Latest news with #CentresforDiseaseControlandPrevention
Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
Harmful bacteria found in coastal waters lead to beach closures in the US: Officials share spots you must avoid
With the summer heat scorching the backs and a celebration on the way with the Fourth of July weekend coming up, many people will be planning a trip to the beach for some refreshing dips and tanning lines. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It is a perfect plan for families and couples, wishing to enjoy some time together on the celebrated day. In case you are planning some beach trips in the coming few weeks, it is important to note that officials have closed off swimming at beaches in parts of Illinois, Washington and New York due to excessive bacteria in the water. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the bacteria known as Vibrio, often found in coastal waters cause various symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, skin lesions and even dangerously low blood pressure. The centre also warns that some Vibrio bacteria can cause severe and life-threatening infections. These are the areas and beaches you must avoid when planning a trip for the Fourth of July: Long Island, New York Image credits: X Health officials in New York have closed swimming at several beaches in Nassau and Suffolk counties due to elevated bacteria levels. Since June 25, bathing is restricted at these beaches until samples prove the waters are safe again: Benjamin Beach in Bay Shore Ronkonkoma Beach in the Town of Islip Sayville Marina Park Beach in Sayville Morgan Beach in Glen Cove Biltmore Beach Club in Massapequa Massachusetts In Massachusetts, 19 beaches are closed to the public due to "bacterial exceedance" posing the risk of illness, as per the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. These are: Pomps Pond in Andover Damon Pond Beach in Ashby Upper Mill Pond in Brewster Walden Pond in Concord Sandy Beach in Danvers Kings in Lynn Magnolia and Tuck's Point in Manchester Henry F Collins Beach in Marlborough Cochituate State Park Beach in Natick Long Beach in Rockport Children's Island (Back and Walley) and Ocean Avenue in Salem Peckham Pond at Camp Nihan in Saugus Beamans Pond (Campground and Day Use) in Templeton Seth's Pond in West Tisbury Shannon Beach at Upper Mystic in Winchester Washington Image credits: X The King County public health department announced the closure of at least five beaches in Seattle due to high bacteria concentration and one due to toxic algae. These include: Houghton Beach in Kirkland Madison Park Beach in Seattle Madrona Beach in Seattle Matthews Beach in Seattle Mount Baker Park Beach in Seattle West Green Lake Beach in Seattle (Due to toxic algae) Illinois Along Chicago's northern suburbs, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced multiple beach closures last week due to elevated bacteria levels, which include: North Point Marina Beach and Waukegan North Beach in Lake County Main Beach in Crystal Lake Butch Hagele Beach and Indian Trail Beach and in the Illinois suburb Lake in the Hills Michigan Michigan beaches are also not safe for a Fourth of July trip it seems with at least five beaches being closed due to unsafe swimming environments. Dodge Park #4 in Oakland County Thelma Spencer Park in Oakland County Dumont Lake Park Beach in Allegan County St. Clair Shores Memorial Park Beach in Macomb County Sunset Park in Emmet County California Image credits: X On Friday, June 27, multiple beaches in San Diego County were under water contact advisories due to heightened bacteria levels. However, there have been no announcements of closures due to low severity, as per the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality. Coronado Ocean Beach Mission Bay La Jolla Del Mar Cardif
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
She was in peak shape, then a tick bite left her paralysed: What we need to keep in mind when going outdoors
Image credit: Instagram/planthlete_maria Maria Palen was everything one might imagine when picturing a fitness inspiration. A 31-year-old chemical engineer from California, she followed a clean, plant-based diet, exercised regularly, and even gathered over 20,000 followers on Instagram for her transformation journey. But in a twist no one saw coming, her story shifted from fitness triumph to a health nightmare. After months of unexplained joint pain, swelling, and fatigue, Maria was diagnosed with babesiosis, an infection caused by parasites transmitted through tick bites. By late 2024, she had become paralysed from the waist down. Her journey reminds us that sometimes the body can look perfectly healthy on the outside, but something invisible is quietly waging a war inside. More than a health scare, Maria's story is a wake-up call about the hidden dangers of tick-borne illnesses, especially for those who love spending time in nature. What really happened to Maria? At first, the signs were mild, some inflammation, joint discomfort, and a nagging pain in her thumb. Like many would, she tried to manage it naturally by switching to a cleaner diet and ramping up exercise. But instead of getting better, the symptoms worsened. By March 2024, she was bedridden. Every day tasks like locking a phone or opening a tuna can became a struggle. Eventually, a functional medicine specialist diagnosed her with babesiosis, a lesser-known tick-borne disease caused by Babesia parasites that infect red blood cells. Unlike the more commonly known Lyme disease, babesiosis often goes undetected because its early signs mimic flu or fatigue. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases of babesiosis have doubled over the last decade, jumping from 1,000 in 2011 to around 2,500 annually today. Maria believes the tick bite may have happened years ago, possibly while hiking outdoors, and went unnoticed. Over time, the infection progressed, eventually affecting her nervous system. By October 2024, she was unable to sit due to extreme tailbone pain. Soon after, paralysis set in. Not all dangers wear a warning label Tick bites often go unnoticed. They're small, painless, and easy to miss. What's more concerning is how long some infections can lie dormant. Maria's story is not a case of being careless; it's a case of how little is known or spoken about lesser-known tick-borne diseases like babesiosis. Ticks are most active in warmer months and tend to thrive in grassy or wooded areas. The 2024 tick season in the US was one of the worst in recent memory, as milder winters led to more animals surviving, especially those that serve as hosts to ticks. According to researchers at the University of California, Riverside, this rise in tick populations also increases the risk of rare infections spreading quietly. The microbes that cause babesiosis (Babesia microti and B. duncani) are tricky to detect because they hide inside red blood cells. Recent research decoding the genome of B. duncani even shows it behaves similarly to the parasite behind malaria, explaining why symptoms can include fever, chills, and muscle aches before turning severe. (Pic courtesy: iStock) Lessons from Maria's experience that can't be ignored What stands out about Maria's story is not just the tragedy, but her resilience. Despite eight hours of therapy every week, she remains hopeful about regaining sensation in her legs. But her experience underlines something crucial: Early detection can make all the difference. Doctors often test for Lyme disease when tick-borne illness is suspected, but babesiosis is not always on their radar. And since it can coexist with Lyme, symptoms may be wrongly attributed. That's why it's vital for healthcare providers to broaden their approach and for individuals to track any unexplained changes in energy, muscle strength, or chronic pain, especially after spending time outdoors. And it's not just about hiking or camping. Even gardening in overgrown backyards or walking through wooded areas can pose risks, especially when protective clothing or tick repellents are not used. Metabolic Syndrome & Obesity: What You Need to Know Real precautions that matter, beyond the basics Most lists mention "wear long sleeves" or "check for ticks." But Maria's case urges a deeper look: Clothing isn't just a barrier, it's a tool. Opting for light-coloured clothes can help spot ticks faster. Also, tucking pants into socks is not just a strange fashion tip, it creates a physical barrier from ground-level brush where ticks often lurk. Routine checks must include overlooked areas. Ticks love warm, hidden places, behind ears, under arms, behind knees, along the hairline, and even between toes. Not all repellents are created equal. The CDC recommends using EPA-registered repellents with DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Natural alternatives like citronella may smell nice, but they're often ineffective against disease-carrying ticks. Outdoor wear deserves a separate space. Clothes worn in forested or grassy areas should be removed immediately upon entering the house and washed in hot water. Ticks can survive on fabrics and hitchhike into beds and sofas. Never ignore unexplained fatigue, swelling, or recurring body pain. These signs may not be 'just stress' or 'overexertion.' If they linger, blood tests can help identify hidden infections early. [This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. For any symptoms or health concerns, please consult a licensed healthcare provider]
The Advertiser
7 days ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
US vaccine panel eyes childhood immunisations
The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference. The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference. The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference. The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference.
West Australian
7 days ago
- Health
- West Australian
US vaccine panel eyes childhood immunisations
The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference.
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
US vaccine panel eyes childhood immunisations
The vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said it would study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunisations and review the use of older vaccines. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, this month fired all 17 members of a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with his own picks. At least two CDC staff members left over the changes. Major medical experts and former members of the panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, have expressed concern over its reconstitution. The influential American Academy of Pediatrics, boycotted the panel's first meeting in protest, saying it would publish its own evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule. More than half of the remaining seven members have advocated against vaccines. The outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official US immunisation schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for the CDC's Vaccines for Children program. Committee chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff - a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticised COVID-19 lockdowns and was fired from Harvard for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine - said the panel will review the total number of vaccines US children and adolescents receive, which he said exceeds those given to children in other developed nations. The group will also evaluate individual vaccines as well as the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. Kulldorff also said the panel would study the use of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella shot as well as research on the optimal timing of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine "to resolve religious objections" that some parents have regarding the shot used in the US A presentation on Thursday will be led by Lyn Redwood, former leader of the Children's Health Defence, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood's slide presentation on thimerosal's effects on the brain, released on Tuesday, included a reference to a study that does not exist, the listed author told Reuters. The presentation has since been updated to remove the reference.
