Day: July 3, 2024

Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen by more than 10% across the country, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking the largest percent increase in this key indicator of the virus since December. At least 7,109 admissions of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were reported for the week of July 15 nationwide, the CDC said late Monday, up from 6,444 during the week before. Another important hospital metric has also been trending up in recent weeks: an average of 0.73% of the past week’s emergency room visits had COVID-19 as of July 21, up from 0.49% through June 21. The new figures come after months of largely slowing COVID-19 trends nationwide since the last wave of infections over the winter. “COVID-19 indicators, including hospital admissions, emergency department visits, test positivity, and wastewater levels, are increasing nationally,” the CDC said in an update posted to its data tracker dated July 24, 2023. Only one part of the country did not record more hospitalizations last week compared to the week prior: the Midwestern region spanning Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. For now, hospitalizations remain far below the levels recorded at this time last year nationwide. July 2022 peaked at more than 44,000 weekly hospitalizations and 5% of emergency room visits with COVID-19 during a summer surge that strained many hospitals. Projections have differed over what the coming months will hold. An ensemble of academic and federal modelers said last month that the “main period of COVID-19 activity is expected to occur in late fall and early winter over the next 2 years, with median peak incidence between November and mid-January.” They cautioned that there were considerable differences between models within the group, with some teams projecting an additional smaller peak elsewhere in the year. In the U.S., 2021 saw larger peaks in August and December, driven by the Delta and Omicron variants, respectively. In 2022, hospitalizations peaked at similar levels in July and January, driven by different descendants of the original Omicron variants. Variants and vaccines Unlike previous waves, no single variant has yet emerged this summer to dominate infections nationwide. Instead, the CDC’s current projections estimate that a mix of descendants from the XBB variant that first drove infections last winter are now competing around the country. Largest among these XBB subvariants are infections grouped as the XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.2.3, XBB.1.6 or EG.5 strains, which each make up between 10% and 15% of infections nationwide. Experts had previously singled out EG.5 as one of the fastest-growing lineages worldwide. EG.5 is a descendant of the XBB.1.9.2 variant, with an additional mutation that might be helping it outcompete other strains. It comes as health authorities have been racing to prepare for a new round of COVID-19 vaccinations this fall. Updated vaccines are expected to be available by late September, the CDC said earlier this month, after the FDA requested that drugmakers begin producing new formulations targeting these kinds of XBB strains. Government distribution of current supplies is due to wind down next week in advance of the update, which will also mark the switchover to a traditional commercial market for vaccines. However, the CDC says current supplies of shots will still be shipped until September for “exceptional” situations. “While many individuals may wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine until the updated version is released, as it is expected to provide more robust protection against currently circulating variants, certain individuals may need or desire a COVID-19 vaccine prior to the anticipated release of the updated vaccine in the fall,” the agency said.

Multiple sinus infections led to a life-altering situation for San Jose martial arts instructor, Natasha Gunther Santana, 26, who had to undergo a craniotomy to remove half of her skull following the spread of infection to her brain. The healthy mom had experienced five sinus infections in 2021 that were previously treatable with antibiotics. However, the persistent symptoms of vomiting, severe migraines, and uncharacteristic mood changes suggested the medication was no longer effective for the most recent infection. @natasha_santana97 This is the story on how I lost half my skull 😌 (don’t worry I’ll get it back soon) #tbi #traumaticbraininjury #brainsurgery #braininjury #sinusinfection #sinussurgery #sinuses #brain #craniotomy #craniectomy #skullremoval #stanford #speechtherapy #hospitallife #skull #badluck #viral #fyp #surgery #surgerycheck #surgeryrecovery #tbisurvivor #tbiawareness #fyp ♬ original sound – Natasha Alyena Santana It was discovered that Santana had a mutated gene that impeded the production of a protein responsible for initiating an immune response to foreign invaders, according to the Daily Mail. Consequently, the inability of antibiotics to fight the infection led to its spread to her brain, requiring the removal of a large part of her skull. Following the craniotomy in December 2021, Santana faced various post-surgery challenges, including a seizure, deep vein thrombosis, and the need to learn how to walk and talk again through intense therapy. After several months of recovery, Santana finally returned to teaching martial arts. Sharing her story on TikTok, Santana warned others with recurrent sinus infections to seek medical help from an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist, rather than relying solely on primary care doctors. By consulting an ENT, individuals may be able to better address sinus infections before they lead to life-threatening complications, such as Santana’s ordeal. The development of a brain abscess following persistent sinus infections has been linked to the body’s ability to adapt to certain antibiotic medications. Frequent antibiotic use may cause the infection to become resistant to the medication, leading to chronic or recurrent sinus infections. If left untreated, the infection may affect the thin bones separating the sinuses from the brain, eventually entering the brain and causing tissue inflammation that requires urgent surgical removal.

Jul 25, 2023, 5:13pmUpdated 12h ago Authorities are urging tri-state residents to take precautions to prevent rabies infections in people and pets. Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system. It can be transmitted from infected mammals to humans and other mammals. While rabies is rare in humans, precautions should still be taken by avoiding contact with wild animals and ensuring that pets are vaccinated. Rabies is most commonly seen in wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, deer, groundhogs, coyotes and bats, according to the New York state Department of Health. Any mammal can be infected, including household pets like dogs and cats and other domestic animals such as horses and livestock. HOW IT IS TRANSMITTED The virus is transmitted by infected animals through their saliva and can infect people and animals through a bite or if the saliva gets into the eyes, nose, mouth or a break in the skin. WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE EXPOSED People who are exposed to rabies should wash the bite or exposure area thoroughly with soap and water and immediately seek medical attention. Treatment for rabies should be administered as soon as possible after exposure. Treatment includes a dose of human rabies immune globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine administered over a two-week period. Exposure to a rabid animal does not always result in rabies. Rabies can be prevented if treatment is initiated promptly following an exposure. If a rabies exposure is not treated and a person develops clinical signs of rabies, the disease almost always results in death. PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID THE RISK OF RABIES INFECTIONS Don’t feed, touch or adopt wild animals, stray dogs or feral cats. Report all animal bites or contact with wild animals to the local county health department. If possible, do not let any animal escape that has possibly exposed someone to rabies. Be sure pet dogs, cats and ferrets, as well as horses and other livestock animals are up to date on their rabies vaccinations. Vaccination protects pets if they are exposed to rabid animals. Pets too young to be vaccinated should only be allowed outside under direct observation. Keep family pets indoors at night. Don’t leave them outside unattended or let them roam free. Teach children not to touch any animal they do not know and to tell an adult immediately if they are bitten by any animal. Keep property free of stored bird seed or other foods to avoid attracting wild animals. Also, feed pets indoors and cap garbage cans. Cover any openings to the attic, basement, porch or garage and cap chimneys with screens. Bring children and pets indoors and alert neighbors who are outside if wild animals enter the property. If you find animals living in or around parts of your home, consult a nuisance wildlife control expert about removing them. The local health department should be contacted if a bat is found inside the house. They will advise on what to do with the bat. Pet owners should contact the local health department or a veterinarian if their pet has been in a fight with another animal. A rabies booster vaccination may be needed. Share this story

With the Bioethics Unit of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) placing a consensus policy statement on Controlled Human Infection Studies (CHIS) for comments, India has taken the first step in clearing the deck for such studies to be undertaken here. CHIS, also called human challenge studies, where healthy volunteers are intentionally exposed to a disease-causing microbe in a highly controlled and monitored environment, has been carried out for hundreds of years, an example being the yellow fever study in the early 1900s to establish that mosquitoes transmit the virus. Typically, a less virulent strain of the microbe is used to study less deadly diseases that have proven drugs for treatment. They are more often undertaken on a small number of volunteers to understand the various facets of infection and disease, and, occasionally, to accelerate the development process of a medical intervention. When used as part of vaccine development, these studies are initiated only when safety and immune responses of the candidate vaccines are known through early phases of clinical testing. Importantly, human challenge studies are not done as an alternative to phase-3 efficacy trials, but to help select the best candidate for testing in a conventional phase-3 clinical trial. Phase-3 clinical trials that follow human challenge studies often require fewer volunteers, speeding up the development process. In the last 50 years, CHIS studies have been carried out with thousands to accelerate vaccine development against typhoid and cholera. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Imperial College London used 36 volunteers to study facets of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In 2020, the World Health Organization approved using CHIS for accelerating COVID-19 vaccine development. There are several ethical challenges with human challenge studies, which require well-trained and robust systems in place. While collaborations with institutions and scientists well versed in conducting such studies are a must, navigating the ethical minefield is a challenge. Several clinical trials, including those by or involving the ICMR, have been mired in ethical violations, such as the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine trial in Andhra Pradesh, in 2010. The ethical challenges while conducting CHIS are of a higher magnitude, the scope for misuse vast, and the repercussions severe. There is potential for exploitation, given the monetary dimension involving volunteers. If it becomes a reality, India should use CHIS only to study diseases with safe and effective treatment. Using CHIS to study novel microbes/disease with limited medical intervention should wait till Indian scientists gain expertise, and robust institutional structures and mechanisms are in place. COMMents SHARE Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Related Topics disease / ethics / medical research / prescription drugs / health treatment / Coronavirus / India / United Kingdom / vaccines

The World Health Organization warned on Friday that cases of dengue fever could reach close to record highs this year, partly due to global warming and the way that climate has helped the mosquitoes that spread it, Reuters reported. Rates of the disease are climbing worldwide, “with reported cases since 2000 up eight-fold to 4.2 million in 2022,” according to the same source. “Europe has reported a surge in cases and Peru declared a state of emergency in most regions.” However, international travelers in the US who are looking for protection against this tropical infectious disease spread by mosquitoes will have to wait a little longer. On July 11, the Japanese drug-maker Takeda voluntarily withdrew its application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its dengue vaccine candidate in the US after the agency requested more data that the current trial could not capture, according to a press release. A dengue vaccine from the company is already approved in multiple endemic and non-endemic areas, such as the European Union, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and Thailand. Only one FDA-approved vaccine for dengue exists in the US.Getty Images/iStockphoto There is only one dengue vaccine approved by the FDA in the US, but it is indicated only for children and teenagers ages six to 16 living in endemic areas — mainly Puerto Rico — who have previously had the infection. ‘Occurring in urban areas where it did not exist before’ The World Health Organization listed dengue fever as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Keep up with today’s most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Roughly half the world’s population, or about 4 billion people, live in places that are at risk for dengue fever, with some 400 million people infected every year. One country, Peru, is currently battling its worst outbreak in history. “Dengue is occurring in urban areas where it did not exist before,” Dr. Coralith García, associate professor at the school of medicine at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru, told Fox News Digital. Experts blame warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, but even in Lima, the second largest desert city in the world, dengue is flourishing because “it’s so crowded that anything can happen,” she added. “But Peru had the highest COVID mortality rate [in] the world and now we have several patients dying of dengue, confirming that the Peruvian health system is very weak.” Most Americans get infected with dengue fever while traveling internationally. Dengue fever can be caused by four variations of the dengue virus. Getty Images/iStockphoto Yet it can spread locally in several states with hot, humid climates, such as Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and Arizona — although this is not common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From January to June 1 of this year, there were 129 reported cases in the US and 256 reported cases in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC. What is dengue fever? Dengue fever is caused by four viruses: dengue virus 1, 2, 3, and 4. It is spread primarily by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which bites generally during the day, per the CDC. A person can get infected as many as four times because one virus strain only confers immunity against that specific serotype; people are at higher risk for a life-threatening condition called dengue hemorrhagic fever when they are infected twice, per the CDC. About one in four people with dengue fever become sick, which can be either a mild or severe illness; but some 40,000 die from severe disease every year, according to the CDC. Dengue fever is the leading cause of fever among returning travelers to Europe from all continents except Africa, according to a recent study on the tropical disease. International travelers often complain of a fever with dengue within two weeks after returning home, but symptoms generally resolve within one week. Dengue has three phases, including fever phase, critical phase, and recovery phase. Getty Images Know the critical phase Dengue has 3 phases of disease: 1) fever phase; 2) critical phase; and 3) recovery phase. The fever phase, named after its most common symptom, is characterized by severe joint pain and headaches, but most patients recover without complications, Dr. David O. Freedman, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Fox News Digital. The disease’s hallmark bone and joint pains have earned it the nickname “breakbone fever.” “In a small proportion of patients, just as the fever is resolving, a second critical phase develops where fluid leaks out of the circulation and gets into body spaces, such as the chest and abdominal cavities,” he added. During this phase, the blood pressure drops; severe bleeding may also occur. Warning signs and symptoms Freedman recommends watching for abdominal pain or tenderness; 2) persistent vomiting; 3) fluid in body spaces; 4) bleeding from the mouth or rectum; and 5) lethargy and restlessness. Any of these combined with a fever increase the likelihood of patients becoming very sick and needing to be hospitalized. He also reminds people that “a total body rash often develops during the critical or early recovery phase.” Freedman noted, “If the patient survives the critical phase usually with medical intervention, the third phase, recovery, occurs about 3-4 days after that.” Most have an ‘uncomplicated course’ A recent paper analyzed nearly 6,000 returning travelers with dengue using the GeoSentinel network surveillance platform. The network is a collaboration between the CDC and the International Society of Travel Medicine. It monitors infectious diseases in 29 countries on six continents that affect international travelers and migrants. The researchers looked at the patients with dengue fever, which was relatively mild illness without any complications, or “complicated dengue,” which included those who had warning signs or severe illness. They found only 2% of dengue cases were considered “complicated,” but approximately 99% had warning signs, with 31% classified as severe. “Most of the time it is an