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California Whooping Cough Epidemic

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:02:32 +0000

California is facing what could be the state’s biggest outbreak of pertussis since 1958, according to its top public health official.

Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said, “Whooping cough is now an epidemic in California,” “Children should be vaccinated against the disease and parents, family members and caregivers of infants need a booster shot.”

As of June 15, California had recorded 910 cases of pertussis, a four-fold increase from the same period last year when 219 cases were recorded. Five infants — all under three months of age — have died from the disease this year. In addition, 600 more possible cases of pertussis are being investigated by local health departments.

Pertussis is cyclical. Cases tend to peak every two to five years. In 2005, California recorded 3,182 cases and eight deaths.

source:CDPH

Lettuce E. coli outbreak spreads

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 22:41:20 +0000

An outbreak of food-borne illness linked to romaine lettuce has spread to four states and sickened at least 23 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
People in four states have been sickened in Tennessee,Michigan, Ohio and New York.

nydailynews.com

Romaine Lettuce Recall

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:54:32 +0000

Multistate Outbreak of Human E. coli O145 Infections Linked to Shredded Romaine Lettuce from a Single Processing Facility. As of May 5, 2010, a total of 19 confirmed and 10 probable cases related to this outbreak have been reported from 3 states since March 1, 2010. The number of ill persons identified in each state with this strain is : MI (10 confirmed and 3 probable), NY (2 confirmed and 5 probable), and OH (7 confirmed and 2 probable).

nydailynews.com

Among the confirmed and probable cases with reported dates available, illnesses began between April 10, 2010 and April 26, 2010. Infected individuals range in age from 13 years old to 29 years old and the median age is 19 years. Sixty-nine percent of patients are male. Among the 29 patients with available information, 12 (41%) were hospitalized. Three patients have developed a type of kidney failure known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS. No deaths have been reported.

Drug-Resistant Swine Flu Emerges

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:20:53 +0000

Five patients diagnosed with Tamiflu-resistant swine flu at a Welsh hospital could be the world’s first cases of person-to-person transmission of the strain. A British Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Examples of Tamiflu resistance are very rare, but when this does occur it has often been among these especially vulnerable patients. In other words, because their immune systems are compromised, it is more likely for resistant viruses to develop.”
The Welsh cases occurred in patients with haematological problems who had compromised immune systems because of their disorder or because of chemotherapy, the agency added.

E. coli O157:H7 contaminated ground beef recall

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:57:58 +0000

Several state health departments, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. On October 31, 2009, FSIS issued a notice about a recall of 545,699 pounds of beef products from Fairbank Farms that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Health officials in several states who were investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, with isolates that match by “DNA fingerprinting” analyses, found that most ill persons had consumed ground beef, with several purchasing the same or similar product from a common retail chain. At least some of the illnesses appear to be associated with products subject to these recalls. A sample from an opened package of ground beef recovered from a patient’s home was tested by the Massachusetts Department of Health and yielded an E. coli O157:H7 isolate that matched the patient isolates by DNA analysis.

The cluster includes twenty-eight persons from 12 states infected with matching strains of E. coli O157:H7. Of these, the genetic association of 7 human isolates and the product isolate have been confirmed by an advanced secondary DNA test ; secondary tests are pending on others. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: California (1), Connecticut (4), Massachusetts (8), Maryland (1), Maine (2), Minnesota (1), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota (2), and Vermont (1).

Most of the beef packages in the recall bear the establishment number “Est. 492″ inside the USDA mark of inspection and have identifying package dates of “091509″ or “091609.” Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and freezers for beef products produced by this firm and purchased on or after September 15, 2009 and discard or return the recalled beef products to the place of purchase for a refund. Customers with questions about the source of a package of beef should contact the place where they purchased it (e.g., grocery store, club store, or meat market).

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) updated the list of retail stores who may have received contaminated ground beef.
[ See the FSIS update here.]

source:cdc.gov

Hand sanitizer in short supply as swine flu hits

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:32:38 +0000

Demand for hand sanitizer has gone through the roof since the first cases of swine flu broke out earlier this year, and some makers of the germ-fighting gels are scrambling to keep up.

H1N1 danger to healthy kids

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:58:00 +0000

How good are those N95 masks anyway?

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:39:02 +0000

Imagine you’re a critical care specialist, and you’ve just been paged to the hospital room of a 28-year-old patient with swine flu symptoms and shortness of breath. Donning a gown and gloves is second nature. But should you cover your nose and mouth? If so, what should you use?

The best answer that public health experts have come up with so far is to wear an N95 respirator mask.

full story

Swine flu activity jumps

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:35:47 +0000

San Francisco Chronicle

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The CDC characterized this as “very unusual” for September. In Marin, emergency room visits for the week of Sept. 13 at some area hospitals, jumped over 3% …

full story

Report: Swine flu could cause up to 90,000 U.S. deaths

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:22:33 +0000

The H1N1 flu virus could cause up to 90,000 U.S. deaths, mainly among children and young adults, if it resurges this fall as expected, according to a report released Monday by a presidential advisory panel.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/24/us.swine.flu….