Band-aids Don't Fix Bullet Holes
Three Things Thursday
Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. Measles is still in the news (more cases, another death, and continued misinformation — the stuff public health nightmares are made of). As the case count increases, we are hearing that the CDC will begin a “large scale” study to assess the association between vaccines and autism (this is SO frustrating — because we know vaccines do NOT cause autism). Polio, another vaccine-preventable disease, is making headlines as cases pop up around the globe. And hantavirus has dominated the news this week after it was revealed that Gene Hackman’s wife died from the disease.
More on each of these stories below…
But first — today’s BIG news. This morning the White House withdrew Dave Weldon’s nomination to become the next Director of the CDC. Weldon was supposed to appear before the Senate Health Committee for his confirmation hearing at 10 am. Rumor has it that the White House withdrew his nomination because there were not enough votes of approval (meaning Republicans were planning to vote against his nomination).
Weldon has been antivaccine since the early 2000s and has aligned himself with some of the biggest spreaders of misinformation. According to Senator Patty Murray —
“I was deeply disturbed to hear Dr. Weldon repeat debunked claims about vaccines. It's dangerous to put someone in charge at CDC who believes the lie that our rigorously tested childhood vaccine schedule is somehow exposing kids to toxic levels of mercury or causing autism."
The withdrawal of Weldon’s nomination is a small but important victory for public health.
It’s a band-aid covering a bullet hole. And as Taylor Swift sings —
Our public health problems are not over, but it is progress (or maybe just karma). Weldon’s nomination being withdrawn is a reminder to everyone in public health and medicine that we cannot stop. We must continue to research, conduct surveillance, educate, intervene, and communicate. We must advocate and when necessary file lawsuits. The next four years are going to be a marathon -- and we need to celebrate progress and accomplishments (no matter how big or small) along the way.
Today's withdrawal of Weldon's nomination did not happen by chance. It happened because the public health community has not been quiet. Despite threats, dismissals, and overwhelming disappointment -- we have continued to do our jobs.
With that in mind, I share this week’s Three Things.
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Measles Outbreak Expands
Last Friday, an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico died with measles. This individual lived just over the state line from the West Texas community that is the current epicenter of measles cases (where the case count is now greater than 250). Oklahoma reported its first two cases of measles this week, both associated with the West Texas outbreak (cases were exposed to cases associated with the Texas outbreak). An additional 16 cases connected to the Texas outbreak have been confirmed in Mexico. Truth be told… There is no end to the Texas measles outbreak in sight.
In Pennsylvania, a second measles case (in Philadelphia, NOT associated with the first case reported last week) exposed individuals at the South Philadelphia Health & Literacy Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Emergency Department between March 7-10.
Measles can cause severe illness and death.
Before the development and administration of the measles vaccine, 500 children in the US died and 48,000 were hospitalized every year.
Pastors in West Texas, who are bragging about leading schools and congregations with the lowest vaccination rates in the country, are threatening the health of their communities. They are putting children’s lives at risk. And they are spreading misinformation about the preventive power of the MMR vaccine.
Vaccinations protect individuals and communities (especially those who cannot be vaccinated) from suffering the adverse effects of measles. Until vaccination rates across the country rise above 95%, we will continue to see measles outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths.
This breaks my heart…
I was on the news again talking about measles and my message continues to be —
“The way we protect ourselves from measles is to get vaccinated.”
Polio Case Counts Rising
During the past week, five countries reported new cases of polio, including Pakistan, which reported three cases of wild poliovirus type (WPV1). There have also been cases in Nigeria, Chad, DR Congo, and Tanzania. There has also been positive environmental samples in the Occupied Palestinian territory (indicating that polio is spreading in that area).
Why am I concerned about polio spreading in other countries?
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause paralysis. It is spread through contact with the stool/poop or respiratory droplets of an infected person. It can also be transmitted through contaminated water or food. Most people infected with polio do NOT show any symptoms — so when we diagnose cases, we know that the disease is prevalent in the community. The virus can cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, sore throat, and nausea. Polio can lead to permanent paralysis and muscle weakness. In severe cases, it can also cause respiratory failure and death.
The best way to prevent polio is through vaccination.
Nearly 93% of kindergarteners in the US have been fully vaccinated for polio. However, this number has been decreasing each year.
On July 21, 2022, the first case of poliomyelitis was diagnosed after 3 decades of its elimination.
We are at risk of a new cases of polio being diagnosed here in the US. We have a substantial number of children (~5-7% of all school-aged children) who are at risk for developing polio because they have not been vaccinated.
These risks (the nightmare situation) keep me up at night.
Hantavirus
During the past week, it was determined that actor Gene Hackman’s wife died of hantavirus. Many people have been asking — what exactly is hantavirus?
As illustrated in the picture above, hantavirus is transmitted by rodents. It is NOT spread person to person. Individuals are exposed to the disease through rodent urine, droppings, and saliva. The disease can also spread through a bite or scratch by a rodent, but this is really rare.
Hantaviruses found in the Western Hemisphere, including the US, can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). HPS is a severe and potentially deadly disease that affects the lungs. Symptoms of HPS include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches. These symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. Often the lungs will fill with fluids. HPS can be deadly. Approximately 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms die from the disease.
To prevent hantavirus — avoid contact with rodents.
Additionally practice proper hygiene when cleaning up after rodents.
Between 1993-2022, 864 cases of hantavirus have been diagnosed in the US. The majority were in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Washington.
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Epi(demiology) Matters is written by Dr. Becky Dawson, PhD MPH — an epidemiologist, teacher, mom, wife, and dedicated yogi. She is a tenured professor at Allegheny College, Research Director at a community hospital, and an exclusive contributor (all things health & medicine) at Erie News Now (NBC/CBS). Her goal is to create healthy communities for all. She writes Epi Matters — first & foremost because epidemiology does matter (to all of us) and she hopes that each post will help to educate and empower readers to be healthy and create healthy communities.
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