Tag Archive for 'CDC'

Tamiflu not as effective against N.C. flu strain

Published on March 30, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Even though the flu season is coming to a close, federal and state health officials are analyzing a group of influenza B viruses in North Carolina that seem to not react to the antiviral drug Tamiflu as regular flu viruses have in the past.

Physicians have been informed by state health officials about the fact that the viruses apparently  have experienced a genetic change that has not been observed in virus samples from other states.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have performed lab tests revealing that the modified viruses are less responsive to Tamiflu in the laboratory, but they are not totally resistant.

A state health department spokeswoman, Julie Henry, said that this most likely would not affect the average person, but that it is serious enough to inform physicians about this genetic change so that they can make the best treatment decisions.

Antiviral drugs remain the best treatment for those hospitalized with the flu, but doctors need to be alerted to the fact that since there has been a change in specific influenza B viruses, Tamiflu may not work as well in certain patients as it usually does.

From November to February, about 31 viruses were collected from 92 samples from North Carolina that showed the genetic change. Most of these patients had the usual flu symptoms and got better after a few days. This said, one patient did die soon after they were diagnosed with the flu, but they had extreme underlying immune conditions.

The CDC is currently testing more flue viruses from North Carolina as well as some surrounding states. The agency has also begun a telephone survey of residents in N.C. who have tested positive for influenza B.

Even though influenza B infections have been more prevalent this season, some physicians say that there is not a greater risk with them  than there is with other flu strains. They want to remind people that the very best way to keep the flu from spreading is to wash your hands, cover coughs and sneezes, stay home if you are sick, and avoid those that are sick at your home.

Twenty percent of U.S. teens found to have high cholesterol levels

Published on January 27, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Around one out of every five American teenagers have high cholesterol levels, according to federal health officials. Unfortunately, these high levels of cholesterol can lead to heart disease.

Obese children were found to be at the highest risk for abnormal “blood lipid” levels, with 43% testing outside the normal ranges, according to the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood tests on 3,125 children were performed from 1999 to 2006 to obtain these results.

Lipids are the fatty substances in the blood that often lead to plaque build-up in the arteries and the early stages of heart disease. It is recommended that children with high lipid levels get counseling so they can improve their diet and exercise habits. Cholesterol drugs are also given to adults along with improved health habits. The CDC claims that around 1% of children have high cholesterol that is treatable with drugs.

LDL, or bad cholesterol, and HDL, good cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured in the study. Adults who have higher levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are at an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes from heart disease. Studies have revealed that increased levels of the good kind of cholesterol can help get rid of harmful fats.

The CDC says that the leading cause of death for adults in the U.S. is heart disease, which causes around 630,000 deaths every year. Children and teenagers having high lipid levels are at a higher risk for developing heart disease when they become adults.

New studies reveal that 1 in 100 children have autism disorders

Published on October 10, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

In a higher than previous U.S. estimate of 1 in 150, two new government studies revel that about 1 in 100 children have autism disorders.

Health officials believe that more awareness, more expansive definitions and more discoveries of autism in younger children could explain some of the increase in numbers of this dreaded disease.

Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, is afraid that there may be a real increase in the numbers from this disorder. Diagnosis is based on a child’s behavior, so diagnosis is especially difficult, according to Dr. Susan Levy of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics subcommittee on autism. She said it is hard to diagnose autism because there is no biological marker such as a blood test.

This new estimate could mean that around 673,000 American children have autism. Past estimates have put the number at around 560,000.

One of the studies came from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. The results were released and published in the October issue of Pediatrics. The study, based on telephone surveys, parents reported that about 1 in 91 children ages  3 to 17 had autism, which included milder forms of the disease like asperger’s syndrome.

The other government estimate has not been officially released as of yet. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to announce that their early findings show that about 1 in 100 children have the disorders because of the new published findings.

Researcher Catherine Rice said that the CDC employs an intensive method for its estimation. The education and health records of 8-year-old children in selected cities are evaluated by an agency network and they then determine whether the children have autism. Experts of autism usually consider this method more reliable and complete than a simple telephone survey.

President Obama has even made autism a priority for research. Federal stimulus money has been set aside for it and a 2006 law poured millions of federal money into autism research, screening and treatment.

The newly published data, which includes state-level data, will aid the government in planning new services, says Michael Kogan, who is a researcher with the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and who also led the new study.

The findings are based on results of a national telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents of children ages 3 to 17. The survey  examined many health issues and included two questions on autism.

Parents were asked if a health care provider had ever told them that their child had autism, asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder or other autism spectrum disorder. If the parent said yes, they were also asked if their child currently has autism or an autism spectrum disorder. If they answered yes to both questions, they were counted as a child with autism disorder.

Children with autism may have trouble communicating and interacting socially. They have little or no eye contact and engage in repetitive behavior like rocking back and forth and hand-flapping.

This year, 3 flu shots are recommended

Published on August 7, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

This fall flu season is going to be quite different than previous ones in the past, so get ready to possibly feel the sting 3 times. The majority of people should get one shot for the usual seasonal flu and two more to help protect against the swine flu.

If you are lucky enough to find it – experts are saying that you should get your first shot this month.

There are five vaccine manufacturers which supply the U.S. and they are finishing their seasonal flu vaccine earlier than normal. Health officials are expecting around half of the more than 120 million doses of seasonal vaccine to be ready by the end of August. The rest should be out by the end of September. There are some manufacturers claiming that distributors are rapidly buying supplies.

These five companies are the same ones that are making the new swine flu vaccine. One of them makes a nasal spray version. They should begin dropping off the first batches in September, although most of it won’t be expected until the end of October or November, according to health officials.

Scientists think the swine flu vaccine will be the most successful against the swine flu if it is given in two doses, about three weeks apart. Testing is still being done to determine this.

Although it is too late to do it this year, combining the swine flu and seasonal flu into one shot is possible. Last winter decisions were made concerning what flu strains to use in this year’s seasonal vaccine ,and production was too advanced when the swine flu hit to change the formula. This is the reason that multiple shots will be needed.

Unfortunately supplies will be limited, so the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created two different lists for the first to get the seasonal flu shot and the first to get the swine flu shot. Elderly people, health care workers and pregnant women are the first on the regular flu vaccine list. For the swine flu vaccine, the first in line will be health care workers and pregnant people. Older people are not on the first on this list, because they seem to have some immunity to the swine flu. Because of this discrepancy, some confusion is expected.

Scientists are just now starting to test the safety and effectiveness of the new swine flu vaccine. This is expected to take several months. The government is planning on the vaccines to be given with three shots, over three separate visits. If the seasonal and swine flu vaccines were given at the same time, it would be too difficult to determine which vaccine was to blame, if people developed health problems after receiving their shot.

The recommended three shots is a concern to the government because the public has not been very diligent about getting just one flu shot. Last year, just one in three U.S. adults got their flu shots according to CDC data.

The autumn vaccine campaign against seasonal flu is usually starts in late September or October with a news conference, but this year it has been set for September 10. Some health officials are saying that the push for seasonal vaccinations will begin even sooner. Carol Schriber, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, says that “as soon as it becomes available, we’ll be encouraging people to get it.”

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Some food-borne illnesses are increasing

Published on May 24, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

During the past three years, the amount of food-borne illnesses has increased. This has made it more pressing for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the nation’s food safety system, to change so that they can have a better way to deal with this disturbing trend.

Robert Tauxe, the deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Food-borne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, says that there should be more done at all the levels of the movement of food in the food chain in order to stop bacterial contamination.

Beginning in 1996, the agency has been keeping track of the number of people diagnosed with infections that were caused by eight bacteria and three parasites found in food. Several of the illnesses had decreased in numbers until 2004, when they started going up and have remained steady. These include illnesses caused by salmonella, vibrio, E coli 0157 and cambylobacter.

The first data of 2008 showed that the infection rates for five food-borne illnesses had surpassed national goals that were set by the CDC. For example, in 2008, the goal for salmonella cases was 7 illnesses for every 100,00 people, but the number was an astounding 16. This data did not include the outbreak of the salmonella illness that was due to the tainted peanut products which started at the end of last year and climaxed in the beginning months of this year. Almost 700 people became sick and 9 were killed.

Tauxe claimed that there are several elements behind this upswing, three being the complexity of the U.S. food chain, the ever changing character of bacteria and the increase of imports. The intricacy of the problem is causing many varieties of food to become contaminated, which includes more produce and some new foods that have not been affected in the past.

The study found that children under 4 are especially vulnerable to food-borne pathogens. Also, adults over 50 are more likely to be hospitalized and die from similar illnesses. According to Tauxe, some of the ways children can become infected is by living with pet turtles or reptiles, riding in shopping carts that have raw poultry and meats, or from day care centers, where other children or day care employees are not washing their hands properly.

Salmonella still remains the most common culprit of food poisoning. There was more than 7,400 lab-confirmed illnesses in the states that were tracking the illnesses. CDC officials said that there hasn’t been a substantial change in the rate of salmonella cases in recent years.

The two kinds of bacterial infections that were the second and third most common food-borne illnesses are campylobacter and shigella. These happen at rates of around 13 and 7 per 100,000.

U.S. and Costa Rica report new swine flu deaths

Published on May 11, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The amount of swine flu-related deaths, other than Mexico, increased to 5 as the U.S. reported its third death, while Costa Rica had its first. Both of these deaths happened to men who had underlying medical conditions.

In Mexico, the core of the outbreak and where 48 out of a global 53 have died, most victims have been adults ranging from age 20 to 49, with many having no reported complicating elements.

In Mexico, there has been a slow lifting in the closing of schools, businesses, churches and stadiums. A recent surge in suspected but not confirmed cases has caused authorities in as much as 6 of the 31 U.S. states to stall plans to allow primary school students to return to class on Monday after a two-week break.

According to WHO and CDC, there are more than 4,500 confirmed cases within 29 countries, 1,626 of which are in Mexico. There has been a worldwide total of 53 deaths – 48 in Mexico; 3 in the U.S.; 1 in Canada and 1 in Costa Rica. Japan reported its first 4 cases and Australia reported its first confirmed case on May 9.