Month: November 2023

“I’ve been practicing emergency medicine for 25 years, and I have not seen strep throat as frequently as I have in these past six or eight months,” said Dr. Jennifer Stevenson, the head of the emergency department at Henry Ford Medical Center in Dearborn, Mich., in an Oct. 28 NBC report. This report said that the bacterial illness, marked by painful, scratchy throats and high fevers, has been rising for months in parts of the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. And, unfortunately, no one seems to know why. Since medical providers aren’t required to report strep throat diagnoses to our health department, we don’t know if strep infections are increasing here. But after seeing this report, I think it’s a good time to address this infection that affects several million people a year. Strep throat is caused by a bacterium known as Streptococcus pyogenes, aka group A streptococcus. “Streptococcal bacteria are contagious,” May Clinic says. “They can spread through droplets when someone with the infection coughs or sneezes, or through shared food or drinks. You can also pick up the bacteria from a doorknob or other surface and transfer them to your nose, mouth, or eyes.” Although it primarily affects children ages five to fifteen, strep throat can happen to anyone at any time. Parents of school-aged children or those who are in contact with younger children are more at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s “very rare” in children younger than 3. The CDC says that it is more prevalent in the early spring and winter. The bacteria, it seems, flourishes whenever people are in close contact with one another. Places like schools, daycare centers, and military training facilities can be petri dishes for infections. “Strep bacteria may spread, causing infection in the tonsils, sinuses, skin, blood or middle ear,” Mayo says. “It can also lead to inflammatory illnesses, including scarlet fever, inflammation of the kidney, rheumatic fever or poststreptococcal reactive arthritis.” Signs and symptoms may include throat pain that comes on quickly, pain swallowing (one woman said she couldn’t even swallow her spit, it hurt so badly), red and swollen tonsils, sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus; tiny red spots on the area at the back of the roof of the mouth; swollen, tender lymph nodes in the neck; fever, headache, rash, nausea or vomiting (especially in younger children) and body aches. “It’s possible for you or your child to have many of these signs and symptoms but not have strep throat,” Mayo explains. “The cause of these signs and symptoms could be a viral infection or some other illness. That’s why your doctor generally tests specifically for strep throat.” Not only that, it’s also possible for a person to have a strep infection and be contagious but not show any signs or symptoms. After the primary care provider does a physical exam of the patient and believes the symptoms are caused by group A streptococcus, he or she will swab the throat. Then, one of two things will happen. The rapid strep test quickly shows if the bacteria is causing the illness. If that’s the case, the provider will prescribe antibiotics. “If the test is negative, but a doctor still suspects strep throat, then the doctor can take a throat culture swab,” the CDC says. “A throat culture takes time to see if group A strep bacteria grow from the swab. While it takes more time, a throat culture sometimes finds infections that the rapid strep test misses. Culture is important to use in children and teens since they can get rheumatic fever from an untreated strep throat infection.” Strep throat is treated with antibiotics. The benefits include decreasing how long someone is sick, decreasing symptoms, preventing the bacteria from spreading to others, and preventing serious complications. Also, taking antibiotics will help the patient feel better in just a day or two. Two things to note about taking antibiotics: it’s important to take the medicine as directed and to take the whole course. Don’t let the patient stop taking them just because they feel better unless directed by their PCP. And don’t forget to throw away their toothbrush as soon as the infection is gone. Kathy Hubbard is a member of the Bonner General Health Foundation Advisory Council. She can be reached at [email protected].

If 2022 was the year mpox infections exploded globally, 2023 was the year much of the world stopped paying attention. Yet Canadian researchers, in collaboration with scientists working on the ground in hot spots such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), are still shining a spotlight on the virus that sparked last year’s unprecedented global outbreak — and one that still seems capable of new surprises. One joint Canadian-DRC research team, co-led by Jason Kindrachuk from the University of Manitoba, has documented what Kindrachuk calls a “massive red flag”: the first known cases of a deadlier strain of mpox spreading through sexual contact. “This is a real concern for us in regard to the potential for the disease to spread broadly,” he said. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the finding in its latest mpox report, and CBC News has obtained the forthcoming paper in which Kindrachuk — and a team of other Canadian, Congolese and international researchers — further outline a cluster of clade I infections linked to sexual transmission. There are two main forms of mpox virus: clade I and clade II. The global outbreak in 2022 involved clade IIb, which typically leads to milder illness. By year’s end there had been roughly 87,000 infections and more than 100 deaths after the virus spread widely through sexual networks, with the majority of the cases among men who have sex with men. Infections of that form of mpox leads to an array of painful and sometimes debilitating symptoms, including both internal and external lesions, but relatively few deaths. Clade I, in contrast, was long estimated to have a death rate of up to 10 per cent, though the most recent WHO report on an ongoing outbreak in the DRC suggests a case fatality rate of close to five per cent. Until now, it was also thought to spread mainly through close contact, including surface-based transmission. 5 individuals tested positive The paper from Kindrachuk’s team outlines how a Congolese man, identified by WHO as a resident of Belgium, had sexual contact with another person in Europe. After arriving in the DRC, the man then tested positive for clade I mpox, and reported that he had sexual contact with nine additional partners, including six men and three women. Five contacts in total ended up testing positive, and all required outpatient treatment and pain control, the research team reported. Followup investigations also looked at other possible transmission chains involving 120 additional contacts — including other sexual contacts and family members — but none of those individuals developed mpox during 21 days of follow up. “We have a tiny piece of the puzzle suggesting something is different now,” Kindrachuk said, noting the new finding raises fresh questions about just how often sexual transmission is already happening within the DRC. Given the increased disease severity associated with this mpox clade, the researchers stressed sexual transmission could impact broader geographical spread of mpox across both clades of the virus. WHO said another outbreak in the DRC is also being reported, involving multiple cases of mpox among sex workers. These new instances of sexual transmission raise concerns about the rapid expansion of mpox within the country and beyond, given its “internationally mobile” population, the organization continued in its latest report. A child with mpox sits on his father’s lap while receiving treatment at the centre of the International medical NGO Doctors Without Borders in the Central African Republic. The World Health Organization has declared an end to the global public health emergency for mpox, yet some scientists warn there’s still cause for concern. (Charles Bouessel/AFP) DRC experiencing largest annual outbreak The DRC has been particularly hard hit by the deadlier form of mpox this year. It has been linked to more than 12,000 suspected cases and nearly 600 deaths since the start of the year — the highest number of annual cases ever reported in the Central African nation, WHO figures show. Worldwide transmission of the milder clade is still simmering as well. Though WHO ended its emergency designation for mpox in May, and case reporting in many regions has been scaled back since then, hundreds of clade IIb cases were still reported across dozens of countries this fall. More than a year into the global outbreak, burning scientific questions about how mpox operates remain unanswered, while hot spots throughout Africa that have endured outbreaks for years still don’t have access to vaccines. “In Congo this year, there are thousands and thousands of cases of mpox, and not a vaccine dose to be found … it’s such a slap in the face to our colleagues [in Africa],” said Kindrachuk. “We shouldn’t just be responsive when these types of infectious diseases move into our regions or across our borders and start to present a much greater threat.” A patient receives an mpox vaccination at a clinic in southern France in August 2022. While global cases of the virus are now dropping, some scientists warn mpox will remain a global threat, with future outbreaks a near certainty. (Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images) The world only became interested in mpox when cases appeared beyond the African continent, said Toronto-based infectious diseases physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch, who is working on DRC mpox research alongside Kindrachuk. “This [is] an infection that has been recurring and increasing in frequency over the last couple of decades as the smallpox vaccine programs started to wind down,” he said, noting that endemic regions of Africa still lack both vaccines and treatment options. In contrast, many higher-income countries made vaccines and therapeutics widely available during last year’s outbreak. Vaccine campaigns launched throughout Canada used a smallpox/mpox vaccine manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, for instance, and health-care providers here have also prescribed the smallpox treatment TPOXX off-label for mpox patients. WATCH | Mpox infections can mean weeks of pain, isolation: What it’s like to recover from monkeypox 1 year ago Duration 1:57 Featured VideoA Toronto resident shares his experience recovering from monkeypox, while officials and

In a recent breakthrough, doctors have found a potential solution for people experiencing long-term smell problems post-Covid infection — nerve-blocking injection. While some treatments help with the loss of smell, there hasn’t been much success in treating the issue where smells are distorted, a condition called parosmia. People with parosmia may perceive odors differently than they actually are, often experiencing unpleasant or distorted smells even when exposed to familiar scents. Meanwhile, Covid-19 also triggered Anosmia, which is the loss or absence of the sense of smell. Individuals with anosmia are unable to detect or perceive odors. advertisement Anosmia can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life, affecting their ability to taste food and detect potential dangers, such as spoiled food or gas leaks, by smell. The treatment was safe with very few risks. (Photo: Getty) The study, done with the help of Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists, focused on patients who still had smell issues six months after having Covid-19, despite trying different medicines. The doctors presented their preliminary findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America and stated the use of a special technique called CT-guided stellate ganglion block (SGB). This involves placing a small needle near the neck and injecting a numbing medicine into the bundle of nerves. This was done with the help of a CT scan to make sure the needle was in the right place. They also looked for any temporary side effects, like a condition affecting the eyes. The results were promising. Out of 54 people in the study, 59% felt better just a week after the treatment. And for 82% of them, the improvement kept going up even a month later. The report stated that after three months, people who got the treatment reported feeling 49% better on average. Some even got back 100% of their smell! They also found that doing the same treatment on the other side of the neck helped more for some people. Anosmia can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. (Photo: AP) “SGB shows promise for patients with long term post-Covid parosmia, and CT provides ideal efficiency and guidance,” the paper read. A temporary side effect called Horner’s syndrome happened in 95% of cases, but it went away within 30 minutes. This showed that the treatment was safe with very few risks. This new treatment seems like a hopeful solution for people who still struggle with distorted smell after having Covid-19. Published By: Sibu Kumar Tripathi Published On: Nov 29, 2023 Trending Reel

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Yogyakarta has recorded a reduction in dengue cases, dropping below the global incidence rate of 10 per 100,000 population, following the use of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated on Wednesday. In his Instagram post, he attributed this success to research conducted by Gadjah Mada University. He mentioned that the dengue incidence rate in Indonesia has continued to increase compared to global standards since 1968, despite various interventions carried out by the government, such as fogging, larviciding, and the implementation of the 3M movement. The current dengue incidence rate in Indonesia is 28.5 per 100,000 population. Yogyakarta City, in fact, had previously reached figures of 300 to 400 per 100,000 population, according to Sadikin. The Ministry’s Directorate General of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (P2P) reported that the rate of dengue cases in Indonesia averages between 74,000 to 140,000 per year. Meanwhile, from January to November 2023, dengue cases in Indonesia reached 76,449 patients, with 571 deaths. This figure represents a successful reduction from the number of dengue cases in 2022, which totaled 143,300 patients and 1,236 deaths, thanks to interventions such as fogging, larviciding, the use of mosquito nets, and the 3M plus movement. “Apart from approximately 200 children dying from acute kidney failure, we are also saddened to see thousands of children dying due to dengue. We must replicate the success of Yogyakarta City in saving our children’s lives,” Sadikin remarked. He mentioned that the government had decided to implement the Wolbachia program to suppress the replication of the dengue virus transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. “Most children die every year because of dengue. We successfully implemented the Wolbachia program in Yogyakarta,” he noted. The Health Ministry is implementing Wolbachia technology to reduce the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever in Indonesia. This technology employs a “replacement” method, whereby male and female Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are released into natural mosquito populations. The objective of this method is to enable female mosquitoes to mate with local mosquitoes, ultimately producing offspring that contain Wolbachia. Related news: Dengue: Govt spends Rp16 billion on Wolbachia trialsRelated news: Disseminating information on Wolbachia method a challenge: official