Latest news with #Children'sHealth
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Deaths of at least 2 children in US believed to be hot-car related in 2025. Summer hasn't even started yet
WASHINGTON – As temperatures rise and summer approaches, advocacy groups are sounding the alarm about an annual and deadly danger: children left alone in hot cars. Already in 2025, authorities in at least two jurisdictions are investigating whether extreme temperatures played a role in the deaths of children who were left alone for hours in vehicles. According to data from 39 children died from heat-related issues in 2024 - an increase of 35% from the previous year. While the number is lower than the record-setting years of 2018 and 2019, which saw 53 deaths each, the trend remains concerning. According to the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety, a child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's, making young children particularly vulnerable to heatstroke. Even on days that don't feel especially hot, temperatures inside a closed vehicle can soar to deadly levels in a matter of minutes. For example, on a day when the outside temperature is just 70 degrees, the interior of a vehicle can reach 100 degrees in about 20 minutes. According to experts, a vehicle's interior can heat up by around 40 degrees in an hour if there is no air circulation. Minutes Matter: What You Should Do If You See A Child Locked In A Hot Car Heat illnesses happen when the body generates more heat than it can release. A core body temperature of 104 degrees or higher, combined with the absence of sweating, are telltale signs of heatstroke, according to Children's Health. Since 1990, heat-related incidents involving vehicles have claimed the lives of more than 1,125 children, prompting renewed calls for action to stop what advocates say are entirely preventable tragedies. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation, families from across the country urged federal authorities to mandate the use of occupant detection technology in all new vehicles. "After more than two decades of public education, children are still dying at alarming and record-breaking rates," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids and Car Safety. "We know what works. Technology can—and must—be an essential part of the solution." Significant Heat Wave Expected Across Texas Could Break All-time May Records Occupant detection systems utilize a range of technologies, including motion sensors, lidar and carbon dioxide monitoring, to detect the presence of a human or pet in the vehicle after it has been turned off. If a living being is detected, the system alerts the driver or notifies emergency services through a series of safety features. Advocates emphasize that many modern vehicles already come equipped with alert systems for tire pressure, oil changes, seat belts and other monitoring functions, so including technology to detect a child or pet is likely not an excessively complex addition. How To Watch Fox Weather According to most hot car deaths occur when a caregiver forgets a child inside, with only a small number of cases involving intentional acts. If you encounter a child or adult suffering from a heat-related illness, you are urged to call 911 immediately. While waiting for emergency services, move the person into a shaded area or indoors to help stabilize their article source: Deaths of at least 2 children in US believed to be hot-car related in 2025. Summer hasn't even started yet
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill establishing pediatric cancer grant gives hope to families
Clint and Amber Nelson pose with a photo of their son Chandler, who died almost three years ago from a rare pediatric cancer. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) In the nearly three years since Chandler Nelson died from a rare form of pediatric cancer, his parents haven't forgotten the promise they made to their son to keep fighting and seeking a cure. 'After a while, Riley (Children's Health) said they didn't have anything left. There was absolutely nothing. They called five different states and they all said the same thing,' said his mother, Amber Nelson. 'That day, he bawled and he looked me straight in the face and he said, 'Mommy … never stop fighting. Don't give up.' ''I will never,'' Amber Nelson recalled promising at the time. ''You know our family. We will never give up.'' Though Chandler was 20 at the time of his death, rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer that most often occurs in children under the age of 10, according to the Mayo Clinic. Chandler's symptoms first appeared in February 2020 when he was already 18 and studying to be a chef. Keeping their vow, Amber and Clint Nelson were part of a group of parents who appeared at the Statehouse on Wednesday who urged lawmakers to adopt House Bill 1453. Under the proposal, the Indiana Department of Health would oversee a pediatric cancer research and treatment grant funded by private donations. Though the state isn't putting forth any funding, the Nelsons shared that having one centralized fund would better focus efforts on children like their son. Larger pools of cancer research funding tend to focus on strains that affect more people, but pediatric cancer impacts far smaller numbers. Experts said that while the Food and Drug Administration approved a dozen new drugs annually for adult cancer treatments, just 11 have been approved for children in the last 50 years. This means that children have to rely on adult drugs for treatment, even though they might be less effective. 'Children are receiving hand-me-down drugs,' said Lewis Stancato. 'Why does this happen? Frankly, there's no money to be made in pediatric cancer drug development.' Stancato is a vice president with the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, focusing specifically on developing drugs to treat rare pediatric diseases. He also said recent funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health could have a 'drastic (and) negative effect on pediatric cancer research.' The Senate health committee unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday, which must also get the greenlight from the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Nelsons, part of Elevate Childhood Cancer Research and Advocacy, point to a centralized fund as a way to bring several grassroots efforts together. Those dollars can then go to researchers like Stancato or universities to coordinate their work. 'We need a spot for pediatric cancer. It doesn't need to be mixed (with adult research). They have to have their own,' said Amber Nelson. 'And if they need money, then they have to be able to work with other people. So (Indiana University), Purdue (University, (the University of) Notre Dame, all of them … have to be able to work together,' added Clint Nelson. 'You've got to start somewhere,' he concluded. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Infectious disease doctor answers your top measles' questions
Many people have questions about measles with more than 120 cases in Texas and New Mexico and after the death of a school-aged child in West Texas. Wednesday afternoon, Rockwall County confirmed the first case of measles in an adult. Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, the chief of infectious diseases at Children's Health in Dallas believes the reason for the cases is the low vaccination rate. Kahn said about 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated against measles to avoid an outbreak, and the vaccination rates in the affected areas range between 20% to 50%. CBS News Texas asked the doctor about the top measles questions on Google. Are measles deadly? "I think the fact that we have one death already in just 124 cases really points to the fact that these types of serious illnesses and even deaths occur in measles outbreaks," said Kahn. "We've got to make this is a priority, not to take this lightly, even though most of the children who get measles will eventually recover." How is measles spread? "Measles spreads by contact with somebody who has measles, and the measles is spread through respiratory secretions or droplets. It is the most contagious infection or virus that we know of. If you put 100 people in a room who are not immune to measles, and one person enters that room, at least 90% of those people are going to get infected with measles," Kahn said. What are the symptoms of measles besides a rash? "When a person has measles, they have a cough, a runny nose, upper respiratory tract symptoms, some maybe some red eyes and fever," Kahn said. How widespread could measles become in North Texas? "We don't know how widespread this is going to be, and hopefully public health interventions, mass vaccinations, and case tracking will help us control this current outbreak. I would not be surprised if we start seeing cases throughout the state of Texas and beyond," Kahn said. Kahn urges parents to get their children vaccinated against measles, which typically starts at 12 to 15 months, with a second dose between four and six years of age.
National Geographic
26-02-2025
- Health
- National Geographic
Why this is the worst flu season in 15 years
This flu season has also been "highly unpredictable," Nagata explains, with multiple waves of flu infections and both H1N1 and H3N2 strains circulating at the same time. The virus normally only sees one peak per season and has a strong predominance of one strain over another, so multiple peaks and two strains sharing the same stage is unusual. One preliminary report indicates that such unpredictability may have made this year's flu shots a poorer match with the virus than in previous years—but there isn't enough data yet to know if that's actually the case, explains Jason Newland, chief of infectious diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio. "We do know that even in mismatched years or where the effectiveness isn't as good, we still get some protection against severe disease," he says. Likely the biggest contributing factor behind this year's abnormally high number of flu cases is that many people aren't getting the vaccine at all. "Flu vaccination rates have declined, which is a major cause of the surge," says Elizabeth Mack, a physician and the head of the pediatric critical care unit at the Medical University of South Carolina's Children's Health. (How the additives in your vaccines rev up your immune system.) Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that as of February 1, 146.5 million doses of the vaccine were given in the country, while data from the same week last year shows 156.9 million people received the shot—a 7 percent decline. 'Flu vaccination rates are at their lowest level in years, with fewer than half of Americans currently immunized," says Nagata.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Flu cases on the rise in North Texas
The Brief Flu numbers are increasing rapidly in North Texas. Hospitalizations connected to the flu are spiking across the state and country. FOX 4 spoke to a family whose 7-year-old son was hospitalized with influenza. DENTON, Texas - The flu is hitting North Texas hard this season. Children's Health is seeing double the number of cases compared with peak flu numbers in the previous two years. Both Children's Health and Cook's Children's say they are seeing far more children hospitalized with the flu compared to the last few years. By the numbers Data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services show that influenza numbers have climbed each week. Children's Health saw 331 total cases the first week of January. That number more than tripled by the end of January with 1,101 cases. READ MORE: Flu season doctor visits are at highest level in 15 years The CDC estimates across the US, that at least 24 million flu illnesses have occurred so far this season, leading to 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths, including 57 children. Flu activity remains high or very high in 43 states, with the South, Southwest, and western regions reporting the most severe outbreaks. Local perspective James Menard, an otherwise healthy 7-year-old who had gotten a flu shot, started feeling bad after school last week. "He played all afternoon, this was last Tuesday, went to bed like normal. Then he woke us up in the middle of the night. He was really struggling to breathe. You could see him sucking in around the collar bone and throat area," said Steve Menard, James' dad. Menard says he was thankful he followed his instincts and took his son to the hospital. "Like most parents, I was trying to decide, do I want to have a middle of the night ER visit, is he going to get better? He was struggling so much we decided to bring him to the emergency room, and it was a good thing we did," he said. James needed to be transferred from Denton to Children's Health Plano. "His blood oxygen was down in the low 80s, which is a dangerous range for kids to be in. He was still really struggling to breathe. His body was actually kind of convulsing as he tried to breathe," Menard recalled. "The doctors reassured me when I brought him in, that it was very critical that I did that." James was diagnosed with Type-A flu combined with a cold virus. "It was horrible. It was horrifying being in an ambulance," James said. Fortunately, the 7-year-old has made a full recovery, outside of a lingering cough. Dig deeper Flu vaccination rates remain stagnant among adults and lower than usual for children. According to the CDC: 44% of U.S. adults have received a flu shot, the same rate as last winter. 45% of children have been vaccinated, down from the typical 50%. The dominant flu strains this season are Type A H1N1 and Type A H3N2, which have been linked to severe flu seasons in the past. Health officials are also closely monitoring H5N1, a bird flu strain that has affected millions of animals but has infected only 67 people in the U.S. What you can do Health officials recommend taking basic precautions to reduce the risk of flu and other seasonal illnesses, including: Washing hands frequently with soap and water. Avoiding touching your face, especially the eyes, nose, and mouth. Cleaning frequently touched surfaces. Staying home if sick to prevent spreading the virus. The Source Information in this article comes from Cook Children's, Children's Health, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and an interview with the Menard family.
