“Every year, our communities comes together to ring the alarm on the diabetes epidemic. 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with diabetes this year. If you’re at risk, making small changes to the way you eat, increasing your physical activity levels or getting early treatment can, for some, actually return blood sugar levels to a normal range. So, take a breath—and then take action. “
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
CDC recommends the following this Halloween:
Moderate Risk Activities:
Higher Risk Activities:
Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:
“Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a non-contagious condition that can affect polio survivors usually 15 to 40 years after recovery from polio. Only a polio survivor can develop PPS, it is not contagious.
The polio vaccine has eradicated polio from the United States. However, polio still exists in some countries and cases of PPS still arise. ”
NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
“Most people who get infected with poliovirus (about 72 out of 100) will not have any visible symptoms. These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own. A smaller proportion of people (much less than one out of 100, or 1-5 out of 1000) with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Acute lower respiratory infections are a leading cause of sickness and mortality both in children and adults worldwide. Unfortunately, acute lower respiratory infections are not uniformly defined and this may hamper a true appreciation of their epidemiological importance. From an epidemiological point of view, the definition of acute lower respiratory infections usually includes acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis, influenza and pneumonia.
Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), while often used as a synonym for pneumonia, can also be applied to other types of infection including lung abscess and acute bronchitis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, fever, coughing and fatigue.
There are a number of symptoms that are characteristic of lower respiratory tract infections. The two most common are bronchitis and edema
Acute bronchitis can be defined as an acute illness that occurs in a patient without chronic lung disease. Symptoms include cough (productive or otherwise) and other symptoms or clinical signs that suggest lower respiratory tract infection with no alternative explanation (e.g. sinusitis or asthma).
Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection and the most common cause of admission to hospital in the first 12 months of life.
Influenza affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.
Antibiotics are the first line treatment for pneumonia; however, they are not effective or indicated for parasitic or viral infections. Acute bronchitis typically resolves on its own with time.
“Stay away from me! I don’t want to get sick, too.” Most of us have had to utter those words to a family member, friend, or colleague who was sneezing or coughing incessantly. But how do we know how great the chances of catching someone’s cold or other illness really are? A medical review published in the New England Journal of Medicine tells us when to exercise concern over eight respiratory tract infections.
Illness(Infectious agent) |
How it gets transmitted |
Places of highest risk |
Percent risk of infection |
Bronchiolitis
(Respiratory Syncytial Virus, RSV) |
Direct contact with ill person, large-droplets from coughs or sneezes, contact with tissues, linens, or other surfaces holding the virus | Homes, day-care centers | In day-care centers, 100% of exposed children become ill, previous infection somewhat lowers the risk |
Flu
(Influenza viruses) |
Direct contact with ill person, large- and tiny-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Homes, schools, bars, dormitories, areas with poor ventilation or recirculated air | 20%-60% from a family member, only half of those infected will have symptoms of influenza |
The common cold
(Rhinovirus) |
Direct contact with ill person, large-droplets from coughs or sneezes, contact with tissues, linens, or other surfaces holding the virus | Homes, dormitories | 66% from a family member |
Tuberculosis | Tiny-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Homes, bars, dormitories, nursing homes, areas with poor ventilation | 25%-50% with close contact with a person with active disease, prolonged exposure is usually required |
Upper respiratory illness
(Adenoviruses) |
Direct contact with ill person, large- and tiny-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Camps, schools, military camps | 10% of those exposed may become ill, 40% among children, many infected individuals show no symptoms and infection leads to immunity from future infection |
Strep throat, scarlet fever
(Group A Strep) |
Direct contact with ill person, large-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Homes | 10% from a family member |
Bacterial meningitis
(Neisseria meningitides) |
Direct contact with ill person, large-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Homes, schools, camps | 2%-3% for a child whose sibling has active illness, 0.2%-0.4% for household contacts of the ill child, more than 95% of the time a second case of the disease does not follow a first. |
Pneumococcal pneumonia
(Streptococcus pneumoniae) |
Direct contact with ill person, large-droplets from coughs or sneezes | Day-care centers, homeless shelters, camps, prisons, nursing homes | Generally not regarded as contagious, risk of infection depends on one’s general health |
You can do a number of things to help prevent infection:
“Children and young people with spina bifida reported improvements in their social well-being over time. Their physical and psychological health remained stable. Youth with spina bifida may adapt to their health condition.:
Centers for Disease Prevention and Control CDC
“Complications of Spina Bifida depends on a various factors one being how soon was the Spina Bifida diagnosed and treated. Spina bifida’s impact is determined by the type of defect (there are 4 types) and in the case of myelomeningocele and closed neural tube defects the size and location of the malformation.”
NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH)
“October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month and October 25 is the international holiday for World Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day! Each year, about 1,427 babies are born with spina bifida, or 1 in every 2,758 births. Statistics say: Hispanic: 3.80 per 10,000 live births/Non-Hispanic black or African-American: 2.73 per 10,000 live births/ Non-Hispanic white: 3.09 per 10,000 live births. The estimated lifetime cost of care for a person with spina bifida, with caregiving costs, is $791,900. Children and young people with spina bifida reported lower health-related quality of life than youth with other chronic health conditions.”.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)