Smokers should be vaccinated against pneumonia, a government panel recommended this week. That’s the first time a shot has been urged for all adults who smoke. An advisory panel of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meeting in Atlanta, voted to expand its recommended use of the pneumonia shot to all smokers ages 19 to 64.

Smoking increases the risk of lung infections. The immunization panel’s advice, is the first to target all of the estimated 45 million American adults who smoke, said Curtis Allen, a CDC spokesman.

Existing guidelines recommend vaccinations for smokers already exposed to smoking-related illness.  The vaccine protects against bacteria that can cause pneumonia, meningitis and other fatal infections.

“There is data of an increased risk of pneumococcal disease, similar to other high-risk conditions, such as asthma,” said Michael Marcy, chairman of the committee’s pneumococcal working group, in a presentation before the vote.  

About half the people who catch invasive pneumococcal disease are cigarette smokers, Allen said.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

For more information, go to:

 http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/adult_cig_smoking.htm

Posted: October 22nd, 2008 under Diseases, Pneumonia.
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Six children in the northwest suburbs have contracted measles, the Cook County Department of Public Health said. The government agency is urging parents to have children vaccinated to prevent a recurrence of this unusual outbreak of the disease.

Measles presents with a number of common symptoms, including a rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Additional complications from measles infection can be severe, including ear infections, diarrhea or even pneumonia in 6 to 20 percent of cases. A patient may also suffer encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, or death.

“When parents make the decision to withhold childhood immunizations, it can have devastating effects on the health of their children and the lives of others,” Department of Public Health chief operating officer Stephen Martin said. “Vaccinations are the safest and most effective means to prevent serious illness.”

Measles may be prevented with routine vaccinations, which give lifelong immunity, and by proper infection control

“Measles is a very serious illness and we have seen a surge in cases in unvaccinated persons in our region this year,” Martin said.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Measles causes many symptoms, including rash, high fever, cough, and runny nose.

Posted: June 24th, 2008 under Diseases, Measles, Pneumonia, Vaccinations.
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A new concern is emerging in medicine — infection protection and control in dental office waiting rooms.

The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures addresses the topic in its May issue in a feature entitled, “The Reception Room” is a feature in the May issue of the OSAP’s association publication Infection Control in Practice.

The article is aimed at helping dental professionals recognize sites in the reception room that need constant attention with regard to cleanliness and infection control, and is the second installment of a new series on compartmentalizing infection control policies and procedures.

Patients, caregivers and the the dental team are all at risk of infection in the waiting room. The article reports that there are new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as to how to control infection in the reception area, and provide disease prevention information for patients.

– by The Editors

The dental office — next place where MRSA will flourish?

Posted: June 4th, 2008 under Diseases, Herpes-Cold Sores, Influenza, Meningitis, Mumps, Norwalk-Like Viruses, Pneumonia, Rubella.
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A new report released by the Ministry of Health indicates that there were more than 4.7 million cases of infectious diseases in China last year, up 2.95 percent from 2006. That’s nearly four in every 1,000 people.  The diseases killed 13,037 people, 2,311 more than the previous year.

According to the report, rabies was the “top killer” among the 37 leading diseases, claiming 2,873 lives last year.

Additionally, the report noted:

* Respiratory tract and blood-borne/sexually transmitted diseases rose by 3.55 and 6.96 percent, respectively.

* The number of HIV/AIDS cases reported increased 45 percent year-on-year.

* The number of hepatitis C cases was up 30 percent, and syphilis cases up 24 percent on last year, according to the report.

The report indicates that four human cases of bird flu were reported last year resulting in two deaths. In 2006, there were eight fatalities from 12 cases.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, director of scientific communications

For more information, go to,

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-02/23/content_6478813.htm

AIDS awareness poster — China.

Posted: February 29th, 2008 under Avian Flu, Feature Stories, HIV, Influenza, MRSA, Measles, Pneumonia, Rubella, SARS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Tuberculosis, Whooping Cough.
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Hollywood movie star Heath Ledger, a 28-year-old Australian, died naked and alone with a feast of prescription drugs in his body. From what has been reported since he died, we also know that Ledger was suffering simultaneously from pneumonia, depression, anxiety, insomnia and, possibly, prescription drug addiction. He had been travelling between London and New York — and enduring that time zone see-saw — while making his latest movie. He was under pressure. He wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t seeing much of his two-year-old. Why wasn’t he being care for?

This was a friend in need, and if your family member is struck with just one of those afflictions, with pneumonia, you come to their assistance. You keep an eye on them. It’s simple. Yet Ledger was, basically, left to die; an accident, but one that it seems could easily have been protected against.

All those drugs: how is that he came to have them all? His physicians gave them to him, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is considering an investigation. An infection with pneumonia is known by medicine to dramatically weaken the body, and precipitate other illnesses.  Was there medical malpractice as well?

– The Editors

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/chris-johnston/2008/02/08/1202234161501.html

 

A Warner Brothers poster for Health Ledger’s Batman film.

Posted: February 8th, 2008 under Pneumonia.
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Lack of legislation and insufficient support from veterinarians stationed at ranches and farms has led to a rise in zoonotic diseases – animal afflictions — afflicting humans. Cases of Brucellosis, Anthrax, avian flu, Shigellosis, ringworms, and Pneumocystis pneumonia and Rift Valley virus have become prevalent across the globe. According to Dr. John Munene, a veterinary surgeon and a government veterinary officer in Central Kenya and a member of the Kenya pharmaceutical society, the need for legislation, worldwide, to help arrest cases and outbreaks is required.

Malpractice leading to zoonosis includes the following:

•         Poor carcass handling practices
•         Consumption of meat and milk from animals with diseases
•         Handling and contact with infected pets

Right now, there are no proper legislative structures to advice on proper practices or risks posed by pets and domestic animals around the world. Laws which advise on malpractices, like carcass disposals, wildlife trade, slaughtering animals, and selling meat, resuscitations, use of skins and hides, sale and consumption of game meat are simply not effective in this regard, experts are telling Infection Protection.

Many ranchers, farmers, and natives are ignorant about zoonosis.
 

In Sub-Saharan Africa, communities slaughter, roast meat, drink blood and un-boiled milk, and use animal feces in construction of houses without consulting vet officers or public health officials. These practices are also commonplace in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, and in the Southern African region. In the U.K. and Wales, abuse of voluntary compliance with the blood- borne pathogen standards, which legislates on proper medical waste disposal by veterinarians and farmers, has also led to these diseases.
 

Standard protection practices include the following:

•         Hand hygiene
•         Respiratory and facial protection
•         Bite and injury protection

 In Kenya, emphasis is on meat inspection and boiling milk. Commonplace measures in East Africa are as follows:

•         Quarantines in case of suspect cases
•         Meat inspection
•         Vaccination of animals and humans

Ryan Cheeks, a spokesman for the National Association of Veterinary Technicians, names death, sub-clinical cases, and disorders as outcomes of zoonosis. In the U.K., legislation to curb infection has been put in place. For example, measures include the following: education on pet handling and use of foam soap to wash hands after handling animals to avoid cross-contamination.

Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that, staphylococci and streptococci bacterias like Salmonella lead to gastroenteritis, an illness leading to more than 2 million sub-clinical cases of stomach pain in America.

In South Africa, Kenya, and the U.K., cases of drug resistant Salmonella Typhimurium, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Dermatophytosis (ringworm) were reported in 2007 and 2008. In Kenya and Uganda among the rural Pokot community, Anthrax, Brucellosis, and Shigellosis cases were reported in 2007 due to the archaic traditions in this community. Pet, poultry, and other domestic handling practices are being made compulsory by many governments.

The need for legislation is in line with the public interest and the safety and health of humans, experts are telling Infection Protection.
 

–by David James, International Correspondent 

A zoonotic disease. Source: University of Florida Summit on Emerging Diseases.

Posted: February 4th, 2008 under Avian Flu, Hand Hygiene, Pet Diseases, Pneumonia.
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The prevailing cold and dry weather in Pakistan has increased the number of pneumonia and chest infection cases there, according to press reports.After receiving two bouts of rain this month, the capital of Islamabad saw a steady decrease in temperature, as the minimum temperature recorded on Tuesday night was -3 degrees (C).A doctor at a local hospital said the decrease in temperature and dryness were causing many viral diseases including chest infection, flu, cardiovascular and respiratory problems and pneumonia among children. Since last week, the number of pneumonia and chest infection patients, particularly children, has increased manifold.See,http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C24%5Cstory_24-1-2008_pg11_5Children are more vulnerable to diseases as they do not take the care that adults do in protecting themselves from the environment — covering themselves properly with warm clothes to stave off cold diseases. – The Editors

A chest x-ray demonstrating pneumonia. Source: University of Virginia.

Posted: January 24th, 2008 under Infection Protection, News, Pneumonia.
Comments: 1

WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Ala. reports: It’s called “Walking Pneumonia.” A mild version of the typical illness, this type of strain is increasingly difficult for doctors to spot. “Sometimes, we don’t hear this when we listen to the chests of these patients.  A lot of times, the only way to really see it is on an X-ray,” Dr. Chandler Muller said.

Spotting the infection is even harder for those who have it. “Patients think they probably just have a little cold or allergies or something like that at first, so that’s why they’re not going to see the doctor,” Muller explained.

See, http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7452013&nav=0RdE

We understand that, much like a cold, the symptoms of walking pneumonia can seem quite ordinary. Many patients present with a sore throat, a runny nose, and a cough. — The Editors

Posted: December 5th, 2007 under News, Pneumonia.
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