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Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
What long COVID can teach us about future pandemics
Researchers are improving our understanding of the biological causes of long covid and working toward treatments. These advances may help not only people facing chronic illnesses today but also postinfection syndromes of the future. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But experts are worried that despite the hard-won lessons of covid, we are not fully prepared for the next pandemic and its aftermath due to decreases in research funding and support, and polarization of public health measures. Advertisement Climate change and increasing human encroachment into wildlife habitats mean a higher risk of diseases spreading. " I would argue that probably we're less prepared for this now than we were even prepared for the covid-19 pandemic," Al-Aly said. Long covid is new and not new Long covid originally surprised researchers and clinicians, but in retrospect, there were clues that infections could lead to chronic health conditions in some patients, researchers said. Other illnesses and pandemics have caused post-acute infection syndromes that bear striking similarities to those of long covid. Advertisement Therefore, long covid is new and very much not new. Related : We now know that 'we have post-infectious disease syndromes that occur, and that it's not unique to covid, but covid really brought it to the forefront,' said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. During and after the 1918 flu pandemic, people complained of feeling lethargic, memory problems and hazy thinking - which sounds a lot like the 'brain fog' and other neurocognitive effects of long covid. Farmers couldn't tend to their crops or shear their sheep, leading to economic distress. Years after the flu subsided, there was a rise in a Parkinson's-like symptoms tied to the illness. There was also a coinciding epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, that some believe to be related to the flu, though this link is disputed. Similar long-lasting symptoms followed outbreaks of the respiratory viruses SARS-CoV-1 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in the decades before covid. Some people also face persistent symptoms following Lyme disease, Ebola and dengue. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a still-mysterious chronic condition marked by persistent fatigue and malaise after exertion, is also suspected of having similar underlying causes as long covid; a 2024 meta-analysis found approximately half of long covid patients have ME/CFS. The difference with covid, of course, is 'just the sheer volume of people who had covid and got long covid,' which made it much easier to study and research compared with the other post-acute syndromes, said Wes Ely, a professor of medicine and co-director of the Center for Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Advertisement The pattern is now more apparent: While many people escape unscathed, 'it's clear that there's a wave of chronic disease and disability after pandemics,' Al-Aly said. A nurse recorded a patient's vitals. Long covid originally surprised researchers and clinicians, but in retrospect, there were clues that infections could lead to chronic health conditions. Kate Dearman/for The Washington Post This should factor into preparing for future pandemics and their aftereffects. 'We need to think about both the short and long term from the get-go when designing antivirals, designing vaccines' and identifying patients early to get them help earlier, Al-Aly said. Preparing for the aftermath of future pandemics In many ways, the United States may be less prepared to deal with the long covids of tomorrow than you would think. Understanding the biological causes of long covid will help. 'Investing in an understanding or unlocking the secrets of long covid' is going to pay dividends not only for long covid, but could be repurposed more broadly for post-viral illnesses of the present and future, Al-Aly said. But now, many of those resources and investments are at risk. Related : The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, established in 2023 at the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate the sprawling research efforts about the condition, has been shuttered. The HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Long Covid - a group of long covid physicians, researchers, patients and their advocates meant to advise on gaps in knowledge and research priorities - was terminated before its first meeting. Though HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated his commitment to finding long covid treatments, citing long covid's impact on his son, there had not been any new structures put in place for long covid research as of June. Meanwhile, clinical trials searching for long covid treatments are continuing, but researchers fear that future funding may be at risk, following cuts to dozens of long covid research grants (some of which were later restored). Advertisement The Trump administration's budget proposal 'I think we have a lot of work to do. And, you know, it's terribly unfortunate so much of this work has been now stopped by this administration,' Osterholm said. However, the multibillion-dollar RECOVER Covid Initiative launched by the NIH allowed researchers to set up clinics and study long covid at a 'much bigger scale than they ever have been before,' said Leora Horwitz, a professor of population health and medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. 'I think they've put us in a good position now to recognize similar sorts of conditions of future as-yet-unknown pandemics.' The infrastructure set up by RECOVER has allowed for the long-term tracking of in-depth health data and could be a model for what to test in future pandemics, said Horwitz, who co-leads the branch of RECOVER studying adult patients, which includes almost 15,000 participants at 83 sites across 33 states. More important, there is now broader recognition that a subset of people can develop prolonged symptoms from infections, Horwitz said. Moen viewed imaging of mice brain sections that have been infected, and then treated, with SARS-CoV-2, at the Iwasaki Lab. Jackie Molloy/For the Washington Post Experts said that many of these developments and understanding were driven by fierce advocacy from the community of long covid patients, who have prompted politicians to act. However, the U.S. health care system remains strained even without contending with another pandemic, said Osterholm, who pointed to a projected shortage of physicians and other health care professionals. Advertisement Fixing the health care system is important, he said. 'If we don't invest right now, the bottom line is we're going to just do a repeat all over again in the next pandemic,' Osterholm said. At the same time, many of the public health tools for mitigating infection spread and severity - and therefore risk of long-term symptoms - have become increasingly politicized. Masking, vaccination, antivirals and improved indoor air quality have all helped combat covid and are valuable tools to implement should another pandemic arise, Al-Aly said. But people are increasingly tuning out these public health conversations and resisting being reminded of the pandemic, 'like almost collective amnesia,' he said. 'We paid a heavy price for this knowledge, and literally more than 1.1 million people died' in the United States, Al-Aly said. Now it's a 'question of whether there will be the political will and also the public sentiment to actually utilize this information for public good,' he said.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
H5N1 outbreak: Cambodia reports 12th case this year; early symptoms to watch for
Cambodia's health ministry just reported another human case of H5N1 bird flu this year—this time, it's a 5-year-old boy from Kampot province, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), University of Minnesota said citing a Facebook post that has translated and posted the information. This is the 12th case of H5N1 infection from Cambodia, this year. H5N1, also known as avian influenza or bird flu is originally found in birds, it has occasionally crossed over to humans, usually through close contact with infected poultry. Though rare, human infections tend to be serious and sometimes even deadly. Despite its severity, many people are still unaware of how it presents in humans. Here's what you should know. It starts like any flu, but don't be fooled The early signs of H5N1 infection can look just like the seasonal flu. That's why it often goes unnoticed in the beginning. H5N1—also known as bird flu—isn't your average flu. It usually spreads from infected birds to people (think chickens, ducks, even cows lately), and while human cases are rare, they can be serious. So what should you watch out for if you've been around birds or on a farm? At first, H5N1 can look a lot like the regular flu. You might get: A high fever Chills Body aches Cough Runny nose Sore throat Sounds familiar, right? But here's where it gets intense: For some people, symptoms ramp up quickly. That means: Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Chest pain Fatigue that wipes you out Diarrhea, nausea, or even vomiting And in some serious cases—confusion, seizures, or coma Unlike seasonal flu, H5N1 often goes straight for the lungs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo It can cause pneumonia or even acute respiratory distress, which is why many people who get really sick end up in the ICU. The tricky part? Symptoms can take 2 to 8 days to show up after exposure, so you might feel fine at first—then suddenly not. H5N1 outbreak in the US H5N1 bird flu has been spreading across U.S. farms since early 2024, with about 70 human cases—mostly from direct animal exposure—and a first fatality in Louisiana in January 2025. The virus, especially the new D1.1 strain, has jumped into dairy cows, sparking concern over potential mutations that could boost human-to-human spread. While the CDC still rates overall risk as low, it warns that reduced surveillance and ongoing mammal infections make the situation unpredictable. When should you see a doctor? If you've recently handled poultry, been in live bird markets, or live in an area where bird flu has been reported, you need to be cautious even if your symptoms seem mild at first. Seek medical attention immediately if: Your fever doesn't go down after 48 hours You're short of breath, or breathing feels harder than normal You have chest pain or pressure Your cough gets worse and includes blood You feel confused, very sleepy, or unusually weak You've had direct contact with birds in the past 10 days Even if it turns out to be another illness, it's always better to rule out something serious early. Treatment and why timing matters It's also worth noting that antibiotics won't help, because H5N1 is caused by a virus, not bacteria. Only targeted antiviral treatment can assist, alongside rest, hydration, and hospital support in severe cases. Pay attention to your body. If you feel worse than usual, if your symptoms escalate fast, or if you have any exposure to birds, don't wait it out. Get checked. Most of all, take your health seriously. Your body often tells you when something's wrong, you just have to listen closely.
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Measles cases are in 34 states with North Dakota now the focus
As super-contagious measles continues to spread and nears a six-year U.S. record, cases in its original epicenter of West Texas may be subsiding as hesitant residents become more concerned and willing to vaccinate, while North Dakota is a new focus with the highest rate of any state. The reality of measles may be overcoming vaccine misinformation in some areas, despite the purge of experts from decision-making roles in the Trump administration under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The nation's top vaccine expert resigned under pressure in March. And on June 11, Kennedy appointed eight new members of an immunization advisory panel - some of whom are vaccine critics - after sacking all 17 members of the group two days earlier. Kennedy called his actions "a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines." The University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, however, called the committee's mass replacement "one of the darkest days in modern public health history." The Infectious Diseases Society of America called the move "reckless, shortsighted and severely harmful," saying Kennedy's criticism of the original 17 committee members is "completely unfounded." In West Texas, where outbreaks are concentrated, the city of Lubbock hasn't seen a new case in 20 days, said Katherine Wells, public health director for the city. The area is east of the largest Texas outbreaks, which were centered on a Mennonite community with religious objections to vaccination. Wells attributed the recent success to a combination of more vaccinations, public awareness campaigns and willingness to stay home when sick to avoid transmission. "I talked to some people who, because there's so much information about the risk of vaccines and the bad side effects, I can see from a parent's perspective, 'Why would I give my child that?'" Wells said. "Now they've seen measles in their community, so now they're thinking, 'OK, now I'm going to get vaccinated.'" Outbreak moves north In North Dakota, however, the state's 34 cases give it the highest rate in the nation, followed by New Mexico and Texas, according to the North Dakota Public Health Association, a nonprofit health advocacy group that published an analysis of individual states' data on Facebook. The state's first case since 2011 was reported May 2. "This is not a result of local public health failure," the organization posted. "This is a result of persons in the community choosing not to have their children vaccinated and resisting local public health recommendations and urgent efforts to increase vaccination uptake." Dr. Stephen McDonough, a pediatrician and former state health officer in North Dakota, said he hasn't seen signs of improvement in the state. He doubts recent federal moves will do anything but make the situation worse. "The outbreak in North Dakota is real, has not peaked yet and is expanding," McDonough said in an interview. "It was just a matter of time before North Dakota experienced a measles outbreak due to our low immunization rate." Middle school band students in Minot, North Dakota, had to cancel trips to a regional band festival and parade in May because of the outbreak. Some 150 unvaccinated children were asked to quarantine for 21 days to avoid further spread. North Dakota had a 90% vaccination rate among kindergartners for the 2024-25 school year, a number that has declined from about 95% in the 2019-20 school year, according to state records. Vaccination coverage at 95% or above is needed to halt measles transmission. North Dakota's small population makes its measles rate misleading, said Jenny Galbraith, an immunization manager for the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. However, the state has suffered from low vaccination rates in recent years as more parents have claimed exemptions based on personal philosophy, religion or other reasons as allowed by state law. With about 7% of children exempted, it's almost impossible to reach the goal of 95% vaccination, she said. One hopeful sign is that North Dakota hasn't seen a new measles case since May 28, Galbraith said. "It's hard to say it's getting better because we're not out of the woods yet," she said. It's not always possible to overcome vaccine misinformation in the rural areas where it has taken root, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Increases in vaccination are generally in "areas where people are already comfortable getting vaccinated," she said, rather than areas such as parts of North Dakota and Oklahoma "that are more leery of vaccines and harder to penetrate because of misinformation." Texas County in Oklahoma has 16 confirmed cases, almost all among unvaccinated people. But local officials can keep stressing the benefits of vaccination and also the need to stay home when measles symptoms appear, advice that those unwilling to vaccinate may be more likely to heed, Freeman said. "In this day and age, it's an embarrassment that we've lost three people to measles," she said, referring to the three deaths reported this year. 'Cautiously optimistic' in Texas According to a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update June 6, there are 1,168 confirmed cases affecting 33 states. Texas reported two more cases June 10, and Navajo County, Arizona, reported the state's first four cases last week. There have been 17 measles outbreaks, defined as clusters of three or more related cases, this year compared with 16 in all of last year, according to the CDC. Cases are now more than four times higher than they were all of last year. And with less than half the year over, case numbers are closing in on 2019's high of 1,274. That's still a small number compared with almost 28,000 cases in 1990, when an outbreak centered in California hit low-income areas with low vaccination rates. While the total case count grows, the number of weekly new infections is dropping since a peak of 116 in late March. In Texas, outbreaks have slowed as unvaccinated people have either gotten vaccinated or become infected and gained immunity, said Lara Anton, spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. "The number of new cases in West Texas has slowed down and we are cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue," Anton said. The current list of states affected by confirmed measles cases this year: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. _____ _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Mint
21-05-2025
- Health
- Mint
Covid is quiet right now, but doctors are vigilant for a summer rise
The Covid-19 virus in the U.S. has largely faded from view. But it hasn't faded away. National wastewater data shows low Covid-19 activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The weekly reported Covid-19 deaths in April were slightly down compared with the same time a year earlier, federal data shows. Still, more than 300 Covid-19-related deaths were reported weekly as recently as mid-April. Some infectious-disease specialists said they expect more cases this summer, as there have been somewhat regular summertime increases in the past. Others cautioned that Covid-19 can still surprise us, more than five years after it spurred a global pandemic that killed more than 1.2 million Americans. 'It is at our lowest levels it has been since the beginning of the pandemic," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. 'Our challenge is we don't know what that means for tomorrow." The Trump administration on Tuesday released a more stringent set of guidelines for approving Covid-19 vaccines, requiring randomized controlled trials for new Covid-19 vaccines for many children and adults. The Food and Drug Administration expects it will be able to approve shots for adults older than 64 and other high-risk groups based on antibody testing. The original Covid-19 shots were tested in large, randomized trials with placebos. The updated vaccines to match newer versions of the virus have been tested with antibody testing to ensure that they triggered an immune response. As of May 10, the CDC projected that 70% of cases were caused by a version of the virus called LP. 8.1, an offshoot of the Omicron variant, which first appeared in late 2021. It is related to the JN.1 variant, which was the target of last season's booster shots. The LP. 8.1 version has picked up new mutations but hasn't yet led to an increase in cases or hospitalizations. 'Because there are so many people who have been vaccinated and infected, there is a high amount of immunity in the population," said Andrew Pekosz, director of the center for emerging viruses and infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University. 'I think we're also seeing that as a way to dampen the spread of the virus." Surveillance and monitoring for changes to the virus is continuing, Pekosz said, but at much lower levels than before, so there is more reliance on modeling to suss out variant spread. Hospitalization and death data remain the most solid. Covid-related hospitalizations in the U.S. are currently on the decline. There were some 1.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 people during the week ended with April 26, down from a winter peak of 4.2 per 100,000 people for the week ended Jan. 4, CDC data show. That rate is down from last winter, when hospitalization rates peaked at 7.8 per 100,000 people. Most years, the U.S. has experienced additional Covid-19 waves in late spring or summer, in addition to wintertime surges. Last year, a summertime wave peaked at around the week of Aug. 31, with more than 1,300 deaths reported, CDC data shows. Write to Brianna Abbott at
04-05-2025
- Health
A community rallied to share flu shot experiences. Then the government stopped the study
WASHINGTON -- Some Denver parents got texts during this winter's brutal flu season with videos sharing why people in their neighborhoods chose flu shots for their kids, an unusual study about trust and vaccines in a historically Black community. But no one will know how it worked out: The Trump administration canceled the project before the data could be analyzed -- and researchers aren't the only ones upset. 'For someone like me, from the Black community who income-wise is on the lower end, we don't often have a voice,' said Denver mom Chantyl Busby, one of the study's community advisers. 'Having this funding taken away from this project sends a horrible, horrible message. It's almost like telling us all over again that our opinions don't matter.' How to talk about vaccines with parents – or anyone – is taking on new urgency: At least 216 U.S. children died of flu this season, the worst pediatric toll in 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unvaccinated children are fueling one of the country's largest measles outbreaks in decades, and another vaccine-preventable disease — whooping cough — is soaring, too. At the same time Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questions vaccines long proven to be safe and effective. Moves by the Trump administration are making it increasingly uncertain that COVID-19 vaccines will be available this fall. And the administration has slashed funding for public health and medical research, including abruptly stopping studies of vaccine hesitancy. 'We need to understand what it is that is creating this challenge to vaccines and why,' said Michael Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and worries the country is entering 'scientific dark ages." At Denver Health, Dr. Joshua Williams is a pediatrician who every day has vaccine conversations with confused or worried parents. Some even ask if they'll get kicked out of his practice for refusing immunizations. Nope, Williams says: Building trust takes time. 'The most satisfying vaccine-related encounters I have are the ones in families who had significant concerns for a long time, came to trust me over the years as I cared for broken arms and ear infections – and ultimately vaccinated their child,' he said. But in the TikTok age, Williams wondered if digital storytelling – seeing and hearing what led other families to choose vaccination – might help those decisions. He chose flu shots as the test case — just under half of U.S. children got one this season. And Black children are among those most at risk of getting seriously ill from influenza. With a grant from the National Institutes of Health, Williams partnered with Denver's nonprofit Center for African American Health to host workshops bringing volunteers together to discuss how influenza and the flu vaccine had impacted their lives. Professionals helped those who wanted to go the extra step turn them into 2- to 3-minute polished videos. After two years of community engagement, five of those videos were part of the pilot study sending text messages to 200 families who get care at two Denver Health clinics. In one video, a mother described getting her first flu vaccination along with her young daughter, making her own health decisions after leaving a controlling relationship. In another, a grandmother explained how she'll never again miss a vaccine appointment after her grandson spent his 4th birthday hospitalized with the flu. Seeing 'people that they look like, that they sound like, who have experiences they've been through that can go, 'Hey, I felt like you felt but this changed my life,'' is powerful, said Busby, who OK'd her kids' flu vaccinations after questioning Williams during multiple family checkups. The study's sudden cancellation means Williams can't assess if the texted videos influenced families' vaccine decisions – lost data from more than two years of work and already-spent NIH dollars. It also jeopardizes the researchers' careers. While considering next steps, Williams has asked permission of community members to use some of the videos in his own practice as he discusses vaccination. Williams gets personal, too, telling families that his kids are vaccinated and how his 95-year-old grandmother reminisces about the terror of polio during her own childhood before those vaccinations were developed. 'We've lost the collective memory about what it's like to have these diseases in our community,' Williams said, ruefully noting the ongoing measles outbreak. 'I think it's going to take a collective voice from the community saying this is important, to remind those in power that we need to be allocating resources to infection prevention and vaccine hesitancy research.' —-
