Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. Over the past week, the number of influenza-like illnesses in the United States has plateaued. We are still in the thick of flu season. Please remember to stay home if you are ill, wash your hands, cover your cough/sneeze, and wear a mask if you want to decrease your exposure to airborne illnesses.
COVID cases are still declining. And exciting data was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report at the end of last week. The data (early estimates) showed that the updated COVID vaccines (our fall 2023 booster) provided 54% protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in persons recently vaccinated compared with those who did not receive an updated vaccine dose.
Clear evidence that the vaccine is effective.
In addition to news related to flu & COVID season, this week the public health news was highlighted by stories about a listeria outbreak, the declaration of loneliness as a public health crisis, and new data about cancer.
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Listeria Outbreak in Cheese
The CDC is continuing to investigate a multistate outbreak of LISTERIA infections linked to queso fresco and cotija cheese made by Rizo-López Foods. On Feb 6, Rizo-López Foods recalled all of its cheeses and dairy products.
If you have any of these cheeses in your home — do NOT eat them.
Throw them away or return them to the grocery store where they were purchased. Be sure to clean your refrigerator and any containers or surfaces that the cheese may have touched. And call your healthcare provider if you’ve eaten any of these cheeses and develop a fever, muscle aches, or tiredness. Also, be on the lookout for other symptoms associated with listeria infection, including a headache, stiff neck, loss of balance, or seizures.
Listeria is a foodborne illness caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. It can be deadly; the CDC estimates it is the third leading cause of death from a foodborne pathogen.
Most people who ingest listeria will suffer from a mild intestinal illness; however, when listeria spreads beyond the intestines, it is called invasive. And this is where things become serious. Sometimes life-threatening; sometimes deadly.
In the current outbreak (associated with cheese), 26 people have been diagnosed with invasive listeria; 23 are hospitalized. The number of mild (non-invasive) cases is unknown.
Pregnant people and their developing fetuses are especially susceptible to invasive listeria infections. If you are pregnant, you should avoid all of the cheese listed above as well as other soft cheeses, deli meats/cold cuts, hot dogs, pâté, old smoked fish, and sprouts to reduce/eliminate your exposure to the listeria bacteria.
Loneliness Epidemic
Last Friday, officials in San Mateo County, California (located in the San Fransico Bay area and including part of Silicon Valley) declared LONELINESS a public health emergency. The county Board of Supervisors specifically passed a resolution declaring loneliness a public health crisis and pledged to explore measures to promote social connections and connectivity within the community. While the resolution is not tied to money or programming, it is an official signal that loneliness must be addressed.
David Sbarra, a psychology professor at the University of Arizona, notes —
“Thinking of your relationships as important to your health, as you do physical activity, diet and sleep is really the key messaging here,”
Loneliness has been linked to dementia, depression, anxiety, heart disease, stroke, and premature death.
The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has been calling attention to the growing epidemic of loneliness for years. His book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World discusses the causes and consequences of loneliness. I highly recommend this book to you. It is not an easy read, but it is an important one. One fact and one quote from the book that stick out to me —
FACT — the effects of loneliness on mortality are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
QUOTE (pg 150) —
"…we all long to connect. Whether you put it theologically or biologically, we are created for community. Without community, we struggle. It’s as if we didn’t have oxygen to breathe.”
It is not surprising that Dr. Murthy posted this on X in response to San Mateo County declaring loneliness a public health crisis.
Cancer
At the end of last week (yes — last Friday was bananas in terms of news), the WHO published the latest estimates of the global burden of cancer. The report noted that in 2022 (the most up-to-date data we have) —
There were ~20 million new cases of cancer (in a year) and 9.7 million deaths worldwide. This is equivalent to approximately 1 in 5 people developing cancer during their lifetime.
Approximately 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women worldwide die from cancer.
The top three types of cancer are lung, breast, and colorectal.
The report also included projections for the future. Those projections estimate that we should expect 35 million new cancer cases per year by 2050 (an increase of 77%). The expected increase in new cancer cases reflects both population growth and an aging population.
Tobacco use, obesity, and alcohol consumption as well as exposure to air pollution are also key factors associated with a (projected) increase in cancer cases worldwide.
While cancer incidence continues to increase (with no end in sight), a paper out last Friday in the JAMA Health Forum documented that among adults in the United States, there has been a decrease in the number of individuals who are going to see their doctor for annual wellness checks (comparing 2022 data to 2019). Additionally, screening rates for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, and most common cancers continue to be low.
At an individual level — we each need to commit to scheduling an annual wellness visit. And getting the necessary screening tests. To be honest, I need to complete my colon cancer screening (trying to overcome some personal issues/fears related to pooping in a box and then having UPS just carry that away; we all have our issues). But screening is so important; it can literally be the difference between life and death.
At the community level — we need to figure out how individuals who do not have the flexibility to leave work for a doctor’s visit can get into a doctor’s office (maybe evening hours or weekend clinics). We need to find pathways for wellness visits and cancer screenings that do not break a family’s budget. We need pathways that do not require one to have health insurance. We need pathways that are safe for the queer community, for racial minorities, and for individuals who have fears and concerns or were mistreated by healthcare providers in the past.
Shoot — we need to come up with pathways for people who believe they are healthy and do not need to visit a doctor.
There is a lot of work to be done.
But the future projects are NOT positive.
We need prevention and screening now.
In order to create healthy communities today and in the future.
Have questions? or comments?
And be sure to share this post & all the others with your friends and family, especially those who may have some queso in their refrigerator —
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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