Just got notice of the first case identified at my university. It’s feeling like the walls are closing in all over again like with covid. First one in the country, first in the state, first in the county. Next it’ll be the first person I know by name 
9 Likes
10 Likes
This has been an issue for the last couple years. Not new, but in light of the other things, scary enough…
10 Likes
I take it that it’s not close enough to polio that the vaccine helps any?
1 Like
Nope. Same family, but sufficiently different. Makes for good conspiracy theories, but otherwise just more “there is always something out to get us.”
10 Likes
OK, on further reading, might be more concerning than I thought.
The viral wobbling is particularly concerning for EV-D68 and AFM. With its two-year cycle thought to be dependent on amassing enough susceptible children, a four-year gap suggests the virus could mushroom. At last month’s meeting, Midgley presented early data hinting at such a scenario. In “very, very preliminary data,” Midgley said the CDC saw 71 EV-D68 detections among about 3,500 ARIs in its surveillance network by July 2022. “That’s more than we saw throughout 2019 and 2021 in total,” she said. “So this is something we’re keeping an eye on. There’s potential for more circulation this year.” The CDC has not yet seen a corresponding increase in confirmed AFM cases, she added last month, but it’s “something we’re monitoring and preparing for potentially over the next few months.”
More covid fuckery. Essentially, there is much more accumulated “dead wood” due to the covid lockdowns to support a serious upswing of this bug. Mostly affects young kids (preschool to early primary school) and is indistinguishable from your average snot rocket bug, until the AFM kicks in. Let’s hope it fizzles, but the preliminary numbers are at least concerning.
12 Likes
And then, of course, there is the original
Sigh. We are rapidly devolving into developing nation status…
11 Likes
7 Likes
9 Likes
Why not? Breakbone Fever doesn’t want to miss out on the fun, after all. Hell, that fourth horseman is getting in his lick a little early, I think. Of course, War may be fixin’ to get in a really good blow here if Putin has his way, so you’d understand why Pestilence needs to get in the game.
12 Likes
And don’t forget that Putin has already summoned Famine. 
11 Likes
Why not add a fun little Ebola outbreak while we are at it?
For now, the WHO assessed this outbreak’s overall regional and global risks to be low. However, the agency noted that the outbreak’s scope is not yet known, and cross-border spread cannot be ruled out.
Nothing to panic about here, but a reminder that we ignore infectious disease happenings in the far corners at our peril.
10 Likes
9 Likes
We got an updated eligibility statement for Monkeypox vaccines today (PEP++ = postexposure prophylaxis).
Patients Eligible for PEP++
Effective September 26, the following groups of people became eligible to receive PEP++ in Virginia:
- All people, of any sexual orientation or gender, who have had anonymous or multiple (more than 1) sexual partners in the last two weeks
- Sex workers of any sexual orientation or gender
- Staff, of any sexual orientation or gender, at establishments where sexual activity occurs
- Any person, of any sexual orientation or gender, who is living with HIV/AIDS
- Any person, of any sexual orientation or gender, diagnosed with any sexually transmitted infection in the past three months
While I am a little irked at how long it took to acknowledge the obvious, I am glad they have removed the “only MSM” statement from this. Much better now.
12 Likes
The Crispr infusion contains gene-editing molecules that target two regions in the HIV genome important for viral replication. The virus can only reproduce if it’s fully intact, so Crispr disrupts that process by cutting out chunks of the genome.
This is pretty exciting. I suspect it will come with a pretty pricetag, assuming it pans out, but to actually cure, rather than just control, this thing would be amazing!
10 Likes
14 Likes
I have had 2 babies die of pertussis in my career. Absolutely horrible. This is great news.
14 Likes
As a parent with a late preterm baby, I was terrified of whooping cough. This is excellent news
13 Likes
Should we be getting vaxxed for anything other than flu and COVID this year?
I asked about monkeypox but it sounded like they don’t want to give that vaccine to anybody who doesn’t have a “lifestyle” factor
and it was like an assembly line in there
I didn’t want to take up too much of their time 
5 Likes
