Cold Sores

Also called: Fever blister, Oral herpes

Cold sores are caused by a contagious virus called herpes simplex. There are two types of herpes simplex virus. Type 1 usually causes oral herpes, or cold sores. Type 1 herpes virus infects more than half of the U.S. population by the time they reach their 20s. Type 2 usually affects the genital area.

Some people have no symptoms from the infection. But others develop painful and unsightly cold sores that last for a week or more. Cold sores usually occur outside the mouth — on the lips, chin, and cheeks, or in the nostrils. When they do occur inside the mouth, it is usually on the gums or the roof of the mouth.

There is no cure for cold sores. Medicines can relieve some of the pain and discomfort associated with the sores. These include ointments that numb the blisters, antibiotics that control secondary bacterial infections, and ointments that soften the crusts of the sores.

MedlinePlus

Swine Influenza (Flu)

Swine Flu website last updated April 28, 2009 11:00 AM ET

U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection (As of April 27, 2009 1:00 PM ET) State # of laboratory confirmed cases:

• California 10 cases
• Kansas 2 cases
• New York City 45 cases
• Ohio 1 case
• Texas 6 cases

TOTAL COUNT 64 cases

The human swine flu outbreak continues to grow in the United States and internationally. Today, CDC reports additional cases of confirmed swine influenza and a number of hospitalizations of swine flu patients. Internationally, the situation is more serious too, with additional countries reporting confirmed cases of swine flu. In response to the intensifying outbreak, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 4. A Phase 4 alert is characterized by confirmed person-to-person spread of a new influenza virus able to cause “community-level” outbreaks.” The increase in the pandemic alert phase indicates that the likelihood of a pandemic has increased.

CDC has activated its emergency operations center to coordinate the agency’s emergency response. CDC ’s goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this swine influenza virus. Yesterday, CDC issued a travel warning recommending that people avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. CDC continues to issue interim guidance daily on the website and through health alert network notices. CDC’s Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is releasing one-quarter of its antiviral drugs, personal protective equipment, and respiratory protection devices to help states respond to the outbreak. The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir. This is a rapidly evolving situation and CDC will provide updated guidance and new information as it becomes available.

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

CDC

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Health professionals recognize the benefits associated with a healthful eating plan based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including:

Decreased risk of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers
Decreased risk of overweight and obesity
Decreased risk of micronutrient deficiencies
The challenge is translating this nutrition knowledge into strategies, programs, and policies that can help Americans make healthier food choices.

The public is already flooded with nutrition and diet information from multiple sources. As a result, they are sometimes confused about what, how much, or even how often they should eat.

Nutrition professionals trying to influence dietary change must take into account a person’s personal food preferences as well as their level of awareness and interest in making healthier choices. In addition, environmental factors within families, organizations, and communities must be considered.

cdc

What is histoplasmosis?

What is histoplasmosis?

Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Its symptoms vary greatly, but the disease primarily affect the lungs. Occasionally, other organs are affected. This form of the disease is called disseminated histoplasmosis, and it can be fatal if untreated.

Can anyone get histoplasmosis?

Yes. Positive histoplasmin skin tests occur in as many as 80% of the people living in areas where H. capsulatum is common, such as the eastern and central United States. Infants, young children, and older persons, in particular those with chronic lung disease are at increased risk for severe disease. Disseminated disease is more frequently seen in people with cancer, AIDS or other forms of immunosuppression.

How is someone infected with H. capsulatum?

H. capsulatum grows in soil and material contaminated with bat or bird droppings. Spores become airborne when contaminated soil is disturbed. Breathing the spores causes infection. The disease is not transmitted from an infected person to someone else.

What are the symptoms of histoplasmosis?

Most infected persons have no apparent ill effects. The acute respiratory disease is characterized by respiratory symptoms, a general ill feeling, fever, chest pains, and a dry or nonproductive cough. Distinct patterns may be seen on a chest x-ray. Chronic lung disease resembles tuberculosis and can worsen over months or years. The disseminated form is fatal unless treated.

When do symptoms start?

If symptoms occur, they will start within 3 to 17 days after exposure; the average is 10 days.

Is histoplasmosis treatable?

Yes. Antifungal medications are used to treat severe cases of acute histoplasmosis and all cases of chronic and disseminated disease. Mild disease usually resolves without treatment. Past infection results in partial protection against ill effects if reinfected.

Where is H. capsulatum found?

H. capsulatum is found throughout the world and is endemic in certain areas of the United States. The fungus has been found in poultry house litter, caves, areas harboring bats, and in bird roosts.

What can be done to prevent histoplasmosis?

It is not practical to test or decontaminate most sites that may be contaminated with H. capsulatum, but the following precautions can be taken to reduce a person’s risk of exposure:

Avoid areas that may harbor the fungus, e.g., accumulations of bird or bat droppings.

Before starting a job or activity having a risk for exposure to H. capsulatum, consult the NIOSH/NCID document Histoplasmosis: Protecting Workers at Risk. This document contains information on work practices and personal protective equipment that will reduce the risk of infection. A copy of this document can be obtained by requesting publication no. 2005-109 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

CDC

What is sporotrichosis?

What is sporotrichosis?

Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection caused by a fungus called Sporothrix schenckii. It usually infects the skin.

Who gets sporotrichosis?

Persons handling thorny plants, sphagnum moss, or baled hay are at increased risk of getting sporotrichosis. Outbreaks have occurred among nursery workers handling sphagnum moss, rose gardeners, children playing on baled hay, and greenhouse workers handling bayberry thorns contaminated by the fungus. A number of cases have occurred among nursery workers, especially workers handling sphagnum moss topiaries.

How is the fungus spread?

The fungus can be found in sphagnum moss, in hay, in other plant materials, and in the soil. It enters the skin through small cuts or punctures from thorns, barbs, pine needles, or wires. It can also be inhaled and cause pulmonary infection or disseminated infection. It is not spread from person to person.

What are the symptoms of sporotrichosis?

The first symptom is usually a small painless bump resembling an insect bite. It can be red, pink, or purple in color. The bump (nodule) usually appears on the finger, hand, or arm where the fungus first enters through a break on the skin. This is followed by one or more additional bumps or nodules which open and may resemble boils. Eventually lesions look like open sores (ulcerations) and are very slow to heal. Pneumonia rarely occurs as a result of inhalation of fungal spores, and can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough and fever. The infection can spread to other parts of the body, including bones and joints and the central nervous system.

Does sporotrichosis involve any other organs besides the skin?

The majority of infections are limited to the skin. Cases of joint, lung, and central nervous system infection have occurred but are very rare. Usually they occur only in persons with weakened immune system.

How soon do symptoms appear?

The first nodule may appear any time from 1 to 12 weeks after exposure to the fungus. Usually the nodules are visible within 3 weeks after the fungus enters the skin.

How is sporotrichosis diagnosed?

Sporotrichosis can be confirmed when a doctor obtains a swab or a biopsy of a freshly opened skin nodule and submits it to a laboratory for fungal culture.

If I have symptoms should I see my doctor?

Yes. It is important for the diagnosis to be confirmed by a doctor so that proper treatment can be provided.

How is sporotrichosis treated?

Itraconazole is the preferred treatment for cutaneous and lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis. It may also be used to treat bone and joint infections. For patients with severe disease, and/or pulmonary, central nervous system or disseminated infection, a lipid formulation of amphotericin B should be used initially. Itraconazole can be used for step-down therapy once the patient has stabilized. Potassium iodide (SSKI) is another option for cutaneous or lymphocutaneous disease that does not respond to itraconazole. SSKI and azole drugs like itraconazole should be avoided during pregnancy. Treatment recommendations may differ for children. Consult your doctor for more information.

How can sporotrichosis be prevented?

Control measures include wearing gloves and long sleeves when handling wires, rose bushes, hay bales, conifer (pine) seedlings, or other materials that may cause minor skin breaks. It is also advisable to avoid skin contact with sphagnum moss. Moss has been implicated as a source of the fungus in a number of outbreaks.

CDC

How are RWIs spread? (Recreational Water Illness)

Keep in mind that you share the water with everyone else in the pool, lake, or ocean.

Diarrheal Illnesses
If swimmers are ill with diarrhea, the germs that they carry can contaminate the water if they have an "accident" in the pool. On average, people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. When people are ill with diarrhea, their stool can contain millions of germs. Therefore, swimming when ill with diarrhea can easily contaminate large pools or water parks. In addition, lakes, rivers, and the ocean can be contaminated by sewage spills, animal waste, and water runoff following rainfall. Some common germs can also live for long periods of time in salt water.

So, if someone swallows water that has been contaminated with feces, he/she may become sick. Many of these diarrhea-causing germs do not have to be swallowed in large amounts to cause illness.

Other RWIs
Many other RWIs (skin, ear, eye, respiratory, neurologic, wound, and other infections) are caused by germs that live naturally in the environment (water, soil). In the pool or hot tub, if disinfectant is not maintained at the appropriate levels, these germs can increase to the point where they can cause illness when swimmers breathe or have contact with water containing these germs.

CDC

Why is a Consistent Definition Important?

Definition of Suicide
Suicidal behavior exists along a continuum from thinking about ending one’s life (“suicidal ideation”), to developing a plan, to non-fatal suicidal behavior (“suicide attempt”), to ending one’s life (“suicide”).

Suicidal ideation
“Thoughts of harming or killing oneself” (IOM 2002). The severity of suicidal ideation can be determined by assessing the frequency, intensity, and duration of these thoughts (IOM 2002).

Suicide attempt
“A non-fatal, self-inflicted destructive act with explicit or inferred intent to die” (IOM 2002).

Suicide
“Fatal self-inflicted destructive act with explicit or inferred intent to die” (IOM 2002).

A consistent definition is needed to monitor the incidence of suicide and examine trends over time. In addition, it helps determine the magnitude of suicide and compare the problem across jurisdictions. A consistent definition also helps researchers measure risk and protective factors for victimization in a uniform manner. This ultimately informs prevention and intervention efforts.
cdc

Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect that occur among children under the age of 18. There are four common types of abuse.
• Physical abuse occurs when a child’s body is injured as a result of hitting, kicking, shaking, burning or other show of force.
• Sexual abuse involves engaging a child in sexual acts. It includes fondling, rape, and exposing a child to other sexual activities. • Emotional abuse refers to behaviors that harm a child’s self-worth or emotional well-being. Examples include name calling, shaming, rejection, withholding love, and threatening. • Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic needs. These needs include housing, food, clothing, education, and access to medical care. banner with why is child maltreatment a public health problem?banner with why is child maltreatment a public health problem?
The few cases of abuse or neglect we see in the news are only a small part of the problem. Many cases are not reported to police or social services. What we do know is that: • 1,530 children died in the United States in 2006 from abuse and neglect.1 • 905,000 children were victims of maltreatment in 2006.1 banner How does child maltreatment affect health?banner How does child maltreatment affect health?
Child maltreatment has a negative effect on health. Abused children often suffer physical injuries including cuts, bruises, burns, and broken bones. In addition, maltreatment causes stress that can disrupt early brain development.2 Extreme stress can harm the development of the nervous and immune systems.2 As a result, children who are abused or neglected are at higher risk for health problems as adults. These problems include alcoholism, depression, drug abuse, eating disorders, obesity, sexual promiscuity, smoking, suicide, and certain chronic diseases.3,4 banner who is at risk for child maltreatment?banner who is at risk for child maltreatment?
Children are never to blame for the harm others do to them. However, some factors can increase the risk of a child being abused. The presence of these factors does not always mean that abuse will occur. Age. Children under 4 years of age are at greatest risk for severe injury and death from abuse. Family environment. Abuse and neglect can occur in families where there is a great deal of stress. The stress can result from a family history of violence, drug or alcohol abuse, poverty, and chronic health problems. Families that do not have nearby friends, relatives, and other social support are also at risk. Community. On-going violence in the community may create an environment where child abuse is accepted.
cdc.

Acute Injury Care

The care of the acutely injured is a public health issue that involves bystanders and community members, health care professionals, and health care systems. It encompasses prehospital emergency medical services; emergency department assessment, treatment, and stabilization; and in-hospital care surgery and medical management among all age groups. The importance of acute injury care became increasingly clear in the aftermath of the events of 9/11 and subsequent mass casualty events.

Because CDC recognizes that injuries continue to occur, despite our best efforts at prevention, the Division of Injury Response (DIR) at CDC’s Injury Center seeks to improve outcomes for those who have survived severe injuries and to improve acute injury care practices. To meet this challenge, DIR works with national and international organizations spanning the continuum of injury prevention and acute injury care, including those responsible for emergency medical services and emergency medicine and trauma surgery, other public health organizations, other federal agencies, and the corporate sector.

cdc

Suicide

occurs when a person ends their life. It is the 11th leading cause of death among Americans. But suicide deaths are only part of the problem. More people survive suicide attempts than actually die. They are often seriously injured and need medical care.
Most people feel uncomfortable talking about suicide. Often, victims are blamed. Their friends, families, and communities are left devastated.
Why is suicide a public health problem?
•
More than 32,000 people kill themselves each year.1
•
More than 395,000 people with self-inflicted injuries are treated in emergency rooms each year.1 how does suicide affect health? headerhow does suicide affect health? header
Suicide, by definition, is fatal. Those who attempt suicide and survive may have serious injuries like broken bones, brain damage, or organ failure. Also, people who survive often have depression and other mental health problems. Suicide also affects the health of the community. Family and friends of people who commit suicide may feel shock, anger, guilt, and depression. The medical costs and lost wages associated with suicide also take their toll on the community.
Who is at risk for suicide?
Suicide affects everyone, but some groups are at higher risk than others. Men are 4 times more likely than women to die from suicide.1 However, 3 times more women than men report attempting suicide.2 In addition, suicide rates are high among young people and those over age 65.
Several factors can put a person at risk for attempting or committing suicide. But, having these risk factors does not always mean that suicide will occur.
Risk factors for suicide include:
•
Previous suicide attempt(s)
•
History of depression or other mental illness
•
Alcohol or drug abuse
•
Family history of suicide or violence
•
Physical illness
•
Feeling alone
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