The vast majority of the world doesn’t currently worry about polio. With outbreaks of measles, hepatitis A and Ebola, most countries don’t need to worry about polio.
But, over 60 years after the vaccine was created, three countries still struggle with the disease. Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the last three countries in the world where polio is still an active threat.
And after years of trying to end the disease in Nigeria, that list could soon get shorter.
The CDC has now issued a health alert amidst the ongoing hepatitis A outbreaks. The outbreaks have already caused more than 25,000 reported cases of illness in the United States since 2016.
Regions on the east coast have been particularly affected with the largest number of cases currently taking place in Kentucky, Ohio and Florida:
For many around the world, plans to stop malaria may seem like a roller coaster.
Hopes build as possible vaccines or methods to fight off mosquitoes progress. But, that optimism is often ruined quickly with news that the disease is still killing millions with no solution planned.
The serious and often fatal disease continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous. Citizens in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in particular are still rather helpless against the mosquito-borne disease. While the illness is active in more than 100 countries, it’s these regions at the highest risk of malaria. That leaves almost half of the world’s population living in an area at risk of the disease. In 2017, that translated into an estimated 219 million cases and 435,000 deaths.
With these numbers in mind, why are we not on track to eradicate this disease sometime soon?
In 2018 a large outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) spread across the United States, with a reported 233 cases over the span of 41 states. Going into this year, doctors are looking for answers that we don’t have yet to help prevent AFM.
The cases of AFM peaked in the U.S. in September and October, coinciding with the flu season. As the flu season once again approaches, the CDC hopes to have more help in detecting and collecting samples of AFM. A more prepared and active approach may help us fully understand what causes AFM and what exactly it is.
Doctors first started surveilling AFM back in 2014, but 2018 held the largest outbreak of it yet. Within the last five years, there has been one reported death, with a potential case of two earlier this year (the CDC is still currently looking into this case).
We’ve already seen some steps in using nanotechnology for medicine. And after the flu, it appears the technology may also help us prevent hepatitis B.
A new study out of the Butantan Institute shows promising advances in the use of nanotechnology to help deliver the hepatitis B vaccine.
Many annual traditions are rightfully loved, but there are a few to dread every year.
Much like tax day, flu season remains one of those traditions that’s disliked by almost everyone. That’s because each year two main types of the influenza virus – types A and B – spread around the world. All it takes is droplets from a cough, sneeze or even speaking to spread the virus from person to person.
While the flu can cause various symptoms from a cough and sore throat to fatigue and body aches, it can be much worse. The flu can range from a mild illness to severe, especially in those who are at a higher risk for flu complications.
A common saying is that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
This applies to vaccines in the sense that it’s better to prevent a disease than to treat one, especially since many deadly diseases don’t have cures.
Vaccines are something that, while we have scientific proof of their importance and success, can be an overwhelming topic for new parents. According to the CDC, “newborn babies are immune to many diseases because they have antibodies they got from their mothers. However, this immunity goes away during the first year of life.”
In Quebec, doctors are utilizing a new approach to help sway these parents who are hesitant in getting their infants vaccinated.
A promising step in developing an HIV vaccine will start later this year as the pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson starts testing a vaccine for the virus on human subjects.
Doctors, experts and millions of others around the world have looked for some help against this virus for decades. According to the CDC, almost 1 million people die due to AIDS every year. With new hope for the long-awaited vaccine, that number could drastically change.
Foreign travelers have likely noticed that many countries require yellow fever vaccinations. They might also need proof that a person was vaccinated. Whether that’s a card or certificate, those countries won’t let you enter without the vaccine.
But, what makes this one immunization so important?
For many countries, vaccinated visitors might mean the difference between a manageable virus and full-blown epidemics.
The CDC recently issued a travel alert for Yemen due to the country’s extensive cholera outbreak. The ongoing epidemic is already considered the worst recorded event of its kind in history – and it’s not over yet. Almost 20,000 suspected cases of the illness occurred recently in just one July week.
Overall, the epidemic has affected a considerable amount of the country: 22 out of 23 governorates and 301 out of 333 districts. From the start of the outbreak in October 2016 to June 2019, over 1.8 million potential cholera cases and 3,500 deaths have been reported.
More than 460,000 suspected cholera cases have occurred in Yemen in 2019 alone. There were 19,459 possible cases and 11 associated deaths during the one-week period between the 15th and the 21st of July.
