Elderly Hmong Residents Affected by Tuberculosis Outbreak



ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A tuberculosis outbreak among elderly Hmong residents of Minnesota is proving deadly and costly, in part due to antibiotic resistance.

State health officials say six of 17 people who contracted tuberculosis in Ramsey County have died, three of them as a direct result of the disease.

The outbreak has primarily affected elderly residents of the Hmong community. Ten cases have been linked to a senior center. Four other Hmong residents were also infected.

"We know we are already seeing more cases than we would have anticipated, and we far outnumber cases in other parts of the country," said Anne Barry, director of the St. Paul-Ramsey Public Health Department.

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Israel rushes emergency aid to Madagascar, Black Death casualties rise

Israel is rushing to send greatly needed aid to Madagascar after a severe outbreak of the Black Death plague in the African island.

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the South African branch of Magen David Adom have joined forces to head the aid effort. The aid will be delivered to the International Red Cross in Madagascar.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the "unusually severe" outbreak has now killed 143 people and infected nearly 2,000.

"We expect all packages to be delivered to the International Red Cross in Madagascar in the next few days," Ayellet Black, Deputy Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, told the African News Agency.

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OK, not an infectious disease but, Aaron Hernandez suffered from most severe CTE ever found in a person his age

BOSTON — Aaron Hernandez suffered the most severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy ever discovered in a person his age, damage that would have significantly affected his decision-making, judgment and cognition, researchers at Boston University revealed at a medical conference Thursday.

Dr. Ann McKee, the head of BU’s CTE Center, which has studied the disease caused by repeated brain injury for more than decade, called Hernandez’s brain “one of the most significant contributions to our work” because of the brain’s pristine condition and the opportunity to study the disease in a 27-year-old brain.

Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end, committed suicide in April in a Massachusetts prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd in 2013. Hernandez hanged himself with a bedsheet.

Doctors diagnosed Hernandez with Stage 3 CTE, which researchers had never seen in a brain younger than 46 years old, McKee said. His brain had significant damage to the front lobe, which impacts a person’s ability to make decisions and moderate behavior.

edit] By coincidence? this has also appeared.
The NFL studied every concussion over two seasons. What happens next may be up to manufacturers.

OK, not an infectious disease but, Aaron Hernandez suffered from most severe CTE ever found in a person his age

BOSTON — Aaron Hernandez suffered the most severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy ever discovered in a person his age, damage that would have significantly affected his decision-making, judgment and cognition, researchers at Boston University revealed at a medical conference Thursday.

Dr. Ann McKee, the head of BU’s CTE Center, which has studied the disease caused by repeated brain injury for more than decade, called Hernandez’s brain “one of the most significant contributions to our work” because of the brain’s pristine condition and the opportunity to study the disease in a 27-year-old brain.

Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end, committed suicide in April in a Massachusetts prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd in 2013. Hernandez hanged himself with a bedsheet.

Doctors diagnosed Hernandez with Stage 3 CTE, which researchers had never seen in a brain younger than 46 years old, McKee said. His brain had significant damage to the front lobe, which impacts a person’s ability to make decisions and moderate behavior.

edit] By coincidence? this has also appeared.
The NFL studied every concussion over two seasons. What happens next may be up to manufacturers.

Thanks Nick.

Did you see this movie on the subject?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322364/
Concussion

In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.

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Madagascar plague outbreak tops 2,000 cases: WHO

WHO continues to support the Ministry of Public Health and other national authorities in Madagascar to monitor and respond to the outbreak of plague. Since mid-October 2017, there has been a decline in the overall incidence of the disease and the number of patients hospitalized due to plague infection across the country. From 7 – 8 November 2017, no new suspected cases of pulmonary plague and no new deaths have been reported in Madagascar.

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'Black Death' fears grow as Malawi becomes 10th country to be put on plague alert

Malawi has been put on high alert over fears the plague, which has killed at least 140 people in Madagascar, could hit the East African country.

It is now the 10th nation in Africa to be put on alert over concerns surrounding the Black Death, which was behind one of the most devastating pandemics in history, wiping out a third of Medieval Europe in the 1300s.

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Just in case you think it is a worry, it isn't.
These scientists say you’ll probably never have heart-stopping sex
Or,
Sex unlikely to cause cardiac arrest, study finds

With Stricter Guidelines, Do You Have High Blood Pressure Now?

You may not have had high blood pressure Sunday, but you may have it today. Even if your blood pressure hasn't changed a smidge. What's up?

The rules shifted Monday. It used to be that we encouraged people to adopt healthy behavior to keep their blood pressure down but didn't label someone as having hypertension until systolic blood pressure (the top number) exceeded 140 millimeters of mercury and/or the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) exceeded 90 mm Hg. Lots of people watch those numbers closely.

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Zika


Florida confirms Miami’s first mosquito-borne case of Zika in 2017

Florida health officials reported Miami-Dade’s first local case of Zika for 2017 on Friday, marking the state’s second case of mosquito-borne transmission of the virus this year.

However, the Florida Department of Health said there are no areas in the state where mosquitoes are actively transmitting Zika, which poses the greatest threat to pregnant women because the virus can cause birth defects and neurological problems in the fetus.

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How Madagascar Took Control Of Its Bubonic Plague Outbreak

In early autumn, it became clear that something was not right in Madagascar.

The country often sees small outbreaks of the bubonic plague, which comes from an infection spread by a flea bite. The disease is now easily treatable with antibiotics.

But this time, the number of cases was growing quickly, and the bacterial infection was spreading in a different, more serious form.

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I'm so happy for this little boy!!


Toddler receives kidney transplant after initial procedure stalled over dad's probation violation, family says

A toddler who was born without kidneys finally received a life-saving transplant on Wednesday, more than a month after his initial procedure was reportedly stalled when his father — a perfect match for him — violated his probation, the boy’s mother said.

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Flies more germ-laden than suspected

Scientists have discovered that flies carry more diseases than suspected.

The house fly and the blowfly together harbour more than 600 different bacteria, according to a DNA analysis.

Many are linked with human infections, including stomach bugs, blood poisoning and pneumonia.

Flies can spread bacteria from place-to-place on their legs, feet and wings, experiments show. In fact, every step taken by a fly can transfer live bacteria, researchers said.

''People had some notion that there were pathogens that were carried by flies but had no idea of the extent to which this is true and the extent to which they are transferred," Prof Donald Bryant of Penn State University, a co-researcher on the study, told BBC News.

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CDC sees some signs of an early flu season

Flu activity in the United States continues to rise, and several markers are higher than normally seen this early in the flu season, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in its weekly update.

Three southeastern states are reporting high or widespread flu activity, and the CDC said it received reports of five more pediatric flu deaths. In its report, which covers the week ending Nov 18, the CDC also reported one more novel flu infection, an H1N1 variant (H1N1v).

Globallly, flu activity in the Northern Hemisphere is rising, with H3N2 and influenza B the most frequently detected strains, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in an update.

more...

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UMass Schedules Mass Meningitis Vaccination Program




AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The University of Massachusetts has scheduled a mass meningitis vaccination program at its Amherst campus after federal health officials determined that two recent cases of the disease at the school should be considered an outbreak.

UMass is recommending that all undergraduates as well as graduate students living in undergraduate housing get vaccinated at one of four clinics planned for the next week. More than 1,400 students have already been vaccinated.

One student was diagnosed with a variant of the disease on Oct. 24, and a second was diagnosed earlier this month. Both are recovering.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that because the two cases originated from a single strain of genetically identical organisms it should be considered an outbreak.

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Flu is spreading fast this year, with a severe season possible

This year’s flu season is off to a fast start and early indications suggest that it may be more severe than the previous season.

Four states currently have widespread flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last winter there were none at this time.

And it may be spreading fast. Dr. William Schaffner, who is involved in the CDC’s flu surveillance network in Tennessee, has noticed cases of influenza picking up "dramatically" in the last week.

Even worse, it appears the dominant strain will be H3N2, which can produce more severe illness, said Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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The Philippines has launched an investigation into the immunisation of 730,000 children with a dengue vaccine that could pose health risks.

Last week French drug company Sanofi announced its vaccine could worsen the potentially deadly disease in people not previously infected.

The public immunisation programme was suspended on Friday.

Dengue fever affects more than 400 million people each year around the world.

The mosquito-borne disease is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Sanofi's Dengvaxia is the first-ever approved dengue vaccine. In addition to the Philippines, the company said the vaccine was registered in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela.

The vaccine has also been used in a public immunisation programme in Brazil which, combined with the Philippines scheme, has to date provided around one million people at least one dose of drug.



Philippines launches probe into dengue vaccine scare

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Flu cases this year have doubled those from last year, validating experts' fears that this season could be particularly bad.

Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 25, 5,070 clinical lab tests were positive for the flu, up from 2,510 in the same period last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of Americans who have contracted the illness is likely even greater, an agency spokeswoman cautioned, since most people don't go to the doctor and get tested.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/flu-cases-double-as-experts-worry-about-flu-shots-effectiveness.html

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About 150 students at Hanks High School in the Ysleta Independent School District may have been exposed to tuberculosis, city health officials said Thursday.

The city’s Department of Public Health is investigating the possible exposure believed to have been caused by students coming into close contact with someone who had an active case of TB.

The health department will be sending letters to parents, informing them that their children may have been exposed.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2017/12/07/yisd-students-possibly-exposed-tuberculosis/931160001/

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'Tis the season for hugs, kisses, handshakes and pushing lots of shopping carts.

Preparing for the holidays, we hit up restaurants, school programs and company gatherings where large crowds gather. And those contacts with lots of people make it open season for coming down with colds, the flu and other nasty germs.

As often as we clean our houses and remind our children to wash their hands, none of us are immune to sickness.

This past week, my 14-year-old son came home from school with a high fever and a stomach bug. I am afraid of catching any type of illness, so I diligently disinfected all of the sinks, toilets and door handles. Unfortunately, my husband and I both fell victim to the crud.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promote frequent hand washing. If soap and water are not available, it's recommended that you use a hand sanitizer with an alcohol volume of 60 percent to 95 percent.

To avoid getting sick, the CDC recommends that you:

-- Get a flu vaccine. Vaccines protect against the viruses that research suggests will be the most common.

-- Control germs. Avoid contact with sick people. If you are sick, stay home and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. If you have a fever, you shouldn’t be around people. Stay home until the fever has broken.

-- Take antiviral medicines and vitamins. If you get the flu, prescription antiviral drugs — which are different from antibiotics — may shorten the length of your illness. Antivirals also may prevent complications from the flu, and help to avoid a hospital stay. A multivitamin and an extra dose of vitamin C may help shorten a viral illness, too.

http://qconline.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/holiday-season-brings-more-than-gifts-protect-yourself-from-germs/article_522ff01d-8907-5104-8232-180c4de43692.html

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Haemophilia A trial results 'mind-blowing'

British doctors say they have achieved "mind-blowing" results in an attempt to rid people of haemophilia A.

Patients are born with a genetic defect that means they do not produce a protein needed to stop bleeding.

Thirteen patients given the gene therapy at Barts Health NHS Trust are now off treatment with 11 producing near-normal levels of the protein.

Larger trials are now imminent to see if the therapy can truly transform the lives of patients. It is also uncertain how long the gene therapy will be effective. Liz Carroll, the chief executive of The Haemophilia Society, said: "Gene therapy is a potentially game-changing treatment.

"Despite world-leading treatment standards in the UK many still suffer painful bleeds leading to chronic joint damage."
However, she warned there was a wide variation in who responded to therapy, which still needed to be explained.

Gene therapies are likely to be spectacularly expensive. However, the current cost of regular factor VIII injections is about £100,000 a patient per year for life.