Category: Health News

Health officials concerned by rise in flu, RSV cases – The Suffolk News-Herald

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Health officials concerned by rise in flu, RSV cases – The Suffolk News-Herald

Health officials concerned by rise in flu, RSV cases

Published 5:48 pm Friday, November 25, 2022

The Virginia healthcare community is encouraging local residents who haven’t done so to get vaccinated against the flu, get vaccinated or boosted against COVID-19, and to take personal health and safety precautions as we enter what could be a particularly intense flu and respiratory illness season.

This year’s flu season is already showing early, concerning signs that it may be worse than in recent years, Virginia Department of Health officials said in a recent news release.

There are also increasing numbers of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases, which may cause serious illness and hospitalization in children and older adults.

If these trends continue, healthcare officials both locally and across Virginia say this could strain healthcare systems in some communities. Virginia doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers are already being inundated with a surge of sick patients seeking care, filling hospital beds, and in many cases requiring longer hospital stays.

Data from Virginia hospitals and public health surveillance information from the Virginia Department of Health suggest that the Commonwealth faces the prospect of a particularly challenging flu and respiratory disease season throughout this fall and winter. Emergency department and urgent care clinic visits involving patient diagnoses of RSV have quadrupled since early September and remain significantly elevated.

Visits for flu-like illness are also rising – for the week ending November 5, such visits are at least four times higher than in the same week for each of the past four years, according to VDH.

In Virginia, we have seen a 41 percent increase in flu-like illness and an overall 18 percent increase in respiratory illness from the week prior. Virginia Immunization Information System data from July 1-November 9, 2022 indicates that flu vaccination uptake in children younger than 12 is lower this year as compared to the same time periods during the previous three years.

Virginia Department of Health Eastern Region Public Information Officer Larry Hill gave some general everyday techniques for people to stay safe and healthy.

“The best defense is a flu shot,” Hill said. “Also wash your hands, cover your sneeze or cough and stay home when sick.”

Likewise, the Western Tidewater Health District shared a Facebook post on Nov. 13 with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Described as a “common respiratory virus that

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Should I skip Thanksgiving if I feel sick?

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Should I skip Thanksgiving if I feel sick?

By Rose Hoban

The number of travelers on the move for the Thanksgiving holiday is up with airports expected to screen as many as 2.5 million passengers nationwide today, and possibly surpass that number on Sunday, Nov. 27, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.

“We expect to be busier this year than last year at this time, and probably very close to pre-pandemic levels,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “We are prepared to handle the projected increase in travel volumes.”

People are eager to get back to their holiday rituals after years of pandemic restrictions, but what happens if just as the holiday approaches, you find yourself sneezing, sniffling, coughing and maybe even testing positive for a COVID-19 infection? 

“The name of the game for the last couple of years has been COVID, COVID, COVID. And now there’s a lot less masking and a lot less distancing,” said Laura Murray, an intensive care medicine specialist from the Cone Health Medical Group in Greensboro. “People are, you know, rejoicing and being in public together, maybe not being as careful about covering coughs or masking.”

At this point in the pandemic, the worry is likely not so much about COVID, but about the other respiratory viruses that have been circulating with a vengeance. For older friends and family, or people who are immunocompromised, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are real dangers.

If you’re sick this week, it’s likely that you’ll be sick on turkey day. So, the question becomes, should you stay at home? Or go? And if you go, how should you act?  

A surge in RSV, flu

Pulmonologist Brad Drummond who works at the main UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill said there’s a steady trickle of coronavirus cases in the intensive care unit, but it’s only one or two beds out of 30. 

“During the Delta wave, it was ‘you’re young and healthy and sick as stink,’” he told NC Health News last week. “The COVID that’s being admitted now is ‘you’re on chemo or have chronic immunocompromised condition.’”

Instead, it’s Flu A that’s making people sick. To him, it felt like it was doubling every week. 

He’s not far off. Positive flu tests went from being about two percent positive  reported to North Carolina’s hospital-based surveillance network in the beginning of October to being 27 percent positive in the week ending Nov. 12. 

“Not all of

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Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork

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Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork

Medical equipment is still strewn around the house of Rick Lucas, 62, nearly two years after he came home from the hospital. He picks up a spirometer, a device that measures lung capacity, and takes a deep breath — though not as deep as he’d like.

Still, Lucas has come a long way for someone who spent more than three months on a ventilator because of covid-19.

“I’m almost normal now,” he said. “I was thrilled when I could walk to the mailbox. Now we’re walking all over town.”

Dozens of major medical centers have established specialized covid clinics around the country. A crowdsourced project counted more than 400. But there’s no standard protocol for treating long covid. And experts are casting a wide net for treatments, with few ready for formal clinical trials.

It’s not clear just how many people have suffered from symptoms of long covid. Estimates vary widely from study to study — often because the definition of long covid itself varies. But the more conservative estimates still count millions of people with this condition. For some, the lingering symptoms are worse than the initial bout of covid. Others, like Lucas, were on death’s door and experienced a roller-coaster recovery, much worse than expected, even after a long hospitalization.

Symptoms vary widely. Lucas had brain fog, fatigue, and depression. He’d start getting his energy back, then go try light yardwork and end up in the hospital with pneumonia.

It wasn’t clear which ailments stemmed from being on a ventilator so long and which signaled the mysterious condition called long covid.

“I was wanting to go to work four months after I got home,” Rick said over the laughter of his wife and primary caregiver, Cinde.

“I said, ‘You know what, just get up and go. You can’t drive. You can’t walk. But go in for an interview. Let’s see how that works,’” Cinde recalled.

A woman stands at a kitchen island where the counter is filled with dozens of medication bottles.
Cinde Lucas, whose husband has suffered from long covid, lists the many supplements and prescription medications he tried while looking for something to combat brain fog, depression, and fatigue. (Blake Farmer / WPLN News)

Rick did start working earlier this year, taking short-term assignments in his old field as a nursing home administrator. But he’s still on partial disability.

Why has Rick mostly recovered while so many haven’t shaken the symptoms, even years later?

“There is absolutely nothing anywhere that’s clear about

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Healthcare Boom – Central Florida Health News

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Healthcare Boom – Central Florida Health News

AdventHealth to Open New Hospital in Winter Haven; Orlando Health to Expand Into Lakeland

by PAUL CATALA

Healthcare facilities are expanding at an astounding rate to match the population boom and increased need in Central Florida.

AdventHealth is expanding its footprint in Polk County with a new four-story hospital and emergency department off Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven. In Lakeland, Orlando Health is expanding, planning a hospital and surrounding campus in the fast-growing South Lakeland area.

This planned construction is further evidence of the growth in Polk County, which expanded from 603,000 residents in 2010 to 753,500 by 2021.

AdventHealth, a Seventh-Day Adventist nonprofit healthcare system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, recently announced its plans for a new, four-story hospital in Winter Haven.

The 42 acres north of Cypress Gardens Boulevard, south of River Lake and west of Cypress Gardens Road will eventually become a medical campus for the 192-bed AdventHealth Winter Haven hospital with an emergency department and 160,000 square feet of medical offices and ancillary facilities.

The AdventHealth expansion plans were given final approval when the Winter Haven City Commission unanimously approved the development November 14. 

“The southeast section of Winter Haven is growing in leaps and bounds, and this will make it a lot easier when time is sensitive for medical issues for the citizens to get medical care,” says Winter Haven City Commissioner J.P. Powell. 

“It’s necessary. The other alternative was going to Lake Wales or Haines City, and with medical issues. time is of the essence. It will be a real asset.”

According to AdventHealth, the first phase of construction will include a freestanding emergency room that will open before the hospital is completed. Once open, hospital services will include primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology, orthopedic, and urological specialty medical services.

Tim Clark, president and CEO of the AdventHealth Polk Market, has worked at AdventHealth for 19 years in various positions. He started as president and CEO of the Polk Market on June 5. He says the new hospital will bring “whole-person care to residents close to home,” particularly in the southeast section of Winter Haven. 

Once completed, the new hospital will be part of a network of AdventHealth centers already operational in areas such as Carrollwood (Tampa), Dade City, Lake Placid, Lake Wales, Sebring, and Wauchula. It will also be among five freestanding offsite AdventHealth emergency rooms, including those in Brandon, Palm Harbor and Tampa’s

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Attacks on Health Care Bi-Monthly News Brief: 02 – 15 November 2022 – World

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Attacks on Health Care Bi-Monthly News Brief: 02 – 15 November 2022 – World

SHCC Attacks on Health Care

The section aligns with the definition of attacks on health care used by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC).

Africa

Burkina Faso

03 November 2022: In Bondokuy village, Mouhoun province, Boucle du Mouhoun region, an ambulance and a motorcycle were seized by suspected JNIM militants. Source: ACLED1

Cameroon

03 November 2022: In Batibo town and subdivision, Northwest region, unidentified perpetrators abducted nine health workers from a government-run hospital. Sources: FX Empire and Reuters

Democratic Republic of the Congo

22 October 2022: In Some village, Mambasa territory, Ituri province, suspected members of rebel group Allied Democratic Forces looted pharmacies during an attack. Source: Radio Moto

07 November 2022: In Djugu territory, Ituri province, the International Committee of the Red Cross restarted their activities in the area after having been suspended since 2001 following the killing of six Red Cross aid workers. Sources: Actualité and Radio Moto

09 November 2022: In Kabasha village, located on the road between Butembo and Beni cities,
North Kivu province, more than 200 heavily armed members of the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) entered the village and looted the hospital centre of Kabasha before setting it on fire.
A male doctor found at the hospital centre was also kidnapped, while hospital patients were threatened. The perpetrators burnt down fourteen local shops including pharmacies. Sources:
Actualité I, Actualité II, La Prunelle, Radio Moto I, Radio Moto II, and Radio Okapi

Attacks on Health Care in the DRC

At least 25 health workers have been kidnapped in the DRC between 01 January and 20 October 2022. Download the dataset with details on the reported perpetrator and weapons used on HDX. The dataset does not yet include incidents reported in this News Brief. Registered HDX user? Follow us for the latest dataset updates.

Kenya

01 November 2022: Near Mandera town and county, along the Kenya-Ethiopia-Somalia border, al Shabaab militants hijacked a government ambulance that was on its way to the Elwak Referral Hospital, and abducted four men – the driver, two paramedics of the Lafey Health Centre, and a 40-year-old patient – taking them towards Somalia. The medics and the patient were released the next day, while the driver was set free on 03 November. Sources: AA, Al Jazeera, All Africa, Garowe,
Nation, Reuters, The Standard, The Star and Voice of America

Niger

05 November 2022: Between Arlit and Tchibarakaten departments, Agadez

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How to Reveal Your Baby’s Gender?

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How to Reveal Your Baby’s Gender?

You are organizing a party to reveal the gender of your baby. You’ve got everything ready and the guests have already confirmed, but you’re missing one thing: knowing how you will reveal your baby’s gender. Although a baby gender test shows you the gender of your baby, you have to plan an epic reveal party so that it stays in people’s minds for a long time. There are several ways to do this. The most common is to use a kind of confetti of a particular color that falls from a place, or you can even use compressed air to make the confetti bomb pop. However, how you reveal your baby’s gender will depend on your imagination and the resources you have available at the time. If you can’t think of anything, you can search the Internet. Platforms like YouTube have videos where people show the gender of their baby uniquely.

Some ideas for the big reveal

Your creativity is the only thing that can limit how to reveal your baby’s gender. However, if you’re short on creativity, here are some ideas. The most classical way to unveil your baby’s gender is to use a piñata or balloons. Once they pop, colored paper can fall out to reveal the gender. Another good idea is to use chocolate bars such as Hershey’s and cover them using wrapping paper of one color or another. You can also cut out the space so that only “HE” or “SHE” shows, depending on the gender of your baby. If you want to create a fun and messy gender reveal a surprise, you and your partner can conduct a pillow fight. The idea is to stuff the pillows with confetti in a color that shows your baby’s gender.

The Internet is your friend

Planning a gender reveal party can be exhausting and time-consuming if you decide to buy everything in your city. You can get some items in your city such as food. Everything else is better to buy online. Why? It is much easier and more convenient to search and buy everything you need for your gender reveal party from the comfort of a computer. Also, on the Internet, you can access a wider variety of items, which will help you discover things you never considered including in your party. For example, some websites sell items specially designed for this type of celebration. Not only …

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