FRIDAY, Aug. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The loss of life of a kid in Nebraska was seemingly brought on by an an infection with a “brain-eating amoeba” that occurred after the kid swam in an area river, state well being officers introduced this week.

In a information launch, officers mentioned it was the primary such loss of life ever reported within the state’s historical past. Known as Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba could cause main amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a mind an infection that’s extraordinarily uncommon, however practically all the time deadly.

“Millions of leisure water exposures happen every year, whereas solely 0 to eight Naegleria fowleri infections are recognized every year,” state epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue famous within the information launch. “Infections usually happen later in the summertime, in hotter water with slower stream, in July, August, and September. Cases are extra incessantly recognized in southern states, however extra lately have been recognized farther north. Limiting the alternatives for freshwater to get into the nostril are the perfect methods to cut back the danger of an infection.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to substantiate the reason for the kid’s loss of life by assessments, Lindsay Huse, director of the Douglas County Health Department, mentioned throughout a Wednesday information convention on the kid’s loss of life, NBC News reported.

Huse mentioned the kid had gone swimming on Aug. 8 in Nebraska’s Elkhorn River, grew to become symptomatic 5 days later and was hospitalized inside 48 hours after signs started.

The little one, who authorities haven’t launched further details about out of respect for the household, died on Aug. 18, Dr. Kari Neemann, medical advisor for Douglass County, mentioned throughout a information convention on the loss of life.

“Right now, we are simply urging the public to be aware and take precautions when they are being exposed to any warm, freshwater sources,” Huse said.

The single-celled organism N. fowleri can be found in soil and in freshwater, such as lakes, streams, hot springs and rivers. It can infect people when contaminated water goes up the nose. The amoeba has been found in Northern states more often as climate change fuels rising air and water temperatures.

The amoeba infects about three people annually in the United States and is typically fatal, according to the CDC. A total of 154 known amebic meningoencephalitis infections happened between 1962 and 2021. Only four of those infected survived.

A Missouri resident also died from infection with the amoeba in July, possibly contracting it while swimming in an Iowa lake.

Swimmers should try to prevent water from entering their noses by plugging their noses if going underwater in freshwater, Huse said. Health officials also suggest not stirring up sediment in shallow warm water. Swallowing water does not cause this infection.

“Make sure that you are not engaging in activities that are causing forceful water up the nose such as water skiing, high speed tubing, those sorts of activities,” Huse mentioned.

More data

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extra on brain-eating amoeba.

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July 1, 2022 – Word that the U.S. Supreme Court was on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade led to a dramatic spike in internet searches for abortion medicines, a brand new examine exhibits.

On May 2, 2022, Politico leaked a draft majority opinion that exposed the court docket supposed to reverse the assured proper to decide on to have an abortion.

During the week of the leak, May 1 to May 8, Google recorded 350,000 web searches for abortion medicines, the best quantity for the reason that search firm started amassing knowledge in 2004, in accordance with the findings printed June 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

“While we can’t be 100% certain of the intent behind these searches, they might be that women are trying to find out how safe and effective these pills are or how to obtain these pills,” mentioned Adam Poliak, PhD, a professor of pc science at Bryn Mawr College, in Bryn Mawr, PA, and co-author of the examine. “People might be looking to stockpile these pills once abortion becomes illegal or they are looking for alternative methods.”

Poliak and his colleagues examined Google search developments mentioning “abortion pill” or abortion medicines together with mifepristone (Mifeprex) and misoprostol (Cytotec).

Reproductive rights legal guidelines differ broadly from state to state. This patchwork is constant after the court docket’s ruling final Friday to overturn Roe, with some states banning abortion outright and others severely proscribing it. Poliak’s group assigned every state a grade from A to F, based mostly on state restrictions.

Internet searches for abortion medicines have been extra frequent in states with decrease grades, or extra restrictions, together with Nebraska (F), Iowa (C), and Missouri (D), which all had the very best variety of searches that week, the researchers reported.

“Elevated interest in abortion medications should alert physicians that many of their patients may pursue this option with or without them,” Poliak and his colleagues wrote.

Medical abortions now account for greater than half of being pregnant terminations on this nation, in accordance with the Guttmacher Institute. A earlier examine printed in JAMA Network Open discovered that nearly 7% of U.S. girls between the ages of 18 and 49 have tried a self-managed abortion, together with consuming herbs and placing overseas objects into the uterus. Poliak and different consultants predict that the reversal of Roe might result in an increase in doubtlessly dangerous abortion makes an attempt. The court docket’s choice ought to put docs on excessive alert for the security of their sufferers, he mentioned.

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April 6, 2022

The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is inflicting the lion’s share of COVID infections within the United States now, however thus far it hasn’t resulted in a surge of instances.

BA.2 accounted for 72% of instances final week, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas the general variety of instances has continued to fall. The seven-day every day common of COVID instances was round 25,000 on Tuesday, in comparison with round 44,000 on March 4 and round 312,000 on Feb. 4, the CDC says.

Some well being consultants say there will not be a surge from BA.2.

“I would not be hugely concerned about BA.2,” Christopher Murray, MD, a professor of well being metrics sciences on the University of Washington and the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, instructed NBC News.

“Right now, we’re on this interval the place immunity is excessive and we’re heading into the summer season and transmission tends to be a bit decrease,” he stated. “The mixture ought to lead within the Northern Hemisphere to fairly low ranges after the BA.2 wave.”

Case counts jumped when the Delta and Omicron variants appeared, however that’s not taking place with BA.2, Jessica Justman, MD, an epidemiologist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, instructed CNN.

“This is a transparent instance of how these two traits usually are not essentially tied collectively,” she stated.

When documented COVID infections went up final month in Europe and different elements of the world due to BA.2, U.S. well being consultants frightened the identical factor may occur right here. So far, it hasn’t.

Andy Pekosz, director of the Center for Emerging Viruses and Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University, instructed CNN that the surge in European BA.2 instances occurred as a result of these nations dropped many security precautions when a whole lot of viruses had been nonetheless circulating.

“What you are seeing in Europe could also be ensuing from the truth that they lifted their restrictions early, not a lot that it is BA.2 that is there,” he says.

CNN famous that it’s troublesome to acquire correct case counts now as a result of so many individuals are utilizing residence testing kits and never reporting optimistic outcomes to well being departments.

“I feel there is not any query there’s underreporting of optimistic instances,” Mara Aspinall, a professor at Arizona State University, instructed CNN.

Murray stated he’s frightened extra a few attainable COVID surge within the fall, when immunity supplied by boosters declines and leaves individuals weak, maybe to a model new subvariant.

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