Flu Update as of January 25th
Sorry Vermont, but this week flu reached your state which has been flu free until now. The flu is active in all of the 50 U.S. States and officials continue to urge common sense and proactive prevention. Wash your hands and limit your exposure to people who are infected!
- Localized Outbreaks (18 states*)
- Alabama
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Washington DC
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Regionalized Outbreaks (17 states)
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Washington State
- Widespread Outbreaks (6 states)
- New Jersey
- Virginia
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- New York
- Texas
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- All states not listed above
*Including the District of Columbia
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Needless Needles? The Latest in Flu Shot Research
A new delivery method of the flu vaccine may be coming to a clinic near you. Always on the lookout for a better mousetrap, or in this case, a better shot, researchers are working on a sublingual (under the tongue) tablet that will provide the same protection as the flu shot does now. This has got to be a kid’s dream come true!
Not only will the flu vaccine not be dreaded by the needlephobic, should this line of research prove to be effective, it would also eliminate the nasal spray vaccine which many people find just as distasteful as the injection. An added benefit would be the decreased risk through the use of needles and a reduction in disposable medical waste materials.
As a bonus, it is hoped that the sublingual approach to flu prevention will also drastically cut reactions to the flu shot, such as localized skin irritations.
Research is still ongoing but results look positive so far. It may be just a matter of time until the flu shot becomes an archaic piece of history, with better and less painful prevention methods just around the corner.
New Flu Vaccine May Not Need Needles
Rare Diseases and Their Relevance to Public Health
Rare diseases are defined by the population count affected by the disease. For a disease to be considered rare, it must affect 200,000 patients or less in the United States. The European Union defines a rare disease to be one that affects five or less out of 10,000 people.
Rare diseases affect all of us, even if we don’t have the disease ourselves. The issue, as always, is money. Medications and physician time are taken up with these diseases and could be considered as driving up healthcare costs. Generally, for instance, when a pharmaceutical company makes a medication, it is made for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. But a rare disease may require an orphan drug and those particular medications are incredibly expensive.
Because of this, in 1983, the U.S. Orphan Drug Act was passed by the U.S. Congress. This provides incentives to the drug companies to continue making the drugs that only a few people take, and thus avoid financial loss in the creation of those medications.
Whether an individual is affected or not, the existence of rare diseases affect the cost of medical care. If an individual does have one of the rare diseases, it is an issue that is up close and personal. Research through the site linked below will provide information to help you understand the role of rare diseases in your life, whether as a victim or as a person learning about the ins-and-outs of medical insurance and how rare diseases affect your healthcare.
Rare Diseases - This is the best and most “user” friendly site on this topic
Listings of Rare Diseases A through Z
Flu Update as of January 18th
As the old song says, “Everybody’s doing it!” And every state, save one, has had the flu hit. In simple terms, that means every time you leave your house, unless you live in Vermont, you are being exposed to the flu.
- Localized Outbreaks (15 states)
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Washington
- Regionalized Outbreaks (10 states)
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- New Jersey
- Montana
- Rhode Island
- Pennsylvania
- California
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Alaska
- Widespread Outbreaks (4 states)
- Texas
- New York
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- All states not listed above
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Check back here - I will have a weekly update on how the flu is progressing through the United States.
What is the NIH?
Ask anyone in the United States what the CDC is, or what the FDA is, and they will most likely be able to tell you. But ask them what the NIH is and you might get a blank stare. The NIH is the National Institute of Health. It is part of the Department of Health & Human Services and they state that they are “The Nation’s Medical Research Agency.” This means that this is the 
firstline agency in the US Government to conduct and sponsor the medical research that determines our healthcare of tomorrow.
The NIH works with a budget of $28 billion and 80% of that goes into medical grants at various colleges and universities in the US and around the world to conduct research. Over 3,000 institutions receive this funding. Another 10% goes to NIH research facilities. The amounts that go to each disease or condition being researched are, of course, a matter of public record and can be found online.
The NIH consists of 27 institutes and centers. Among them the public is probably the most familiar with the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Mental Health. (Remember “The Secret of NIMH? Yes, that is them!) A complete listing is online.
NIH MISSION
NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. Its mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.
That’s a lot of money and a lot of lofty goals. Has the NIH succeeded in their mission? Reading the 2007 recap of research lists some pretty exciting breakthroughs and insights. Medical research is a painstakingly difficult job and each time a conclusion is reached, our odds of a better tomorrow go up. And although they might not do everything right, and who does, they are making strides to discover more about illness and how humanity can live longer and healthier lives.
Certainly an organization worth knowing!
What is the NIH?
Funding for Various Diseases and Conditions
The Institutes and Centers of the NIH
Questions Frequently Asked about the NIH
Photo courtesy of NIH
Seven Diseases - Is Your Doctor Missing Something?
According to Prevention Magazine, there are seven diseases that doctors frequently miss. Seven serious diseases. And although most of them can affect both men and women, most of these diseases affect women at much higher percentages. This article lits the seven diseases and gives the information necessary to help women become more proactive in their own healthcare. Of course, we as patients are not qualified to diagnose ourselves. But we are qualified to raise concerns with our physicians and ask about symptoms of these diseases if they have not been adequately diagnosed.
Cold Medicine Alert - Updated
UPDATE 01-28-08: The U.S. Government released today a statement that cold medicines have resulted in approximately 7,000 children being sent to the ER each year. These statistics will undoubtedly affect the ongoing study of the use of these medications in the two to 11 year-old group. For more information read the updated link below.
Although this is not a recall, it is definitely a warning that anyone with children should be aware of. The FDA has issued a Health Advisory concerning the use of over-the-counter cold and flu medications for children under the age of two. Studies are currently being conducted for children that are between two and 11 and a bulletin will be released as soon as pertinent information is available, but the risk to children under the age of two is of great concern to the FDA, and one parents need to be aware of now.
Reported side effects of using these drugs with small children include death, rapid pulse, convulsions, and varying degrees of loss of consciousness.
MedicineNet
As usual contact your physician before giving any medications to your children or yourself, including herbal and “natural” supplements.
UPDATED: Cold Meds Send 7,000 Kids to Hospital
What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know - Consumer Healthcare Products Association
Renewed Warning on Cold Medicines - NY Times
OTC Cough And Cold Medicines Not Recommended For Infants Says FDA
CDC & Juvaris Partner to Create More Effective Vaccine
There is a lot of confusion about the flu. Put in a nutshell, here are the basic facts of what people mean when they talk about “The Flu.
- Seasonal Flu
- Pandemic Flu
- Avian Flu
Seasonal flu is the one that goes around every year. Each year the virus varies. It runs it course and winds down. Flu shots given at public health clinics and physician offices, are immunizations for the seasonal flu.
Pandemic flu is a new virus that appears that has not been seen before and thus when it hits the population of the world, no one has any resistance built up against it and there is no vaccine to protect anyone. It is a completely new disease. The last flu pandemic was in 1918. That particular flu killed many thousands of people worldwide, affected the economy, and ultimately played a role in the course of World War I.
Avian flu is an influenza virus that currently ONLY affects bird populations. It is contagious bird-to-bird, and there have been isolated cases of bird-to-person transmission, but by and large, it remains confined to the bird population.
So why does everyone talk about avian flu and pandemic flu in the same breath? The risk is that we are due for a flu pandemic. Experts feel that it is overdue and the time has come that it is reasonable to expect a pandemic. With Avian Flu in the equation, the risk is that Avian Flu will mutate slightly and become contagious on a new level: Person-to-person. When that occurs the likelihood of a pandemic flu epidemic is highly probable.
The CDC has partnered with Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., to extend the supply of H5N1 vaccines to cover a larger population should a pandemic break out.
Because high doses of vaccine are needed to trigger an immune response to bird flu, stocks of existing vaccines could be run down quickly in a pandemic. By using JVRS-100 as a kind of booster, smaller doses could be used and the stocks of the existing vaccines might last longer, the company said.
San Francisco Business Times
Hopefully the claims of the company will prove true. It is believed by Juvaris that their adjuvant will provide greater protection and reduce the numbers of affected populations, and ultimately decrease the mortality rate of a pandemic flu epidemic.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risk High in January
Safety is one of the most important aspects of public health; whether it be home, work, auto, or recreational safety, accidents kill and maim thousands of Americans every year. We all know that most accidents are preventable so being aware of the common hazards that we all face can help reduce the number of deaths each year. Losing a loved one is hard enough; losing one to an accident that could have been prevented is devastating for friends and family.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Did you know that the most common month to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning is January? “Consumer Reports,” says that two people die each day in January from carbon monoxide poisoning. On the average, 439 people die annually, meaning that on the average 34 people die each month from inhaling the odorless fumes, except in January, which calculates out to 62 during the month.
Alan McMillank, CEO of the National Safety Council, commented that deaths from accidents has risen 12% since the nation’s lowest statistical year of 1992. Worse yet, the evidence shows this trend of increases in deaths will continue. Aging baby boomers are also causing the statistics to rise due to the increase in deaths from falls and unintentional medication overdoses.
“We tend to see our home as our safe haven. The data tell us it’s not.”
Alan McMillan, CEO of the National Safety Council
Accidents are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 44. It is the fifth leading cause of death in people over the age of 45, falling behind heart disease, cancer, stroke, and respiratory disease. It is estimated that accidents cost the United States $625.5 billion annually, using year 2005 statistics.
January Deadliest Month for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
The CDC on CFS
In the past I have been sharply critical of the CDC and its attitude about chronic fatigue syndrome. Funds were diverted from CFS to other projects within the CDC and the backing of the agency, which still remains the bottom line for a disease’s validity, was never there. It was trivialized and ignored.
Perhaps it was the grassroots efforts of the victims of CFS. Perhaps it was the associations that represent all of the afflicted people. Maybe it was just a stroke of good luck. I would like to think it was because the officials within the CDC realized the error of their ways and are doing what they can to make amends.
Whatever the reason, the CDC is now taking information about CFS to the people. They are educating people who may be ill and not realize they should seek a physician for this condition. They are bringing awareness to the American public. They are also destroying myths and educating people on the little known facts about chronic fatigue syndrome.
The “Miami Herald,” recently reported that the once lax CDC (about CFS) is now acknowledging CFS for the disabling disease that is. To that end, they have listed five things they believe the general public does not know, and needs to know, about this mysterious and insidious disease that affects over one million Americans, Considering 80% of those people are undiagnosed, this is information that should be read and understood by all.
5 Things You Didn’t Know about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome