Now, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning the public about unknown respiratory illnesses that have popped up in southeast Alabama.

Two people have already died after being admitted to hospitals with a cough, shortness of breath, and a fever. Five others exhibited the same symptoms but survived.

The ADPH has stated that laboratory samples have been taken from all of the patients, which the ADPH’s Bureau of Clinical Laboratories and the CDC’s Respiratory Laboratory are now testing.

The ADPH is now recommending that hospitals use respiratory precautions such as masks when dealing with respiratory patients. It is also recommended that people experiencing respiratory symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, and fever seek out medical care for evaluation.

The study tested pool filters from public pools, looking for genetic material. It found that 58% of the filters tested positive for a strain of E. coli that is normally found in human intestines and in feces. The CDC stated that the study indicates people are either pooping in pools or failing to clean themselves well before entering pools.

“Swimming is an excellent way to get the physical activity needed to stay healthy,” said Michele Hlavsa, chief of the Healthy Swimming Program at the CDC. “However, pool users should be aware of how to prevent infections while swimming. Remember, chlorine and other disinfectants don’t kill germs instantly. That’s why it’s important for swimmers to protect themselves by not swallowing the water they swim in and to protect others by keeping feces and germs out of the pool by taking a pre-swim shower and not swimming when ill with diarrhea.”

The CDC recommends several practices to cut down on pool contamination. Some of the obvious ones include people not swimming if they have diarrhea, showering with soap before swimming, and washing hands after using the restroom or after changing diapers. The agency also recommends taking bathroom breaks every hour, and checking children’s diapers every half-hour. More advanced pool users can check chlorine levels and water PH before swimming. Possibly the best advice the CDC gives, though, is that swimmers should not swallow the water they swim in.

It’s being reported that a novel coronavirus, belonging to the same family as the common cold and the much deadlier SARS, has infected 14 people and killed eight. Most of those infected are from the Middle East – Arabia, Qatar and Jordan – but World Health officials have confirmed three cases of the new virus in Britain.

Symptoms brought on by the virus include acute respiratory illness, fever, a cough and shortness of breath. The virus can also be spread from person to person instead of other viruses that are spread from animals to people.

Fortunately, there have been no confirmed cases of infection in the U.S. yet. The threat it poses must not be that bad either as the WHO has yet to issue any travel restrictions.

Nevertheless, the CDC is following this new virus and providing regular updates on its whereabouts. You can check out all the details here.

[h/t: Reuters]

Though the germs are a normal part of the human digestive system, some of them have evolved the ability to resist antibiotics. If these resistant CRE enter the blood or other areas of the body they can cause severe infections that kill up to half of patients who become infected. The bacteria can also pass their antibiotic-resistance to other germs, making other types of infections hard to treat.

The CDC’s latest Vital Signs report shows that CRE are becoming more common in medical facilities, and one specific type has been found in 42 states. Though healthy people aren’t normally infected with CRE, patients on ventilators, patients with catheters, or those on long courses of antibiotics are at risk. Though The infections are still relatively uncommon, but CDC is calling on medical facilities and doctors to improve the way they prescribe antibiotics.

Just last month a new study found that patients with CRE could take over one year to be rid of the bacteria, even after their infections have ended. This raises the possibility that patients positive for CRE could become re-infected or infect others.

CRE, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are potentially deadly infections that are highly resistant to antibiotics, making them difficult to treat. Though the bacteria is not normally found in healthy people, patients on ventilators, patients with catheters, or those on long courses of antibiotics are at risk for infection.

The study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, looked at 97 CRE-positive patients who were discharged from the Shaare Zedek medical Center from 2009 to 2010. It showed that patients who tested positive for CRE took an average of 387 days to clear the infection. Even after one year, 39% of the patients remained “positive” for CRE, meaning they could become re-infected or transmit the infection to other people.

“Patients with multiple hospitalizations or those who were diagnosed with clinical CRE disease should be assumed to have a more extended duration of CRE coverage and should therefore be admitted under conditions of isolation and cohorting until proven to be CRE-negative,” said the study’s authors. “These measures will reduce the hospitalization of CRE-positive patients among the general patient population, potentially preventing the spread of CRE.”

The study was also able to identify several risk factors that were related to long periods of infection, including long hospital stays, re-hospitalizations, and whether patients had an active infection or a “colonization” without symptoms.

The report, published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows that the death rate from all cancers combined has been falling since the early 1990. From 2000 to 2009, combined cancer death rates have fallen an average of 1.8% among men and 1.4% among women. Black men and black women saw the largest declines in cancer deaths from 2000 to 2009, though their cancer death rates from 2005 to 2009 were still highest when compared to other racial groups.

Though death rates for cancers such as lung cancer , breast cancer, and colon cancer are declining, the rate of diagnoses for some cancers is increasing. The rate of new cases of pancreas, kidney, thyroid, liver, melanoma, and myeloma cancers have all increased in men from 2000 to 2009. For women, rates of new cases of thyroid, melanoma, kidney, pancreas, liver, leukemia, and uterus cancers increased during the same period. The report points out that excess weight and lack of physical activity are risk factors for many of these cancers.

“The continuing drop in cancer mortality over the past two decades is reason to cheer,” said John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society. “The challenge we now face is how to continue those gains in the face of new obstacles, like obesity and HPV infections. We must face these hurdles head on, without distraction, and without delay, by expanding access to proven strategies to prevent and control cancer.”

A special section of the report highlighted trends related to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers. From 2000 to 2009, HPV-associated oropharyngeal (throat) cancer rates increased among white men and women, while anal cancer rates among all men and women increased. Rates of vulva cancer were up among women, though cervical cancer rates declined among all women except Native Americans. The report shows that fewer than one-third of girls aged 13 to 17 had received all 3 recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. Girls in the Southern U.S., those who live in poverty, and those who are hispanic were less likely to get all three doses.

“While this report shows that we are making progress in the fight against cancer on some fronts, we still have much work to do, particularly when it comes to preventing cancer,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “For example, vaccinating against HPV can prevent cervical cancer, but, tragically, far too many girls are growing into adulthood vulnerable to cervical cancer because they are not vaccinated.”

“Reports of influenza-like-illness (ILI) are nearing what have been peak levels during moderately severe seasons,” said Dr. Joe Bresee, the chief of epidemiology and prevention at the CDC’s influenza division. “While we can’t say for certain how severe this season will be, we can say that a lot of people are getting sick with influenza and we are getting reports of severe illness and hospitalizations.”

According to the CDC’s most recent weekly influenza report, the percentage of people visiting a doctor for the flu in the U.S. has been elevated for four weeks, climbing to 5.6%. Last year’s number peaked at only 2.2%. 29 states are reporting high levels of the flu, and 18 pediatric deaths have been attributed to the flu this season.

The CDC is recommending the flu vaccine and antiviral treatment “when appropriate.” Bresee stated that 91% of the viruses analyzed by the CDC this season are similar to viruses included in this season’s flu shot. The match between the viruses in the vaccine and circulating viruses is an indicator of how well the vaccine will work to prevent the flu.

“Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now,” said Bresee. “And it’s important to remember that people who have severe influenza illness, or who are at high risk of serious influenza-related complications, should get treated with influenza antiviral medications if they get flu symptoms regardless of whether or not they got vaccinated. Also, you don’t need to wait for a positive laboratory test to start taking antivirals.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week released results from its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showing that the rate of new HIV infections among Hispanics is three times higher than whites, and that there are large regional differences in HIV infection among Latinos.

In the U.S., Latino gay and bisexual men account for more than 80% of all HIV infections among Latino men. However, rates of HIV infection among Latinas are four times those found in white women.

Over at the U.S. AIDS blog, Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, discussed the CDC’s findings and highlighted the need for greater awareness in Latino communities. From the blog post:

There is no single solution to the epidemic among Latinos, and our work must be on all levels, national, state, community, and individual. Together we can begin to tackle the many social obstacles, ensure diversity awareness is part of our response, and work to tailor programs to fit the need. As an individual, start the dialogue, get the test, take the steps necessary to protect your health and the health of those you love. As a community, tackle social obstacles that keep many from seeking testing, care, and treatment. Start taking control today and stop the epidemic in the Latino community!

Fenton also made a statement on last year’s NLAAD, saying that the homophobia, stigma, and the already high prevalence of HIV in the community are some of the factors that increase Latinos’ risk for HIV infection.

Last year, NLAAD included a campaign to test New Yorkers passing through subway stations using OraQuick, an oral swab test for HIV that gives results in only minutes. OraQuick was approved this year for over-the-counter sales. A video of last year’s New York subway campaign can be seen below.

This week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention released its latest map showing adult obesity rates in individual states. According to the CDC’s annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report, Mississippi is America’s most obese state for the sixth year in a row. The report shows that over one-third of Mississippians, 34.9%, are obese. Louisiana comes closest to Mississippi with 33.4% of its citizens classified as obese, and West Virginia rounds out the top three with a 32.4% obesity rate.

On the other side of the spectrum, Colorado is the least obese (though not exactly trim) state with only one-fifth, 20.7%, of its population being obese. Hawaii (21.8%) and Massachusetts (22.7%) round out the top three least-obese states.

The Southern states topping the most obese list and the western states topping the least obese list are no anomalies. The South had the highest precentage of adult obesity with 29.5%, while Western states had fewer obese people, with a 24.3% rate. The Midwestern states do rival the south’s size, though, with a 29% obesity rate. In fact, around a dozen Southern and Midwestern states are heavily tipping these rates higher with extremely high obesity rates. According to the CDC, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia all have obesity rates above 30%. The Northeastern states are closer to Western states, with a 25.3% obesity rate.

A full list of states and the prevalence of obesity for the people who live in them can be found on the CDC website.

When considering what these statistics say about the size of Americans, remember that these averages only include Americans who are obese. It does not include the number of Americans who are simply overweight. The CDC considers an adult who has a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 to be obese. Adults with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight.

(Picture courtesy CDC)

“Most people are fairly convinced we had already discovered flu in all the possible animals,” said Ruben Donis, a CDC scientist, but the new bat bug has contradicted this notion. As a side note, Discovery.com adds chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys to the avian aspect of the list.

Roughly five years ago, Russian virologists claimed finding flu in bats, but no actual evidence was ever offered. Researchers have theorized that bats first caught the virus centuries ago, giving it time to mutate within the bat population into its current state. Scientists haven’t been able to grow the new virus in chicken eggs or in human cell cultures, as they typically do with more common flu strains. Still, it could pose a human threat, if it came into contact with more common forms of influenza, and mutate further. Though I wouldn’t bank on a repeat of the scenario portrayed in Contagion.

Sturnira lilium, a.k.a the Little Yellow-shouldered Bat, is the species in question, found in Guatemala. This type of bat isn’t known to bite people, but likes to eat fruit, which makes contamination of produce possible. Interestingly, scientists have considered that people have already been infected in the long past, as well as presently. “Now that scientists know what it looks like, they are looking for it in other bats as well as humans and other animals,” adds Donis. One researcher isn’t even convinced that bat flu even exists – “All they found was a segment of genetic material,” said Richard “Mick” Fulton, a bird disease researcher at Michigan State. He adds, “in my mind, if you can’t grow the virus, how do you know that the virus is there?” Perhaps the bat will foster a new news epidemic.