Increased West Nile Virus Cases, Including Death, Confirmed – Wyoming Department of Health
Increased West Nile Virus Cases, Including Death, Confirmed September 11, 2023 As Wyoming experiences more West Nile virus (WNV) activity this season than over the past decade or so, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is emphasizing mosquito bite prevention. There have been 20 cases reported, including a death in an older adult Fremont County […]
Big Bump in Starting Salaries for Specialists
Average starting salary offers for specialists zoomed up year-over-year, in some cases by double-digit percentages, a new report found. In addition, entities such as retail clinics, urgent care centers, insurance companies, and private equity firms are vying with hospitals and medical groups for a limited number of doctors, according to AMN Healthcare’s 2023 Review of […]
The Biggest Early Warning Signs Of Bacterial Meningitis
Edwin Tan via Getty Images Approximately 21% of meningococcal disease cases affect young people ages 11 to 24. Bacterial meningitis, a potentially fatal infection that causes the protective membranes of the brain and spine to become inflamed, is relatively rare. According to the National Meningitis Association, about “600 – 1,000 people contract meningococcal disease in […]
Adenovirus May Trigger Thrombocytopenia, Thrombosis, Case Studies Suggest
In rare cases, symptomatic human adenovirus infection may trigger a life-threatening prothrombotic anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) disorder resembling vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), according to a report based on two patients. A 5-year-old boy and a 58-year-old woman based in the U.S. developed serious — and in the case of the boy, ultimately fatal — […]
Albuminuria Testing Falling Short in Patients at Risk for CKD
Many cases of albuminuria may be missed in the U.S. due to lack of testing among patients at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), a cohort study suggested. Examining electronic health records for nearly 200,000 patients with hypertension or diabetes, only 17.5% underwent albuminuria testing, reported Chi D. Chu, MD, MAS, of the University of […]
Experts Quell Worries About Locally Acquired Malaria in the U.S.
Earlier this week, the CDC issued an alert on the first locally acquired malaria cases in the U.S. in 20 years. MedPage Today spoke with experts and physicians to determine how rare the cases are, whether there may be more, and what may have contributed to them. Within the last 2 months, four locally acquired […]
Texas Mifepristone Case Could Lead to Other Drug Approval Lawsuits, Experts Say
As the nation awaits the final outcome of two federal cases — one in Texas and one in Washington state — involving the abortion drug mifepristone (Mifeprex), legal observers are raising the possibility that the Texas case could have repercussions beyond that single drug. “As monumental as the effects will be for abortion and miscarriage […]
CDC Alerts Docs to Watch for Potential Imported Marburg Cases
While there have been no confirmed cases of Marburg virus disease (MVD) outside Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, clinicians and public health experts should be aware of the potential for imported cases, the CDC said. In a Health Alert Network advisory, the agency said that it is important for clinicians to assess patients for the possibility […]
Cases of Deadly Fungus Tripled in Past Few Years, CDC Says
Cases of Candida auris have tripled from 2019 to 2021, according to national surveillance data. After first being detected in the U.S. in 2016, annual clinical case counts increased to 476 in 2019, then to 756 in 2020 (a 59% jump), and then to 1,471 in 2021 (an additional 95% increase), reported Meghan Lyman, MD, […]
Fewer cases of melanoma among people taking vitamin D supplements
Fewer cases of melanoma were observed among regular users of vitamin D supplements than among non-users, a new study finds. People taking vitamin D supplements regularly also had a considerably lower risk of skin cancer, according to estimates by experienced dermatologists. The study, conducted in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University […]