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Tag: infectious diseases

  • FDA Commissioner Says Data Showed 10 Child Deaths Due to COVID Shots

    Nov 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said on Saturday that data showed 10 children had died because of COVID-19 vaccination shots.

    “There were, it appears, 10 deaths of children from the COVID shots. Now this was data that was accumulated during the Biden administration… we’re going to make that information available that those cases were reviewed,” he told Fox News in an interview.

    The New York Times earlier reported that an internal FDA memo concluded that at least 10 children had likely died because of COVID vaccinations, with myocarditis, or heart inflammation, cited as a possible cause.

    (Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Sergio Non and Toby Chopra)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • A Surprise Flu Variant Threw Off the Vaccine. Get Ready for a Brutal Winter

    Scientists are sounding the alarm: this winter’s upcoming flu season in North America could be a real nightmare, thanks to the rapid arrival of a variant that doesn’t match well with the seasonal flu vaccine.

    Health officials in Canada issued the warning in a paper late last month. An unexpected variant of the H3N2 flu, dubbed subclade K, quickly emerged during the tail end of the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere this year, they noted. Subclade K is now poised to become one of the most dominant variants of the flu season in the U.S. and Canada, and it’s likely that our vaccines will be less effective overall this winter against the flu than experts had predicted.

    “While mismatched vaccines can still provide protection against circulating variants, enhanced surveillance is warranted,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published in the Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.

    A drifting mismatch

    During the peak of a flu season, multiple variants of influenza A and influenza B viruses will spread between people.  Because it takes about nine months to ramp up enough vaccines for everyone in a given hemisphere, scientists and health authorities meet twice a year (once for the northern half, once for the southern) to predict which variants are most likely to circulate in the population, and thus, which variants a seasonal flu vaccine should cover. Part of this educated guesswork comes from tracking the flu strains moving across the globe at that time.

    Usually, the predictions aren’t too far off, and the vaccines will provide at least moderate protection from illness. But flu viruses are always evolving, and variants can gradually develop mutations (a process called drift) that make them significantly different from what scientists had expected them to look like. That seems to be what’s happened here with the latest versions of H3N2, a type of influenza A.

    According to the researchers, an increasing amount of H3N2 variants with concerning mutations emerged during last winter’s flu season in the northern hemisphere. These variants are perhaps one major reason why the U.S. experienced such a hard-hitting flu this past winter.

    More recently, a further drifted and poorly matched lineage of H3N2—subclade K—emerged toward the end of the winter in the Southern Hemisphere. This lineage is now “projected to predominate among A(H3N2) viruses for the NH 2025–2026 season,” the researchers wrote.

    The possibility remains that subclade K will not spread widely in North America, since there will be other circulating variants of flu around at the same time. But the odds of that aren’t looking too good. In the UK, health officials have already announced an early start to its flu season, with a majority of these cases being caused by subclade K. Hospitals in the region are now preparing for a big surge of flu.

    It’s also worth wondering whether the fractured state of public health in the U.S. will further hamper efforts to contain the flu. President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have overseen dramatic funding cuts and layoffs throughout the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies this year, while RFK Jr. has fired or pressured senior health officials to leave the CDC.

    Why vaccines still matter

    Despite the dire outlook, vaccines remain one of the most important tools against the flu this season. There are other strains of flu that the vaccine will cover, and a mismatched vaccine can still provide some protection against the worst outcomes of flu, which can include death. Thankfully, there is good news on that front.

    This week, the UK Health Security Agency reported the latest data from its flu surveillance program. Even with a mismatched variant in the picture, the vaccine is currently estimated to be 70% to 75% effective at preventing flu hospitalizations in children and 30% to 40% effective in adults.

    “These results provide reassuring evidence that this season’s flu vaccines currently offer important protection to children and adults, despite concerns about the new subclade,” said Jamie Lopez Bernal, consultant epidemiologist for Immunization at UKHSA, in a statement from the agency.

    So it’s still worthwhile to get your flu shot as soon as you can. But given the mismatch this winter, it’s all the more important to practice good hygiene, to stay home if you’re sick, and to potentially wear a mask in higher-risk situations for added protection (well-fitting, high-quality masks such as a KN95 or N95 being the most effective).

    Ed Cara

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  • DNA From Dead Soldiers Sheds New Light on Napoleon’s Russian Nightmare

    Napoleon’s withdrawal from Russia in 1812 was one of history’s most disastrous retreats. New research bolsters the theory that diseases made the calamitous situation even worse.

    Researchers in France and Estonia have identified pathogens in the remains of soldiers who retreated from Russia that cause paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever. While the study doesn’t determine how widespread the diseases were, it identifies potential culprits behind the symptoms described in historical records of Napoleon’s army.

    “The retreat from Russia spanned from October 19 to December 14 1812 and resulted in the loss of nearly the entire Napoleonic army,” the researchers wrote in a study published Friday in the journal Current Biology. “According to historians, it was not the harassment from the Russian army that claimed the lives of about 300,000 men, but rather the harsh cold of the Russian winter, coupled with hunger and diseases.”

    Fever-causing pathogens

    The team recovered and sequenced DNA from the teeth of soldiers previously exhumed in Lithuania, who likely died from infectious diseases. Their analysis revealed evidence of two pathogens—a subspecies of Salmonella enterica belonging to the lineage Paratyphi C (S. enterica Paratyphi C), which causes paratyphoid fever; and Borrelia recurrentis, which causes relapsing fever.

    The results represent the first genetic evidence of Napoleon’s soldiers being afflicted by these pathogens. Specifically, four of the soldiers tested positive for S. enterica Paratyphi C and two for B. recurrentis. Both diseases can cause high fever, fatigue, and digestive problems, and their symptoms align with those described in historical records of Napoleon’s army. With soldiers already suffering from cold, hunger, and poor hygiene, one can only imagine the state of these men.

    Because the researchers only investigated 13 soldiers out of the approximately 300,000 who died during the retreat from Russia, they can’t determine how many deaths these pathogens may have caused. Nonetheless, “the presence of these previously unsuspected pathogens in these soldiers reveal that they could have contributed to the devastation of Napoleon’s Grande Armée during its disastrous retreat in 1812,” the researchers explain.

    Modern relevance

    Investigating the genomic data of historically relevant pathogens sheds light on the development of infectious diseases, carrying implications for the study of such illnesses today, Nicolás Rascovan, co-author of the study and head of the microbial paleogenomics unit at the Institut Pasteur, explained in a statement by the institute.

    Rascovan and his colleagues’ work further bolsters the hypothesis that in addition to stressors such as fatigue, cold, and harsh conditions, infectious diseases contributed to the collapse of Napoleon’s 1812 campaign in Russia. More broadly, the study also offers additional insight into an infamous military failure, one whose historical lessons were largely ignored by Adolf Hitler over a century later during Operation Barbarossa, when his own poorly equipped troops suffered in the freezing Russian cold.

    Margherita Bassi

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  • US Supreme Court Won’t Revive Mumps Vaccine Antitrust Case Against Merck

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by a group of physicians and healthcare providers to revive their antitrust lawsuit accusing drugmaker Merck of misleading federal regulators to maintain a decades-long monopoly over the mumps vaccine market.

    The justices turned away an appeal by the plaintiffs of a lower court’s decision to throw out the lawsuit on the basis that the drugmaker was protected under a legal doctrine that immunizes companies from antitrust claims based on actions aimed at swaying government decision-making.

    A collection of family doctors and physicians’ groups from New Jersey and New York filed the lawsuit in 2012 in federal court in Philadelphia, seeking monetary damages.

    The claims remaining in the long-running litigation involve allegations that the plaintiffs were overcharged for New Jersey-based Merck’s mumps vaccines as a result of the company’s monopolization of the mumps vaccine market in violation of federal antitrust law and New Jersey and New York state laws.

    The plaintiffs said that submissions by Merck to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contained misrepresentations that effectively boxed out competitors such as GlaxoSmithKline and delayed market entry of a rival vaccine for more than a decade.

    Merck made the only mumps vaccine in the United States from 1967 until 2022. It is sold as part of a combined vaccine against mumps, measles and rubella, known as MMR-II.

    The FDA in the 1990s raised concerns that the mumps vaccine lost potency toward the end of its 24-month shelf life, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit accused Merck of misleading the FDA in the 2000s about the potency and efficacy of the mumps vaccine. Merck boosted the vaccine’s initial potency and submitted a supplemental application to the FDA to continue selling it without revising its efficacy claims.

    The so-called Noerr-Pennington doctrine at issue in the case was established under a pair of Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s.

    Merck has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that its communications with the FDA were legitimate regulatory submissions protected by Noerr-Pennington immunity.

    The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Noerr-Pennington immunity is broad, though not absolute. Actions intended to influence government decision-making are not immune from liability if they are deemed a “sham,” it said. But it decided that even if Merck’s petitions to the FDA contained falsehoods, they were not “sham” petitions because they succeeded in obtaining the agency’s approval.

    In their request to the Supreme Court to hear their appeal, the plaintiffs urged the justices to resolve what they said was a split among federal appeals courts over whether alleged intentional deception can fall outside Noerr-Pennington’s protections.

    Merck countered that the alleged misrepresentations did not materially affect any statement on the vaccine label. The company also said the FDA had taken no action to revise the label despite being made aware of the allegations years earlier.

    (Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Will Dunham)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • New US COVID Guidelines Add Confusion, Complications for Americans Seeking Shots

    NEW YORK (Reuters) -Americans headed to pharmacies for COVID-19 vaccines are running into roadblocks and confusion due to new U.S. guidance that abandoned broad support for the shots, contributing to the lowest vaccination rates since they were introduced.

    For the four-week period ended October 3, COVID immunizations were down about 25% nationally, according to IQVIA data in analysts’ research notes. 

    Steven Thompson, a 41-year-old financial professional from Salt Lake City, routinely gets the COVID shot through employer-sponsored health insurance. In September, he was told at a Walgreens pharmacy he needed a prescription. Utah, Georgia and Louisiana had been requiring prescriptions while awaiting U.S. CDC guidance on who should get the shot.

    Thompson’s children’s pediatrician just sent prescriptions to Walgreens. His doctor required a visit.

    “I hate going to the doctor or doing any activity where I don’t know how much it’ll cost,” said Thompson, who now doesn’t plan to get a shot unless local infection rates rise.

    Utah authorized pharmacists to provide the shot in late September without prescriptions, while Georgia and Louisiana dropped the requirement early this month. A Walgreens spokesperson said patients no longer need a prescription.

    Since their mid-pandemic introduction, COVID shots have been recommended for anyone in the U.S. who wanted one. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention withdrew that broad support, calling for consultation with a healthcare provider first.

    The move came after the FDA approved updated shots only for people aged 65 and over and those at risk of severe disease. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA and CDC, is now led by longtime anti-vaccine campaigner Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    Nadia Hicks, a 31-year-old communications manager from Atlanta, was surprised to learn she needed a prescription to receive the vaccine last month at a Publix pharmacy. Hicks, who has asthma, consulted her doctor for one. 

    “It’s causing a lot of anxiety because I think the less information we have, the harder it is to know… is it necessary to get the vaccine now?” she said, adding she did not receive the usual immunization notice from her healthcare system.

    A Publix spokesperson said its pharmacies can now give COVID shots in Georgia without a prescription. 

    Health insurers rely on CDC guidelines, informed by recommendations from its outside expert advisers, to set their vaccine coverage terms.

    Kennedy gutted that advisory group and replaced it with hand-picked members, many of whom share his controversial vaccine views. As a result, some states said they now questioned the scientific basis for CDC guidance and began setting their own policies. Major insurers have said they will provide coverage for the vaccine through 2026.

    “People hear about the FDA, the CDC, their health department; there’s lots of different discussions about what is actually the recommendation,” said Dr. Aaron Milstone, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore.

    US VACCINATION RATES HIGHER THAN OTHER WEALTHY NATIONS

    In most European countries, Canada and Australia, COVID vaccine guidance was already limited to older adults and those at high risk of severe COVID.

    The midpoint of vaccination rates for adults over 60 in the 21 European Union countries was 8.7% from August 2024 to March 2025, according to the European CDC, well below the 2024 U.S. rate among adults of around 23%, according to CDC data.

    COVID hospitalizations continue to present a burden on health systems, said Jodie Guest, an epidemiology professor at Emory University.

    “The science shows us very clearly how important these vaccines are to keep you individually safe, but also those around you who are in the very high-risk groups,” she said.

    CVS Health Chief Medical Officer Amy Compton-Phillips said in an interview that demand for COVID and flu shots has been lower than last year.

    “It’s a little challenging at the moment, because consumers are looking for organizations they can trust,” she said.

    The company, which operates one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, said it is providing the shots nationwide without a prescription. 

    Pfizer, with German partner BioNTech, and Moderna make COVID shots based on messenger RNA technology, the safety of which Kennedy and allies have questioned, contrary to scientific evidence. Novavax and French partner Sanofi sell a more traditional vaccine.

    The delay in official CDC guidance on updated shots following the FDA’s more limited approval created confusion among consumers and independent pharmacies, which make up about one-third of U.S. pharmacies. 

    Roger Paganelli, a pharmacist at Mt. Carmel Pharmacy in New York City, said many pharmacists are wary of promoting vaccines for patients not approved by the FDA, and that some worry insurers may refuse to cover them.

    Others are concerned they would lose legal protection that shields them from patient lawsuits, said Paganelli, a past president at Pharmacists Society of the State of New York who plans to continue offering the vaccine.

    Three pharmacy experts said CDC guidance to consult with patients acts as a barrier to uptake, especially for low-income populations in underserved areas who rely on walk-in immunizations where counseling is impractical.

    “As far as the mass clinics, pharmacies are only offering the influenza vaccine,” said Dr. Allison Hill, a director at the American Pharmacists Association, “because over the past weeks we’ve gone back and forth with COVID-19 policy.” 

    (Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York; Additional reporting by Jayla Whitfield-Anderson in Atlanta, Michael Erman and Michele Gershberg in New York and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Dear College Students: Essential Tips to Avoid Getting Sick on Campus

    By Deanna Neff HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Oct. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The college experience is a whirlwind of late nights, crowded dorms and shared spaces — a perfect storm for germs.

    Getting sick can get in the way of work and play and could hurt academic performance.

    And with students living in close quarters, upper respiratory infections, mononucleosis (mono) and even bacterial meningitis tend to spread rapidly.

    To keep students healthy, medical experts offering guidance in U.S. News & World Report recommend focusing on personal hygiene, proper rest and smart social habits.

    Below, key strategies to boost your immunity and avoid campus illness:

    Stay current on vaccines: Immunizations train your body to fight disease. Staying up-to-date with your school’s recommended shots, especially the COVID-19 vaccine and annual flu shots, is key. Isabel Valdez, a physician assistant at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston notes, “I primarily recommend those two because once you get the flu or COVID, you may be out for a week or two — just feeling under the weather.”

    Wash your hands: The simplest defense can be the most effective. Germs live on high-touch surfaces like door handles, desks and keyboards. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when you’re on the go.

    Prioritize sleep: Getting at least seven hours of sleep at night is vital for a strong immune system. Sleep helps the body produce necessary proteins called cytokines that help fight infection. Valdez warns that lack of sleep “really reduces that immune battery to fight infections.”

    Practice kitchen hygiene: Space is tight in dorms, and some students resort to washing dishes in bathroom sinks, which are highly contaminated surfaces. This creates a serious risk for food poisoning from pathogens like E. coli or norovirus. Use a designated kitchen area to handle, store and clean food and utensils.

    Disinfect after sweating: Gyms, locker rooms and contact sports are breeding grounds for staph infections, including the dangerous, antibiotic-resistant MRSA. These infections start on the skin but may spread deep within the body. To prevent this, it’s important to always shower right after a workout or practice, avoid sharing towels and use disinfectant spray to wipe down shared equipment before and after use. As Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, advises on skin infections, “Don’t play with it, don’t ignore it and have it inspected.”

    Cover your feet: Athlete’s foot, plantar warts and MRSA can be picked up by walking barefoot in public areas. Always wear sandals, flip-flops or slippers in dorm showers, locker rooms and around pools.

    Avoid sharing drinks and utensils: Though often called the “kissing disease,” mononucleosis (mono) also spreads easily by sharing cups, water bottles or eating utensils. Avoiding shared items also protects against strep throat, flu and COVID-19.

    Be mindful of crowds and smoke: Bacterial meningitis — a serious brain and spinal cord inflammation — spreads through close contact, particularly in crowded settings. Schaffner points out that if “you’re standing within a foot or two of people, laughing and singing, that close contact will promote the spread of the bug.” Irritation inside the nose and throat from smoking can also make you more susceptible to bacteria growing there, according to the Meningitis Research Foundation.

    Keep distance from sick friends: While impossible to avoid a sick roommate entirely, take precautions. If someone in your dorm is ill, wash your hands frequently, disinfect shared surfaces and consider wearing a mask for an extra barrier.

    Practice safe sexual health: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) don’t always show symptoms. The best defense is consistent protection with condoms. The more partners you have, the greater your risk; getting regular checkups at the student clinic is crucial.

    Eat a healthy diet and exercise: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends college students eat a nutritious diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, limit junk food and get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.

    If you experience symptoms such as skin irritations, sore throat, fever or nausea, seek help at your student clinic.

    SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 6, 2025

    Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

    HealthDay

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  • New Yorkers question U.S. readiness for health crises | Long Island Business News

    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • 44% of New Yorkers say the U.S. is unprepared for future health crises.

    • 77% are concerned about infectious diseases such as measles, while 75% worry about bird flu.

    • 67% worry about affording healthcare for themselves and their families.

    • 61% trust government vaccine decisions; fewer trust chronic disease guidance.

    New Yorkers worry about the next public health crisis, with 44 percent saying they don’t believe the U.S. is prepared. That’s according to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau “Truth in Medicine” public health poll, which was released Tuesday.

    Among those surveyed, 40 percent said the nation is prepared.

    Still, a large majority worry about infectious diseases, with 77 percent citing measles, 75 percent bird flu and 65 percent the new COVID-19 variants.

    “It’s not surprising that confidence in whether we are prepared for the next public health crisis has eroded,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau, said in a news release about the poll’s findings.

    “Science has become politicized and the divisions we see across the country have an impact,” Glatt added. “However, healthcare providers and researchers remain committed to evidence-based study and reporting.”

    The poll surveyed 600 adults on Long Island and New York City. Sponsored by FourLeaf Federal Credit Union, the poll was conducted from July 13-20 over landlines and cell phones.

    Vaccine safety, accessible mental health services and care, addressing childhood obesity, treatment for substance abuse, and reducing reliance on processed foods all play key roles in improving the population’s overall health and wellness, respondents said. The poll also looked at access to and affording health insurance coverage.

    Vaccine safety

    “Immunization is key to primary health care and paramount to the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks,” Glatt said.

    “Vaccines have proven that they are worth the investment to make them and the health insurance costs to cover them, as they are the safest, most effective way to protect the public from many preventable life-threatening diseases,” Glatt added. “I strongly encourage everyone to follow up with their physicians to get the recommended vaccines at the recommended times.”

    Meanwhile, 61 percent said they trust government agencies to make important decisions about vaccines, and 45 percent said they trust government to make important decisions about medical research. Just 38 percent said they trust government recommendations to prevent chronic diseases.

    According to the World Health Organization, vaccines can prevent more than 30 life-threatening diseases and infections, and 3.5 million to 5 million deaths every year, from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), influenza and measles.

    Health insurance

    The poll also looked at access to health insurance.

    The findings come at a time when New York is preparing major changes to its Essential Plan due to $7.5 billion in federal cuts. To preserve coverage for 1.3 million residents, the state said it will overhaul the plan and tighten income eligibility, removing about 450,000 people. The changes are expected to take effect in mid-2026.

    In the poll, 67 percent expressed concern about affording health care for themselves and their family. And 65 percent said they believe government should play a role in ensuring that everyone has access to affordable healthcare.

    Affordable, accessible health insurance is vital to primary care and crisis preparedness, experts say. The American Hospital Association links insurance to lower death rates, better outcomes and higher productivity.

    Just 8 percent of poll respondents were uninsured. Meanwhile, 36 percent had private coverage, 17 percent were insured through the Affordable Care Act and 25 percent had Medicare, Medicaid or both.

    Overall satisfaction is high among insured respondents, with 80 percent satisfied with their coverage and 76 percent satisfied with prescription drug costs.

    Among those without health insurance, 49 percent said it is too expensive, 26 percent said their employer does not offer it, 15 percent said they don’t need it, and 6 percent didn’t know how to get it.

    Affordability of health insurance concerns 67 percent of respondents, many of whom worry about covering healthcare costs for themselves and their families. As a result, 65 percent support government involvement to ensure access to affordable health insurance.

    “No one is immune to injuries or illnesses,” Dr. Adhi Sharma, president of Mount Sinai South Nassau, said in the news release. “Health insurance provides security and peace of mind in the event of a serious illness. It also plays an important role in preventive care.”

    Those needing help with health coverage are encouraged to contact the New York State Department of Health.

     

     


    Adina Genn

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  • Some Heart Attacks Might Be Triggered by Germs

    Germs might be even worse for us than we thought. New research suggests that certain infections could be a contributing factor to heart attacks.

    Scientists in Finland and the UK conducted the study, which examined arterial plaques taken from people who died from heart disease and others. They found these plaques often contained a dormant layer of bacterial biofilm; they also found evidence that bacteria released from this biofilm can then trigger heart attacks. Though not yet definitive, the study may someday point to another way we can prevent or treat heart attacks, the researchers say.

    “This finding adds to the current conception of the pathogenesis of [heart attacks],” the researchers wrote in their paper, published last month in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

    A potential double whammy of infection

    Many studies have suggested that some infections can make us more vulnerable to a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction. But according to the study researchers, it’s been difficult to pin down the exact mechanisms involved in this potential chain of events.

    The researchers studied arterial plaques—the deposits of cholesterol and other debris that can build up along our arteries—collected from people who suddenly died as well as from patients who had their plaque surgically removed. Using various methods, including genetic sequencing, they identified several groups of bacteria normally found in our mouths lodged within these plaques.

    These bacteria had formed biofilms, hardy and sticky layers of bacterial colonies. The bacteria inside a biofilm are much better at fending off the immune system and antibiotics than they would be individually.

    The researchers found that the biofilms stuck deep inside plaques didn’t trigger the immune system. But some plaques contained bacteria shaken loose from the biofilm, and these bacteria did seem to spark an immune response and resulting inflammation. What’s more, the presence of these released bacteria also appeared to be associated with ruptured plaques and heart attacks.

    “Bacterial involvement in coronary artery disease has long been suspected, but direct and convincing evidence has been lacking. Our study demonstrated the presence of genetic material—DNA—from several oral bacteria inside atherosclerotic plaques,” said lead author Pekka Karhunen, a researcher at Tampere University in Finland, in a statement from the university.

    The authors say that it may take a sort of double whammy for these bacteria to stir up heart trouble. Typically, the biofilm inside these plaques remains hidden and dormant. But when something else activates the bacteria—such as a secondary viral infection—the bacteria grow and set off the immune system, causing inflammation that breaks open the plaque. The broken-off plaque can then produce clots that block the artery’s blood flow, causing a heart attack.

    Unanswered questions and new leads

    The team’s results will have to be validated by additional studies, ideally from other research teams. But if confirmed, their work could certainly help us better combat heart disease.

    It’s possible, the researchers say, that giving a short course of antibiotics to people whose heart attacks are caused by these bacteria could improve their outcomes, for instance. Someday, we might even be able to reliably prevent heart attacks using vaccines against these bacteria or common secondary infectious triggers.

    Notably, several studies have already suggested people vaccinated against flu, covid-19, and shingles have a lower risk of heart disease.

    Ed Cara

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  • The Kissing Bug Disease Has Permanently Moved Into the U.S.

    A dangerous, sometimes deadly, infection spread by kissing bugs is regularly spreading within America. In a recent paper, researchers are claiming that Chagas disease is endemic to parts of the southern U.S. and is probably here to stay.

    Scientists in Florida, Texas, and California made the case in a paper published last month in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. Citing evidence from infected humans, animals, and kissing bugs, they argue that Chagas has established a persistent presence in the country, albeit at low levels. Correctly recognizing that Chagas is endemic, they say, will allow us to better combat the infectious disease, which can cause chronic heart problems if left untreated.

    The kissing bug disease

    Chagas is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and the infection is spread by various species of kissing bugs, or triatomines. As their nickname implies, kissing bugs feed by sucking blood from around a host’s mouth (or sometimes eyes). The bugs usually infect people via the poop they leave behind near a bite wound.

    People infected with the parasite can first experience an acute phase of flu-like illness, after which the infection enters a chronic phase if left untreated. Most people avoid any symptoms in either phase, but up to a third of people with chronic Chagas disease will eventually experience serious health problems, such as an enlarged heart and colon. People can also die from heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest as a result of the infection. It can take years and even decades for these chronic symptoms to appear.

    About 8 million people worldwide are thought to have Chagas, including 280,000 in the United States. Most of these U.S. cases were caught elsewhere, particularly in parts of Central and South America where T. cruzi is locally circulating. But the researchers present evidence that the parasite has probably made a cozy home within the southern U.S. as well.

    Why Chagas should be seen as endemic

    For starters, there have likely been locally acquired (autochthonous) human cases of Chagas documented in at least eight states, including Texas, California, and Florida. These cases are typically found in people with no relevant travel history or other risk factor for having caught the parasite outside of the area.

    A map showing where the Chagas parasite has been found in local human, animal, and kissing bug populations. © Beatty, et al/Emerging Infectious Diseases

    The researchers additionally note that southern U.S. states are known to have several kissing bug species that can theoretically carry and transmit the T. cruzi parasite, including species that will regularly invade human dwellings.

    And studies have detected the parasite circulating among local kissing bug populations. Just last July, for example, researchers found that a third of kissing bugs collected in Florida carried the parasite. The parasite has also been commonly found in local wildlife, captive animals, and pets (dogs in particular), providing a reservoir for it to survive in the environment.

    All of these bits of data together point to a single conclusion. “T. cruzi and the ecologic conditions that sustain its transmission cycles are naturally occurring throughout the southern half of the United States,” the researchers wrote.

    A low-level but persistent threat

    The one silver lining is that Chagas is likely hypoendemic to the southern U.S., the researchers say, meaning it’s only present in low levels. But as things stand now, we’re largely fighting blind against it.

    Chagas disease in people is not a nationally notifiable condition, so doctors in most places aren’t obligated to report cases to their health departments, the researchers point out. It is notifiable in some of the states where local cases have been found, but not all (in California, only two counties require notice).

    While Chagas might not be as huge an issue in the U.S. as it is in other parts of the Americas, classifying it as endemic will allow scientists to better track its distribution and range, the researchers say. Improved awareness of the disease will also make it easier for infected people to get the timely care they need before their infection turns into something more serious and potentially life-threatening.

    Ed Cara

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  • West Nile virus threat level rises to moderate in Danvers, Peabody

    DANVERS — The local threat level for West Nile virus appears to be on the rise as infected mosquitoes have been found in both Danvers and Peabody.

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a warning on Aug. 22 for Danvers, and then Friday, DPH reported the first detection of infected mosquitoes in Peabody. And then a second positive sample in Danvers.


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    By Buck Anderson | Staff Writer

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  • Most Air Purifiers Haven’t Been Tested on Humans. That’s a Problem

    Portable air cleaners aimed at curbing indoor spread of infections are rarely tested for how well they protect people—and very few studies evaluate their potentially harmful effects. That’s the upshot of a detailed review of nearly 700 studies that we co-authored in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

    Many respiratory viruses, such as covid-19 and influenza, can spread through indoor air. Technologies such as HEPA filters, ultraviolet light, and special ventilation designs—collectively known as engineering infection controls—are intended to clean indoor air and prevent viruses and other disease-causing pathogens from spreading.

    Along with our colleagues across three academic institutions and two government science agencies, we identified and analyzed every research study evaluating the effectiveness of these technologies published from the 1920s through 2023—672 of them in total.

    These studies assessed performance in three main ways: Some measured whether the interventions reduced infections in people; others used animals such as guinea pigs or mice; and the rest took air samples to determine whether the devices reduced the number of small particles or microbes in the air. Only about 8% of the studies tested effectiveness on people, while over 90% tested the devices in unoccupied spaces.

    We found substantial variation across different technologies. For example, 44 studies examined an air cleaning process called photocatalytic oxidation, which produces chemicals that kill microbes, but only one of those tested whether the technology prevented infections in people. Another 35 studies evaluated plasma-based technologies for killing microbes, and none involved human participants. We also found 43 studies on filters incorporating nanomaterials designed to both capture and kill microbes—again, none included human testing.

    Why it matters

    The covid-19 pandemic showed just how disruptive airborne infections can be—costing millions of lives worldwide, straining health systems, and shutting down schools and workplaces. Early studies showed that the covid-19 virus was spreading through air. Logically, improving indoor air quality to clear the virus from the air became a major focus as a way to keep people safe.

    Finding effective ways to remove microbes from indoor air could have profound public health benefits and might help limit economic damage in future pandemics. Engineering infection controls could protect people from infection by working in the background of daily life, without any effort from people.

    Companies producing portable air cleaners that incorporate microbe-killing technologies have made ambitious claims about how effectively they purify air and prevent infections. These products are already marketed to consumers for use in day care centers, schools, health care clinics, and workplaces. We found that most of them have not been properly tested for efficacy. Without solid evidence from studies on people, it’s impossible to know whether these promises match reality. Our findings suggest that consumers should proceed with caution when investing in air cleaning devices.

    The gap between marketing claims and evidence of effectiveness might not be surprising, but there is more at stake here. Some of these technologies generate chemicals such as ozone, formaldehyde, and hydroxyl radicals to kill microbes—substances that can potentially harm people if inhaled. The safety of these products should be the baseline requirement before they are widely deployed. Yet, of the 112 studies assessing many of these pathogen-killing technologies, only 14 tested for harmful byproducts. This is a stark contrast to pharmaceutical research, where safety testing is standard practice.

    What still isn’t known

    Over 90% of all studies tested these technologies by looking at the air itself—for example, measuring how well experimental gases, dust particles, or microbes were cleared from the air. The idea is that cleaner air should mean lower chances of infection. But when it comes to air cleaning, researchers don’t yet know how strongly these air measurements reflect actual reduction in infections for people.

    Identifying the safest and most effective options will require assessing these technologies for toxic byproducts and evaluating them in real-world settings that include people. Also, standardizing how effectiveness and potential harms are measured will help inform evidence-based decisions about improving air quality in homes, schools, health care facilities, and other indoor spaces.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work. Amiran Baduashvili, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Lisa Bero, Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.  

    Amiran Baduashvili & Lisa Bero, The Conversation

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  • West Nile virus detected in Haverhill

    West Nile virus detected in Haverhill

    HAVERHILL — The state Department of Public Health has confirmed that mosquitoes collected locally tested positive for West Nile virus.

    The mosquitoes were among those captured at a surveillance site in Haverhill, according to Deborah Ketchen, health agent for nearby Merrimac, and that town’s Board of Health.

    The board urged its residents to take proper precautions and offered tips in a news release issued Thursday night, noting that the town’s risk level for the West Nile virus remained the same.

    It was not noted whether these mosquitoes were among those that tested positive for West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis in Haverhill on July 30.

    Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett announced on the city’s website Aug. 2 that spraying for mosquitoes would begin three days later in a northeastern section of the community due to the positive findings.

    Trucks from the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control District were to begin spraying the insecticide Zenivex E4 RTU in an area “bounded by Main Street to Kenzoa Avenue to Amesbury Road to Kenzoa Street to Center Street to Millvale Road to East Broadway to Old Ferry Road to Lincoln Avenue to Water Street then back to Main Street,” the city said.

    Public health surveillance is conduced in the state for both mosquito-borne illnesses. The highest risk for contracting WNV or EEE is from late July to the first fall frost, according to Merrimac health officials.

    Mosquitoes receive WNV and EEE by biting infected birds. People and animals contract these diseases by being bitten by an infected mosquito.

    Most people bitten by mosquitoes carrying WNV will either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms and recover on their own. People over age 50 have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill, the Merrimac officials said. Additional monitoring and testing of mosquitoes in Haverhill was expected.

    Merrimac health officials and Barrett encourage the public to take precautions, including using DEET mosquito repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants, and avoiding outdoor activities from dusk to dawn.

    Residents are also asked to check their property for containers of standing water that could attract mosquitoes. Tightly fitted screens are needed for windows and doors, the officials said.

    More information about WNV and EEE is available by calling the state Department of Public Health recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968), or the DPH Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

    A fact sheet is available at mass.gov/doc/wnv-factsheet-english/download.

    Staff Reports

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  • Merrimac health officials warn about West Nile virus

    Merrimac health officials warn about West Nile virus

    MERRIMAC — Town health officials ask residents to take precautions after the discovery of mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus in nearby Haverhill.  

    The insects were among those trapped at a specific mosquito surveillance site, Merrimac Health Agent Deborah Ketchen and the town’s Board of Health announced in a news release Thursday night.  

    The state Department of Public Health later confirmed that the mosquitoes tested positive for the potentially deadly virus, the health officials said.

    The Health Board urged local residents to take proper precautions and offered tips, noting that the town’s risk level for West Nile virus remained the same.

    It was not noted whether these mosquitoes were among those that tested positive for West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis in Haverhill on July 30.

    Last week, Newburyport confirmed a case of West Nile virus in the city and urged its residents to take precautions. None of the cases in either community involve infected humans.

    Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett announced on the city’s website Aug. 2 that spraying for mosquitoes would begin three days later in a northeastern section of the community due to the positive findings.

    Trucks from the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control District were to begin spraying the insecticide Zenivex E4 RTU in an area “bounded by Main Street to Kenzoa Avenue to Amesbury Road to Kenzoa Street to Center Street to Millvale Road to East Broadway to Old Ferry Road to Lincoln Avenue to Water Street then back to Main Street,” the city said. 

    Public health surveillance is conduced in the state for both mosquito-borne illnesses. The highest risk for contracting WNV or EEE is from late July to the first fall frost, according to Merrimac officials. 

    Mosquitoes receive WNV and EEE by biting infected birds. People and animals contract these diseases by being bitten by an infected mosquito.

    Most people bitten by mosquitoes carrying WNV will either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms and recover on their own. People over age 50 have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill, the Merrimac officials said. Additional monitoring and testing of mosquitoes in Haverhill was expected.

    Merrimac health officials and Barrett encourage the public to take precautions, including using DEET mosquito repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants, and avoiding outdoor activities from dusk to dawn.

    Residents are also asked to check their property for containers of standing water that could attract mosquitoes. Tightly fitted screens are needed for windows and doors, the officials said.   

    More information about WNV and EEE is available by calling the state Department of Public Health recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968), or the DPH Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

    A fact sheet is available at mass.gov/doc/wnv-factsheet-english/download.

    Staff Reports

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  • Sweden has its first case of infectious mpox

    Sweden has its first case of infectious mpox

    Swedish health officials said Thursday they have identified the first case of a person with the more infectious form of mpox first seen in eastern Congo, a day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks there and elsewhere in Africa to be a global emergency.

    The Swedish public health agency said in a statement the patient recently sought health care in Stockholm.

    “In this case a person has been infected during a stay in the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of (the more infectious mpox),” the agency said.

    Magnus Gisslen, a state epidemiologist with the Swedish health agency, said the person had been treated and given “rules of conduct.”

    “The fact that a patient with mpox is treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population,” Swedish officials said, adding that experts estimate that risk to be “very low.” They said, however, that occasional imported cases may continue to occur.

    Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of the deadlier form of mpox, which can kill up to 10% of people, in a Congolese mining town that they feared might spread more easily. Mpox mostly spreads via close contact with infected people, including through sex.

    WHO said there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in more than a dozen countries across Africa this year, which already exceed last year’s figures.

    So far, more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in a single country — Congo.

    Given the resources in Sweden and other rich countries to stop mpox, scientists suspect that if new outbreaks linked to Congo are to be identified, transmission could be stopped relatively quickly.

    View the new Fortune 50 Best Places to Live for Families list. Discover the 2024 top destinations across the U.S. for multigenerational families to live, thrive, and find community. Explore the list.

    The Associated Press

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  • Mike Pence Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    Mike Pence Fast Facts | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of Mike Pence, the 48th vice president of the United States.

    Birth date: June 7, 1959

    Birth place: Columbus, Indiana

    Birth name: Michael Richard Pence

    Father: Edward Pence, gas station owner

    Mother: Nancy Pence-Fritsch

    Marriage: Karen Pence (1985-present)

    Children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey

    Education: Hanover College (Indiana), B.A., 1981; Indiana University School of Law, J.D., 1986

    Religion: Evangelical Christian

    After two early unsuccessful runs for Congress, Pence wrote an essay, “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner.” In the 1991 piece, he pledged not to use insulting language or air ads disparaging opponents.

    During the 2010 Value Voter Summit, Pence took the stage and said, “I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”

    Pence was a Democrat as a teen. He has said that he voted for Jimmy Carter, not Ronald Reagan, in the 1980 election.

    Pence’s Irish grandfather immigrated through Ellis Island in 1923.

    1991-1993 – President of the conservative think tank, Indiana Policy Review Foundation.

    1992-1999 – Hosts a talk radio show, “The Mike Pence Show.” The show is syndicated on 18 stations in Indiana.

    2000 – Is elected to the US House of Representatives for the 2nd District of Indiana.

    2002 – Is elected to the US House of Representatives for the 6th District of Indiana. The district was renumbered in 2002. He is reelected in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

    2009-2011 – Is the Republican Conference chair.

    2012 – Is elected governor of Indiana. His campaign includes a grassroots trek across the state called the “Big Red Truck Tour.”

    January 2015 – Announces, then scraps plans to launch a state-run news outlet called “Just IN.”

    January 27, 2015 – Gains federal approval for a state plan for Medicaid expansion, “Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0.”

    March 26, 2015 – Pence signs the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), banning local governments from intervening when businesses turn away customers for religious reasons. The law sparks concern about discrimination, particularly within the LGBTQ community. After the law is passed, a wave of boycotts and petitions roil the state, with companies like Apple and organizations like the NCAA criticizing the bill and threatening to reconsider future business opportunities in Indiana.

    April 2, 2015 – Pence signs a new version of the RFRA that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

    July 15, 2016 – GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump tweets that he has chosen Pence to be his running mate. The formal announcement takes place July 16.

    November 8, 2016 – Is elected vice president of the United States.

    January 20, 2017 – Sworn in as vice president of the United States.

    January 27, 2017 – Pence speaks at the March for Life, an anti-abortion rally in Washington. He is the first sitting vice president to make a speech at the annual event.

    February 7, 2017 – Casts a tie-breaking vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as the next education secretary. This is the first time a vice president has needed to cast the deciding vote on a cabinet nomination.

    February 18, 2017 – Pence delivers a speech at the Munich Security Conference, declaring that the United States will hold Russia accountable for acts of aggression even as the Trump administration makes an effort to cultivate stronger ties with Moscow. The vice president also says that the United States “strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance.” Pence adds a caveat, saying that NATO member nations should boost their defense spending.

    March 2, 2017 – The Indianapolis Star reports that while governor of Indiana, Pence used a private email account to conduct some state business and that it was hacked. Indiana’s Code of Ethics does not address officials’ use of personal emails. Pence also had a state-provided email address. Pence says, “there’s no comparison” between his situation and that of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

    August 9, 2018 – In a speech to US military and civilian personnel, Pence calls for the establishment of a Space Force by 2020. Pence also announces immediate steps the Department of Defense would take to reform how the military approaches space.

    January 16, 2019 – At the Global Chiefs of Mission conference, Pence declares that “the caliphate has crumbled, and ISIS has been defeated.” Hours before, the US-led coalition confirmed that American troops had been killed in an explosion in Manbij, an attack that ISIS claimed responsibility for.

    May 30, 2019 – During talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada, Pence says he is “very proud to be part of a pro-life administration” and that he is troubled by what he calls “the Democratic party in our country, and leaders around the country, supporting late-term abortion, even infanticide.”

    February 26, 2020 – Trump places Pence in charge of the US government response to the novel coronavirus, amid growing criticism of the White House’s handling of the outbreak.

    April 28, 2020 – Pence visits the Mayo Clinic without a face mask, ignoring the facility’s current policy requiring protective masks be worn at all times. Later, Pence says he should have worn a mask during his visit.

    November 7, 2020 – Days after the presidential election on November 3, CNN projects Trump and Pence have lost to former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris.

    April 7, 2021 – Pence announces the launch of a new political advocacy group, “Advancing American Freedom.” The group’s stated goal is to “promote the pro-freedom policies of the last four years that created unprecedented prosperity at home and restored respect for America abroad, to defend those policies from liberal attacks and media distortions, and to prevent the radical Left from enacting its policy agenda that would threaten America’s freedoms,” according to a statement from the group. On the same day, publisher Simon & Schuster announces it will publish Pence’s autobiography.

    April 14, 2021 – Pence undergoes surgery to have a pacemaker implanted to help combat a slow heart rate.

    November 14, 2022 – During a interview with ABC’s David Muir, Pence says he thinks “America will have better choices in the future” than Trump as president in 2024, and admits he’s considering running himself.

    November 15, 2022 – Pence’s new memoir, “So Help Me God,” is published. The book includes Pence’s recollections of his experience during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

    April 27, 2023 – Pence testifies to a federal grand jury investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and the actions of Trump and others, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The testimony marks the first time in modern history a vice president has been compelled to testify about the president he served beside.

    June 6, 2023 – Pence announces that he’s running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in a launch video. On October 28, he suspends his campaign for president.

    March 15, 2024 – Says he “cannot in good conscience” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Trump, a stunning repudiation of his former running mate and the president he served with.

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  • Urgent Message from WCS as the Avian Influenza Virus Threatens Wildlife Across the Globe

    Urgent Message from WCS as the Avian Influenza Virus Threatens Wildlife Across the Globe

    New York, January 15, 2024 – The Wildlife Conservation Society is issuing the following statement about H5N1 Avian Influenza due to ongoing wildlife die-offs across the world:

    Said Dr. Chris Walzer, WCS Executive Director of Health: 

    “With the frightening die-off of animals across the globe due to avian influenza, WCS is calling for governments internationally to treat this growing crisis with the urgency it demands. As we continue to monitor the death of innumerable species and track the movement of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) into mammal populations, we must strengthen the focus on integrating the surveillance of emerging influenza clades in wild birds and mammals to support critical vaccine libraries.

    “H5N1 now presents an existential threat to the world’s biodiversity. It has infected over 150 wild and domestic avian species around the globe as well as a dozens of mammalian species. The bird flu outbreak is the worst globally and also in U.S. history, with hundreds-of-million birds dead since it first turned up in domestic waterfowl in China in 1996. Bird flu is highly transmissible, spread through droplet and feces-borne infections, and exacerbated by climate-change-altering migration schedules for birds and its repeated re-circulation in domestic poultry. 

    “Globally, HPAI H5N1 has now infected many mammals—including foxes, pumas, skunks, and both black and brown bears in North America. Some 700 endangered Caspian seals died from HPAI near Dagestan in 2023. Additionally, outbreaks in mink farms in Spain and Finland that serve as potential mixing vessels for reassortment have also been documented. HPAI H5N1 has arrived in Latin America with devastating consequences, afflicting multiple countries that include WCS land- and seascapes in Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Argentina. 

    “More than 95 percent of the Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups born along 300 km of the Patagonia coastline died at the end of 2023. It’s the first report of massive elephant seal mortality in the area from any cause in the last half century. The sight of elephant seals found dead or dying along the breeding beaches can only be described as apocalyptic. This 2023 die-off contrasts starkly with the 18,000 pups born and successfully weaned in 2022.  

    “As the virus continues to spread through mammal populations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on public health officials to prepare for a potential spillover of H5N1 to people. The “R naught” value—or the number of people infected by a single infected person—for COVID initially ranged from 1.5 to 7. For H5N1 among birds, it is around 100. It is imperative that we take a collaborative One Health approach to identifying emerging strains of bird flu across the globe to support the development of specific and universal vaccines that can quickly treat infection in people to prevent another pandemic.

    “The cost of inaction is already causing major devastation to wildlife. As we work to help affected populations recover, we must remain vigilant against the spread of this deadly pathogen to people before it’s too late. 

     

    Background

    Wildlife Conservation Society Health Program

    In the last few decades, it has become increasingly evident that conservation, our own health, and the health of wild and domestic animals are all inextricably linked. A single pathogen can wipe out the last populations of an endangered species and, in turn, threaten the stability of local human populations. Thus there is an urgent need to simultaneously address the health of people, animals and the environment recognizing that disease poses challenges to both conservation of the planet’s biodiversity and efforts to improve the quality of human life.

    Additional Background: Global leaders in wildlife and human health issued 10 principles – The Berlin Principles – with an urgent call to governments, academia, and civil society that all sectors need to break down barriers to ensure a united effort to prevent the emergence or resurgence of diseases that threaten humans, wildlife, and livestock.

     

    Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

    WCS combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world’s largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth’s known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, Indigenous People, Local Communities, and the private sector. It’s four zoos and aquarium (the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium ) welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors each year, inspiring generations to care for nature. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, the organization is led (as of June 1, 2023) by President and CEO Monica P. Medina. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org. Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: +1 (347) 840-1242. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio podcast HERE.

     

    ###

     

    Wildlife Conservation Society

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  • Some mosquitoes like it hot

    Some mosquitoes like it hot

    Newswise — Certain populations of mosquitoes are more heat tolerant and better equipped to survive heat waves than others, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

    This is bad news in a world where vector-borne diseases are an increasingly global health concern. Most models that scientists use to estimate vector-borne disease risk currently assume that mosquito heat tolerances do not vary. As a result, these models may underestimate mosquitoes’ ability to spread diseases in a warming world.

    Researchers led by Katie M. Westby, a senior scientist at Tyson Research Center, Washington University’s environmental field station, conducted a new study that measured the critical thermal maximum (CTmax), an organism’s upper thermal tolerance limit, of eight populations of the globally invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. The tiger mosquito is a known vector for many viruses including West Nile, chikungunya and dengue.

    “We found significant differences across populations for both adults and larvae, and these differences were more pronounced for adults,” Westby said. The new study is published Jan. 8 in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

    Westby’s team sampled mosquitoes from eight different populations spanning four climate zones across the eastern United States, including mosquitoes from locations in New Orleans; St. Augustine, Fla.; Huntsville, Ala.; Stillwater, Okla.; St. Louis; Urbana, Ill.; College Park, Md.; and Allegheny County, Pa.

    The scientists collected eggs in the wild and raised larvae from the different geographic locations to adult stages in the lab, tending the mosquito populations separately as they continued to breed and grow. The scientists then used adults and larvae from subsequent generations of these captive-raised mosquitoes in trials to determine CTmax values, ramping up air and water temperatures at a rate of 1 degree Celsius per minute using established research protocols.

    The team then tested the relationship between climatic variables measured near each population source and the CTmax of adults and larvae. The scientists found significant differences among the mosquito populations.

    The differences did not appear to follow a simple latitudinal or temperature-dependent pattern, but there were some important trends. Mosquito populations from locations with higher precipitation had higher CTmax values. Overall, the results reveal that mean and maximum seasonal temperatures, relative humidity and annual precipitation may all be important climatic factors in determining CTmax.

    “Larvae had significantly higher thermal limits than adults, and this likely results from different selection pressures for terrestrial adults and aquatic larvae,” said Benjamin Orlinick, first author of the paper and a former undergraduate research fellow at Tyson Research Center. “It appears that adult Ae. albopictus are experiencing temperatures closer to their CTmax than larvae, possibly explaining why there are more differences among adult populations.”

    “The overall trend is for increased heat tolerance with increasing precipitation,” Westby said. “It could be that wetter climates allow mosquitoes to endure hotter temperatures due to decreases in desiccation, as humidity and temperature are known to interact and influence mosquito survival.”

    Little is known about how different vector populations, like those of this kind of mosquito, are adapted to their local climate, nor the potential for vectors to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. This study is one of the few to consider the upper limits of survivability in high temperatures — akin to heat waves — as opposed to the limits imposed by cold winters.

    “Standing genetic variation in heat tolerance is necessary for organisms to adapt to higher temperatures,” Westby said. “That’s why it was important for us to experimentally determine if this mosquito exhibits variation before we can begin to test how, or if, it will adapt to a warmer world.”

    Future research in the lab aims to determine the upper limits that mosquitoes will seek out hosts for blood meals in the field, where they spend the hottest parts of the day when temperatures get above those thresholds, and if they are already adapting to higher temperatures. “Determining this is key to understanding how climate change will impact disease transmission in the real world,” Westby said. “Mosquitoes in the wild experience fluctuating daily temperatures and humidity that we cannot fully replicate in the lab.”

    Washington University in St. Louis

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  • Molecular Diagnostics Research That Could Transform Healthcare Featured in the January Issue of ADLM’s The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine

    Molecular Diagnostics Research That Could Transform Healthcare Featured in the January Issue of ADLM’s The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine

    Newswise — WASHINGTON – Molecular diagnostics is a powerful branch of laboratory medicine that examines the fundamental genetic and biochemical components of life to provide invaluable insights into health and disease. This special issue of the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine’s (formerly AACC’s) The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine highlights the latest research in this field that could advance care for conditions ranging from infectious diseases to inherited disorders. 

    View the full issue here: https://academic.oup.com/jalm/issue/9/1

    While laboratory medicine experts have used molecular diagnostic methods for years to diagnose and monitor disease, this field continues to evolve rapidly, and has become more relevant than ever in the face of modern healthcare challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most striking recent example of the central role of molecular diagnostics in global health. PCR tests are a type of molecular diagnostic test and, as is well known, have been crucial to controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. And pandemic management isn’t the only area of infectious disease testing that molecular diagnostic technology is revolutionizing. Sequencing cell-free DNA in blood samples has the potential to improve infectious disease evaluation and treatment, and is explored in a study published in this special issue.

    Broadening access to personalized medicine is another goal of modern healthcare that wouldn’t be possible without molecular diagnostics. The ability of molecular diagnostics to help tailor treatment to each patient’s unique biological makeup is most evident in the field of pharmacogenomics. Lab experts use molecular diagnostic methods to identify genetic markers that affect drug metabolism and efficacy—information that providers then use in turn to prescribe medication that has the highest likelihood of benefiting patients. Technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) have the potential to increase the availability of pharmacogenomic information, and a review in this special issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine discusses how clinical laboratories can implement NGS for this purpose.

    One other compelling use for molecular diagnostics that is showcased in this special issue is genomic population screening, which has the potential to shift the healthcare paradigm from reactive to proactive. In many countries, programs are already being piloted at population scale that detect genetic diseases prior to symptom onset, thereby enabling preventive treatment. A review article in this special issue examines important practical considerations that must be taken into account as such programs expand, such as their economic benefit and the development of policies to guide them.

    “In the grand tapestry of modern healthcare and precision medicine, molecular diagnostics stands as a vibrant thread, woven with the promise of better patient outcomes, cost savings, and a deeper understanding of the molecular underpinnings of health and disease,” wrote issue editors and molecular diagnostic experts Drs. Nikoletta Sidiropoulos, Eric Vail, Erin H. Graf, Ann M. Moyer, Jillian G. Buchan, and Valentina Nardi in the preamble to the special issue. “It is our hope that the content of this issue will conjure professional reflection and spark collegial discussion in the community to embrace current practices and address and overcome current and future challenges so that the field may continue to improve human health and well-being.”

     

    About the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM)

    Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, ADLM (formerly AACC) brings together more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, ADLM has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.myadlm.org.

    The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine (academic.oup.com/jalm) is published online by ADLM. This international, peer-reviewed publication showcases applied research on clinically relevant laboratory topics as well as commentary on the practice of clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine. 

    Association for Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM (formerly AACC))

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  • Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during COVID, study finds

    Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during COVID, study finds

    Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxycholoroquine during the first wave of COVID, according to a study by French researchers.

    The anti-malaria drug was prescribed to some patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, “despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits,” the researchers point out in their paper, published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.

    Now, researchers have estimated that some 16,990 people in six countries — France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.S. — may have died as a result.

    That figure stems from a study published in the Nature scientific journal in 2021 which reported an 11 percent increase in the mortality rate, linked to its prescription against COVID-19, because of the potential adverse effects like heart rhythm disorders, and its use instead of other effective treatments.

    Researchers from universities in Lyon, France, and Québec, Canada, used that figure to analyze hospitalization data for COVID in each of the six countries, exposure to hydroxychloroquine and the increase in the relative risk of death linked to the drug.

    In fact, they say the figure may be far higher given the study only concerns six countries from March to July 2020, when the drug was prescribed much more widely.

    Hydroxychloroquine gained prominence partly due to French virologist Didier Raoult who had headed the Méditerranée Infection Foundation hospital, but was later removed amid growing controversy.

    It was also considered something of a “miracle cure” by the then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who said: “What do you have to lose? Take it.”

    Mari Eccles

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  • Mpox in the United States Fast Facts | CNN

    Mpox in the United States Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in the United States. In 2022, an outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus originated in Africa and is the cousin of the smallpox virus.

    In November 2022, WHO renames the monkeypox virus as mpox after working with International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) to rename the the virus using non-stigmatizing, non-offensive social and cultural nomenclature.

    (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

    Mpox is a poxvirus. It generally causes pimple- or blister-like lesions and flu-like symptoms such as fever. The disease is rarely fatal.

    Mpox spreads through close contact. This includes direct physical contact with lesions as well as “respiratory secretions” shared through face-to-face interaction and touching objects that have been contaminated by mpox lesions or fluids. The virus may also pass to a fetus through the placenta.

    Anyone can become ill from mpox, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that more than 99% of mpox cases in the United States in the 2022 outbreak have been among men who have sex with men. However, mpox is not generally considered a sexually transmitted disease.

    Mpox is usually found in West and Central Africa, but additional cases have been seen in Europe, including the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world in recent years. Those cases are typically linked to international travel or imported animals infected with the poxvirus.

    CDC Mpox Map and Case Count

    WHO Situation Reports

    Timeline and 2022 Outbreak

    1958 – Mpox is discovered when monkeys kept for research cause two outbreaks in Copenhagen, Denmark.

    1970 – The first human case is recorded in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).

    2003 – An outbreak in the United States is linked to infected pet prairie dogs imported from Ghana and results in more than 80 cases.

    July 16, 2021 – The CDC and local health officials in Dallas announce they are investigating a case of mpox in a traveler from Nigeria. “The individual is a City of Dallas resident who traveled from Nigeria to Dallas, arriving at Love Field airport on July 9, 2021. The person is hospitalized in Dallas and is in stable condition,” the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services says in a statement.

    May 17, 2022 – The first confirmed US case of mpox in the 2022 outbreak is reported to the CDC in a traveler who returned to Massachusetts from Canada.

    May 19, 2022 – WHO reports that death rates of the outbreak have been between 3% and 6%.

    May 23, 2022 – The CDC announces the release of mpox vaccine doses from the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile for “high-risk people.” In the United States, the two-dose Jynneos vaccine is licensed to prevent smallpox and specifically to prevent mpox.

    May 26, 2022 – CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announces that the United States is distributing the vaccine to states with reported cases and recommends vaccination for people at highest risk of infection due to direct contact with someone who has mpox.

    June 22, 2022 – The CDC announces a partnership with five commercial laboratories to ramp up testing capacity in the United States.

    June 23, 2022 – New York City launches the first mpox vaccination clinic in the United States.

    June 28, 2022 – The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Biden administration announce an enhanced vaccination strategy and report that more than 9,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed to date.

    July 22, 2022 – Two American children contract mpox – a first in the United States. According to the CDC, the two cases are unrelated.

    July 23, 2022 – WHO declares mpox a public health emergency of international concern, “an extraordinary event that may constitute a public health risk to other countries through international spread of disease and may require an international coordinated response.”

    July 27, 2022 – After weeks of mpox vaccines being in limited supply, more than 786,000 additional doses are made available in the United States, according to HHS.

    July 29, 2022 – New York declares a state disaster emergency in response to the mpox outbreak.

    August 1, 2022 – California and Illinois declare states of emergency. California has reported more than 800 cases, while Illinois has had more than 500, according to data from the CDC.

    August 2, 2022 – An mpox response team is created by the Biden administration. President Joe Biden names Robert Fenton from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the White House national mpox response coordinator.

    August 2, 2022 – A report from Spain’s National Institute for Microbiology indicates two men, ages 31 and 44, who died from mpox in unrelated cases had both developed encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, which can be triggered by viral infections. Encephalitis is a very rare condition known to be associated with mpox. It has been reported in people with mpox in West Africa and in a patient in the United States in 2003 during the small outbreak linked to imported prairie dogs.

    August 4, 2022 – The Biden administration declares the mpox outbreak a national public health emergency.

    August 5, 2022 – A report published by the CDC finds that 94% of cases were among men who had recent sexual or close intimate contact with another man. Further, 54% of cases were among Black Americans and Latinos.

    August 9, 2022 – In an effort to stretch the limited supply of the Jynneos mpox vaccine, federal health officials authorize administering smaller doses using a different method of injection. The new injection strategy allows health-care providers to give shallow injections intradermally, in between layers of the skin, with one-fifth the standard dose size instead of subcutaneously, into the fatty layer below the skin, with the larger dose.

    August 18, 2022 – The White House announces the acceleration of the HHS vaccine distribution timeline, with an additional 1.8 million doses of the Jynneos vaccine being made available. Additional vaccines will be distributed to communities hosting large LGBTQI+ events.

    August 19, 2022 – Washington’s King County, which includes Seattle, declares mpox a public health emergency, with more than 270 recorded cases.

    September 12, 2022 – The first US death due to mpox is confirmed in Los Angeles County, California.

    May 11, 2023 – WHO declares the mpox outbreak is no longer a global health emergency.

    October 26, 2023 – CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, votes unanimously to recommend that certain individuals ages 18 and older who are at high risk for getting mpox continue to get the vaccine as a routine part of their sexual health care.

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