Hepatitis A Demographics Shift Dramatically
Hepatitis A is no longer mainly a travel and food-related infection, as the majority of infections from 2016 to 2020 related to drug use or homelessness, according to the CDC. Fully 56% of hepatitis A infected persons in the U.S. were using drugs (injected or not), 14% were homeless, and 12% were recently incarcerated in […]
Tecovirimat Safe in Monkeypox, but Efficacy Is Less Clear
Tecovirimat (Tpoxx) was well tolerated among patients with monkeypox virus infection, though its efficacy in monkeypox is currently unclear, CDC researchers said. Among over 300 patients taking tecovirimat under the FDA-regulated Expanded Access Investigational New Drug (EA-IND) protocol, 6.9% were hospitalized after symptom onset, with a median duration of hospitalization of 4 days, reported Farrell […]
CDC: Handful of Swine Flu Cases Detected in Humans in Multiple States
Five cases of human infection with flu variants normally spread only in pigs were reported to CDC in August, the agency announced in a Health Alert Network advisory on Tuesday. Cases were detected in West Virginia, Oregon, and Ohio, and all of the individuals have since recovered. According to the CDC, four of the infections […]
Post-COVID Neurologic, Psychiatric Symptoms May Persist for 2 Years
Up to 2 years after infection, people who had COVID-19 continued to face increased risks of neurologic and psychiatric sequelae compared with people who had other respiratory infections, a retrospective study showed. Health records of nearly 1.3 million people — mostly in the U.S. — showed that risks of cognitive deficit (brain fog), dementia, psychotic […]
Cellular waste may supercharge immune cell function
The immune cells that protect us from infection and cancer seek out a wide array of fuel sources to power their function — including some long thought to be cellular waste products. The findings, published today in Cell Metabolism, lay the foundation for future personalized dietary recommendations designed to supercharge the immune system and augment […]
New Insights Into Link Between Kidney Stones, Urinary Tract Infection
Kidney stone disease (KSD) and urinary tract infection (UTI) often coexist, and stone removal may reduce the risk of recurrent UTI, authors of a systematic review concluded. The review showed a bidirectional nature of the relationship between KSD and UTI, as stone formers had a high prevalence of UTI and patients evaluated for UTI had […]
Healthcare Workers Who Wear Better Masks Get Less COVID
Healthcare workers had better odds of outmaneuvering SARS-CoV-2 infection while wearing a respirator mask rather than a surgical mask, an observational study showed. Among workers exposed to COVID-19 patients, those who always donned a respirator mask had a lower likelihood of infection (21% vs 35% for those that did not; OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.39-0.61), […]
Persistent Olfactory Loss After COVID Predicts Cognitive Impairment
Persistent smell loss after SARS-CoV-2 infection predicted cognitive impairment in older adults, a longitudinal study in Argentina showed. One year after acute infection, anosmia was more strongly associated with cognitive impairment than severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection, reported Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, MSc, PhD, of Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires, at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International […]
Is a Staph Infection Contagious? Symptoms & Incubation Period
Staph Infection Risk Factors Anyone can develop a staph infection, although certain groups of people are at greater risk, including newborn infants, breastfeeding women, and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, vascular disease, and lung disease. Injecting drug users, those with skin injuries or disorders, intravenous catheters, surgical incisions, and those with a […]
Group B Strep Infection Treatment, Causes, Symptoms, Pregnancy
Tonsillitis is a contagious infection with symptoms of bad breath, snoring, congestion, headache, hoarseness, laryngitis, and coughing up blood. Tonsillitis can be caused acute infection of the tonsils, and several types of bacteria or viruses (for example, strep throat or mononucleosis). There are two types of tonsillitis, acute and chronic. Acute tonsillitis lasts from one […]