Flu again...

This flu season could be a nasty one. Get a shot now, CDC says. Here's what to know
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/24/flu-season-coming-and-could-be-nasty-one/2427445001/

Flu season is fast approaching, and it could be a nasty one.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 8% of Americans are sickened by the flu each year and that thousands die from the flu and related illnesses.

The CDC doesn't like to forecast whether the coming season will be relatively harsh or not, but the agency says the impact will be lessened greatly if people get vaccinated – and soonest is best.

The season generally starts in October and peaks in February before winding down with spring.

"Now is the best time to get your flu shot," CDC press officer Scott Pauley told USA TODAY. "You want to get it before the season really starts."

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http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/09/trickle-ebola-cases-continues-survey-probes-public-mistrust
Trickle of Ebola cases continues; survey probes public mistrust

Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) outbreak continued at a slow rate over the weekend and through today, and on the research front, new survey findings from people living in one of the outbreak's former epicenters shed new light on reasons behind community resistance.
New cases in ongoing hot spots

Eight new cases were reported since Sep 27, three of them today, according to the latest numbers reflected on the World Health Organization (WHO) online Ebola dashboard, lifting the overall total to 3,191. Outbreak responders are still investigating 425 suspected Ebola cases.

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Mosquito-borne EEE virus kills Michigan resident; fatality marks 4th in state, officials say
https://www.foxnews.com/health/mosquito-eee-virus-4th-death-michigan
A fourth Michigan resident has died from what is considered to be one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne viruses in the nation: Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus.

The death of the Calhoun County resident was confirmed by officials of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in a news release. No other details were provided.

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States issue new warnings of 'zombie' deer disease
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/464677-states-issue-new-warnings-of-zombie-deer-disease

Several states have issued new warnings about an infectious disease that can kill deer as the hunting season begins, USA Today reported Monday.

Wildlife officials in states including Nevada, Iowa, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Tennessee have either warned hunters about the disease to prevent its spread to their state or confirmed new cases.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been found in wild deer, elk and moose in 277 counties in 24 states as of August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Flight attendant may have exposed passengers on several flights to Hepatitis A: CDC
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/flight-attendant-exposed-passengers-flights-hepatitis-cdc/story?id=66132573&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed

An American Airlines flight attendant may have exposed passengers on several flights to Hepatitis A, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Change in memory test scoring could help catch Alzheimer's earlier in women
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/aging/change-memory-test-scoring-could-help-catch-alzheimer-s-earlier-n1064296


Women may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, but men are typically diagnosed at earlier stages, when symptoms are mild. By tweaking memory tests a little, more women might be caught at an early stage of the disease, when they can benefit from treatment, a study suggests.

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Legionnaires' disease outbreak in North Carolina kills 2nd person, hospitalizes 88, officials say
https://www.foxnews.com/health/legionnaires-disease-north-carolina

A second person has died following an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in North Carolina, while 88 people have been hospitalized, state health officials announced on Thursday.

As of Oct. 9, there were 134 confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever, a milder form of the illness, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health.

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What's causing record rates of STDs?
https://news.yahoo.com/whats-causing-record-rates-of-st-ds-152546494.html

What’s happening:

The combined number of cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 2.4 million cases of the three sexually transmitted diseases were reported last year, an increase of more than 100,000 from the previous year.

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Health officials confirm 5th Michigan resident has died from EEE
https://www.clickondetroit.com/health/health-officials-confirm-5th-michigan-resident-has-died-from-eee
DETROIT - Health officials confirmed a fifth Michigan resident has died from Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE.

Officials with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said a Cass County resident died due to the illness.

An additional case of EEE has been confirmed in a horse in Allegan County, MDHHS officials said.

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Japan Has Imported Ebola And Other Deadly Viruses In Preparation For The 2020 Olympics
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/japan-has-imported-ebola-and-other-deadly-viruses-in-preparation-for-the-2020-olympics/

Just in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a Japanese lab has imported the Ebola virus, along with four other nasty hemorrhage-inducing viruses.

The fiendishly contagious pathogens were imported late last month from an unknown foreign country by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), part of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, at their high-security laboratory in Musashimuraya, western Tokyo.

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Sanofi recalls popular heartburn drug Zantac as FDA investigates probable carcinogen
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/10/18/sanofi-recalls-heartburn-drug-zantac-investigate-carcinogen/4021833002/

Sanofi said Friday it will recall the widely-used heartburn drug Zantac from stores in the United States and Canada as the drugmaker and Food and Drug Administration investigate a probable carcinogen detected in the drug.

The FDA last month said it discovered a probable carcinogen called NDMA, or nitrosodimethylamine, in the drug Zantac and its generic versions. The FDA, Canadian and European drug regulators are evaluating possible risk to millions of people who take ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac and its generic versions.

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EU Panel's Thumbs-Up on First Ebola Vaccine a 'Triumph' for Public Health

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/920068

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of the V920 Ebola Zaire vaccine (Ervebo, Merck ), the first vaccine to protect against the Ebola virus disease caused by Zaire Ebola virus in at-risk adults aged 18 years or older.

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L.A. County Health Officials Report First Flu-Related Death in 2019-2020 Season
https://ktla.com/2019/10/21/l-a-county-health-officials-report-first-flu-related-death-in-2019-2020-season/

Los Angeles County health officials on Monday reported the first influenza-related death of the 2019-2020 flu season.

A “middle-aged person with underlying health conditions” died in connection with the virus, the county Department of Public Health said.

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Visitors to Disneyland in California may have been exposed to measles
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/visitors-disneyland-california-may-have-been-exposed-measles-n1070831

Visitors to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Oct. 16 may have been exposed to measles, the county public health agency said.

A person with the highly contagious infection visited the Southern California theme park between 9:15 a.m. and 8:35 p.m., the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a news release.

The person also visited a Starbucks on South Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles earlier on Oct. 16, between 7:50 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The agency said people who may have been at the Starbucks or Disneyland during those times are urged to contact their doctor if they have not been vaccinated, or if they are pregnant or have a weakened immune system.

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Health

'Milestone' in polio eradication achieved
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50167437

The second of three forms of the polio virus has been eradicated, experts have announced.

There are three types of the wild polio virus, which, while scientifically different, cause the same symptoms, including paralysis or even death,

The world was declared free of type 2 four years ago - and now the World Health Organization has said type 3 has also been eradicated.

But type 1 is still circulating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Polio usually affects children under five. The WHO estimates one in 200 cases leads to irreversible paralysis. Death can occur when breathing muscles are affected by the paralysis.

There is no cure but the polio vaccine protects children for life.

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900 children test positive for HIV in Pakistani city
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/467569-900-children-test-positive-for-hiv-in-pakistani-city


Nearly 900 children in the Pakistani city of Ratodero tested positive for HIV this year and suffered from fevers that resisted treatment, according to a New York Times report released Saturday.

After the disease was on its heels in April, the city became the epicenter of a new outbreak that disproportionally impacted children. Health officials initially said a single pediatrician who was accused of reusing syringes was to blame, according to The Times.

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bit of a wait..

'Game changing' tuberculosis vaccine a step closer
https://www.bbc.com/news/health

A vaccine which could "revolutionise" tuberculosis treatment has been unveiled by researchers.

It is hoped the vaccine will provide long-term protection against the disease, which kills 1.5 million people around the world each year.

The highly contagious disease is caused by bacteria, and the current vaccine, the BCG jab, is not very effective.

However, while initial trials have proved successful, the vaccine is still a few years away from being licensed.

The team of researchers, who come from all over the world, revealed the vaccine, which is made up of proteins from bacteria which trigger an immune response, during a global summit on lung health in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Tuesday.

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Measles Wipes Your Immune System's 'Memory,' So It Can't Fight Other Infections
https://www.livescience.com/measles-wipes-immune-memory.html

The notorious measles virus not only makes people sick, it also sneaks inside important immune cells in the body and wipes their "memories," new research suggests.

Once infected, the amnesic immune system no longer recognizes the harmful pathogens that it has fought off in the past. This means measles survivors can remain susceptible to dangerous diseases — such as the flu and pneumonia — for years to come, despite having weathered their initial illness.

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UN suspends Ebola screening after 3 aid workers killed in South Sudan
https://abcnews.go.com/International/suspends-ebola-screening-aid-workers-killed-south-sudan/story?id=66661896&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed


The United Nations migration agency has halted Ebola screenings at five border crossings in East Africa after three of its aid workers were killed.

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Congolese journalist who helped raise awareness of Ebola killed in attack, officials
https://abcnews.go.com/International/congolese-journalist-helped-raise-awareness-ebola-killed-attack/story?id=66734996&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed

A Congolese journalist who had been helping to shed light on the deadly Ebola outbreak in his community was killed on Sunday night, officials said.
The unnamed journalist, who was also serving as a community health worker, was attacked at his home in the northeast town of Lwemba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His wife was left critically injured "with multiple wounds," according to a joint press release from Congolese health officials and their partners from the United Nations.

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