Update on Infectious Disease Threats: What You Need to Know

Information about various infectious diseases is constantly evolving. I am hoping to summarize some of that in these newsletters. New information will be in BOLD.

GENERAL:

We all know that all sorts of immunizations have come to be viewed with suspicion in recent years. So I was happy to see a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked over 511 (!!) studies reviewing the safety of vaccinations. The conclusion? "Immunizations against COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza effectively and safely reduced the risk of severe outcomes in people of all ages." In particular, in the 2025/26 season, COVID vaccination reduced hospitalizations by 46% to 50% (and actually 65% in kids!).

COVID-19

General Information

Children who were infected with the COVID-19 virus on two occasions were also twice as likely to develop Long Covid (Lancet).
A study looking at a total of 1.2 million women found that COVID vaccination during pregnancy helped protect both the mother and the child without any increased risk to either. Rates of stillbirth and preterm birth decreased (Study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics).
Fingers crossed, but the wastewater levels of the COVID virus (SARS-Cov-2) are decreasing both nationwide and in California!
A recent article (New England Journal of Medicine) found that the 2024/ 25 COVID vaccine continued to provide benefits...even in this day and age when COVID-19 is often no longer considered dangerous by some: the vaccine reduced emergency room visits by almost 30%, reduced hospitalization by almost 40%, and reduced death by 64%.
I know that many people are frightened by rumors of adverse effects associated with the COVID vaccines. A recent article (JAMA Internal Medicine) looked at the babies born from a mother who had received the COVID vaccination in the first trimester: there were NO increased birth defects noted in the babies.
Meanwhile, an article in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that babies born of mothers who had COVID-19 during the pregnancy, were MORE likely tot develop autism down the road.

Other Infectious Diseases:

FLU:

We often look to Australia, whose flu season is just now ending, as a predictor of how bad our season will be. Unfortunately, Australia had a severe flu season in 2025. Luckily, the vaccine seemed to be a good match for the circulating virus.
We do have the flu shot in our office, so you are welcome to stop by and get a shot.
Japan has had an early influenza season this year and has just announced that they are in the middle of a nationwide flu epidemic.
We do not have any accurate numbers for the number of flu cases in the U.S.: the CDC is not reporting anything in the setting of the budget impasse.
Sutter is noting 40-60 cases of influenza every week at this time.
Looking at the southern hemisphere, that is just finishing up its annual flu season, experts found that vaccination reduced the likelihood of coming to medical attention due to influenza by 50%.
President Trump's physician reported that the president also received a flu and Covid booster in early October of this year.
Yet another article (Journal of the American Heart Association) found that flu (and COVID-19) infections increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes by 500-600%.

RSV:

There has been a marked recent increase in babies and children hospitalized for RSV.

BIRD FLU:

Luckily, we have not heard much about the bird flu for many months. Unfortunately, that may now change: with the changes of seasons, water fowl are again migrating. As a consequence, livestock are getting infected. In the last month alone, over 4 million poultry birds have had to be culled, due to bird flu infections. Stay tuned...

NOROVIRUS:

We have discussed norovirus in the past: it leads to severe nausea/ vomiting and diarrhea and is often seen on cruise ships.
Luckily, scientists are developing a norovirus vaccine, so hopefully we can cruise with more comfort in the future!

MEASLES:

Measles was thought to have been eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Unfortunately, vaccination rates have since fallen, leaving communities very vulnerable to the highly infectious disease. Last year, there were 285 cases of measles reported in the U.S.
Before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, 3 to 4 million people in the U.S. were infected with measles each year, 48,000 ended up in the hospital, 400-500 died.
There is NO scientific evidence that measles vaccines lead to autism, cancer, or heart disease.
The Texas measles outbreak is now over! Unfortunately, many other smaller outbreaks are occurring all over the U.S.: there are an average of 27 new cases reported each week since the end of August. At this time, there have been more than 1,600 cases since the beginning of the year. This is the highest number (by a lot!) since measles was declared eradicated 25 years ago. Also, there are 30-times more measles cases compared to 2024.
Right now, there is an outbreak along the border between Utah and Arizona that is the third largest for 2025. More than 100 people have fallen sick from measles here. As in the Texas outbreak, the affected communities had a large number of people who had not been vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.
There is a new anti-viral medication against measles in development. It has the catchy name of "NV-387." It is currently available for emergency use only.

OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:

JAMA Network Open: a recent article found that older adults who tried acupuncture for their chronic low back pain found significant relief.
A recent study (JAMA Psychiatry) found that people who drink soft drinks are more likely to develop depression. It is thought that the soft drinks lead to changes in your gut bacteria (microbiome) that bring on depressive symptoms. Women seem to be more affected than men.
Good news: as you may remember, during the pandemic, life expectancy had (understandably) dropped in the U.S. However, starting in 2023, life expectancy is back to pre-pandemic levels. Currently, the average life expectancy for women is 76.3 years, and for men, it's 71.5 years.
We all know that prunes and prune juice can help treat and prevent constipation. Well, new dietary guidelines also note that kiwi, rye bread, and high-mineral waters can help with chronic constipation. (Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Neurogastroenterology &Motility)
A study published in British Journal of Sports Medicine found that taking at least 4000 steps once or twice a week was associated with a 26% lower risk of death in women 62 or older. And for older women who took over 4000 daily steps 3 times per week, mortality went down by 40%! Along similar lines, an article published in Nature Medicine found that people with early Alzheimer's can slow their cognitive decline by 3 years by walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day...and by 7 years by walking 5,000 to 7,500 steps daily!

About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times

I had a great October! In the middle of the month, I went to a medical conference on the East Coast...and took the opportunity of visiting my son in Maine while I was on that side of the continent. It was so good to see him and the weather was fabulous! It turns out that I was there at the perfect time for "leaf peeping," the activity of taking in the beautiful change of color brought on by autumn. On, yeah, and the conference was interesting also :)!

Halloween was fun. As I may have mentioned in the past, we are in a neighborhood street that gets lots of trick-or-treaters. I counted, and this year we got 432! So fun to see all of the costumes! And I really enjoy dressing up myself...

Update on Infectious Disease Threats: What You Need to Know

Information about various infectious diseases is constantly evolving. I am hoping to summarize some of that in these newsletters. New information will be in BOLD.

GENERAL:

COVID-19

General Information

**Children who were infected with the COVID-19 virus on two occasions were also twice as likely to develop Long Covid (Lancet).**

A study looking at a total of 1.2 million women found that COVID vaccination during pregnancy helped protect both the mother and the child without any increased risk to either. Rates of stillbirth and preterm birth decreased (Study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics).

Fingers crossed, but the wastewater levels of the COVID virus (SARS-Cov-2) are decreasing both nationwide and in California!

**Meanwhile, an article in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that babies born of mothers who had COVID-19 during the pregnancy, were MORE likely tot develop autism down the road.**

Other Infectious Diseases:

FLU:

We often look to Australia, whose flu season is just now ending, as a predictor of how bad our season will be. Unfortunately, Australia had a severe flu season in 2025. Luckily, the vaccine seemed to be a good match for the circulating virus.

We do have the flu shot in our office, so you are welcome to stop by and get a shot.

Japan has had an early influenza season this year and has just announced that they are in the middle of a nationwide flu epidemic.

We do not have any accurate numbers for the number of flu cases in the U.S.: the CDC is not reporting anything in the setting of the budget impasse.

Sutter is noting 40-60 cases of influenza every week at this time.

Looking at the southern hemisphere, that is just finishing up its annual flu season, experts found that vaccination reduced the likelihood of coming to medical attention due to influenza by 50%.

President Trump's physician reported that the president also received a flu and Covid booster in early October of this year.

**Yet another article (Journal of the American Heart Association) found that flu (and COVID-19) infections increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes by 500-600%.**

RSV:

There has been a marked recent increase in babies and children hospitalized for RSV.

BIRD FLU:

NOROVIRUS:

We have discussed norovirus in the past: it leads to severe nausea/ vomiting and diarrhea and is often seen on cruise ships.

Luckily, scientists are developing a norovirus vaccine, so hopefully we can cruise with more comfort in the future!

MEASLES:

Measles was thought to have been eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Unfortunately, vaccination rates have since fallen, leaving communities very vulnerable to the highly infectious disease. Last year, there were 285 cases of measles reported in the U.S.

Before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, 3 to 4 million people in the U.S. were infected with measles each year, 48,000 ended up in the hospital, 400-500 died.

There is NO scientific evidence that measles vaccines lead to autism, cancer, or heart disease.

There is a new anti-viral medication against measles in development. It has the catchy name of "NV-387." It is currently available for emergency use only.

OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:

***JAMA Network Open: a recent article found that older adults who tried acupuncture for their chronic low back pain found significant relief.***

A recent study (JAMA Psychiatry) found that people who drink soft drinks are more likely to develop depression. It is thought that the soft drinks lead to changes in your gut bacteria (microbiome) that bring on depressive symptoms. Women seem to be more affected than men.

Good news: as you may remember, during the pandemic, life expectancy had (understandably) dropped in the U.S. However, starting in 2023, life expectancy is back to pre-pandemic levels. Currently, the average life expectancy for women is 76.3 years, and for men, it's 71.5 years.

We all know that prunes and prune juice can help treat and prevent constipation. Well, new dietary guidelines also note that kiwi, rye bread, and high-mineral waters can help with chronic constipation. (Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Neurogastroenterology &Motility)

About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times

Halloween was fun. As I may have mentioned in the past, we are in a neighborhood street that gets lots of trick-or-treaters. I counted, and this year we got 432! So fun to see all of the costumes! And I really enjoy dressing up myself...

That's all I've got for today!