A recent spike in respiratory illnesses in China and a request from the World Health Organization (WHO) for more information may give some people an uneasy sense of deja vu. Almost four years ago, undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness were one of the earliest signs of what would become an unprecedented global pandemic that shuttered […]
Leaves are down, temperatures are cooler, and that means it’s prime time for pruning oak trees, which can be infected by the oak wilt fungus if they’re pruned during the high-risk period of April 15 to July 15. “Beetles that can carry the disease from tree to tree are not very active now, and the […]
(WXYZ) — State officials with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MSU VDL) are warning pet owners to be on the lookout for signs of illness in their dogs as an atypical canine infectious respiratory illness has affected dogs in at least a dozen […]
The PAWS medical staff are following a highly infectious, upper respiratory illness that is affecting dogs here in Maine closely. Symptoms are similar to kennel cough and the cause is still to be determined. It seems to be spreading rapidly and has popped up across the country. Most exposures happen in settings like doggy day […]
One of the more interesting emerging developments in medicine is the connection between rapid diagnostics and de-escalating antibiotics to enable optimal outcomes with quicker resolutions. A group from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center studied this clinical care scenario. Specifically, they conducted a retrospective, observational study comparing patients with Streptococcus spp bacteremia over two 6-month periods. […]
A recent report published in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) suggests that creating a dedicated team of nurses to assist with central line insertions can significantly reduce the risk of patients developing bloodstream infections. The report, authored by infection preventionists at UNC Health, shows that implementing a dedicated team led to a 47% […]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Shelby County has moved to No. 2 nationally in the number of HIV infections, Shelby County Commissioners were told today during a monthly committee meeting. In response, the Shelby County Health Department presented a resolution that, if passed by the full body, would fund $845,000 for new 13 staff positions. Commissioners voted […]
A mystery disease which has killed up to 17 people in Uganda has been confirmed as anthrax, health officials said. The outbreak striking Kyotera district has seen infected patients suffer rashes and swollen limbs before dying. As many as 40 are thought to have fallen ill in recent weeks. Africa Centres for Disease Control and […]
In 1897, a massive outbreak of Sekiri, or “red diarrhoea”, in Japan killed more than 20,000 people within six months. Epidemics of dysentery were common in 19th Century Japan and elsewhere, but had been documented since biblical times, with the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates coining the term dysentery (bowel trouble) to describe the cramping rectal […]
Key Takeaways Most people are potentially infectious with COVID-19 for 10 days. People are typically the most infectious the first five days after they are diagnosed. Antibodies to the virus can last for months after infection or vaccination. Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are increasing across the country, suggesting that cases of the virus are […]