Are You Safe Driving Through a Winter...

January 25, 2015 Written by Nicholas

Car stuck in snow with HELP written on windshield

Do you really have to go? When all else fails Authorities recommend all drivers stay at home or in place when hazardous weather strikes. Weather is unpredictable, and sometimes you find yourself in weather you didn’t expect. It’s essential for your safety and that of your family to be prepared whenever you leave home in your car. [...]

Enterovirus D68: Prevention and Curre...

October 9, 2014 Written by Nicholas

Keep Your Child From Getting and Spreading Enterovirus D68

Enterovirus is a class of viruses with more than 100 members. Originally, enteroviruses were classified into three types: polioviruses, Coxsackie A viruses (CA), Coxsackie B viruses (CB), and echoviruses, but scientists realized that there was overlap and more complexity than previously understood. Poliovirus, as well as Coxsackie and echovir [...]

WHO European Director Zsuzsanna Jakab...

October 8, 2014 Written by Nicholas

According to European press agencies, the Director said, “Such imported cases and similar events as have happened in Spain will happen also in the future, most likely, ” adding that “the continent should be well prepared to control the disease.” As we have seen in Texas, although the United States has a well-fun [...]

Blogs and Sites We Like

July 17, 2014 Written by Nicholas

An image of a white guy giving a thumbs up

Here is a short list of sites we like to get preparedness and incidence information from. If you have a site you like, please let us know. Public Health Surveillance Health Map is created and maintained by a team of researchers, epidemiologists and software developers at Boston Children’s Hospital founded in 2006, is an established glob [...]

ACIP Recommends a Preference for Nasa...

July 16, 2014 Written by Nicholas

Photo of kid wincing while receiving nasal flu vaccine

Important notice from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Contact: CDC Media Relations (404) 639-3286 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends a preference for using the nasal spray flu vaccine Today, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Pra [...]

Traveling in West Africa: The Growing...

July 14, 2014 Written by Nicholas

Should travelers be concerned? A Growing Threat In its summary of the Ebola/Marburg outbreaks, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) illustrates that the current outbreak (currently 626 confirmed cases) is more severe than any in history. While previous outbreaks affected one small area at a time, the current pandemic is spread accross [...]

Mapping the HIV Crisis in Nine Americ...

July 11, 2014 Written by Nicholas

Map of HIV/AIDS in Boston by Zipcode Using Geographic Information Systems to map HIV/AIDS infections is a useful tool for knowing where to put public health resources. The AIDSvu project, based at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, produces detailed maps of HIV epidemic. Via Jonathan Cohn in The New Republic Sha [...]

Treatment of MRSA

June 6, 2014 Written by Nicholas

There’s a possible solution at hand for problems associated with the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Antibiotic resistance and transmission of the nasty bacteria has come about because of treatment failure; as patients start feeling better, they stop taking their antibiotics, creating ideal breeding grou [...]

CDC Adds Polio Vaccination Recommenda...

June 4, 2014 Written by Nicholas

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have just updated their advice to health care providers to include polio vaccine in recommended preparedness immunizations. Their news release, dated 2014-6-2, includes the following language: CDC routinely recommends that anyone planning travel to a polio-affected country be fully vaccinat [...]

Don’t Get Ticked Off This Summe...

June 2, 2014 Written by Nicholas

Ticks Yuck! Engorged Squirrel Tick (Ixodes marxi) Tick-borne diseases are like the biblical plagues. Summertime is supposed to be a time when you can feel comfortable wearing shorts and sandals, take a walk in the woods, hike up mountains, sit outside on the grass, mow the lawn, scratch your dog under the oak tree. For those of us who live in [...]

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