Latest news with #MMWR
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Woman dies of brain eating amoeba after rinsing sinuses using tap water
A rare case of brain eating amoeba killing a woman has grabbed attention. As per the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) of the US CDC, a woman died due to fatal brain infection caused by the free-living ameba, Naegleria fowleri which she got from nasal irrigation device filled with tap water. "A previously healthy woman aged 71 years developed severe neurologic symptoms, including fever, headache, and altered mental status within 4 days of using a nasal irrigation device filled with tap water from an RV's water system at a campground in Texas. Despite medical treatment for a suspected PAM infection, the patient developed seizures and subsequently died 8 days after symptom onset. Laboratory testing at CDC confirmed the presence of N. fowleri in the patient's cerebrospinal fluid," the US CDC says. "Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare, often fatal brain infection caused by the free-living ameba Naegleria fowleri. Using tap water for nasal irrigation is a risk factor for PAM," it warns. What is Naegleria fowleri? Naegleria fowleri, also known as the "brain-eating amoeba," is a super rare but extremely dangerous microorganism that lives in warm freshwater—like lakes, rivers, hot springs, and even poorly maintained swimming pools. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Lost Their Money - Learn From Their Lesson Expertinspector Click Here Undo Despite how scary it sounds (and yes, it is scary), infections from it are extremely uncommon. So what exactly is this thing? Naegleria fowleri is a tiny, single-celled organism that you can't see without a microscope. It thrives in warm temperatures, especially in water that's over 30°C (about 86°F). You don't get sick from drinking water that has it. The real danger happens when the water goes up your nose—usually while swimming, diving, or jumping into warm freshwater. Once it gets up your nose, the amoeba can travel to your brain through the olfactory nerve (the nerve that helps you smell). Once it reaches the brain, it causes a rare but deadly infection called Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). And unfortunately, it progresses very quickly—people usually start feeling symptoms within 1 to 12 days, and the disease often leads to death within about 5 days after symptoms start. The early symptoms of PAM can feel like a bad case of meningitis or the flu: headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and a stiff neck. Then it gets worse—confusion, seizures, hallucinations, and eventually coma. Because it progresses so fast and looks like other infections at first, it's very hard to diagnose in time. To stay safe, avoid getting water up your nose when swimming in warm freshwater—wear nose clips, don't stir up sediment, and avoid jumping or diving into shallow, warm water. And definitely don't use tap water to rinse your nose or sinuses unless it's been properly sterilized or filtered. Naegleria fowleri may sound like something out of a horror movie. Just be smart around warm freshwater, and you'll likely never come close to encountering it. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Health
- USA Today
People can get bird flu from their cats, CDC study suggests
People can get bird flu from their cats, CDC study suggests Show Caption Hide Caption New deadly bird flu strain emerges As the bird flu continues to spread across the country, there's new evidence it's mutating beyond chickens and cows. Fox - Seattle Bird flu may be spreading between people and cats more than previously thought, a new federal study said. The findings published Thursday by the Centers Disease Control and Prevention's weekly journal add to worries about the spread of bird flu between people and cats, and vice versa. Bird flu has been known to cause severe illness and deaths in cats, often through raw food or milk or dead birds. However, the study provides growing evidence of the threat it poses even when cats have no direct exposure to sick dairy cows or poultry. The study looked at indoor cats who had severe illness and death in two Michigan households of two dairy workers around May where bird flu was circulating on farms. Both lived in the same county, and both took sick cats to the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center. The two cats that died, one in each household, appeared to have the same signs of respiratory and neurologic illness, according to the study, published by CDC researchers, as well as health and agriculture officials from Michigan and Michigan State University. The cats later tested positive for bird flu, also called highly pathogenic avian influenza. The first household's cat, the 5-year-old female, was euthanized four days after signs of illness, and the second household's cat, the 6-month-old Maine Coon cat, died within a day of illness showing. People in the homes also displayed symptoms of illness. Neither worker in each household received testing or antiviral medication for bird flu, and the second worker feared losing employment as a consequence of speaking with public health officials and implicating farms that provided milk, the study said. This finding raises concern about surveillance and public health protocols to adequately identify bird flu circulating. Researchers also noted the study illustrates concerns about bird flu continuing to mutate to increase the risk for transmission to and among humans, which has not been the case to date. So far, nearly 70 people have contracted bird flu, mostly among dairy and poultry workers, and one person has died, according to CDC. The study also appears to be the same that had a graphic released on CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) before it was abruptly taken down earlier this month, as the New York Times reported. Since President Donald Trump has taken office, there have been delays in releasing MMWR reports, considered an eminent scientific publication for researchers around the world, amid cuts to health agencies. The first worker, who didn't directly work with animals but worked on the farm, would remove work clothes and boots and place them in an area away from the household's indoor cats. In the first household, the worker lived with another adult and two adolescents, along with the sickened 5-year-old female cat and two other indoor cats. Did you see? Americans may have had bird flu and not even know it, new study suggests A day before the 5-year-old female cat would get sick, the worker had one day of vomiting and diarrhea. One adolescent in the household developed cough, sore throat, headache and muscle aches and pain six days after the 5-year-old cat had become sick. Three of the household members tested negative for influenza, but the sickened adolescent had a positive lab result for rhinovirus/enterovirus, or cold, which is different than bird flu. The dairy worker had regular contact with the sick 5-year-old cat and the sick adolescent. Four days after the 5-year-old cat became sick, another cat had watery eyes and discharge, increased breathing and decreased appetite, though these resolved four days later. The third cat never showed signs and tested negative. In case you missed: As bird flu continues to spread, is there a vaccine for humans? Meanwhile, the second worker transported raw milk and reported that their job frequently had raw milk splash exposure to face, eyes and clothing without personal protective equipment. The worker would bring work clothes indoors, where one indoor cat would roll in the clothes. The worker did experience eye irritation two days before illness showed in the indoor cat. The second household had the second worker, the 6-month-old male cat, and a second indoor cat. The second indoor cat didn't show signs of illness and nasal swabs tested negative for virus. The study calls for increased consideration by veterinarians for pet owners' occupational information, as well as testing for influenza viruses, and wearing PPE.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bird flu will worsen if Trump doesn't do more to stop it, Baldwin says.
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has urged the Trump administration to take stronger action against the bird flu outbreak that's devastated the nation's poultry flocks and California's dairy herds. Baldwin, in a Feb. 14 letter to President Trump, said during the first few weeks of the administration, the Department of Health and Human Services refused to provide updated information to the public on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. 'For the first time in decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) failed to publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), including data on the HPAI outbreak, due to the pause on all public health communications,' Baldwin wrote. 'While I am relieved that the CDC has now resumed releasing the reports, I am alarmed by the message your Administration is sending to the public: that avian flu is not a priority,' she added. In the last 30 days, more than 22 million birds, including 153 total poultry flocks, have been affected by avian flu, according to Baldwin. As the virus has spread, farmers have been forced to slaughter infected birds, sometimes millions at a time, leading to a shortage in egg production. The average wholesale price for large, white shell eggs has reached $8 a dozen, a 218% increase from what consumers were paying in December 2023, according to Baldwin. 'The number of avian flu detections, and increases in egg prices, are far surpassing previous records and will not slow down anytime soon unless your Administration commits to a robust response,' she said in her letter to Trump. The White House did not address Baldwin's letter but referred the Journal Sentinel to earlier comments from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who said the administration was pursuing "all possible approaches" to address the bird flu outbreak. "I fully understand and feel the pain of the cost of these eggs,' Rollins said in a press briefing. Baldwin asked for the creation of a plan to contain the virus through robust agency engagement and coordination with industry stakeholders. 'The CDC and USDA, specifically, should prioritize communicating and deploying resources to farmers, ranchers, and veterinarians to strengthen biosecurity measures that protect workers and livestock. Without these measures in place, we will not be able to contain the spread of the virus, further exacerbating the risk to our nation's farmers and driving up food costs,' Baldwin wrote. As of Jan. 13, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection had detected avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks in Burnett, Barron and Washburn Counties and in a backyard flock in Kenosha County. A wild duck recently found along the Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee County tested positive for the virus, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Journal Sentinel reporter Lawrence Andrea contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bird flu will worsen if Trump doesn't take action
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health groups sound alarm on missing CDC, FDA data
Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Many prominent healthcare organizations are urging the Trump administration officials to restore important data sets on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration websites. More than 1,000 pages of national, regional and state health data was removed from the CDC and FDA websites on Jan. 31 as part of a federal government data purge. Many pages have been restored, but many remain inaccessible, which some healthcare organizations say threatens the quality of healthcare delivery across the nation, ABC News reported. "Many widely used government data sets have been removed or removed and later restored with redacted data," the nonprofit American Cancer Society said Thursday in a news release. "There have also been reports that scientific papers from federal authors have been withdrawn from submission to research journal spending administration review." Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, the American Cancer Society interim chief Executive officer, asked the Trump administration to "restore access to comprehensive data, refrain from changes that would lead to incomplete future data collection and commit to ensure evidence-based science and proceed without additional bureaucracy or red tape. "Access to comprehensive, consistent and ongoing data is imperative to our ability to make progress to end cancer as we know it for everyone," Frederick said. The Association of Health Care Journalists said data regarding HIV was among information temporarily made inaccessible by the data purge. Web pages regarding estimated HIV incidence and prevalence; HIV diagnoses, deaths and prevalence; HIV data guidelines and resources and HIV surveillance reports have been restored after initially being inaccessible, the AHCJ reported on Wednesday. Most troubling, according to the AHCJ, was the sudden halt in publishing the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that was not available for two weeks after being published weekly since July 1, 1960. At least one member of Congress called on the Trump administration to resume publishing the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "Doctors, health care providers and the public all benefit from the release of critical and timely health information. Without it,we will see preventable suffering and death," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., in a statement released on Wednesday. "The Trump Administration must immediately resume the timely, objective and scientific publication of the CDC's MMWR reports without any political meddling by releasing the next MMWR issue tomorrow," Durbin said. The weekly report was published Thursday and mostly focuses on the effects of the recent wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. Thursday's weekly report follows the Jan. 16 weekly report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the data purge from the CDC and FDA websites or the temporary halt in publishing the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
CBS News
07-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal
Trump administration political appointees have taken steps in recent weeks to exert unprecedented influence over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flagship medical research publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News. The interference included dictating what to cover and withholding studies on the growing bird flu outbreak. The Trump administration's moves to control the research published by the agency ends a decades-long streak of independence for the journal, known as the MMWR. Health officials and experts have long considered the MMWR as the "voice of CDC" and a respected source where federal scientists release research of public health importance. It ranks as among the most-cited health journals in the world. "The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one health official told CBS News. Efforts by Trump officials to control the publication have stalled the release of three studies about bird flu for weeks, as the virus continues spreading through wild birds, poultry farms and cows around the country. That delay was initially attributed to the communications "pause" ordered by the Department of Health and Human Services, which stalled many releases across the government. Spokespeople for the CDC and HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump officials initially said the gag order was needed for the administration to catch up in staffing its public relations team to oversee the vast amount of communications coming out of the nations' federal health agencies. But as that pause has started to lift, Trump officials at HHS, and acting CDC Director Susan Monarez, refused repeated requests by career health officials to publish the completed research, officials say. The stalled research includes findings about pet cats owned by dairy workers being infected with bird flu, plus wastewater testing results and antibody testing of cow veterinarians. Instead, health officials say Monarez relayed orders by the Trump administration to come up with research to publish this week about the health risks from wildfires, days after President Trump criticized California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's handling of fires in the state. Federal scientists say they scrambled to find studies to comply with the order, which was unexpected and not related to any studies that had been scheduled to come out. The research that was ultimately published looked at exposure to worrying chemicals for firefighters who responded to the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii and emergency room visits in Los Angeles during the wildfires. Multiple health officials said they complied fearing their jobs. Scientists within the agency say they have been bombarded with daily requests to accept the "fork in the road" offer to resign by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, task force, headed by Elon Musk. Glimpse at a study taken offline A technical glitch resulted in a table from one of the bird flu studies accidentally being published on Thursday, before officials scrambled to take it down. That bird flu study was supposed to lay out the details of an investigation into how two indoor cats could have contracted the virus. One of the cats' owners was a dairy worker who transported unpasteurized raw milk, which health officials warn is one of the main ways that H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading between farms in the U.S. Multiple federal health officials and outside experts have unsuccessfully lobbied the Trump administration to allow the publication to maintain its independence, citing the importance of allowing federal public health researchers to publish their findings without fearing political interference. While researchers often have to jump through multiple hoops of "clearance" within the agency to satisfy questions and concerns raised by scientists and career health officials about the accuracy of their research, officials said political appointees usually steered clear of meddling in its content. Now health officials fear that a precedent has been set for the Trump administration to cross further lines in its attempts to influence the research and data published by the CDC. Previous efforts by Trump-appointed officials to exert control over the publication came under scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Mr. Trump's first term, after aides sought to influence reports at the time. It is now unclear to co-authors of the bird flu research outside the agency when the research will ever be published, weeks after it was ready to go. "The study is completed and was to be published in MMWR last month until the order from the new administration halted communication from CDC," K. Fred Gingrich II, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, said in an email. The association had worked with Ohio's health department and the CDC to sample the blood of veterinarians who treat cows at an annual conference late last year, looking for antibodies that would help answer an outstanding question: had bird flu cases infected veterinarians under the radar?
