Infectious illnesses knowledgeable supplies tips about combating mosquito-borne diseases
Up to date: 5:25 PM EDT Aug 28, 2024
MAHFUZ. WELCOME BACK. SO THIS YEAR, MOSQUITOES HAVE BEEN LINKED TO TWO DANGEROUS ILLNESSES. THERE’S WEST NILE VIRUS AND EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS, OR ALSO KNOWN AS TRIPLE E. I’M NOW JOINED BY INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN AT WELLSPAN HEALTH. DOCTOR. RAGHAV. TIRUPATHI. DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO FIRST, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? I THINK THERE IS MORE SIMILARITY THAN A DIFFERENCE. BOTH ARE VIRUSES AND BOTH CAUSE INFECTIONS BETWEEN LATE SPRING TO EARLY FALL. AND BOTH ARE CAUSED BY MOSQUITO BITES THAT USUALLY FIRST BITE THE BIRDS AND THEN BITE HUMANS OR ANIMALS. TRANSMITTING THE INFECTION. BOTH OF THESE VIRUSES CAUSE FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS IN MOST PATIENTS WITH HEADACHE, BODY PAINS, AND ACHES, AS WELL AS GI SYMPTOMS LIKE NAUSEA, VOMITING, AND DIARRHEA. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, IN ABOUT 1% OF THESE PATIENTS, IT CAN CAUSE WHAT WE CALL AS NEUROINVASIVE DISEASE, WHERE IT CAN INVADE THE BRAIN AND CAUSE INFECTION OF THE BRAIN, WHICH WE CALL ENCEPHALITIS, OR MENINGITIS. AND DOCTORS. SO RIGHT NOW, THE CDC IS REPORTING FOUR TOTAL HUMAN CASES IN THE U.S. YESTERDAY, WE REPORTED ON SOMEONE WHO HAD DIED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. THERE ALSO IS A REPORTED CASE IN NEW JERSEY. WHAT’S THE TREATMENT? UNFORTUNATELY, MOST OF THESE VIRAL INFECTIONS ARE SELF-LIMITED, AND THE TREATMENT HERE INCLUDES A LOT OF REST, FLUIDS AND SUPPORTIVE CARE, INCLUDING PAINKILLERS. THERE ARE NO DEFINITIVE ANTIBIOTICS OR ANTIMICROBIALS TO TREAT THIS TYPE OF AN INFECTION. FORTUNATELY, THESE INFECTIONS ARE VERY RARE AND ONLY 1% OF THOSE PATIENTS WHO DEVELOP THESE INFECTION DEVELOP SEVERE DISEASE, WITH MOST OF THEM RECOVERING. OKAY. AND FOR TRIPLE E, WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE DO AS FAR AS PREVENTION GOES? PEOPLE SHOULD DEFINITELY WEAR CLOTHING THAT COVERS THEIR ARMS AND LEGS TO PREVENT MOSQUITO BITES. DEET BASED REPELLENTS. WHEN YOU’RE OUTDOORS, TRY TO AVOID DAWN AND DUSK BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE TIMES WHEN MOSQUITO BITES ARE MOST PREVALENT OR MOSQUITOES ARE MOST ACTIVE. AVOID WATER POOLING IN AND AROUND THE HOUSE LIKE BIRDBATHS OR CONTAINERS CONTAINING WATER. SO THOSE ARE THE FEW THINGS I WOULD ASK PEOPLE TO DO. DOCTOR, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WEST NILE VIRUS. NOW, THAT’S NOT A WORD THAT PEOPLE ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH. SO IN THE U.S., THE CDC, CDC SAYS THERE’S A TOTAL OF 289 TOTAL HUMAN CASES OF JUST WEST NILE VIRUS IN PENNSYLVANIA. THERE IS A REPORTED 12 CASES. OF THOSE NUMBERS, TWO OF THEM ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN LANCASTER COUNTY. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS FROM WEST NILE VIRUS? ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM TRIPOLI? SO THIS NILE VIRUS ALSO CAUSES VERY SIMILAR SYMPTOMS TO THE TRIPOLI WHICH IS FEVER. BODY PAINS, ACHES, GI SYMPTOMS. IN MAJORITY OF THE PATIENTS WHO ARE SYMPTOMATIC. BUT THE GOOD THING IS MOST EIGHT OUT OF TEN PATIENTS WHO GET INFECTED WITH THIS VIRUS DON’T EVEN SHOW SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER UNFORTUNATE 1% OF THESE PATIENTS AND THE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE ONES BEING THOSE WHO HAVE DIABETES, WHO HAVE KIDNEY TRANSPLANT OR OTHER TRANSPLANTS, WHO HAVE BEEN ON CHEMOTHERAPY, DEVELOPED SEVERE DISEASE. AND THESE PATIENTS CAN DEVELOP WHAT WE CALL AS NEUROINVASIVE DISEASE, WHICH IS INFECTION OF THE BRAIN AND THE LINING OF THE BRAIN, WHICH IS ENCEPHALITIS OR MENINGITIS. AND THESE PATIENTS CAN DEVELOP SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANTLY BAD OUTCOMES, INCLUDING DEATH. SOMETIMES ONE OF THE PECULIAR PRESENTATIONS OF WEST NILE VIRUS IS A POLIO LIKE ILLNESS, WHERE YOU DEVELOP ONE SIDED WEAKNESS OR NUMBNESS, WHAT WE CALL AS FLACCID MYELITIS. AND THESE PATIENTS COULD, FOR THE MOST PART, RECOVER THEIR FUNCTION OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. BUT THERE IS A FEW PATIENTS WHO HAVE PERMANENT NEUROLOGICAL DEFICITS OR PERMANENT WEAKNESS FROM THIS VIRUS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SPRAYS? DO YOU RECOMMEND SPRAYS WITH DEET IN THEM? DO THEY ACTUALLY HELP? DEFINITELY. I THINK A DEEP BASED SPRAY IS VERY VITAL WHEN YOU ARE PLANNING AN OUTDOOR DAY OR IF YOU’RE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME IN OUTDOORS WHERE YOU WOULD BE PRONE TO MOSQUITO BITES LIKE WOODED AREAS OR SWAMPY AREAS OR WETLANDS. SO I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND A DEET BASED SPRAY. CDC HAS A WHOLE LIST OF EPA APPROVED MOSQUITO REPELLENTS THAT YOU CAN USE. I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO LOOK INTO THAT LIST. ONE LAST QUICK QUESTION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. WHAT SHOULD WE DO THEN WITH MOSQUITO REPELLENT IN THE DEET? BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S SAFE TO REALLY SPRAY KIDS WITH THEM. THERE ARE DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF DEET, EVEN FOR KIDS AND OTHER NON DEET BASED MOSQUITO REPELLENTS, WHICH ARE NATURAL AND WHICH COULD BE EASILY EFFECTIVE AND EQUALLY EFFECTIVE. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE ONE OF THOSE REPELLENTS. IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN NOT USING IT FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT DOCTOR ROGOFF, THANK YOU SO MUCH
Infectious illnesses knowledgeable supplies tips about combating mosquito-borne diseases
Up to date: 5:25 PM EDT Aug 28, 2024
Mosquitoes can transmit a number of diseases to people thru their chew, together with West Nile and japanese equine encephalitis.Dr. Raghav Tirupathi, an infectious illnesses doctor at WellSpan Well being, spoke with Information 8’s Tasmin Mahfuz about the ones two diseases.He detailed the indicators and coverings and introduced tips for warding off mosquito bites.
Mosquitoes can transmit a number of diseases to people thru their chew, together with West Nile and japanese equine encephalitis.Dr. Raghav Tirupathi, an infectious illnesses doctor at WellSpan Well being, spoke with Information 8’s Tasmin Mahfuz about the ones two diseases.He detailed the indicators and coverings and introduced tips for warding off mosquito bites.
