[Health] The Infectious Diseases Thread

[Max Peck]

The vaccine for pertussis is coupled with the tetanus booster here, so as an adult we get it every 10 years. One of the tidbits of information that I had to pry out of my doctor's office before he retires next month was when I'm due for my next booster.

[stimpy]

Did you hear that Marilyn Manson had a rib removed?

Yeah.....ends up I had the procedure for nothing!!

[ImLawBoy]

Today my daughter asked about a virus she heard is killing kids, but couldn't remember the name. I offered measles, but that didn't particularly ring a bell with her. She would know Covid or Flu, she was recently vaccinated for both. Any other ideas what she might be referring to?

RSV?

[stessier]

Shoot, with how things are going - the bubonic plague?

[LawBeefaroni]

The vaccine for pertussis is coupled with the tetanus booster here, so as an adult we get it every 10 years. One of the tidbits of information that I had to pry out of my doctor's office before he retires next month was when I'm due for my next booster.

Usually also includes diphtheria in the same shot. AKA the TDaP or DTP.

Another big win for disease control that we'll probably walk back for God and Freedom.

[Max Peck]

The vaccine for pertussis is coupled with the tetanus booster here, so as an adult we get it every 10 years. One of the tidbits of information that I had to pry out of my doctor's office before he retires next month was when I'm due for my next booster.

Usually also includes diphtheria in the same shot. AKA the TDaP or DTP.

Another big win for disease control that we'll probably walk back for God and Freedom.

Tdap has a separate eligibility criteria here, being mostly for kids and young adults iirc. For my demographic (oldish but not quite officially old and generally healthy otherwise) they go with Td instead of Tdap.

Which means, of course, that I misspoke. As a healthy-adjacent adult I don't get the pertussis booster at all, just tetanus/diphtheria.

[gilraen]

We got our Tdap boosters a few weeks ago at Walgreens. At least my insurance still covers it 100%. Interestingly, my arm was really sore from this shot for a solid 4 days, way longer than after any flu or Covid shot.

[Jeff V]

Today my daughter asked about a virus she heard is killing kids, but couldn't remember the name. I offered measles, but that didn't particularly ring a bell with her. She would know Covid or Flu, she was recently vaccinated for both. Any other ideas what she might be referring to?

RSV?

Is that killing kids? The commercials make it sound like us old farts are most at risk. I don't think I've seen an advisory that kids get vaccinated for it?

[Max Peck]

Today my daughter asked about a virus she heard is killing kids, but couldn't remember the name. I offered measles, but that didn't particularly ring a bell with her. She would know Covid or Flu, she was recently vaccinated for both. Any other ideas what she might be referring to?

RSV?

Is that killing kids? The commercials make it sound like us old farts are most at risk. I don't think I've seen an advisory that kids get vaccinated for it?

It's serious for infants as well as fogies, IIRC. Still, it's something that his daughter heard was killing kids, not necessarily something that is actually killing kids.

[Max Peck]

Fresh info about that measles outbreak in Texas:

Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas’ least vaccinated counties

Health officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state's lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions.

On January 30, officials reported two measles cases in unvaccinated, school-aged children in Gaines County, which sits at the border of New Mexico and is around 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and had been discharged.

As of mid-day February 7, the outbreak total reached nine confirmed measles cases in the South Plains Public Health District (SPPHD) that includes Gaines, according to Zach Holbrooks, Executive Director for SSPHD. In an interview with Ars, Holbrooks reported that there were three additional probable cases that are linked to the confirmed cases. These are cases in the same household or family—maybe a cousin or sibling—that are showing measles symptoms but haven't been tested yet or gotten their test results back yet, Holbrooks said. So far, there have been no other reports of hospitalizations besides those in the first two cases.

Holbrooks said he expected the number of confirmed cases to rise by the end of the day or tomorrow morning.

With 82 percent vaccinated, Gaines County ranks in the bottom ten counties with the lowest coverage among those reporting data (four counties out of over 250 did not report). Nearly 18 percent of kindergarteners in Gaines have conscientious exemptions, which is an exemption from school vaccination requirements based on reasons of conscience, including a religious belief.

Still, the county-wide number obscures pockets of yet lower vaccination rates. That includes the independent public school district in Loop, in the northeast corner of Gaines, which had a vaccination rate of 46 percent in the 2023–2024 school year.

Holbrooks noted that the county has a large religious community with private religious schools. These may have yet lower vaccination rates. Holbrooks said that, so far, the measles cases being seen and traced in the outbreak are linked to those private schools.

[Smoove_B]

Trying to keep up...

Influenza levels at levels we haven't seen since 2009:

Levels of influenza nationwide are now at the highest they have been since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, according to figures published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amid this winter's second wave of the virus.

Close to 8% of visits for respiratory illness to outpatient providers, including urgent cares and doctors offices, reported to the CDC this week were people sick with influenza. That is the worst on record in the CDC's influenza surveillance network since late 2009, during the swine flu pandemic.

While most flu seasons usually see a resurgence of infections after the winter holidays, this winter's flu wave has now reached unusually high levels compared to recent years.

Additionally:

Unlike the 2009 pandemic, lab tests around the country suggest cases are still from the usual seasonal variants of the virus, and not a new strain that has spilled over from animals.

While farms have been grappling with a record surge of H5N1 bird flu in poultry driving up egg prices, and a new potentially lethal strain in dairy cows, only a handful of human cases have been confirmed from bird flu in the U.S. Investigations have linked cases to direct contact with sick animals, not human-to-human transmission.

It's not too late to get your flu shot...

[Smoove_B]

I should probably just book mark this thread soon...

Measles outbreak expands in TX; people are now hospitalized:

An outbreak of measles in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties continues to rapidly expand, with officials reporting 24 cases Tuesday, up from just nine confirmed on Friday.

According to an update by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), all 24 cases identified in the two-week-old outbreak are in unvaccinated people. Nine of the patients (37.5 percent) required hospitalization.

Most of the cases are in children. DSHS provided an age breakdown that listed six cases as being in infants and young children between the ages of 0 and 4. This is the age group most vulnerable to measles because they have a heightened risk of complications from the disease and may be too young to be fully vaccinated with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children are recommended to get two doses of the MMR vaccine, one between 12 and 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years. One dose of MMR vaccine is estimated to be 93 percent effective against measles, while two doses are 97 percent effective.

Of the remainder of the 24 cases, 16 were between the ages of 5 and 17, and two were 18 or older.

Of note:

Pockets of the county have yet lower vaccination rates than the county-wide averages suggest. For instance, one independent public school district in Loop, in the northeast corner of Gaines, had a vaccination rate of 46 percent in the 2023–2024 school year.

This should have been an alarm-level warning, but I guess...freedom.

[gilraen]

I'm just happy I got an MMR booster back in 2019.

[Isgrimnur]

Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 5, ending February 1, 2025

[Smoove_B]

I'm beginning to think this bird flu thing is going to continue to escalate:

Wyoming’s first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human has been confirmed in a Platte County older adult, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). The woman represents the third confirmed hospitalization related to H5N1 in the United States.

“While this is a significant development as bird flu activity is monitored in Wyoming and across the country, it is not something we believe requires a high level of concern among most Wyoming residents,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health.

Harrist said the woman is hospitalized in another state, has health conditions that can make people more vulnerable to illness, and was likely exposed to the virus through direct contact with an infected poultry flock at her home. H5N1 has been known to be infecting wild birds in Wyoming for some time now with the currently circulating virus spreading nationally since 2022. Infections among poultry and dairy cattle have also occurred previously in Wyoming.

[$iljanus]

I'm beginning to think this bird flu thing is going to continue to escalate:

Wyoming’s first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human has been confirmed in a Platte County older adult, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). The woman represents the third confirmed hospitalization related to H5N1 in the United States.

“While this is a significant development as bird flu activity is monitored in Wyoming and across the country, it is not something we believe requires a high level of concern among most Wyoming residents,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health.

Harrist said the woman is hospitalized in another state, has health conditions that can make people more vulnerable to illness, and was likely exposed to the virus through direct contact with an infected poultry flock at her home. H5N1 has been known to be infecting wild birds in Wyoming for some time now with the currently circulating virus spreading nationally since 2022. Infections among poultry and dairy cattle have also occurred previously in Wyoming.

From what I understand the documented cases that required hospitalization or resulted in death involved patients with all sorts of pre existing conditions. This is why it requires surveillance in order to detect any variants that begin to infect a “healthier” population. Even then it could just manifest itself as a bad cold. But again this is where good surveillance is required Iike a hunter waiting for that moment when the virus becomes virulent and crashes the host’s survival curve. In a responsible society, the tools are there to do this. We could do this. Oh well…

[Smoove_B]

It's just kinda weird that it's been circulating now unchecked for three years. I get that we're not going to stop it from spreading in wild birds but that we continue to allow wild birds to spread it to our agricultural sector, those workers and (eventually) the general public does not bode well for us overall. I'm astounded that even now - with the insane number of chickens that have been culled and the price of eggs - there hasn't been more pressure to start enacting better controls and be just a wee bit more proactive.

I guess if eggs are still selling and people don't mind paying more for chicken and beef, there just isn't pressure to do anything else.

Until the bad jump comes - when it gets comfortable in pigs.

[Blackhawk]

The bird flu isn't responsible for the egg prices. Democrats are. Trump said so. Why should we address other causes?

[LawBeefaroni]

From the opening montage of a disaster movie:

Experts reveal why so many dead birds are washing up on Lake Michigan's shore

From the shores of Hyde Park to Wilmette, residents reported finding large numbers of dead mergansers, with the group estimating 200-300 reports were made between Friday and Sunday [Jan 31-Feb 1].

NBC Chicago crews along 31st Street Beach counted 16 dead birds on Monday morning. More were found at 12th Street Beach and Ohio Street Beach around that same time.

Experts say the sightings in Chicago have risen in recent weeks, but the merganser deaths are unexpected as they are largely aquatic and don't typically walk around land.

"We've had bird flu before. Really not this variety, not this species and certainly not the number of birds that are being found and reported," said Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. "We've had bird flu in previous years. We began getting cases in the middle of December and they were largely geese and in suburban areas and that continued into things like the hawks the owls and the bald eagle we had. We weren't getting as many reports from Chicago, but beginning in the middle of last month we started getting more and more reports."

[Blackhawk]

As an aside, I think it's going to become harder and harder - if not impossible - to keep politics out of this thread. The biggest factors when it comes to infectious diseases, and to our response, are all deeply political.

[Pyperkub]

As an aside, I think it's going to become harder and harder - if not impossible - to keep politics out of this thread. The biggest factors when it comes to infectious diseases, and to our response, are all deeply political.

This is, of course, a recent development.

[Blackhawk]

It's a recent escalation.

[Smoove_B]

As an aside, I think it's going to become harder and harder - if not impossible - to keep politics out of this thread. The biggest factors when it comes to infectious diseases, and to our response, are all deeply political.

Absolutely. I've tried to keep it EBG, but I think now (for sure) it's going to get more difficult to separate the two.

There's still lots of emergent diseases and disease outbreaks that are non-political, but I fear we're about to get hit by more that could have been prevented/reduced/mitigated if not for politics.

[Isgrimnur]

Worst measles outbreak in 30 years spreads to neighboring Texas counties

The official case count has risen to 58 confirmed cases on Tuesday, February 18, up from 48 reported cases on Friday, February 14.

The cases were first reported in the Far West Texas county of Gaines starting on January 29 and have steadily risen in the weeks since.

On Tuesday, officials said 45 cases are reported in Gaines County, nine cases in Terry County, two cases in Yoakum County, and one case each in Lubbock and Lynn counties.

Four cases are impacting vaccinated individuals with the rest reported as unvaccinated against measles, and 13 of those patients have been hospitalized, DSHS said in the latest update. The age ranges of infected children are 15 between the ages of 0-4, 33 cases in children aged five to 17, six cases for people ages 18 and older. Four cases are pending and not given an age range at the time of writing.
...
New Mexico health officials have declared an outbreak in Lea County, which spans the west and north Texas state lines, warning that people who visited area Albertsons grocery stores, Walgreens, elementary schools, churches and medical facilities like emergency rooms and hospitals could be exposed.

[$iljanus]

Worst measles outbreak in 30 years spreads to neighboring Texas counties

The official case count has risen to 58 confirmed cases on Tuesday, February 18, up from 48 reported cases on Friday, February 14.

The cases were first reported in the Far West Texas county of Gaines starting on January 29 and have steadily risen in the weeks since.

On Tuesday, officials said 45 cases are reported in Gaines County, nine cases in Terry County, two cases in Yoakum County, and one case each in Lubbock and Lynn counties.

Four cases are impacting vaccinated individuals with the rest reported as unvaccinated against measles, and 13 of those patients have been hospitalized, DSHS said in the latest update. The age ranges of infected children are 15 between the ages of 0-4, 33 cases in children aged five to 17, six cases for people ages 18 and older. Four cases are pending and not given an age range at the time of writing.
...
New Mexico health officials have declared an outbreak in Lea County, which spans the west and north Texas state lines, warning that people who visited area Albertsons grocery stores, Walgreens, elementary schools, churches and medical facilities like emergency rooms and hospitals could be exposed.

FREEDUM!!!!