, when GII.4 was dominant, norovirus activity had been relatively stable, Chin-Hong said.

    Norovirus can cause substantial disruptions — as many parents know all too well. An elementary school in Massachusetts was forced to cancel all classes on Thursday and Friday because of the “high volume of stomach illness cases,” which was suspected to be driven by norovirus.

    More than 130 students at Roberts Elementary School in Medford, Mass., were absent Wednesday, and administrators said there probably wouldn’t be a “reasonable number of students and staff” to resume classes Friday. A company was hired to perform a deep clean of the school’s classrooms, doorknobs and kitchen equipment.

    Some places in California, however, aren’t seeing major norovirus activity so far this season. Statewide, while norovirus levels in wastewater are increasing, they still remain low, the California Department of Public Health said.

    There have been 32 lab-confirmed norovirus outbreaks reported to the California Department of Public Health so far this year. Last year, there were 69.

    Officials caution the numbers don’t necessarily reflect how bad norovirus is in a particular year, as many outbreaks are not lab-confirmed, and an outbreak can affect either a small or large number of people.

    Between Aug. 1 and Nov. 13, there were 153 norovirus outbreaks publicly reported nationally, according to the CDC. During the same period last year, there were 235.

    UCLA hasn’t reported an increase in the number of norovirus tests ordered, nor has it seen a significant increase in test positivity rates. Chin-Hong said he likewise hasn’t seen a big increase at UC San Francisco.

    “Things are relatively still stable clinically in California, but I think it’s just some amount of time before it comes here,” Chin-Hong said.

    In a typical year, norovirus causes 2.27 million outpatient clinic visits, mostly young children; 465,000 emergency department visits, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 900 deaths, mostly among seniors age 65 and older.

    People with severe ongoing vomiting, profound diarrhea and dehydration may need to seek medical attention to get hydration intravenously.

    “Children who are dehydrated may cry with few or no tears and be unusually sleepy or fussy,” the CDC says. Sports drinks can help with mild dehydration, but what may be more helpful are oral rehydration fluids that can be bought over the counter.

    Children under the age of 5 and adults 85 and older are most likely to need to visit an emergency room or clinic because of norovirus, and should not hesitate to seek care, experts say.

    “Everyone’s at risk, but the people who you worry about, the ones that we see in the hospital, are the very young and very old,” Chin-Hong said.

    Those at highest risk are babies, because it doesn’t take much to cause potentially serious problems. Newborns are at risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the intestine that virtually only affects new babies, according to the National Library of Medicine.

    Whereas healthy people generally clear the virus in one to three days, immune-compromised individuals can continue to have diarrhea for a long time “because their body’s immune system can’t neutralize the virus as effectively,” Chin-Hong said.

    The main way people get norovirus is by accidentally drinking water or eating food contaminated with fecal matter, or touching a contaminated surface and then placing their fingers in their mouths.

    People usually develop symptoms 12 to 48 hours after they’re exposed to the virus.

    Hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus — meaning that proper handwashing is vital, experts say.

    People should lather their hands with soap and scrub for at least 20 seconds, including the back of their hands, between their fingers and under their nails, before rinsing and drying, the CDC says.

    One helpful way to keep track of time is to hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice, the CDC says. Chin-Hong says his favorite is the chorus of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”

    If you’re living with someone with norovirus, “you really have to clean surfaces and stuff if they’re touching it,” Chin-Hong said. Contamination is shockingly easy. Even just breathing out little saliva droplets on food that is later consumed by someone else can spread infection.

    Throw out food that might be contaminated with norovirus, the CDC says. Noroviruses are relatively resistant to heat and can survive temperatures as high as 145 degrees.

    Norovirus is so contagious that even just 10 viral particles are enough to cause infection. By contrast, it takes ingesting thousands of salmonella particles to get sick from that bacterium.

    People are most contagious when they are sick with norovirus — but they can still be infectious even after they feel better, the CDC says.

    The CDC advises staying home for 48 hours after infection. Some studies have even shown that “you can still spread norovirus for two weeks or more after you feel better,” according to the CDC.

    The CDC also recommends washing laundry in hot water.

    Besides schools, other places where norovirus can spread quickly are cruise ships, day-care centers and prisons, Chin-Hong said.

    The most recent norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship reported by the CDC is on the ship AIDAdiva, which set sail on Nov. 10 from Germany. Out of 2,007 passengers on board, 4.8% have reported being ill. The outbreak was first reported on Nov. 30 following stops that month at the Isle of Portland, England; Halifax, Canada; Boston; New York City; Charleston, S.C.; and Miami.

    According to CruiseMapper, the ship was set to make stops in Puerto Vallarta on Saturday, San Diego on Tuesday, Los Angeles on Wednesday, Santa Barbara on Thursday and San Francisco between Dec. 19-21.

    [ad_2]

    Rong-Gong Lin II

    Source link

  • Hepatitis B vaccine Q&A: Why do babies need the shot?

    [ad_1]

    The people at highest risk for contracting hepatitis B include health care workers, IV drug users and people having sex.

    So why do babies get vaccinated for hepatitis B as soon as they are born? It’s a fair question, and health care providers have compelling answers. 

    Hepatitis B is a virus that can do serious, sometimes fatal, liver damage. Although groups that are more exposed to swapping bodily fluids are at greater risk, anyone can get infected.

    Getting infected with hepatitis B as a baby is extra dangerous. Infected infants have a 90% chance of developing the disease’s more dangerous chronic form. And a quarter of those babies will go on to die prematurely from the disease when they become adults, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

    When the vaccine was invented in the 1980s, doctors initially vaccinated only the highest risk individuals. Cases didn’t meaningfully decline. 

    Sign up for PolitiFact texts

    In 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending vaccinations for everyone at birth. 

    The protocol produced results: New infections dropped significantly, especially among children and adolescents.

    “Now it’s a very uncommon disease in young children because of that vaccine,” Dr. Paul Offit, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician and infectious disease expert, said. “It was a remarkable, remarkable achievement.”

    Today, infants get their first dose within 24 hours of birth and receive two to three more doses by the time they are 6 months old. 

    But the CDC’s independent vaccine panel is scheduled to reevaluate the vaccine schedule at its Sept. 18 meeting. KFF Health News reported that the panel is expected to vote on whether to delay the vaccine until children are 4. 

    Here’s what you should know about hepatitis B and what is behind the CDC’s longstanding “at birth” hepatitis B vaccine recommendation.

    What is hepatitis B? 

    The hepatitis B virus attacks the liver. Some people become very sick upon initial infection. Others have only mild symptoms or none at all. Acute cases can resolve on their own, but sometimes they develop into chronic infections. 

    Long-lasting infections can be asymptomatic, and dangerous. They develop more slowly and symptoms may not show up until much later in life, sometimes decades after the first exposure. 

    “It’s a stealth infection,” said Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor and infectious disease expert. “After you get over the acute infection, you can have this smoldering infection and be contagious to others and feel perfectly normal.”

    Untreated, chronic hepatitis B infections can cause cirrhosis and death. It is also one of the leading causes of liver cancer. Patients can seek treatments to reduce the virus’ worst effects. But there is no cure. 

    The CDC estimates about 640,000 adults have chronic hepatitis B, but because of its asymptomatic nature, about half of people with the virus do not know they are infected and contagious.

    Who gets hepatitis B and how? 

    Anyone can get it. 

    Hepatitis B is transmitted through bodily fluids like blood, semen and vaginal fluids. It is usually transmitted through sexual activity, direct contact with blood, or from mother to child during delivery due to contact with bodily fluids.

    Because hepatitis B is an especially tough virus, it can live outside the body on surfaces for up to seven days. Even a small amount can be infectious.

    That means that although you can get it through sexual contact or health care work, mundane contact can also result in transmission. Small amounts of dried blood on innocuous household items like nail clippers, razors or toothbrushes could be enough.

    Many hepatitis B patients are never sure how they contracted it.

    “Those environmental routes of transmission of hepatitis B undoubtedly play a small but notable role,” Schaffner said. 

    Because so many people are unaware they are infected, preventing transmission was much more difficult — until the vaccine. 

    How do babies get hepatitis B?

    The fact that so many infected people have no idea they have it makes it nearly impossible to guarantee a child will never come into contact with a hepatitis B-positive individual.

    Babies can get infected from their mothers during childbirth. Testing for hepatitis B during pregnancy is recommended, and patients who receive regular prenatal care are highly likely to be tested at some point. But not all expecting mothers receive regular medical care. In some cases, those at highest risk for contracting hepatitis B are also less likely to access prenatal care, Schaffner said.

    The vaccine works well to prevent infection in babies born to mothers with hepatitis B. 

    But even if a mom tests negative, the child’s risk of contracting hepatitis is not zero. The reasons are varied: The test produces some false negatives. Pregnant patients can contract hepatitis B after being tested. Children may become infected simply by being in contact with the world at large.

    Offit said that prior to the vaccine being recommended for all infants, around half of children under 10 were infected from their mother during birth. The other half contracted it somewhere else. 

    How does the vaccine work and has it been effective at reducing cases? 

    The hepatitis B vaccine was first introduced in 1981; the version in use today was put in place in 1986. 

    It uses proteins from the surface of the hepatitis B virus to provoke an immune response that gives the body a defense against future infection. It is not a live virus, and the vaccine can’t infect someone with hepatitis B. 

    Doctors expect the vaccine may provide lifelong protection, but they are still monitoring results of the 39-year-old vaccine.

    Prior to the vaccine, around 200,000 to 300,000 people were infected with hepatitis B each year, including approximately 20,000 children, older CDC reports show. 

    Since hepatitis B vaccines began being universally administered to babies, overall cases are down to around 14,000 annually. The change is especially dramatic among young people. In 2022, the CDC reported 252 new chronic hepatitis B infections among people up to age 19, or 0.4 out of every 100,000 kids. 

    Dr. James Campbell, a University of Maryland pediatric infectious disease doctor, said the low rate is directly related to the recommended hepatitis B vaccine schedule: “Because we’ve been vaccinating nearly the entire population since 1991 those people are now 30 something years old.” New infections are largely among older Americans. 

    All the doctors we spoke with, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics describe the vaccine as safe and effective. 

    But why not delay the vaccine until a child is a little older?

    When it comes to hepatitis B, that first year of life is critical.

    Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services reports that 90% of infants who become infected go on to develop a chronic hepatitis B infection, that rate is 2% to 6% for adults. And with research showing that 25% of infected infants die prematurely from the disease, public health officials have long held that early delivery is crucial. 

    “Think about it,” Campbell said. “We used to have 18,000 or 20,000 kids a year being born with this, a quarter of them going on to have liver cancer. We now have almost none.”

    Delaying administration by even a few months increases a baby’s risk should they come into contact with the virus, Offit said. And Schaffner said delaying a vaccine can easily lead to never getting it: An unvaccinated child can become an unprotected adolescent or young adult with sexual partners, “and boom, then they get infected,” he said.  

    What are the hepatitis B vaccine’s safety risks?

    The most common side effects are mild and short term including pain or soreness where the shot is given, headache, fatigue or fever, according to the CDC. Very rarely, some people have a severe allergic reaction to the shot called anaphylaxis, which can be treated. 

    The vaccine contains small amounts of aluminium, an additive used to enhance the body’s immune response. Although large amounts of aluminum can be harmful, the vaccine contains less aluminum than infants get from their natural surroundings. 

    According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, babies get about 4.4mg of aluminum from vaccines in their first six months; they get around 7mg from breastmilk and around 38 mg from formula in the same time. 

    I heard that the risk of a baby dying from hepatitis B is 1 in 7 million. Is that wrong?

    Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy used that statistic during recent Senate testimony. “That means you need to give 7 million hepatitis B vaccines to prevent one death,” he said.

    The vaccine is not administered to prevent babies from dying as babies. It aims to prevent them from developing the more harmful chronic hepatitis B, which can be fatal when they get older. It also prevents severe illness. 

    Kennedy’s statistic for babies who will eventually die from hepatitis B is still missing a lot of context.  

    It’s based on a 2020 research paper that tried to quantify how many people would have died of hepatitis B in 2014 had there never been mass vaccination. 

    The study estimated that 1,740 children ages 10 or younger would have contracted a deadly case of hepatitis B in a single year, 2014. 

    But to make his “1 in 7 million” calculation, Kennedy left out 99% of those deadly cases — any considered to be due to “elevated risk” of exposure, including among children born to infected mothers, children living with infected individuals, or those in communities with large numbers of infected people. 

    Since many people do not know they are infected, it can be hard to know if you are at elevated risk or reside in a community with infected individuals. 

    Vaccines given at birth “protect not only infants and children in their infancy and childhood, but throughout their lives,” Schaffner said. “It’s a larger series of issues that we’re trying to address. We’re trying to protect not only babies, but the transmission of the virus to the next generation.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Infection Free Zone’s early access bugs weigh down its intriguing premise

    Infection Free Zone’s early access bugs weigh down its intriguing premise

    [ad_1]

    Infection Free Zone, now in Steam Early Access, has a basic premise: Zombies have taken over the world, driving humanity into underground bunkers to wait the plague out. Eventually, the radio fires up, and a message goes out that the disease is fading. While the surface is still dangerous, it’s time to step up and make an attempt to build a new society.

    This isn’t my first rodeo with a game like this, where you have to build a post-apocalyptic society that’s constantly under attack by hordes of zombies. However, this is the first time I’ve done so from the comfort and safety of my own real-world block. Instead of a fictional setting or a careful diorama based on an actual city, Infection Free Zone pulls from map data to create a one-to-one re-creation of cities and towns, using that information to create places for looting and building up a base of operations.

    An Infection Free Zone run starts with the player choosing where to begin. The game offers my own region as a starting location, and I even found my own apartment. The map also draws on real-world data to categorize each building. For instance, the walk-in clinic across from my apartment is recognized as a hospital, which made it an ideal starting HQ. My apartment building lacked medical supplies, and its size meant it would be difficult to defend. Meanwhile, I could lock down the clinic easily, and help myself to all that free medicine left behind.

    Image: Jutsu Games/Games Operators

    The real-world function of each building factors into how it’s interpreted in Infection Free Zone. Learning about the perks — and downsides — of each building in my area would be necessary if I wanted to survive. From there, I started organizing my population into small squads for scavenging the homes in the area for canned food. We found other survivors and started planting food and building infrastructure.

    Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out yet how to escape one of two inevitable fates: turtling until I starve to death, or attracting so many infected to my fledgling settlement that we’re overwhelmed. Perhaps it’s because I live in a humble Canadian neighborhood where guns wouldn’t spawn frequently, but I couldn’t find enough firearms to fend off the endless hordes. You can play anywhere in theory, but in practice you’re going to need to pick a major city for more resources.

    There are also other little early access issues that are all individually annoying, but build up to make challenges feel insurmountable. Do you want to renovate a building? You’ll need to clear everyone out first. Want to dedicate time to research? The advancement tree has disappointingly few options, so that doesn’t feel very satisfying. I managed to plant lots of crops in the park near my place, but they stopped producing food. By the time I realized they needed fertilizer, my colony was already on the brink of starvation. Many of these problems aren’t broadcast or explained by the game in any way; I figured them out as I went, and usually died for the trouble. These annoyances go beyond the typical faults of zombie games or base builders; they seem much more related to the game’s early access state.

    Plus, seemingly everything requires an endless amount of wood to build, upgrade, or advance. At first, I thought that the easiest way to get wood would be to chop down trees, but found it’s actually more productive to break down buildings in order to also get other materials, such as bricks. However, that turns what seems like an impossible barrier into merely a deeply boring and irritating grind. All those extra materials also fill up my storage, requiring lots of micromanagement. It’s all very awkward, and the threat of the roving undead means I didn’t have much time to focus on solving these issues. Add in constant transmissions and radio chatter, and I walked away from Infection Free Zone irritated.

    A squad of survivors in Infection Free Zone struggle to fight off a horde of incoming infected, in a night time urban environment.

    Image: Jutsu Games/Games Operators

    Instead of fighting against the zombies and feeling them emerge as a natural threat, I felt like the real enemy was the game itself. A base builder zombie survival game like State of Decay 2 can be difficult and terrifying, but I always felt as though my fate was in my own hands. I’d like more agency as an overseer, and more ways for the game to evolve. Right now, my settlement seems doomed to perish from hunger or get overrun by the inevitable hordes.

    There’s a lot to iron out, but this is an early access release, and Infection Free Zone has a lot of potential. The ability to choose a real-world neighborhood or rebuild society literally from the comfort of your own home is very cool. I’m intrigued to see if Jutsu Games can turn things around and clean up all the UI issues, early access bugs, and janky systems. There’s something special about surviving the post-apocalypse in my own neighborhood and using my local knowledge to benefit my community of survivors. Alternatively, it’s neat to start a game at the base of a famous landmark and enjoy a little post-apocalyptic tourism. It’s just a shame the rest of the ride is currently so rough.

    [ad_2]

    Cass Marshall

    Source link

  • Opinion: A deadly but curable disease is thriving in L.A.’s jails. That’s unacceptable

    Opinion: A deadly but curable disease is thriving in L.A.’s jails. That’s unacceptable

    [ad_1]

    During my five years as a doctor in Los Angeles County’s jail system, I personally saw hundreds of patients with hepatitis C who were not being treated for the potentially deadly but curable disease. While hepatitis C treatment improved incrementally during my tenure, the system continues to fall woefully short of the sort of concerted effort that could dramatically reduce the toll of the infection within and beyond the jails.

    Hepatitis C, a viral, blood-borne liver disease, is very common in the jails. More than a third of inmates tested are positive. That suggests the number of people living with the virus in the nation’s largest jail system is likely in the thousands.

    Hepatitis C is new enough to medical science that until the 1980s, it had yet to be formally identified and was known only as “non-A, non-B hepatitis.” Thanks to the marvels of modern molecular biology, it’s now well described, and the available medicines cure almost every patient who takes them.

    Untreated hepatitis C nevertheless continues to claim the lives of about 14,000 Americans every year, a higher toll than that of HIV. Because these deaths are preventable, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal screening of adults for the infection.

    In this context, one might expect medical providers in jail to test for the disease broadly and treat it promptly. Monitoring and managing contagion is important in any correctional medical system, and it’s routine in ours for other diseases, such as tuberculosis and COVID-19.

    Unfortunately, this wasn’t what I encountered in practice. All those taken into custody at the jail undergo a medical screening. But it’s usually cursory and doesn’t include an offer to screen for hepatitis C.

    When I started treating inmates in 2018, doctors rarely screened for the disease partly because known cases were almost never treated. The protocol was to consider treating patients only if their disease had progressed to a state of advanced liver fibrosis.

    What’s more, getting medication for a patient meant arranging a special police escort for an appointment at the county hospital and then waiting several more weeks for the antiviral pills to be delivered. The entire process took many months and generally discouraged treatment.

    I believe the deeper reason for the reluctance to treat hepatitis C in the jails has to do with inertia and finances. The medicines are under patent and expensive.

    Nonetheless, the cost has come down rapidly, and poorer states and countries such as Louisiana and Egypt have found it in their budgets to procure the drugs and use them widely. What’s more, treating the disease is cost-effective given the resulting reduction in cirrhosis, liver cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis and diabetes. In the long run, decreasing the spread of infection will save both dollars and lives.

    The county jail system has made some significant strides in recent years. Patients now can qualify for hepatitis C treatment without liver fibrosis. One of the two medications needed to treat the disease has been added to the system’s list of approved drugs, eliminating the need for an outside medical appointment.

    Even with these improvements, however, I saw the number of patients being treated increase from close to none to dozens as of last year in a system where hepatitis C cases probably number in the thousands. Screening remains haphazard, and most of the clinicians on staff still are not allowed to initiate treatment even though the drugs are easy to use.

    Meanwhile, illicit intravenous drug use and unsterile tattooing remain ubiquitous among inmates, helping the virus readily find new hosts. These conditions mean that the hepatitis C virus continues to thrive behind bars, more likely to spread in L.A.’s jails than be cured there — a shameful state of affairs in 2024.

    Once in a generation, a major pathogen finds itself on history’s chopping block. My parents remember the polio scares of the 1940s and ’50s. Smallpox plagued humankind for millennia before it was eradicated in the 1970s. Now it should be hepatitis C’s turn.

    Any campaign to eliminate hepatitis C from Los Angeles would be wise to concentrate on our jails. A strategic, coordinated plan of testing and treatment would lower infection levels rapidly in months, reducing disease inside and outside the jails. The continuing failure to undertake such an effort is deadly and unconscionable.

    Mark Bunin Benor is a family physician who worked in the Los Angeles County jail system from 2018 to 2023.

    [ad_2]

    Mark Bunin Benor

    Source link

  • L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020: What to do if you’re exposed

    L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020: What to do if you’re exposed

    [ad_1]

    A recently arrived traveler at Los Angeles International Airport is the source of the first case of measles in L.A. County since 2020.

    Measles is a highly infectious disease, and health experts say the best way to evade infection is immunization.

    The Los Angeles resident was a passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight that arrived at 5 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, Gate 157. Anyone who was at Terminal B from 5 to 9 p.m. may have been exposed and could be at risk of developing measles.

    L.A. public health officials are notifying Turkish Airlines passengers who sat close to this flier about possible measles exposure.

    The measles virus can live in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left the area, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which works with the L.A. Department of Public Health to investigate communicable disease exposure on international flights to the U.S.

    Following the flight, the infected person made a stop at a Northridge Chick-fil-A.

    Patrons who were at the restaurant at 18521 Devonshire St. between 8 and 10:30 p.m. may be at risk of developing measles, county health officials said.

    Additional locations where possible exposures may have occurred are being investigated by the health department.

    “Measles is spread by air and by direct contact,” said Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County health officer, in a news release. “Even before you know it, you have it, and [it] can lead to severe disease.”

    Those who haven’t been immunized against measles, or are not sure whether they’ve had the vaccine, and were at these sites during the date and times listed above are at risk of developing measles. Symptoms appear from seven to 21 days after exposure to the virus. Those who have been free of symptoms for more than 21 days are no longer at risk.

    The CDC reported a recent rise in domestic measles cases. Between Dec. 1 and Jan. 23, the agency was notified of 23 confirmed U.S. cases of measles, including seven direct importations of measles by international travelers and two outbreaks with more than five cases each.

    If you think you were exposed

    Public health officials recommend:

    • Review your immunization and medical records to determine whether you’re protected against measles. People who have not had measles infection or received the measles immunization previously may not be protected from the virus and should talk with a healthcare provider about receiving the measles, mumps and rubella immunization.
    • Contact and notify your healthcare provider as soon as possible about a potential exposure if you’re pregnant, if you have an unvaccinated infant who may have been exposed or if you have a weakened immune system.
    • Monitor yourself for illness: a fever and/or an unexplained rash from seven days to 21 days after exposure.
    • If symptoms develop, stay at home and avoid school, work and any large gatherings. Call a healthcare provider immediately. Do not enter a healthcare facility before calling and making the provider aware of your measles exposure and symptoms.

    Last month, the CDC released an alert for healthcare providers for measles cases after there were 23 confirmed cases throughout the U.S.

    The best way to prevent measles infection is by getting the MMR vaccine, which covers measles, mumps and rubella. Children need two vaccine doses, one when they are 12 to 15 months old and the second between the ages of 4 and 6. Teenagers and adults who have not yet been immunized need one dose.

    How measles can spread

    The virus is highly contagious and lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person, according to the CDC. It can spread through coughing and sneezing.

    The CDC says the virus is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people who are not immune and are in close proximity to that person will also become infected.

    Measles can also spread when other people breathe the contaminated air or touch an infected surface, then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.

    The infection can be spread four days before symptoms begin or four days after signs of the virus.

    Measles symptoms

    The first symptoms of measles infection will appear in seven to 14 days of contracting the infection.

    We know measles as a rash on the skin, but it can be dangerous especially for babies and young children. Measles typically begins with high fever (which could spike to more than 104 degrees), cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.

    Two to three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots may appear inside the mouth.

    In three to five days after having symptoms of measles infection, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face and at the hairline, then spreads downward to the back, trunk, arms, legs and feet.

    [ad_2]

    Karen Garcia

    Source link

  • Scientists warn 1-in-3 kids with meningitis suffer permanent brain damage

    Scientists warn 1-in-3 kids with meningitis suffer permanent brain damage

    [ad_1]

    One in three children who have been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis experience permanent neurological disabilities as a result of the infection, scientists have warned.

    Meningitis causes inflammation in the layers of tissue that surround the brain and spinal cord. The infection can be caused by bacteria or a virus, although the bacterial infection is usually considered to be more dangerous. Indeed, bacterial meningitis can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention.

    In the U.S., roughly one in 100,000 people—or roughly 3,000 individuals—are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis every year, according to Boston Children’s Hospital. Many are children.

    Photo of a child in a hospital bed receiving antibiotic treatment for bacterial meningitis. The condition can be life-threatening and, according to new research, can leave one in three of those children infected with permanent brain damage.
    gorodenkoff/Getty

    Even if it is treated effectively with antibiotics, bacterial meningitis can inflict permanent damage on the brain, including hearing loss and neurological issues. And, according to a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, these permanent disabilities affect one in three infected children.

    “When children are affected, the whole family is affected,” Federico Iovino, associate professor in medical microbiology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and one of the authors of the current study, said in a statement. “If a 3-year-old child has impaired cognition, a motor disability, impaired or lost vision or hearing, it has a major impact. These are lifelong disabilities that become a major burden for both the individual and society, as those affected need health care support for the rest of their lives.”

    By analyzing data from the Swedish quality register on bacterial meningitis from 1987 to 2021, the team was able to compare over 3,500 cases of childhood infection with just over 32,000 matched controls in the general population. Over a 23-year period, the team saw that those who had been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis were consistently more likely to develop neurological disabilities, such as cognitive impairment, vision or hearing loss, motor impairment, seizures, behavior disorders or structural damage to the head. This equated to one in three individuals who had been infected as children, compared to one in 10 who had not.

    “This shows that even if the bacterial infection is cured, many people suffer from neurological impairment afterwards,” Iovino said.

    This is the first study to assess the burden of bacterial meningitis on populations in this way, the authors say. Using this data, they hope to accelerate research into treatments and prevention strategies for this life-changing infection.

    “We are trying to develop treatments that can protect neurons in the brain during the window of a few days it takes for antibiotics to take full effect,” Iovino said. “We now have very promising data from human neurons and are just entering a preclinical phase with animal models. Eventually, we hope to present this in the clinic within the next few years.”

    Is there a health problem that’s worrying you? Do you have a question about meningitis? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.