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
The CDC has recommended that all Americans aged 65 and older should receive an additional dose of the latest COVID vaccine this spring. This recommendations is based on past COVID-19 experience, where there is both a winter and summer surge of disease. However people aged 65 and older should wait at least four months for getting an additional COVID-19 vaccine from the time of prior vaccination.
A recent study (Heart) found that getting a COVID vaccine significantly reduced your risk of heart failure (by 55%) and blood clots (by 78%) for people subsequently infected by the COVID virus.
A new study (MMWR) again showed that getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine reduced hospitalization in those people who have a weakened immune system.
A recent study (in the journal Thyroid) found that Covid-19 infection led to thyroid problems - both overactive and underactive thyroid disease - for at least 12 months after the infection.
LONG COVID:
Research is ongoing on the chemical changes that have occurred in people with Long COVID: proteins in the blood that are part of the "complement system," (which is part of the way the body's immune system works) remain abnormally elevated. It is as if the body is still working under the assumption that the virus is present and needs to be eradicated, although the infection is long gone (Science).
Incidence/ Prevalence:
Hospitalizations and emergency room visits are significantly lower than they were one year ago. This is likely due to immunity we have aquired through vaccinations and past infections.
Treatment
A recent study published in the journal JAMA Network Open showed that the rebound rate of people suffering from mild to moderate COVID-19 who had taken Paxlovid was approximately 25%. What do we take from this data? Well, perhaps if you have a mild case of COVID-19, and are concerned that the disease will be of longer duration than desirable, you should forego Paxlovid and the possible associated rebound. Of course, if you have severe COVID-19, Paxlovid is an excellent option.
There is a new FDA authorized antibody (PEMGARDA) that is now available to help prevent COVID-19 in immunocompromised people. At this time, this antibody treatment is available only to those who need it most, those who have had a bone marrow transplant or other organ transplant, as well as certain blood cancer patients.
Testing
Other Infectious Diseases:
RSV:
The RSV season seems to be over for this year/ season!
Pfizer has announced that its RSV vaccine should be active and effective for two years at least!
An interesting article published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that over 20% of older adults who were hospitalized with RSV had a heart attack. This is not entirely surprising, as we know that other viruses, such as influenza, are also associated with an increased risk of heart disease. This is one more reason to consider getting vaccinated for RSV, if you are older than 60.
INFLUENZA:
The latest strain of influenza that is causing concern is the bird flu (H5N1). Other than birds, this virus has also been found in livestock. It is a pretty aggressive virus and can cause severe disease. Luckily, it seems that it is very difficult to catch the bird flu if you are a human being. Although a small number of humans have also become infected, people can catch the virus only from close contact with infected cows, not from other humans.
The current influenza medications seem to work against the H5N1 strain.
MEASLES:
Measles was eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but now is seeing a resurgence. Since the beginning of 2024, over 121 cases of measles have been reported. In all of 2023, there were only 58 cases.
The largest outbreak of measles is in Chicago; there have been 6 cases in California.
50% of the people found to have measles needed hospitalization.
Most of the current measles cases have been found in children who have not been previously vaccinated.
Also, there have been many cases of measles found in unvaccinated Americans, who got infected in the Middle East and Africa and brought the disease back to the United States.
Many people do not recognize the very real risks associated with measles:
-- 20% of unvaccinated people who get measles end up hospitalized. Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable.
-- 1 in 1000 children with measles develop severe brain inflammation. Even if a child survives this severe complication, they may be left with significant intellectual disabilities, hearing loss, or blindness thereafter.
Measles during pregnancy can lead to miscarriages or fetal death.
Adults living in the U.S. (and born after 1957) are recommended to get one measles booster. You can get the booster at most pharmacies (no doctor's prescription required!)
If you do get a measles shot at the pharmacy, please call the office or send me an email to let me know, so I can add that to your chart!
TUBERCULOSIS
Another infectious disease, that is on the rise, is tuberculosis. The number of cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 2023 was the highest in the last decade, according to a new government study. Overall, there were more than 2,600 cases reported, which represents a 16% increase in incidence from 2022.
M-POX:
MPOX is the infectious disease we talked about several years ago. There were more than 32,000 cases nationally in 2022, but the incidence had decreased since. Unfortunately, mpox seems to be rising again. In 2024 we have almost twice as many infections as we did a year ago. This disease is transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact. We see it mostly in people with multiple sexual partners. The disease occurs most commonly in people with compromised immune systems, such as HIV infection.
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications identifies three modifiable risk factors that are most associated with an increased risk of dementia. These risk factors are diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol consumption.
About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times
As many of you know, I broke my right hand about 6 weeks ago. The good news is that I no longer have a cast and I have little pain. Unfortunately, the hand is now very stiff and weak from having been in a cast for over a month, so I am still not able to lift heavy objects, write well, or do much cooking (or knitting!!). But, all of this is temporary and I will make a full recovery in time....Sadly, I am not always the most patient of patients!
I have included a picture I took recently at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown in San Francisco. That was fun!
Otherwise, I'm enjoying the lovely weather we have had in recent past and only hope that it continues.
