Updates on New Infectious Disease Threats: What You Need to Know
Information about COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases is constantly evolving. I am hoping to summarize some of that in these newsletters. New information will be in
BOLD.
COVID-19
General Information
A new study found that COVID transmission at child care centers was quite low, between 2-3%. At the same time, the likelihood of getting infected if someone in your household has COVID-19 is 50-67% (JAMA Network Open).
Vaccination of pregnant women helps protect their newborns from COVID-19 for up to 6 months (JAMA Network Open). In addition, vaccination of the pregnant mothers also prevents the premature birth of the fetus (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
The "tripledemic" has arrived: this is the name for the confluence of the flu season with a rise in COVID-19 infections and the RSV disease spike. Influenza counts are rising. RSV is mostly still infecting kids under the age of 6, but we are seeing more of this disease in older patients now also.
COVID-19 subvariant JN.1 now accounts for 39% to 50% of cases in the U.S. and is now the most widely circulating variant in the country.
LONG COVID:
An article (JAMA) found that people infected with SARS-Cov-2 had lower levels of serotonin (a chemical produced by our bodies that is important in functions like learning, memory, and mood). It seems that residual SARS-Cov-2 virus in the gut can keep the serotonin precursor chemicals from getting absorbed.
As many of you know, some people who suffer from Long Covid have lost their sense of taste or smell. A recent study (JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery) found that these senses DID improve over time, however. After 3 years, the likelihood of having lost taste or smell was the same in people who had had COVID-19 and those that did not.
Incidence/ Prevalence:
Sadly, the number of people ending up in the emergency room and hospitalized with COVID-19 is once again rising. The applies to the Bay Area as well as the country as a whole.
In the U.S., during the week of December 23, 29,000 people were admitted to hospital for COVID-19, 15,000 were admitted for influenza, and thousands more with RSV - this is an increase of 17% compared to the prior week.
Treatment
A new, investigational vaccine that works against COVID-19 as well as the flu has been found (in early testing) to be as effective as getting the two vaccines individually. Such a vaccine, once approved, would not be available until the 2024/2025 flu season (JAMA).
Testing
An at-home COVID-19 test made by Acon laboratories has now been cleared by the FDA. This test had been available previously though emergency-use authorization since 2021, but now has the official blessing of the FDA. The test could correctly identify 89.8% of the people who had COVID-19. Of those that were not infected with the virus, the test gave a correct result 99.3% of the time.
The U.S. government is offering another round of free COVID tests. You can order them by going to the website "COVIDTests.gov."
Other Infectious Diseases:
RSV:
RSV is a virus that causes lung diseases in young children and older adults. Most older adults who get seriously ill with RSV live in senior living communities or have multiple other medical problems.
We are starting to see RSV infection more now in older people (older than 60), while it was predominantly seen in young kids previously. Older people with a history of heart failure or chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) are particularly vulnerable.
A study done in Sweden (JAMA Pediatrics) found that hospital admission rates for kids with RSV was much higher than for COVID-19 (during the dates of August, 2021 to September, 2022).
INFLUENZA:
Astra Zenica has submitted a new nasal flu vaccine to the FDA for review. If approved, this vaccine would be the first flu vaccine that would be self-administered (without a doctor or nurse present). If approved, this vaccine would be available NEXT flu season, 2024/2025.
A recent study (Clinical Infectious Diseases) found that taking the RSV and the flu shots together was safe and just as effective as taking them separately.
As noted above, the number of people with influenza in the United States is rising.
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:
Consumption of ultra-processed foods leads to an increased risk of developing cancer of the upper digestive tract (mouth, esophageal, throat) (European Journal of Nutrition).
Also, adding salt to your food is associated with a 4-11% higher risk of developing kidney disease (Jama Network Open).
According to a new study, if you are a senior living alone, consider getting a pet! If you live alone but have a dog or a cat (I guess fish or hamsters don't count!), you are less likely to develop memory loss (JAMA Network Open).
About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times
Happy New Year! I look forward to trying new things in 2024. I know some new habits may not stick, but there is no harm on trying anyway. In general, I think New Year's resolutions are best if you frame them in a positive light. For instance, don't say, "I will lose weight." Rather, say, "I will eat more vegetables and fewer carbs." Also, I like having many, many resolutions and most of them have to be fun. So you might plan on entertaining more, or taking up a hobby you have always wanted to try out, or taking more time for yourself....The world is your oyster!
My family had a lovely holiday season. My older son was not able to get away from work and had to stay in Ghana. However, my younger son was here and it was soooo nice. As you may recall, he spent the last semester in Iceland. So, in his honor, we made sure we had a sheep ornament on the Christmas tree!
Then, in the week between Christmas and New Year's, we went to Utah (Snow Basin) for skiing. The snow was fine (and nothing more!) but it was great to get a change in scenery and catch up on my knitting....pictures of my accomplishments there in future newsletters!