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
COVID cases are risking again, due to a new strain "NB.1.8.1." It is also affectionately known as "Nimbus." Hospitalizations are going up also, as we have seen in parts of Asia in particular. And it seems that this particular variant is quite contagious also, though luckily no more dangerous than previous strains.
This new variant has also gathered the moniker "razor blade throat," which does not sound good!
The current vaccines should work as well against the current variants as they did against the previous ones.
Luckily, national hospitalizations for COVID-19 are at the lowest level since the pandemic started. Nonetheless, hospitalizations are rising again and California wastewater levels are going up also.
Also, we are seeing more COVID-19 in the Sutter system.
Utah, Texas, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii have the highest amount of virus in their wastewater, and so are considered to be at highest risk.
I recommend you get another booster for the COVID now as I have seen lots of my patients fall sick with COVID-19 in recent weeks.
The updated COVID-19 vaccines from 2023/ 24 were able to effectively prevent COVID-19: getting a shot led to a 24% lower risk of going to the emergency department, a 29% lower risk of being hospitalized, and a 48% lower risk of ending up in the ICU! This protection lasted up to 300 days after vaccination, though you were most protected in the first 2 months after vaccination. (JAMA Network Open).
Scientists have found a new medication to treat the post-Covid multisystem inflammatory disease of children (MIS-C). The medication, larazotide, led to a 90% improvement of GI symptoms and many more kids who received the drug were able to resume their usual activities within 3 weeks. (Science Translational Medicine)
A new study (JAMA Health Forum) estimated that, worldwide, the COVID-19 vaccination saved 2.5 MILLIONS of lives, especially in older adults.
COVID-19 infection is associated with an accelerated aging of arteries, raising the concern that- even when patients recover- people will be more likely to have heart attacks and strokes (European Heart Journal).
Other Infectious Diseases:
Norovirus:
Norovirus is an extremely contagious virus that causes severe diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
Alcohol hand sanitizer does NOT kill the norovirus....but good old-fashioned soap and water does!
Since January 1, 2025, 16 cruise ship outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses have been reported and at least 12 of these were due to norovirus. In all of 2024, there were 18 outbreaks (15 with norovirus).
FLU:
A study from JAMA found that in the last two years, there were 41 cases of severe brain disease (acute necrotizing encephalopathy) in children with influenza. Most of these occurred in previously healthy kids and 11 kids died. All but one of the kids had NOT been vaccinated.
MEASLES:
Measles is a highly contagious disease. Every person sick with measles can transmit the virus to 12-16 unvaccinated people. Just standing next to someone with measles (as in an international airport) can be enough to get you sick.
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.
Complications associated with measles include pneumonia, brain infections, vulnerability to future infections of multiple kinds, hearing loss, and pregnancy complications.
The death rates associated with measles is usually 2 per 1000.
Currently, the measles outbreak in Texas is officially over! There have not been any new cases in the last 42 days! The final count of people who fell sick was 762 (about 100 people ended up in the hospital). Unfortunately, the outbreak is ongoing in New Mexico, where new cases are still popping up. At this time, there are 1,333 people who are known to be infected nationwide. 13% of people with known measles have been hospitalized. Children less than 5 with measles have a hospitalization rate of 23%. Three people (including 2 otherwise healthy children) have died. 92% of the cases were in people who were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. 3% were fully vaccinated. Most cases are in children aged 5 to 17. Cases in the U.S. are more than 4.5 times higher than in all of 2024.
Meanwhile, Canada also has a very large outbreak of measles: there, over 4,000 cases have been reported.
On August 15, the Pan American Health Organization also reported an increase of measles in the Americas. 10,139 cases and 18 deaths have been confirmed among 10 countries; this is 34-times as many cases as one year ago.
There is NO scientific evidence that measles vaccines lead to autism, cancer, or heart disease.
Diseases Transmitted By Mosquitoes
We are seeing a significant increase of mosquito-related infections in recent years, a likely consequence of global warming and the associated increase in areas in which mosquitoes live and breed. Also: some details: The Aedes mosquito bites you during the daytime. It transmits a number of diseases, including dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Scientists are concerned that this mosquito may soon become endemic in the United States.
Here are some of the diseases of which you should be aware:
- Chikungunya fever: 3 to 7 days after being bitten and infected by the mosquito, you develop fever with shaking chills, headache, muscle pain, and severe joint pain with swelling and a rash that covers much of your body. Symptoms improve within 5 to 14 days, but can last for months. Some people go on to have chronic inflammatory arthritis.
- West Nile Virus (WNV): we typically see this in California from June 1 to November 1. So far, there have been 14 cases in California this year. This can lead to brain inflammation.
- I think this is enough information on mosquito-borne diseases for one newsletter....kinda scary and depressing!
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:
It seems that a diet rich in eggs (especially egg yolk!) may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's Disease! After studying over 1,000 U.S. adults, researchers found that those who consumed at least one egg per week had a 47% reduced risk of the disease. The benefit may be linked to the egg yolk nutrient "choline," that helps support memory and brain function (The Journal of Nutrition).
There are some interesting (albeit possibly misleading!) articles in Nature Medicine and other journals that suggested that getting the RSV vaccine and also the shingles vaccine could LOWER your risk of developing dementia. The theory is that some of the "adjuvant" ingredients in these vaccines, which help strengthen the immunity to RSV or shingles, may also help protect you from dementia. Although this data is very interesting and deserves further study, there are problems with it as well and it seems premature to draw a causal relationship between these vaccines and dementia. Sorry!
Unfortunately, there is bad news for the mRNA vaccines that were so critical in preventing deaths at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic: HHS has halted $500 million in vaccine development projects that all use mRNA technology. The vaccine projects being halted included COVID-19 and bird flu (H5N1).
About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times
My family spent a week in Ashland Oregon in July: rather than rushing around and trying to see as much as possible in little time (I will admit to this being our usual modus operandi), we just stayed in an Air BNB and took hikes, got a massage, and watched plays. It was perfect. I had forgotten how much fun it is to sleep in and eat out. Heaven!
Last weekend, I spent the weekend in Sonoma with some old friends from my medical school days. All women; all in a similar time in our lives. It was great hanging out and comparing how each of us are dealing with life's challenges and supporting each other. The location was beautiful and the company even better. I hope all of you have such friends that can help you "fill up your tank" every so often!