Latest news with #HepA
The Irish Sun
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Warning as popular stag do hotspot hit by potentially fatal ‘yellowing disease' that's ‘spreading fast' infecting 450
BRITS jetting off to a popular stag and hen hotspot have been urged to get jabbed amid a fast-spreading outbreak of 'dirty hands disease'. Hundreds have fallen ill as 2 Prague has seen a surge in hep A cases Credit: Getty 2 The disease can leave your skin and the whites of your eyes yellow Credit: Getty The potentially deadly virus is spread via the poo of infected people, which is why Czech health chiefs have nicknamed it 'dirty hands disease'. The virus inflames the liver, stopping it from working properly. This means it can't clear a substance called bilirubin from the body. When bilirubin builds up, it causes It can also lead to dark urine and cause itchy skin. Read more on hep a But in some cases, people show no symptoms at all - making it even easier for the virus to spread unnoticed among crowds. As of May 5, the Czech Republic has recorded 450 confirmed cases of hepatitis A (Hep A), with six deaths reported. That's a sharp rise compared to all of 2024, which saw 636 cases and two fatalities. The hardest-hit areas so far are Central Bohemia (87 cases), Moravia-Silesia (83), and Prague (73). Most read in Health The disease is mostly spreading among young adults and the homeless who have not been vaccinated. "They are therefore more likely to become infected when in contact with an infected person or objects," Dr Barbora Macková, chief hygienist and director of the SZÚ said in a statement. Leading consultant hepatologist, Dr Patrick Kennedy explains the different types, and the complications of hepatitis "Increasing non-compliance with prescribed anti-epidemic measures and basic hygiene habits, the infection has very good conditions for "spreading", she added in the release shared on the UK's Travel Health Pros website. Brits — and anyone planning to visit the Czech Republic — are being urged to check their vaccine records and get jabbed before travelling. "In the current epidemiological situation, we recommend getting vaccinated before the start of holidays and vacations, "Dr Barbora added. Hep A vaccines are not routinely given out in the UK due to the low risk of getting the infection. But the NHS does advise the jab for travellers heading to places where the virus is more common. These include parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America. What are the symptoms of Hepatitis A? Symptoms can include: feeling tired and generally unwell joint and muscle pain a high temperature (fever) loss of appetite feeling or being sick pain in the upper-right part of your tummy yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice) dark urine and pale stools itchy skin Source: You should also get vaccinated if you've recently been close to someone with hepatitis A. If you have long-term liver disease or a blood clotting disorder like Men who have sex with men and people with jobs that expose them to the virus - like healthcare or sewage workers - should also be vaccinated. Speak to your GP if you think you need a hepatitis A vaccine.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nashville joins three local governments in suing federal government over public health cuts
Metro Public Health staff member Molly Shine preps a vaccine while sisters Maya and Sara Gana wait at a Nashville mobile vaccine clinic in 2021. (Photo: John Partipilo/John Partipilo) The city of Nashville has sued the federal government over the abrupt halt of federal public health grants to vaccinate children, test for infectious disease, operate community clinics and conduct outreach to unhoused individuals. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Washington, D.C. federal court, alleges the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) illegally terminated $11.4 billion in federal public health funding across the nation last month. The lawsuit claims the action usurped the authority of Congress, which appropriated the funding during the COVID era for current and future pandemic preparedness. The grants to Nashville and other local governments were terminated 'for cause,' a term that applies to wrongdoing on the recipients' part. The federal government, however, said the 'end of the [COVID] pandemic constituted its cause.' Being terminated from a federal grant for cause can impact the ability to get new grants. 'The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,' a March HHS statement about the funding cuts quoted in the lawsuit said. 'HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump's mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Health Again.' It could delay investigation and follow up to vaccine preventable diseases, such as Hep A (Hepatitis A) and B, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), among many others, unless we find other sources of funding which could lead to increased instances and more acute cases of vaccine preventable diseases. – Dr. Sammi Areola, Metro Nashville Pubic Health An HHS spokesperson on Friday declined to comment further on the litigation. Nashville joined Harris County, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri and the American Federation of County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO in filing the suit, which also names HHS chief Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and CDC acting director Susan Monarez. The CDC is overseen by HHS. The lawsuit said the funding to public health departments reflected Congress' intent to address the 'longer term challenges it knew the country would face in Covid-19's wake, including gaps in the public health system and the need for investment in critical public health infrastructure.' Metro Nashville Public Health Director Sanmi Areola said Friday he was 'concerned about the impacts of the funding losses on the health of our residents.' Among the Nashville health services impacted are efforts to ensure children are up-to-date on vaccines, oversight of daycare immunization compliance, providing back-to-school physicals and delays in receiving immunization records, he said. Areola said the cuts could lead to more acute cases of vaccine-preventable diseases. 'It could delay investigation and follow up to vaccine preventable diseases, such as Hep A (Hepatitis A) and B, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), among many others, unless we find other sources of funding which could lead to increased instances and more acute cases of vaccine preventable diseases,' Dr. Areola said via email. Dr. Areola said health officials are working to minimize impacts on services. Nashville received word March 25 that it had lost the funding effective the prior day, March 24. The public health department has had to cut 16 full time staff in a division that conducted health and resource barrier screenings. The public health department can also no longer move forward with six already-advertised positions to do outreach to homeless individuals, the lawsuit said. Plans to purchase a mobile medical unit have been shelved, too. The lawsuit is seeking the restoration of funding and a declaration that the actions by the Trump administration were unlawful. The federal government has not yet filed a formal legal response to the lawsuit, and no court dates have yet been set. show_temp SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
