Mucus

Show Caption Hide Caption Norovirus: What to know about the wide-spread illness Here is everything you need to know about the highly contagious norovirus. USA TODAY With norovirus cases on the upswing, some travelers may be rethinking their plans. But there's no need to worry more than usual. Norovirus cases have risen throughout the U.S. recently, but the numbers are not unusual, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  "The most recent CDC data collected from the NoroSTAT program and the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) show that reported norovirus outbreaks and reported cases from both state health departments and clinical laboratories are increasing, but remain within the expected range for this time of year," a CD...

The recent deaths of over 300 children in Africa and Asia have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn about the use of "substandard and falsified" medical products. The organisation called for more efforts to protect children from contaminated medicine. Toxicologists Winston Morgan and Shazma Bashir unpack the story. What caused the WHO to issue these warnings? Over the last five months the WHO has issued three alerts warning people not to use specific over-the-counter medicine for children. The warnings came after the deaths of at least 300 children in various countries including The Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Medical product alerts were released in October 2022 for Africa, November 2022 for south-east Asia and for the European region in January 2023. The WHO issues these warnings only when independent laboratory analysis has confirmed that the product is substandard or falsified and that it poses a significant threat to public health...

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) and other health care–associated conditions are among the prevailing threats to patient safety. To combat the threats, infection prevention (IP) professionals' common goal is to be patient safety champions. One of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology's (APIC) strategic goals is to "demonstrate and support effective infection prevention and control as a key component of patient safety." 1 In short, IP professionals work tirelessly to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all. Not surprisingly, the field of IP is well-practiced in promoting patient safety. In 1976, the CDC published the landmark SENIC project (Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control). 2 The findings demonstrated a 32% reduction in HAIs in hospitals with established IP programs compared with an 18% increase in hospitals without such programs over a 7-year period. 2 Following the publication of SENIC, trem...

Share on Pinterest Experts say medication should not be given to children for low-grade fevers. Ekaterina Goncharova/Getty Images Researchers say 1 in 3 parents may be giving children fever-reducing medications when it's not necessary. Experts note that higher temperatures are one way the body fights off infections. They say parents can ease children's discomfort by putting a damp washcloth on their forehead and having the children wear light, loose clothing. Some parents may be giving their children medication for fevers in situations where it's really not necessary and where it may even compromise the body's ability to fight infection. A poll released today reached that conclusion based on 1,376 responses from parents of children ages 12 and under between August and September 2022. The responses were gleaned from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan Health. In their findings, the researchers reporte...

A raccoon in Absecon has tested positive for rabies. Atlantic County has confirmed its first rabies case of 2023 after a raccoon collected from Miami Avenue in Absecon tested positive for the viral disease on Feb. 24. Police were notified of a raccoon that appeared sickly on Feb. 17 and Animal Control was called to remove it. The raccoon was then sent to the state lab for testing where it was confirmed positive. In 2022, four skunks, three raccoons, one fox, one horse, one groundhog and a cat were confirmed for rabies. An investigation by the Atlantic County Division of Public Health found no human exposures but did identify an exposure with a dog that had no vaccination history. As a result, the dog was placed under a four-month confinement period. Rabies can be fatal if left untreated. It can be transmitted through direct contact with saliva through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth. Most human cases of rabies are the result of a bite from an infect...

It was the bout of norovirus that nearly made me lose my sanity, coming as it did on the heels of weeks of severe respiratory illness. After developing pneumonia in mid-January, I tried to isolate myself from my daughter when she then caught a chest infection that sounded like marbles were rattling in her lungs, but small children tend to cling, koala-like, to their parents when they are sick. As my own immune system was already battered, I caught her infection too. The subsequent gastrointestinal bug was the cherry on this particularly horrendous cake. There is a danger that "the immunity debt theory is being used to spread misinformation and promote a dangerous theory that natural infections are better than vaccines." Winter sniffles are not an uncommon seasonal occurrence, and they are a regular feature in our home as I'm asthmatic and have a homemade germ factory with a primary school age kid. But this recent bout of illness has been unusually brut...

Sudafed, Nurofen and Day & Night Nurse could be BANNED or become prescription-only as officials launch probe into rare yet deadly brain side effects linked to decongestant taken by millions Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant found in dozens of OTC medicines  The MHRA is now 'reviewing' evidence of serious side effects it is linked to  The European Medicines Agency launched its own safety review two weeks ago By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline Updated: 20:44 GMT, 22 February 2023 Sudafed could be pulled from shelves or even made prescription-only because of links to extremely rare but deadly brain disorders. Medical regulators are 'reviewing available evidence' to see if the rules on selling pseudoephedrine need to change, it emerged today. Health chiefs are spooked by reports of patients being struck down with two rare conditions. Both can cause str...

To everything there is a season, and for the flu, it's wintertime. Flu cases peak between December and February, and the flu vaccine is your best defense. Getting the vaccine means you will be less sick even if you get a breakthrough infection. However, your immune system is in a constant race against the flu virus. Like the virus that causes COVID-19, influenza rapidly changes and mutates into new variants, so manufacturers have to update the flu shot to try to keep pace. After identifying a new flu variant, it takes manufacturers about six months to update the vaccine – and in the meantime the virus can mutate again. This phenomenon is called antigenic drift, and can reduce the effectiveness of the flu vaccine for that season. An ongoing threat is that a major change in the flu virus, or antigenic shift, could cause the next flu pandemic. This happens when a flu virus from animals, such as birds or swine, gains the ability to transmit between humans. Most people will have...

Feb. 24, 2023 – Exposure to "forever chemicals" widely used in consumer products disrupts important biological processes in children and young adults, a new study says. One key finding was that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, hurt thyroid hormone function, which affects growth and metabolism, said the study published in Environmental Health Perspectives . That could leave children vulnerable to numerous diseases later in life, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, the study said. Another important finding was that the disruption appeared to be caused by a mixture of PFAS, rather than a single chemical of that type. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily over time and persist in water, soil, and the body. They're used in numerous consumer products, such as nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting, cosmetics, and water-repellent clothing.  PFAS have previously be...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Oral mucosal breaks trigger anti-citrullinated bacterial and human ...    Science

The Bio-Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program was included in the PREVENT Pandemics Act, which was enacted at the end of 2022. The pilot is included within the Public Health Loan Repayment Program. Both programs garnered bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate.  Once funded, the pilot will create a new loan repayment program for infectious diseases and emergency preparedness health care professionals who work in health professional shortage areas, medically underserved communities, federal health facilities (e.g., VA clinics or medical centers) or Ryan White-funded clinics. ID and public health officials are urging Congress to provide $100 million for the Public Health Loan Repayment Program and $50 million for the Bio-Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program for fiscal year 2024.     Help Advance Loan Repayment for the Infectious Diseases Workforce Contact IDSA and HIVMA staff to learn how to get involved. Learn About the Bio-Preparedness Wo...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Bird flu vaccine 'needed for humans' in case disease spreads    NationalWorld

Sergeant Adriene Valero wants to die. We're thrilled to share an excerpt from J.S. Dewes' new space opera Rubicon , out from Tor Books on March 28. Please enjoy the second chapter of the novel below—chapter one can be found here! Sergeant Adriene Valero wants to die. She can't. After enduring a traumatic resurrection for the ninety-sixth time, Valero is reassigned to a special forces unit and outfitted with a cutting-edge virtual intelligence aid. They could turn the tide in the war against intelligent machines dedicated to the assimilation, or destruction, of humanity. When her VI suddenly achieves sentience, Valero is drawn into the machinations of an enigmatic major who's hell-bent on ending the war—by any means necessary. Chapter Two Adriene took her first breath for the ninety-seventh time, and she was already screaming. A lance of pain fired through her legs as her knees hit cold metal. Her elbows dropped, then the rest followed as she crum...