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What is ‘sloth fever’ and how can I avoid it when traveling to South America?

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International authorities are warning of “sloth fever.” Despite its name, you can’t catch it from sloths. Instead, it’s best to avoid contact with mosquitoes and biting midges.

So how can Australians protect themselves from sloth fever when traveling to South and Central America? And how does “sloth fever” compare to other mosquito-borne diseases like Zika?

What is sloth fever?

Sloth fever is attributable to Oropouche virus and is formally referred to as Oropouche viral disease or Oropouche fever.

The virus is orthobunyavirusIt due to this fact belongs to a special family of viruses than the flaviviruses (which include dengue, Japanese encephalitis and Murray Valley encephalitis viruses) and alphaviruses (chikungunya, Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus).

Oropouche virus was first identified in 1955. It is named after the village in Trinidad and Tobago where the one that contracted it lived. first isolated from lived.

Symptoms include fever, severe headache, chills, muscle pain, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and rash. This makes it difficult to distinguish it from other viral infections. About 60% of individuals infected get sick with the virus.

Is no specific treatment and most individuals get better in lower than a month.

However, serious symptomsincluding encephalitis and meningitis (inflammation of the brain and the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord) have been reported occasionally.

What is happening with this latest epidemic?

In July Pan American Health Organization issued a warning after two women from northeastern Brazil died from Oropouche virus infection, the primary death related to the virus.

There was also one fetal death, one miscarriage, and 4 cases of newborns with microcephaly, a condition characterised by an abnormally small head, that occurred while pregnant. This situation is paying homage to Zika virus outbreak in 2015–2016.

Oropouche has historically been a major problem in America. However, the disease lost its importance after subsequent outbreaks of the epidemic. chikungunya AND Zika from 2013 to 2016 and recently, dengue.

How does Oropouche virus spread?

Oropouche virus has has not been well researched compared to other insect-borne pathogens. We still don’t fully understand how the virus It’s spreading.

The virus is transmitted primarily by blood-sucking insects, particularly midges (especially ) and mosquitoes (potentially multiple species , , , and ).

We consider the virus circulates in forest areas, with primates, sloths, and birds being the essential suspected vectors. In urban outbreaks, humans are carriers of the virus, and blood-sucking insects infect others.

Share of midges (blood-sucking insects) in Australia they’re wrongly called “sand flies”) makes the transmission cycle of Oropouche virus somewhat different from that of viruses spread solely by mosquitoes. The kinds of insects that spread the virus may additionally differ between forested and urban areas.

Midges are much smaller than mosquitoes, but can still spread pathogens corresponding to Oropouche virus.
A/Prof Cameron Webb (Health Pathology NSW)

Why is Oropouche virus becoming more common?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the United States recently issued a warning on the growing cases of Oropouche in America. The variety of cases is increasing outside areas where it was previously found, corresponding to the Amazon basin, worrying authorities.

More than 8,000 cases of the disease have been reported in countries including Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Cuba.

There have been reports of travelers in Cuba and Brazil becoming infected after returning to the country. Europe AND North Americaappropriately.

While changing climate, deforestation and increased human movement may partly explain the rise in cases and the geographic spread of the virus, but there could also be something else at play.

Oropouche virus seems to have greater potential genomic reassortmentThis means the virus may evolve more rapidly than other viruses, potentially leading to more severe disease or increased transmission.

Other kinds of orthobunyaviruses have been shown to undergo genetic changes, cause more severe illness.

Should Australia be anxious?

Without more information on the role of local midges and mosquitoes within the spread of Oropouche virus, it is difficult to assess how great a risk it poses to Australia.

The risk of an infected traveller bringing the virus back to Australia is low. Very few cases of Zika have been reported in travellers from South or Central America return to Australia. Dengue is rarely reported from these travelers.

The biting insects most significant in spreading the virus in America are usually not present in Australia.

Although the chance is small, authorities need to concentrate on potentially infected travelers getting back from South and Central America and remember that appropriate test protocols to detect infection.

Australia has own local orthobunyaviruses Although these bacteria are known to cause infections, the health risk is considered to be low.

What can travellers do to protect themselves?

There are not any vaccines or specific treatments for Oropouche virus.

If you’re traveling to South and Central American countries, take appropriate steps to avoid mosquito and midge bites.

Mosquito repellents containing diethyltoluamide (DEET), picaridin, and lemon eucalyptus oil have been proven to be effective in reducing the results of mosquito bites and are expected to be effective against midge bites as well.

You can further reduce your risk by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and closed shoes.

Sleeping and resting under mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide will help, but you’ll need nets with much finer meshes, as midges are much smaller than mosquitoes.

Although Australian authorities haven’t issued any specific warnings, CDC AND European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warn that pregnant women should discuss travel plans and potential risks with their doctor.



This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

WATCH: Cynthia Erivo on the importance of being a sister – Essence

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“; } }); // Drag and scroll functionality const playlistContainer = document.getElementById(‘playlist’); let isDown = false; let startY; let scrollTop; playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mousedown’, (e) => { isDown = true; playlistContainer.classList.add(‘active’); playlistContainer.offsetTop; scrollTop = playlistContainer.scrollTop; }); playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mouseleave’, () => { isDown = false; playlistContainer.classList.remove(‘active’); }); ‘, () => { isDown = false; playlistContainer.classList.remove(‘active’); playlistContainer.addEventListener(‘mousemove’, (e) => { if (!isDown) return; e.preventDefault(); const y = e.pageY -List Container playlist.offsetTop; const walk = (y – startY) * 3; // quick playlistContainer.scrollTop = scrollTop – walk; }); } } if (” !== ‘efoc24’) { // Check DoubleVerify Quality Targeting signals before rendering the player if ( ‘undefined’ !== PQ type ) { PQ.cmd.push(function () { // If DVQT signals are not available after 500 ms, render the player anyway. const timeout_id = setTimeout( jwPlayerRender, 500 ); // Get “Authentic Direct” signals. PQ.getTargeting({ signals: [‘abs’] }, function(error, targetingData) { clearTimeout(timeout_id); jwPlayerRender(error? undefined: targetingData); }); }); } else { jwPlayerRender(); } function jwPlayerRender( dvqt_signals=”” ) { let jw_ad_tag ​​= {“client”:”googima”,”adscheduleid”:”G7hR9pQ2″,”schedule”:[{“tag”:”https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=&iu=/21698916284/ess/VideoNews&env=vp&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&sz=400×300%7C640x480%7C1000x1%7C1920x1080&description_url=__page-url__&tfcd=0&npa=0&vpmute=1&vpa=auto&vad_type=linear&url=__page-url__&vpos=preroll&unviewed_position_start=1&v=4QHYeDGA&pmnd=0&pmxd=60000&ad_rule=1&cust_params=ttid%3D4QHYeDGA%26frnch%3D__item-franchise__%26environment%3Dproduction%26kwblock%3DAbb%2CCapOne%2CLincoln%2CUPS%2CVG%2CATTCric%2CDisney”,”offset”:”pre”},{“tag”:”https://vid.springserve.com/vast/670880?url=https://www.essence.com/news/watch-cynthia-erivo-on-importance-of-sisterhood/h=450&w=800&cb=1535″,”offset”:”50%”}]”offers”:{“bidders”:[{“id”:”jw-video-4QHYeDGA”,”name”:”jwdemand”,”publisherId”:”evcxFIDZ”,”siteId”:”WT5iFegj”,”placementId”:”24399785″},{“id”:”jw-video-4QHYeDGA”,”name”:”connatix”,”siteId”:”WT5iFegj”,”placementId”:”23419a80-fc77-4fd5-bd0c-2a4807a66a6c”}]”settings”:{“disableConsentManagementOnNoCmp”:true,”mediationLayerAdServer”:”dfp”,”floorPriceCents”:200,”floorPriceCurrency”:”usd”,”buckets”:[{“increment”:0.1,”max”:30,”min”:0},{“increment”:0.5,”max”:50,”min”:30}]}}}; // Configure ad tag on the fly… let additional_params = {}; // Input DVQT signals. if ( dvqt_signals && dvqt_signals.ABS.length > 0 ) { additional_params.ABS = dvqt_signals.ABS.join(“,”); } // Create a string of additional_parameters. let extra_params_str=””; for (enter additional_parameters) { let value = additional_parameters[key]; additional_params_str += `${key}=${value}`; if ( key !== Object.keys( additional_params .pop() ) { additional_params_str += ‘&’; } } // Update ad tag cust_params (must be URL encoded). if ( Object.keys( additional_parameters ). length > 0 ) { let ad_schedule = jw_ad_tag.schedule; if ( ‘undefined’ !== schedule type ads ) { for (let i = 0; i < ad_schedule.length; i++) { let ad_url = new url(jw_ad_tag.schedule[i].label); let query_params = new URLSearchParams(ad_url.search); query_params.set("cust_params", query_params.get("cust_params") + `&${additional_params_str}`); ad_url.search = query_params.toString(); jw_ad_tag.schedule[i].tag = ad_url.toString(); } } } let playerId; if ("undefined" !== type jwplayerQueue) { playerId = 'jw-video-4QHYeDGA'; jwplayerQueue.push({ 'instanceId': 'playerInstance_4QHYeDGA', 'playerId': playerId, 'config': { pid: 't6KP9zcV', playlist: "https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4QHYeDGA", autostart: !jw_ad_tag, repeat: true, mute: true, aspect ratio: '16:9', share: {sites: ["facebook", "twitter", "email", "linkedin"]}, cast: {}, float: {disibility: true}, autoPause: {viewability: true}, displaytitle: true, displaydescription: true, controls: true, related: {displayMode: 'shelfWidget'}, interactive: {} , ad: jw_ad_tag ​​​​} }); } // Load video. jQuery(window).trigger("jw:loadplayers"); function waitForJWPlayer(callback) { if (type jwplayer !== 'undefined') { callback(); } else { setTimeout(function() { waitForJWPlayer(callback); }, 500); } } waitForJWPlayer(function() { jwplayer(playerId).on('adsManager', function (adsManagerLoaded) { let adsManager = adsManagerLoaded.adsManager; let videoElement = document.getElementById(playerId ); let config = { anId: '929481' , camp ID: '640x360', ias_xps: "autoplay", // autoplay status ias_xbp: "2", // video destination type ias_xar: "1" // autoplay status }; // Start IAS integration googleImaVansAdapter.init(google, adsManager, videoElement , configuration });

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Phenergan is no longer recommended for children under 6 years of age due to the risk of hallucinations. Here’s what you can use instead

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The Australian Drugs Regulatory Authority has issued an order safety warning over Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine promethazine.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has stated that over-the-counter products shouldn’t be given to children under six years of age due to concerns about serious unwanted side effects akin to hyperactivity, aggression and hallucinations. Breathing may turn into slow or shallow, which can be fatal.

When high doses are administered to young children, difficulties in learning and understanding, including reversible cognitive deficit and mental disability, may occur. – said the TGA.

The latest warning follows international and Australian concerns about the drug in young children, which is commonly used to treat conditions akin to hay fever and allergies, motion sickness and for short-term sedative effects.

What is promethazine?

Promethazine is a “first generation” antihistamine that has been sold over the counter in Australian pharmacies for a long time for a spread of conditions.

Unlike many other drugs, first-generation antihistamines can cross the blood-brain barrier. This means they affect your brain chemistry, making you feel drowsy and sedated.

In adults, this will likely be useful for sleep. However, in children, these drugs can cause serious unwanted side effects on the nervous system, including those mentioned on this week’s safety alert.

We’ve known about this for a while

We have known about the serious unwanted side effects of promethazine in young children for a while.

Advice regarding 20 years ago In the United States, the drug was not recommended for use in children under two years of age. In 2022, an Australian Medicines Advisory Committee made its own suggestion to increase the age to six. New Zealand released similar warnings and advice in May this 12 months.

Over the last ten years, there have been 235 cases of serious unwanted side effects from promethazine in each children and adults reported to the TGA. Of the 77 deaths reported, one was a toddler under six years of age.

Reported unwanted side effects in each adults and children included:

  • 13 cases of accidental overdose (leading to 11 deaths)
  • eight cases of hallucinations
  • seven cases of slow or shallow respiration (leading to 4 deaths)
  • six cases of decreased consciousness (leading to five deaths).

TGA security alert comes after an internal investigation by the manufacturer of Phenergan, Sanofi-Aventis Healthcare. This investigation was initiated in 2022 advice from the Medicines Advisory Committee. The company has now updated its information for consumers and healthcare professionals.

What can you use instead?

If you have allergies or hay fever in young children, non-sedating antihistamines akin to Claratine (loratadine) or Zyrtec (cetirizine) are preferred. They provide relief without the risk of sedation and other disturbing unwanted side effects of promethazine.

If symptoms of a chilly or cough occur, parents must be reassured that these symptoms will normally subside with time, fluid intake, and rest.

Saline nasal sprays, adequate hydration, a humidifier or elevating the child’s head can relieve the congestion related to hay fever. Oral products containing phenylephrine marketed for nasal congestion must be avoided because evidence shows that this is the case This article was originally published on : theconversation.com

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Health and Wellness

Why Elon Musk’s Grok Could Pose a Threat to Medical Privacy

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elon musk, DEI, remote work, jobs


Owner of X and candidate for the White House cabinet Elon Musk asked users to submit MRI results, CT scans and other medical information to its AI chatbotGrok reviewed it and a few people fell for it, he reports.

Musk presented this concept to X in late October 2024.

“Try uploading X-rays, PET, MRI, or other medical images to Grok for analysis. It’s still early stages, but it’s already quite accurate and will be extremely good,” he wrote. “Let us know where Grok is doing it right or where it needs work.”

Some individuals who voluntarily submitted photos were comfortable that Grok “did do well” together with his blood test results and breast cancer detection, but others waved red flags against the platform.

Josh Sharp, who goes by @showinvestment on social media, identified how a broken collarbone was viewed as a dislocated shoulder.

Radiologist Docteur TJ provided an in-depth evaluation of the MRI image, which he described partially as “too gross.”

Another example is a robot confusing a mammogram of a benign breast cyst with a picture of the testicles.

Grok was launched in May 2024 after raising $6 billion in an investment financing round through Musk’s tech startup, xAI. Grok is just not the primary of its kind: Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT also enable the transfer of medical images.

While some praise the technology’s potential advances, medical privacy experts don’t not on this camp.

“It’s very personal data, and there’s no telling exactly what Grok will do with it,” said Vanderbilt University biomedical informatics professor Dr. Bradley Malin, according to “Sending personal information to Grok is more like, ‘Whee!’ Let’s throw out this data and hope the corporate does what I need it to do.”

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects medical information shared with physicians or in a patient portal because federal guidelines protect it from being shared without consent. However, the protection doesn’t cover social networking sites – it only applies to doctor’s offices, hospitals, health insurers and a few firms they work with.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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