Billions Spent on Bogus Medicine?

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/tamiflu-effective-promised-researchers-article-1.1752135

“Flu Drugs Tamiflu and Relenza Wouldn't be Effective Against Pandemic: New Research”, published on April 10^th 2014 by New York Daily Times, is a riveting article concerning controversial drugs used in flu prevention and cure. This article mainly concerns itself with the political and economic ramifications of stock piling drugs against a potential flu epidemic. However, as this article explains, not only are the drugs in question universally uncertified, but recent research has shown that it has little beneficial effect but many harmful side effects. Such cons include nausea and prolonged vomiting with only a shortened duration to prove for it. As Carl Heneghan, one of the lead investigators of the review and a professor of evidence-based medicine at Britain's Oxford University disclosed, “money has been thrown down the drain because, until now, the full data had not been seen by regulators, governments, doctors or patients.” Thus, in essence, governments all over the world have potentially wasted billions on a medicine that would do little should an epidemic occur. However, many are hopeful that these measures will decrease the risk of another epidemic like that of the Spanish Influenza of 1918.

 I found this article particularly interesting because it relates directly to our Spanish Influenza unit as well as our antibiotic and biotech explorations. Because bacteria and viruses are ever changing and adapting I am curious to know if these medicines will prove any good should an epidemic occur. Knowing the ghastly effects of Influenza, I am comforted by our government’s actions towards protection but am doubtful of their effectiveness.

Measles and Vaccination

  

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/inside-story/articles/2014/3/25/is-the-rise-in-preventablediseasestiedoftheantivaccinationmoveme.html

Recently the Aljazeera America website posted an article on the recent Mumps outbreak at Ohio State and if it is worth getting the vaccination shot. At Ohio State many workers and students have come down with the Mumps and even 18 people away from the university have come down with the diseases. Because of the diseases being highly contagious many people in the community are on alert taking preventable measures to not get the diseases. Many parents are concerned for there infants because young children have a higher chance of getting the diseases. Doctors are worried about the Mumps and now even Measles because of the long incubation period and how one can be sick and spread the disease without even knowing it.

As this disease and Measles are becoming more prevalent in the country many people are questioning if vaccinations are even worth it. Some are against the vaccinations because of “consisting of politically or religiously conservative, health-conscious or autism-fearing parents”. There have even been celebrities like Jenny McCarthy saying that she is against vaccination and blames the ones that her son had for causing his autism. But doctors from the CDC say if people did not get vaccinated upwards of nearly 3 million would die per year from disease. In my opinion I will always get vaccinated because I think that the chances of getting sick is lower this way.
 

Polio-Like Virus Causing Paralysis in Children in California

On March 3, 2014, The Boston Globe published an article called "Paralysis in children linked to polio-like virus, but it’s rare" by Deborah Kotz. The article discusses 20-25 cases of sudden cases of paralysis in California. California health officials believe that these sudden cases of paralysis are linked to a polio-like virus, enterovirus-68. They suspect that the virus in serious cases, like polio, could attack nerve cells in the spine sometimes causing irreversible paralysis in the arms and legs. These cases of paralysis did not respond to standard medical treatments such as steroids, like polio. Although enterovirus-68 is like polio but nobody is sure how common paralysis is in it, but officials are sure that is less common than with polio, the article states, "perhaps between 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 100,000 infections." "“It sounds bad because it’s something that looks like polio,” Waubant said, “but the number of cases has been small considering how large California is. We don’t think it’s an epidemic and, if anything, it might have been a small outbreak of a rare infection,”" Kotz includes this quote from Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco. I think that this quotes puts things into perspective that even though the idea of another polio-like epidemic is scary, this virus may not actually be a serious, global, threat.

Sofia Jarvis, 4, of Berkeley, Calif., with father Jeff Jarvis, is one of the affected children.

This article connects with our current unit on the polio outbreak of the 1950's. The outbreak in 1950's effected the lives of thousands, with 57,628 reported cases in 1952 alone. Polio is a virus that is spread human to human by the oral-fecal route. In more serious cases of polio the patient will become paralyzed. In the article Kotz quotesDr. Al DeMaria saying, "“With polio, 1 in every 1,000 children who were infected developed paralysis,” …. “and at its height, polio caused 20,000 to 30,000 cases of paralysis per year.”" This connects to enterovirus-68 because the symptoms are similar to those of polio.

I thought this article was extremely interesting because I feel like polio does not get much mention recently because its not a prominent disease in today's society, but it something to be feared. This article reminded me that even if a disease is not necessarily coming back (such as polio) that other similar diseases can develop and be just as bad or worse. It's always scary to have a disease that is easily susceptible to children from human to human contact because young children don't understand the importance of washing their hands and taking the certain precautions they need to prevent the spread of disease. One thing that I found interesting in the article was that doctors do not have to report sudden cases of paralysis. I thought that this was unusual because if these cases remain unreported it could spread without people even realizing especially because these unexpected paralysis could be due to an infectious disease.

Original Article: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/03/03/how-worried-should-about-new-polio-like-virus/D44YZgt3mKHSLgQLdvXYnN/story.html

Are You Aware of Tuberculosis?

This article, which was published on March 24, 2014, pertains to Tuberculosis and how many people are unaware of the disease.  The article states, “In 2012, 220,000 cases were reported, but PAHO/WHO estimates an additional 60,000 people remain undiagnosed, most of them living in cities.”  Sixty thousand is a strikingly large number of people who were estimated to be undiagnosed.  One out of every five people infected with TB in the Americas is unaware of the disease due to the lack of access to health services or because they were not properly diagnosed.  This statistic is a frightening indicator and could be potentially detrimental to the health of civilians in the Americas.

Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs.  One out of three people worldwide has latent tuberculosis, which means they are infected but do not have any active symptoms of the disease and cannot transmit it.

            In 2012, the estimated 60,000 people who were believed to have TB have not yet been diagnosed or reported.  This circumstance not only endangers their lives but facilitates further transmission of TB.  It also generates socioeconomic costs for individuals and their communities.  "The diagnosis and treatment of all people affected by TB can only succeed if all health providers, community organizations, partners, and countries join forces to detect and treat these 60,000 people", stated PAHO/WHO Director Carissa F. Etienne.  Everyone across the globe deserves access to high-quality healthcare.  This measure will help reduce the toll of TB and help ensure that all Americans live long, healthy lives.

            High numbers of Tuberculosis cases are most prevalent in large cities – usually in the outskirts, where living conditions lead to overcrowding.  Limited access to clean drinking water and properly functioning sewage systems also play a major role in how the disease is contracted and spread.  With the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), PAHO/WHO is implementing an initiative for control of tuberculosis in the large cities of the region that tries to diagnose cases of TB in a timely manner, so as to speed up the reduction of the disease in the Americas.

 

The Americas have reduced the prevalence of tuberculosis by 61% between 1990 and 2012, and have reduced the TB mortality rate by 68% in the same period.  This is great news!  The progress achieved is largely due to the implementation of the PAHO/WHO "Stop TB" strategy, which is based on timely diagnosis and treatment, universal access to care, and adequate combinations of anti-tuberculosis drugs.  Today in the U.S. TB tests are commonly done. 

 

However, in Latin America and the Caribbean, tuberculosis is still one of the leading causes of death from a single infectious agent, alongside HIV/AIDS.  In addition to undiagnosed cases, other challenges include the spread of multidrug-resistant TB, the emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB, and the increasing frequency of TB and HIV/AIDS co-infection.

This article reminded me of the book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.  Dr. Paul Farmer works tremendously hard to treat and diagnose patients with TB in Haiti.  In the book, it explains Farmer’s difficulty with treating patients with multidrug-resistant TB.  In my opinion this article is very sad that so many people are unaware of tuberculosis.  One and five people are a lot more than I expected.  Before reading this article, I wasn’t that clear on the science behind the disease.  It is a relief that the number of TB cases are decreasing and the physicians around the world are getting better at diagnosing it.

 

Original article: “In the Americas, One in Five People with Tuberculosis is Unaware of the Disease” by Staff Editor, published March 24 2014 in Health News Digest. http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Disease_420/In-the-Americas-One-in-Five-People-with-Tuberculosis-is-Unaware-of-the-Disease.shtml

Diseases Coming Back Due to Lack of Vaccinations

There have been four major diseases that have begun to remerge recently.  These four diseases include measles, mumps, whooping cough and chicken pox.  Scientists believe that these diseases have popped up again because so many people refuse to get their children vaccinated.  The most prominent disease out of these four is measles.  A spokesman for the CDC commented that "if you are unvaccinated and you come in contact with measles, there's a 90% chance you will get it."  

It is true that these measles outbreaks are primarily linked to unvaccinated people.  However, vaccines are not always perfect and a person can still get the disease after they are vaccinated.  More recently, it has become a kind of fad to not get vaccinated.  Celebrities are extremely vocal about their decisions related to vaccines.  

These outbreaks are ver concerning the CDC.  The CDC has reported that from January 1 to February 28, 2014assachusetts, Illinois and California there have been 54 cases of measles in Massachusetts, Illinois and California.  

As for the mumps, there have been 23 confirmed cases at Ohio State University.  Also, there was an outbreak on the University of California at Berkeley campus in 2011 where 29 cases were reported.  This outbreak is thought to have been the result of an unvaccinated student that had traveled to Western Europe.  There was another outbreak at Loyola University in Maryland in 2013 as well.  6,584 cases were reported in 2006 during a multi-state outbreak.

A study in 2013 reported California;s worst whooping cough outbreak.  This outbreak infected over 9,000 people.  There were many children that were not vaccinated against whooping cough, but scientists also believe that the outbreak could have been the result of a waning immunity to the vaccine.


The final disease that has reappeared recently is the chicken pox. Indiana experience a major outbreak with over 80 cases in 2012.  This outbreak was thought to have been started from an unvaccinated child.  It is possible for people who have been vaccinated to get the chicken pox as well because the vaccine is only 90% effective.

I chose this article because the title grabbed my attention.  I always find it interesting to learn about diseases that are making a comeback.  After reading this article, I can see where the people that do not get vaccinated are coming from, but I still think it is a good idea to do so.  We have come so far in our knowledge of diseases and vaccines that I think it is a little silly to not listen to the CDC.

This connects to class because there have always been conflicts related to vaccines.  For every disease we have studied, I find there is some excuse for people not getting vaccinated.  I also think it is important for people to realize that just because a disease has not been extremely prominent does not mean that we should not be ready for it to come back.

http://time.com/27308/4-diseases-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-anti-vaxxers/

 

 Recently in the new I found an article regarding a disease. On Friday March 7th a High School Senior, Ryan Fischer of Grandville High School died suddenly in his sleep. The disease Ryan had was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is an enlarged heart. We haven't tal;ked about this condition in Epidemic Disease but I felt that this was a good article to do with dieases recently. This shows the awareness of his sudden death. Fischer was a devoted athelete as co-captain of Grandville High School's Hockey Team, Captain of the Football Team, and member of the student athelete council. Fischer died in his sleep and was found unresponsive the next morning, Dr. David Start conducted an autopsy and it was found that he suffered an enlarged heart attack. The reason I am writing my blog post on this is because it raises awareness for the disease and the Fischer family.

My Response about this article when I first read it was very sad. It was heart-warming. The team was scheduled to play a semi-final tournament game, but they still played it even though they lost the most looked up to and most prized teammate that morning. In the article it said he was a leader, and hero who wanted to serve the country more than anything. One of his best friends Brendan said "I want my kids to be exactly like you. I just wish they could have met you so I could introduce them to a hero,". This article especially that part was very touching. From now on everyone should live life to the fullest, be kind, and say hi to people even if you don't know them. By reading this heart-warming story of Ryan Fischer being a hero people should be living their life with passion, love, and compassion because you never know when the time will come.


http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20140307/SPORTS/303070036/ryan-fischer-grandville-hockey-dies-sleep

HIV, AIDS, and the Geography of the Disease

 Today one of the most commonly known epidemic diseases facing the world is HIV/AIDS. It's horrible symptoms and life changing effects on those who become infected are
seen on popular television shows and in award winning movies such as Dallas Buyer's Club. This article brings the facts to the disease most students have heard of but probably don't know much about. North America and South America fall into the second highest level of AIDS cases per capita; only surpassed by the southern and western regions of Africa. Africa has a rate of about 1 in every 20 adults that are infected with AIDS. The Americas have a rate of about .05% but the global prevalence is about .08% of people are currently infected. This pandemic crosses oceans with equally destructive and rapid progression infecting and killing millions of people every year. As of 2011 1.7 million people died from AIDS related diseases and 34 million people were living with the disease. These statistics are staggering but these are just the cases of the people who have been tested or who live in areas where medical records are kept and reported to the World Health Organization.

This article by the Center for Disease Control focuses primarily on the rate of AIDS and HIV in the United States. Within the national rate there is a variation between states. The first part of this article shows in a colored chart shown below each states rate of AIDS infection in people ages 16-28 in 2008. States like New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, and Mississippi take the highest category with rates as high as .03% of the states population infected. Massachusetts falls in the Middle category with a rate somewhere in between .002-.0032%. The study shows that rates are higher in states that contain large metropolitan areas. AIDS and HIV are also known to be more prevalent in urban areas so states containing multiple cities have higher rates.

The second part of the article discusses how the disease is more pertinent in different ethnicities in different regions of the country. Black people hold the majority by far in all regions except for the West where White people have the highest rate with 39%. Some ethnicities may not seem to be as strongly effected but CDC says that they are faced with the epidemic with similar magnitude however their ethnicity may not have such a large holding in the community. The article goes on to describe how they are providing funding for the local government to help support communities where AIDS is a problem. They are also working to expand testing for HIV and AIDS and keeping people informed. These statistics are staggering but they are just the tip of the iceberg in some cases where communities where testing and treatment is not available.

This is relevant to what were learning in class because as we near to the present with the diseases we are studying we see how a disease can devastate people and a culture and yet it doesn't appear to be the biggest issue in the news. The deaths are not recognized for the tragedies that they are. With war and terrorism and shootings and bombings there are so many things to fear and study and fight. Yet disease gets swept under the rug when it has the highest death rate and effects millions of people every year. This information also shows how AIDS is a disease killing people in our country and some states have a serious problem on their hands. Looking at colleges all over the country its an interesting and concerning detail to know. Hopefully in years to come a cure can be found and better treatments will arise, and perhaps people will become more aware of the deadly killer that is in our back yard.

By: Courtney Driscoll

Article:

HIV and AIDS in the United States by Geographic Distribution

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/geographicdistribution.html

Blood Test for Alzheimer's Disease

A blood test that detects ten types of lipids in a person's blood has been shown to predict whether a person will develop Alzheimer's disease.  This test will hopefully be made available within the next two years.  If this test proves to be successful, it could make it possible to identify a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's before they show symptoms.  Although there has been no proven treatment for Alzheimer's, identifying a person's risk before they show symptoms opens doors for new treatment options.

Researchers from The University of Rochester, Georgetown University and UC Irvine recruited 525 subjects over the age of seventy.  They tested their blood and waiting to see if they developed dementia symptoms.  Forty-six subjects were diagnosed with Alzheimer's after entering the test.  Twenty-eight others went on to develop a more mild case that will later develop into a more serious case.

Later, researchers gathered forty-one other recruits.  Twenty-one of which had developed early Alzheimer's and twenty had not.  The researchers did not know who had Alzheimer's and who did not; they did this to see if they could identify the recruits with Alzheimer's.  As a result, they found that they could identify a person with Alzheimer's with a 90% accuracy.

I chose this article because I have found that many people know someone that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  I also knew that there is no proven treatment for this disease, despite the large number of people that are being affected.  I thought that it would be interesting the learn about a huge development in the research of a disease that affects so many people.

This connects to class because it is such a widespread problem for people around the world.  In class, we discuss diseases that affect a large number of people.  Also, researchers are looking for a cure.  In class, we often discuss diseases that did not have a cure at the time,  I think it is interesting to think that years from now people will be looking back on Alzheimer's and wondering why it took us so long to find a cure.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-blood-test-alzheimers-disease-20140310,0,1626721.story#axzz2vkdoom00

"Diseases Know No Borders..."

No longer are we safe at home.  The United States tends to be very good at getting treatment for the sick and following the appropriate protocols when it comes to infectious diseases but it seems that some other countries may not be following our example. 

A New York Times article "Coping With Infectious Disease," written by the Editorial Board in late February, talks about how the spreading of disease from country to country even continent to continent is increasing dangerously.  A respiratory disease known as SARS broke out in China, which was purposely not reported.  These infected people were allowed to travel, spreading the disease, and killing 800 people.  One hundred and ninety six countries back in 2005 signed an agreement to report infectious outbreaks.  As seen in China many countries have not fully complied and have failed to report cases and outbreaks.  Other diseases have spread from country to country endangering thousands as well.  The Ebola virus spread from Africa to parts of the United States and drug resistant Tuberculosis and Chikungunya Fever from Africa have spread to Asia, Europe, and even the Caribbean.  New strains of the Avian Flu in China are worried to spread, along with a lung disease, MERS, from the Middle East.   

The CDC spends 40 million dollars a year to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Though many countries agree to report outbreaks for the better of the world some of their words do not seem to be trustworthy.  It makes me question the morals and priorities of our fellow man.  What could be more important than the health of our world?  I understand people have major commitments but when it comes to life and death a vacation or business meeting can be rescheduled.  To spread the disease to your town is horrible enough but to get onto a plane and risk spreading it to a new country or continent is inexcusable.  All I can hope is that people will start to look at the big picture and realize how dangerous infectious diseases are and how devastating they can be.   As the article said:

“Diseases know no borders, and a health crisis in one country could, without control, become our own.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/opinion/coping-with-infectious-disease.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry497%23%2Finfectious%252520disease%2F&_r=0

Recent Cholera Outbreak in Namibia

This article, which was published recently on February 18th, shares of a Cholera outbreak in Namibia, Africa. Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa and it boarders the Atlantic Ocean. This outbreak has been specifically concentrated in Katutura, Namibia. Just this past month, fourteen cases of Cholera have been reported in the country, with one death also reported. The outbreak appears to have emerged due to lack of a proper sewage system and little to no access to clean drinking water because Cholera is normally spread through contaminated food and water. While there has been Cholera in northern Africa since 2013, the strain that was found in the south was identified as Inaba Cholera while the strain that was found in the north was identified as Ogawas Cholera. This indicates that there is no link between the cases and the disease has not been spread from the north to the south. Organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization attended a meeting led by the Mistry of Health and Social Services on the thirteenth of February in an attempt to contain and prevent the spread of Cholera as it is highly infectious and fatal if not properly treated. Fortunately, all those who have fallen victim to the disease are currently being treated at either Katutura Hospital or Windhoek Central Hospital. 

This article clearly relates to our class' unit regarding Cholera. It reenforces the fact that while Cholera is an easily treatable disease, it is still prevalent throughout the world. While it may seem easy to cure in a place like the United States because we have the proper resources like clean water and antibiotics, it is not the same situation in impoverished countries like Namibia. It is not only important to treat this disease, but also to do so quickly, as symptoms of Cholera can appear within hours and can also be spread within that same time frame.

I think that this article is important because it is a reminder that not all of the world shares the same luxuries that we do here in the United States. While Cholera is easily treatable here, it can be fatal in places like Africa because they may not share the same resources. It is unfortunate that curable diseases remain deadly in some parts of the world, but it also is important to remember how lucky we are that we are able to protect ourselves from these diseases. 

Read more at http://reliefweb.int/map/namibia/namibia-cholera-outbreak-katutura-and-opuwo-18-february-2014.

Teens With HIV Give Insight into Epidemic in Africa

    During the 1990s, thousands of babies were born HIV positive in the African country of Zimbabwe. Their parents were also infected with the virus and could not receive treatment because antiretroviral drugs were so expensive then.  HIV is the virus that causes AIDS and is deadly if untreated. So, it was surprising when Dr. Rashida Ferrand went to the country to study the HIV epidemic there and discovered that a handful of these babies, now in their teens, were alive. How they stayed alive with the virus for all these years is unknown, since most die after five years without treatment. Their lives have not been without hardship. Most have developed heart and lung defects, thanks to untreated HIV, and many have received little to no education because their parents had died from AIDS.

Zimbabwe; home of the current HIV epidemic http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/zwaf.gif

  
    Dr. Rashida Ferrand’s discovery has also lead to another startling finding; four out of five teens in Zimbabwe who have HIV do not know they even have the disease. This is mainly attributed to the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Parents do not have their children tested because they are afraid, as one health worker describes, “They fear that if the child is disclosed to, he will go about in the streets or at school telling others and other relatives that don't know that the parents are positive they will be stigmatized or discriminated against as a family." This could possibly be what is leading to the shocking rate of HIV in Zimbabwe and other Sub-Saharan countries, which account for about 69% of the disease in the world. And, unfortunately, the children who are not tested can never be treated with antiretroviral drugs, which are now inexpensive and easily obtained in health clinics around the world. The World Health Organization is now pushing for a new campaign, making HIV testing available to teens around the world, citing it as an issue of children’s rights.

Antiretroviral drugs are the inexpensive treatment for HIV  http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/11/PillsSpilledShadowy_1.jpg

 
     This article reminded me of the smallpox inoculation debate in colonial Boston. During that time, people argued about whether smallpox inoculation should be accepted, since many believed that it went against God. People concluded from this that it is a person’s own right to choose for themselves what they wanted to do with their health. But clearly the debate goes on today in Africa as parents refuse to get their children tested, even though it’s the children who suffer from this choice, not the parents.  
  
     I completely agree with the World Health Organizations standing on this issue. Children, especially teens, should have access for HIV testing. Especially because HIV is so treatable, and most deaths caused by this disease and AIDS could have been prevented. It angers me that petty social fears are getting in the way of treatment for so many.

    Original article: “HIV Teens Survived Against the Odds” by Deborah Cohen, published March 1st 2014 in BBC News’ Health Section. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26382673 

Flu Vaccine Goes DIY

This article was published on "Medical News Today" website on February 28th. The author's name was not given.

In the article, titled "Self-Administered Patches Could Be the Future For Flu Vaccination", the idea of a substitute for a flu vaccine (via needle) is presented. Researchers in Atlanta conducted a study group where they had 100 people apply a small patch on to their own skin after being given brief instruction on how to do so. The patches did not have any vaccine in them, but were used as a test to see how well these inexperienced subjects would be at self application. Much to the researchers delight, the subjects were able to learn how to apply the patch quickly and with ease.

This plan of self-administered patches has a plethora of benefits. It would save physicians all over from the stress and time consumption that comes with distributing countless shots before and during every flu season. The patch is also virtually painless; the researches had the subjects rate it pain-wise on a scale of 1-100, and the average was just 1.5, quite low especially when compared to the average of 15 for a shot. In addition, it is already problematic that less than half of Americans get an annual flu vaccine. The flu can be vicious and knock people out for weeks at a time. With this new patch, the percent of Americans who take action to protect themselves is projected to increase significantly.

The use of a painless, simple patch as vaccination for the flu is becoming desired by more and more people. The researchers hope that in the next five years, the patches will be much more common. They are extremely practical, saving time and difficulty for parents to get the entire family to the doctors office. Hopefully the future of flue vaccines is promising, and these patches contribute to keeping people from getting the flu each year. This article really highlights the creative thinking that is constantly being used in the medical field, and the work that goes towards ending epidemics like the flu.

MMR Vaccine Protecting you in Multiple Ways

A recent study has shown that the MMR vaccine can help lower your risk of being infected by other serious infections and not just measles, mumps, and rubella. The recommended vaccines that one should get along with the MMR vaccine are diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Haemophilus influenza. Researchers found that when people were vaccinated with these shots at the appropriate time along with the MMR vaccine they were at a lower risk of attaining an infection. 

This research proves a point that you should be getting vaccinated and it also shows that parents should be listening to what the public health is recommending. Being vaccinated takes away the risk of getting infected with other diseases. If you simply follow what the public health doctors are saying then your chances of staying healthy are at a greater percent. 

Pictured above is a baby getting her MMRvaccine 

This article really tries to drive across the importance of sticking to scientific evidence and how germs spread. They really want people listening to suggested medical procedures to keeping you and others around you safe from infections. A shocking statistic shows that there were 115 more cases last year than the annual average. Along with that, a California epidemiologist stated that nearly half of the patients had parents who opted out of the state's immunization schedule. 

The reason I chose this article is because it talked a lot about public health and in class we do talk a lot about it. When studying Cholera people listened to what the public health was saying and it was important to keeping the community safe from infection. Even if it wasn't the right thing they were directing people to do, they were looking out for them and giving them the most reasonable actions to try and prevent the spread of a disease. It is important I think for people to do as directed by public health to help keep you and the people around you safe from infection and starting an epidemic. 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/mmr-vaccine-linked-overall-reduction-hospitalizations-infections-especially-lower-respiratory-tract

Multiple Cases of Children in California Having a Polio-like Illness

According to the article, “’About 20’ cases of polio-like illness found in California” by Jacque Wilson and Ashley Hayes of CNN, neurologists have identified five patients who developed paralysis in one or more of their limbs between August 2012 and July 2013. However, all five of the children had been vaccinated for the poliovirus and the treatment did not help the children to regain their motor skills. Samples were taken from two of the five children and the results were that they tested positive for entervirus 68, which is a rare virus that is linked to severe respiratory illness.  The children have not recovered use of their affected limbs and have “severe weakness” according to Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant, a neurologist at the University of California. She claims that “it’s not just dropping a toy; it’s more like not being able to move your arm at all."

  

This phenomenon is not new according to Dr. Carol Glaser, chief of Encephalitis and Special Investigation Section at the California Department of Public Health, who says that there are similar outbreaks all across the world. Enterovirus 68 was first identified in a California lab in 1962, and since 2000 the government has kept a close watch and has seen 47 cases. However, outbreaks have occurred over the years in both Asia and Europe. Enterovirus 71 is more concerning to health officials, and it is associated with severe neurological issues such as aseptic meningitis, polio-like paralysis and encephalitis. Enterovirus 71 has circulated in Europe, Malaysia, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Sydney, Australia, and in the United States. Dr. Steven Oberste, chief of the Polio and Picornavirus Laboratory Branch at the CDC, said, “That’s the really odd thing, we see cases from time to time in the United States. Occasionally there’ll be severe. Basically it’s identical to what’s circulating in Asia….but it doesn’t cause the same big outbreak in disease. And we really don’t know why.”
 

I chose this article because it is happening in the United States and has been happening recently. Also, I chose this article because in class we are going to learn about polio, which in the article was stated has been eradicated in the United States for 30 years, and this is article is about a polio-like illness and how there is still symptoms of polio. The CDC does not know what the connection is between the disease in Asia and in the United States and why we are not having as large of an outbreak. I thought this article gave a lot of information of what was going on in California and also around the world and how they’ve been following Enterovirus  68 and 71 cases for quite some time. I hope that doctors and the CDC can soon discover what is causing this illness and they are able to treat it and help those who lost their motor functions because of it.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/25/health/california-mystery-disease/

Disease Hits Close to Home

Nobody wants to hear that a disease was found in a grocery store. Especially in a grocery store so close to home. In Framingham Massachusetts at a local Trader Joe's, employees are said to have contracted measles. In the more recent news just found out last night about this outbreak. 

In this article Trader Joe's may be the source of the Measles outbreak, by foodsafeguru on the US Safety Food Blog,a local Trader Joe's located in Framingham is said to be the source of two recent cases of measles. It is said that if you were in the store between the dates February 15 and February 19 between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, you could be at risk of infection. 

Of the two cases in the metro west, one of the infected persons is said to work at this Trader Joe's. The public health organization of Massachusetts set up clinics in the store on the 22nd and the 24th to help educate staff on measles. Most employees were said to already have their vaccinations. 

 If they weren't in the store, the risk is minimal,” this being said by the chief public nurse of Framingham, Kitty Mahoney. This is mostly saying that if you weren't in the store you are not likely going to contract the virus. It is more of a "Don't worry about it" statement. This is probably stated so that many people don't panic and rush to a clinic to get vaccinated so they can vaccinate the ones that were exposed to the disease. 

It is amazing that such an infectious disease can be this close to home. Living in Massachusetts you would never believe that something like this could happen. Measles is one of the  most infectious diseases that has a large spread rate. The window of the ten day incubation period is up and people are waiting now for symptoms to set in.

A force of public health figures went in with such rapid force it is amazing. Many people are now getting vaccines and watching out for the symptoms of measles. With setting up those clinics at Trader Joe's, it spread awareness. 




http://blog.usfoodsafety.com/2014/02/25/trader-joes-may-be-the-source-of-measles-outbreak/

Black Death Left A Mark On Human Genome

Recent studies of the human genome have found that people who's ancestors were exposed to the Black Plague have a change in their genome. Mihai Netea, an immunologist at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and evolutionary biologist Jaume Bertranpetit of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, and their colleagues looked for differences at more than 196,000 places in the genomes of 100 Romanians of European descent and 100 Rroma. The researchers also cataloged the differences in 500 people who lived in Northwestern India, where the Rroma had come from. Next, they analyzed which genes changed the most so they could see which were favored by selection.

 

The research was done to figure out why some Europeans respond to different diseases and have different susceptibilities. A thousand years ago, Rroma people (commonly called gypsies) migrated from North India to Europe. They still have very different genetic backgrounds, as they did not often marry outside of their race. However, both of these groups were hit by the Black Plague. Researchers went looking for genes that were favored by natural selection by finding similarities in the Rroma people and in European Romanians that are not found in Northern Indians. 

What they found were 20 genes in the Rroma and Romanians that could not be found in Indian's genes. The genes included skin pigmentation, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and three immune system genes that can be found on chromosome 4. They code toll-like receptors, and are thought to be directly related with the Black Plague because when they were tested with Yersinia Pestis, they found that the strength of the response had to do with the receptor genes.

Other Europeans who's ancestors have been exposed to the Black Plague do have similar changes. But people who are from places that were not reached by the disease, such as China, do not show these changes. This shows how the Black Death bacterium does change the protein coded for certain genes and has a lasting effect on the population.

This relates to our work in class because we studied the Black Death and what it did to the population during that time period, but now we know the long term effects on people during the present day. Those these changes in genes may not be major, they are significant and a big step in research on disease. These discoveries will probably prompt other labs to see if other bacterial infections could also alter peoples genetic makeup.

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/02/black-death-left-mark-human-genome

A Fatal Mistake May Mean Death for Innocent Patients

A recent outbreak of disease in the Forsyth Medical Center has forced 18 families to potentially deal with a rare but fatal degenerative brain disorder. The disease, known as the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, affects one in 1 million patients worldwide annually, or about 300 Americans a year, and has no known cause or treatment. Symptoms often don't appear for year, and even decades. Unfortunately, death typically occurs within a few weeks after the onset of symptoms.

Brain infected by Creutzfeldt-Jakob

The disease is spread by iatrogenic and variant exposure. Iatrogenic exposure is illness caused by medical examination or treatment, and the risks include ontaminated surgical instruments, dura mater transplant, corneal transplant and human growth hormone. Variant risks include eating contaminated beef or being exposed to contaminated blood or a blood plasma transfusion.

The outbreak of Creutzfeldt-Jakob began with a neurosurgical procedure on a patient that was later confirmed to have the disease. The other 18 neurosurgical patients were all exposed within about 20 days of the first procedure. The exposure occurred because the instruments used in the surgery were sterilized in the standard way, but did not receive the enhanced sterilization process that is necessary for Creutzfedlt-Jakob.

The disease can remain on equipment that is not properly sterilized. This was an oversight on behalf of the Center. There are only a few laboratories across the United States that test for this disease, so this makes it even more difficult for the patients who potentially contracted it.  Jeff Lindsay, the hospital’s president, said “any exposure is simply unacceptable.”

The reason behind this outbreak occurred is rather difficult to fathom. Patients go to hospitals and special doctors expecting their needs to be taken care of, and not contracting a more serious and fatal illness. Other reports of malpractice and haphazard procedures that have caused outbreaks of disease in patients have come up recently and I think it brings into question if hospitals and public health services are really doing all they can to protect the patient. I wonder how these families are planning on responding to the exposure of disease.

This relates to our work with epidemic disease in terms of germ contraction through simple things such as hand washing. Although this is on a much larger scale of sterilization and is about a very complicated disease, it still holds the same basic idea of being healthy. One doctors unintentional mistake can cause fatal problems for other people.

Not all of the 18 cases have been confirmed, but the fact that it is even a concern is rather unsettling. The Center is currently under quarantine until the situation is resolved.  

Read full article at: http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_6badfe68-928f-11e3-811b-001a4bcf6878.html

Is Polio the Next Come Back King?

In Kabul, Afghanistan, the first polio case reported in over twelve years. Three-year-old Sakhina recently contracted the disease. The people of Afghanistan believe that the reason polio is making a come back is because of the interaction they have with Pakistan. Besides being their next-door neighbor, Pakistan has more polio cases throughout the country. There have been 93 recorded polio cases in Pakistan in the last year, which makes the cases in Afghanistan traceable to Pakistan. 

Although numerous vaccinations were distributed throughout Afghanistan, Military attacked and invaded the health workers trying to cure the disease. An speaker from the United Nations in Afghanistan said, "The C.I.A. has a lot to answer for in setting back polio eradication years." They believe that because of the invasion, polio is going to be more prevalent in years to come. Although the army was blamed, the Taliban militants, International and Afghan-government worked together to reduce the number of cases to 14 in 2013. Unfortunately, the 3-year-old girl was not treated enough because in November she became paralyzed. Afghanistan plans to increase the rate of immunizations in children so that they can try and conquer the disease that currently is an incurable viral infection. The country plans to try and eradicate the disease by 2015, and the way things are going the leaders believe they will achieve the goal. 

Since the 3 year olds case, their are plans to vaccinate over 73,000 children that are living in the same area as the girl. They believe that since there was only one case in over 12 years that the immunity of the area is pretty good. A Unicef official said, "It meant the population, in terms of immunity, is well protected." He says that the security of the rest of the people is intact because there were no other polio cases found. 

Polio, to me is one of the most devastating diseases because there is not much you can do to stop it from paralyzing the victim. The people of Afghanistan and Pakistan were infected with numerous cases of polio over the years, and after 12 years of having no cases it arises again in Afghanistan. Luckily there was only one case reported, but who knows what's in store for them in the future. I think that they are on the right tract by providing immunization for thousands of children. They are trying to be as preventative and safe as they can be. Out of all the diseases we have studied, I think that polio is one of the worse. Yes, smallpox and typhoid were bad, but at least there was something that could be done to prevent it from spreading further. Hopefully in the future, someone will find a way to eradicate the disease completely. 

website: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/world/asia/rare-afghan-polio-case-tied-to-pakistan.html?_r=0

picture: https://www.nytexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Polio-Vaccination-Given-in-Afghanistan.jpg