Number of bats with rabies virus on the rise in the Baltimore region

Bats and dogs...
Both susceptible to rabies

The Baltimore City Bureau of Animal Control is reporting an increase in the number of bats testing positive for rabies in the Baltimore region. Bats with rabies are not unheard of in the area, but the increase has prompted officials to inform the public about the risks of rabies. Although rabies is not exclusive to bats, the animals' ability to fly long distances does mean that rabies can spread to other areas relatively quickly.
Rabies is a viral disease of the nervous system. When infected, the animal becomes aggressive and behaves abnormally. Untreated, the disease is 100% fatal in animals and humans. Humans become infected when bitten by an infected animal. The infection takes some time to develop into disease, so people who are bitten do not seek medical assistance in the timeframe required for treating them. Treatment involves immediate vaccination against rabies virus with a series of shots over the course of a month. The number of shots and their sequence depends on individual situations, though five shots in 28 days is the most common. (A 4-shot series over 28 days may be adopted soon by most providers.)
In humans, the disease causes a flu-like illness at the beginning. Then the disease becomes more severe, with encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain and its surrounding tissues) not uncommon. A series of tests are available to determine if someone exhibiting these signs may be infected with the virus. Once the disease sets in, it is difficult to cure. Treatment usually involves relieving the symptoms and giving the body time to fight off the virus. However, over 99% of cases where the disease sets in are fatal.
Because bats who are infected quickly lose their ability to fly, the most common exposure from bat bites results when people pick up a sick bat and handle it. Other exposures involve campers who are bitten by bats while the campers sleep. Because rabies is a disease of all mammals, it is important to have your household pets vaccinated against rabies. While there are statewide campaigns to vaccinate all animals, some may not do so. This is why it is very important that you seek immediate medical assistance if you are bitten by a mammal. Yes, this includes humans!

People with COPD can still live productive lives

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of the lungs where the lung tissue is damaged and oxygen exchange is diminished. In COPD, the elasticity of the lungs is lost and the tissue becomes inflamed. A person with uncontrolled COPD will usually exhibit several symptoms: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. The most common cause of COPD is smoking, but environmental irritants, like air pollution, also contribute to the development of the disease. Because of the shortness of breath and other symptoms, many people with COPD will forgo productive lives and begin a cycle of learned helplessness that feeds into their disability.

The person with COPD will avoid physical exercise because he or she runs out of breath. In turn, this behavior makes the body less able to deal with the low levels of oxygen because it gets out of shape. Then the person with COPD feels weaker, so they change their lifestyles further. People with COPD have trouble going up the stairs, walking distances that would otherwise be reasonable to walk, and their sleeping patterns are affected by the lack of oxygen at bedtime. However, the cycle can be broken, and the person with COPD can regain their physical ability to work or play.

Treatment for COPD requires several approaches. First, if the person with COPD is a smoker, quitting is the biggest priority. This is because the irritants in tobacco smoke continue the destruction of lung tissue (even without a pathogenic process like cancer). Any gains through other means of treatment will be diminished or negated by continuing to smoke. Of course, this is often a major roadblock in the treatment of COPD because patients are addicted in both a physical and psychological way. In fact, there are plenty of COPD patients who move on to the other steps in their treatment without ever quitting smoking. (These are the patients seen tethered to an oxygen tank and smoking a cigarette, a very dangerous behavior.)

The second approach is the use of medication to reduce the irritation in the lungs and give them back some of the lost elasticity. These medications are not fast-acting, though. They require the patient to take them over an extended period of time before any benefits are noticed. This causes patients to be non-compliant in taking their medication. Alternatively, the patient may feel better with the medication and stop taking the medication. So it is important that the patient continue to see their health care provider throughout their treatment.

The third approach is lung rehabilitation. Lung rehabilitation consists of a combination of medication and exercise along with nutritional counseling. It is hoped that putting all of these therapies together will aid in helping the COPD patient regain their aerobic capacity (ability to absorb and distribute oxygen in their body).

People with COPD and other lung conditions need to be vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia because these conditions can be deadly for them. If their lungs are sick to begin with, pneumonia or influenza can destroy even more tissue. Furthermore, if the lung tissue is damaged too much, the viruses and bacteria may enter the blood stream and travel to other parts of the body.

Senator Edward Kennedy dead at age 77 after a battle with brain cancer

Senator Edward Kennedy died last night from complications from a malignant glioma, a type of cancer of the brain. About 17,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease. The word "cancer" is really a catch-all word for a number of conditions where cells multiply uncontrollably, affecting other cells and tissues nearby. In the case of the Senator's brain cancer, the glial cells, cells in the brain and spinal cord in charge of nutrition and homeostasis of the neurons, multiplied rapidly, affecting his brain tissue. Most neurons, the functional cells of the brain and nervous system, do not divide. Glial cells retain the ability to divide during our lives, hence their ability to multiply uncontrollably as well.
Other brain cancers occur when other cells in and around the brain also begin to divide uncontrollably. Still others occur when cancerous cells from other parts of the body travel to the brain and begin to multiply there. The causes for brain cancer are many, ranging from environmental exposures to known carcinogens to still-unknown genetic causes. The cause for the Senator's condition is not known at this time.
The best way to prevent any cancer is to maintain a healthy lifestyle that keeps the immune system working properly. This is because the immune system is able to recognize cells that have become cancerous and remove them from the body. This is not always possible, however, as immune systems are prone to become weaker with age, illness, or because of environmental factors. Of course, it is impossible to not have any contact with the environment or avoid certain conditions, like aging, that make the immune system weaker.

Massages, placebos, and the power of touch and thought

Frank and Lynn celebrated their three-year anniversary with a couple's massage at The Spa at Roops Mill in Westminster, Maryland. The session consisted of the two of them on massage tables in a dimly lit room with some soft mood music playing in the background. Over the course of 90 minutes, they were treated to what they say was a "very relaxing" and "much needed" full-body massage by two professional massage therapists. In fact, Frank stated that his aches and pains from exercising two days prior went away.
A study by the University of Michigan pointed to natural pain killers released by the brain in response to some stimuli as being the true source of the "placebo effect". In that study, subjects were subjected to PET scans of their brains while they were given placebos. These placebos triggered the release of endorphins in the subjects' brains. On a molecular level, endorphins are very similar to drugs like morphine or even heroin. They act much the same, stimulating the "pleasure centers" of the brain. These endorphins are released in response to both painful and enjoyable stimuli like a fractured bone and during sex. You can see endorphins in action when someone who should be experiencing excruciating pain does not feel it, and when someone is addicted to running. Much like heroin, endorphins keep us coming back for more.
"I know it was just a massage," Frank said, "but I feel like a million bucks." As part of a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle, massage therapy, meditation, and other forms of endorphin-releasing activities can help in overall well-being. In fact, runners often use massage therapy to get rid of soreness in their legs. So consult with your health care provider about alternative or complimentary forms of therapy to help you. The next prescription you get might very well be for a placebo.

For more information, check out "Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why" by Steve Silberman.

Be careful when picking food ingredients from your garden

Indeed.

Last year, a family in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was poisoned by accident when jimson weed (Datura stramonium) was added to their food by someone who thought it was mint. This particular type of weed causes hallucinations, rapid heart rate, urinary retention, fever, seizures, and, when too much is eaten, death. In fact, a common mnemonic to remember the effects is "blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as hell, dry as a bone, the bowel and bladder lose their tone, and the heart runs alone." About 1,000 cases of jimson weed poisoning occur each year, many because the weed is used on purpose for its hallucinogen content.

Jimson weed is not the only plant that is poisonous and can be found in a garden. Even some beans can be dangerous to consume. So it is important that you know what you are planting and, more importantly, what you are picking to eat. As victory garden-style gardens become popular (the First Lady has one at the White House), gardeners should become familiar with poisonous plants. The University of Maryland has published a guide to plants poisonous to livestock. These plants are also poisonous to humans. Colorado State University also has a good guide.

If you feel that you have ingested poisonous plants or any other toxic substance, contact Maryland Poison Control IMMEDIATELY at 1-800-222-1222 (if you're in Maryland, of course).

Put babies "back" to sleep to keep them safe from SIDS

Let sleeping dogs lie... and babies lie on their backs.

A study by pediatric specialists at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, found that many magazines aimed at women in the 20-40 years of age group depicted babies sleeping in a position that may be unsafe for them. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies sleep on their backs (called the "supine" position) to minimized the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The magazines studied showed babies sleeping on their bellies (called the "prone" position).

NOT on the belly!

SIDS is a condition where infants die in their sleep without any previous history of disease that may cause this. Even after investigating all probable causes of the death, nothing stands out as the culprit. In Maryland, there were 64 babies who were reported to have died from SIDS in 2006 (the year for the latest available data). In the United States, about 2,250 deaths attributable to SIDS are reported each year, according to CDC. Back in the 1980's, investigators began to notice that babies in cultures where they were placed to sleep on their back (like China) were less likely to die from SIDS. Further research backed up this observation tot he point that it is widely recommended all over the world that babies be placed on their back for sleeping.

Older children can sleep any which way they like...
so long as they sleep!

It is not well known why babies on their back are less likely to die from SIDS, but theories abound. These theories include the positioning of the airway, where babies are better able to breathe on their backs. Another theory is that babies on their backs do not fall into a deep sleep and are easily aroused if their breathing is compromised. How would a baby's breathing be compromised during sleep? Infections of the respiratory system, allergies, and even heavy bedding around them may block their airway. So it is also recommended that babies with any respiratory problems be promptly seen by a health care provider. Furthermore, the baby's sleep area should be clear of excessive bedding, toys, or other objects that may crowd the baby and prevent the baby from breathing.

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2009/08/19/cannabinoids-for-treating-cancer/

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2009/08/19/cannabinoids-for-treating-cancer/

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Dog flu situation in Virginia poses no threats to humans

At least six cases of H3N8 influenza in dogs have been reported in Fairfax County, Virginia. About 26 other dogs are in quarantine in an attempt to contain the virus. According to CDC, H3N8 influenza in dogs is does not cause influenza in humans. However, the virus has jumped species, first being detected in horses, and now in dogs since 2004.
Influenza viruses are classified according to the proteins on their surface. These proteins, Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase, are numbered H1 to H16 and N1 to N9. Hemagglutinin is used by the virus to attach itself to respiratory cells, while the Neuraminidase is used by newly formed viruses inside the cell to "pop open" the cell and be released to infect other cells. As viruses share genes with each other, or their genes mutate, different H and N genes code for different Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase on the viruses' surface. This is why influenza viruses come in different H and N types. The different Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase proteins work on only certain types of cells. This is why H3N8 will not infect humans, but it will infect dogs. Likewise, H1N1 influenza will not infect dogs but will infect people. How the virus is able to jump from one species to another (horses to dogs, in this case) is still not well understood.
Most dogs that are infected develop a fever and a cough, maybe a runny nose. Symptoms comparable to how humans react to influenza. Much like humans transmit the virus, H3N8 influenza is transmitted by airway secretions (mucus and saliva) from dog-to-dog. A vaccine is available, but it was released for use by FDA on an emergency basis. Supportive care, like hydration and analgesics or fever-reducers is the best treatment for most dogs. Quarantining them will help prevent the spread of the disease. Also, just like with human influenza, it is difficult to truly contain the disease.
If your dog is exhibiting signs of the disease, it is important that you keep it away from other dogs to stop the spread. First call your veterinarian and report the symptoms. Do not take the dog to the veterinarian without first notifying them that you are on your way in order to prevent the spread to other dogs there. The virus can survive on clothing and other inanimate objects, so clean everything thoroughly before allowing healthy dogs access to places where sick dogs have been.

Koch's postulates are still relevant 120 years after their publication

Robert Koch was a German physician who specialized in microbiology. He was fascinated by the microbial world and devoted much of his work toward it. He discovered the cause of Anthrax, Cholera, and Tuberculosis. Between 1884 and 1890, Koch and his colleagues formulated and published a set of postulates, or rules, by which a bacteria could be definitively identified as the cause of a disease. These rules are the basis on which scientists today establish whether or not certain bacteria (or viruses, in some cases) cause a disease. The rules are:

1. The organism (bacteria) must be isolated from every case. For example, if then people walk in with tuberculosis, all ten of them should have the same bacteria infecting their lungs.
2. The organism must be isolated and cultured in the lab. For example, the bacteria in all ten people with tuberculosis must be placed on a plate and grown in the lab, with no other bacteria growing with it.
3. If a healthy individual is exposed to the lab-grown bacteria, the individual must develop the disease. For the sake of medical ethics, let's say that a lab tech had an accident and was exposed to the bacteria isolated from the ten cases of tuberculosis. The lab tech should then develop tuberculosis.
4. The organism must be isolated from the infected "test" subject.

They may look like simple rules, and they sometimes are, but some bacteria and viruses are hard to grow in the lab. This is because different strains of bacteria and viruses have different needs when it comes to growing them in the lab. Some need more or less oxygen, some need more or less carbohydrates, etc. Applying Koch's postulates to new diseases is difficult to do when you're dealing with something totally new, like SARS early this decade, or HIV back in the 1980's. So scientists have developed their own guidelines for establishing cause and effect when it comes to diseases, yet these guidelines are still based on Koch's postulates.

Imagine that a group of ten children in a school of 100 students develop a type of cancer that is only seen in 1 in a 100,000 people in the rest of the population. As the State epidemiologist, people are demanding answers from you because they are sure that something at the school is causing the disease. You would start by interviewing the children and their parents. Environmental testing of the school would probably be the second step. If the children all belong to the same after school activity group(s), the environment where they all gather would also be tested for known carcinogens. Sometimes an all-out response is warranted (many times by political pressures), so the food the children eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe together or independently would get tested. If a theory about the source of their disease is developed, it gets tested. Testing that theory involves Koch's postulates:

1. All the sick children must have been exposed to the theoretical source of the disease. A group of non-sick children (called "controls") must have not been exposed. Exposure can be identified by lab tests or simple questions about their habits.
2. The theoretical source of the disease must have been shown to cause the disease in a controlled laboratory setting. In other words, it must be a known carcinogen. This is a sore point in some cases because special interest groups will either protect or accuse chemicals and materials as being carcinogens. For example, the tobacco industry invested millions of dollars to defend cigarettes as sources of lung cancer. Also, some consumer groups are convinced that cellular phones cause cancer.
3. Someone who was absolutely healthy to begin with, upon being exposed to the theoretical cause, develops the exact same cancer. This can be tested by knowing exactly when any of the cases was exposed or by knowing exactly if and when someone in the population was exposed and then developed the cancer.
4. The suspected cause must be found to have been in the "test" case. Lab work or a simple interview helps in this.

As you can see, it can be difficult to go through the 4 steps of the investigation and come to a definitive conclusion. Even if a definitive cause is proven, the source of the cause might not be. That can be frustrating too, and this is often the case with environmental health issues. If the cause is found all over the environment, are health authorities sure that it wasn't "masking" the real cause?

Unfortunately, many of the ideas about the causes of disease that reach the public airwaves and the internet are not supported by any kind of systematic testing of the theory:

1. Vaccines cause autism. Not all people with autism received vaccines AND not all people who receive vaccines become autistic. So vaccines are not necessary nor sufficient to cause autism. Hence the need for more research into the true cause. Perhaps it is genetic, where certain genetic profiles lead people to react differently to the vaccines' components? Perhaps vaccines are so universal that the true cause is being "masked". What if it is some sort of bacteria exclusively found in cotton balls used to clean the skin before a vaccine? What if?
2. Power lines cause brain tumors. Again, not all people who live under the power lines develop brain tumors, and not all who have brain tumors lived near power lines. Is there something about the homes and/or lifestyle of those who live near power lines that places them at particular risk?

Entire textbooks have been written on the other diseases and conditions attributable to the government, secret societies, big enterprises, multinational corporations, etc, etc. However, knowing the four steps established by Dr. Koch, and analyzing the evidence in light of them can help make better decisions at the personal and policy level.

The value of Reiki remains unproven, not so for vaccines

Analysis of a series of randomized clinical trials concluded that the value of Reiki in preventing or healing diseases and conditions remains unproven. This is one of the facts that Reiki practitioners refuse to tell the public in their mass cover-up of what their practice really is all about. They are perfectly happy with charging money (hundreds to thousands of dollars) for their services knowing full well that their "practice" is worthless.

How's is that for an opening paragraph? Very judgmental and accusatory, right?

Replace the word "Reiki" with "vaccines", change the reference link to an anti-vaccine group "study", and you pretty much have the stance on vaccines from those who believe that there is a mass conspiracy of one sort or another happening. For far too long, scientists who have worked day in and day out on vaccines to save the world have had to deal with a barrage of accusations and false assertions from those who have subscribed to a line of reasoning that is, well, unreasonable.

"Unreasonable" is kind of a harsh word. How about "hard-to-deal-with"? To be honest, the fears and misconceptions of the "anti-vaxers" are actually quite reasonable. Who would want to inject themselves with mercury, aluminum, and dead viruses and bacteria? If you would have suggested this to the authorities in the middle ages, surely there would have been hell to pay. (If you asked them, it would be a literal hell.) So it stands to reason that people are afraid of these things.

One of the first lessons in Public Health is that peoples' minds will not be changed without a cost. It isn't until the child is in the well that the well is covered up, and this is the case with the anti-vaccine groups. It is not until one of their own, a close relative or acquaintance, comes down with a vaccine preventable disease and pays dearly for it that their views change. After all, they are only human, and humans learn best by living through an experience... not reading about it in a pamphlet.

Nevertheless, the numerous examiner.com writers who write judiciously and passionately against vaccines (and other modern medical technology) do end up influencing their readers in some way. Do a Google news search for "mercury in vaccines", and you will certainly find at least one examiner.com article. To further complicate matters, very few people will actually check the references of the authors to check for some sort of expertise on the subject or at least that the information sources are somewhat legitimate. And this is troubling.

It is troubling because the safety and efficacy of vaccines, their usefulness in preventing and eliminating diseases has been well documented. Study after study has revealed that, "hey, guess what? Vaccines work." Just look at the mortality rates for vaccine-preventable diseases. Did they go down all on their own? Is it a fluke? A conspiracy? That would be one pretty big conspiracy. (Bigger than the 9/11 conspiracy, if you believe in that sort of thing.) It is further troubling because a certain level of immunity must be reached in order to protect the weakest in the group (those who, through no fault of their own, cannot be vaccinated, like babies under 6 months of age). And then there is the inconsistency of the assertions made...

"I don't want to inject myself or my children with mercury, aluminum, or any other adjevents (sic)." Yet they will certainly drink them and eat them. They will absorb mercury through their skin and aluminum through their lungs. And they will come into contact with all this mercury and other metals at concentrations hundreds of times greater than any contained in a vaccine. The only difference is that these chemicals in vaccines are an easy target. It can be seen and quantified. In order to avoid mercury altogether, humans would have to live in a bubble.

"Vaccines cause autism." This one can be chalked up to a phenomenon known as "recall bias". Recall bias is best explained with an example. Suppose you have two women who have both delivered a baby. One baby is sick and the other is health. Both women were exposed to the exact same things during their pregnancy. Now, suppose you ask them both if they drank a certain brand of bottled water during their pregnancy. Nine times out of 10, the mother of the sick child will seem to remember that, yes, in fact, she did drink that particular brand (even if the brand doesn't exist). And they will be convinced that the water caused the malignancy in the child. And they will hold on to that thinking with a death grip. This is the same with parents of autistic children.

Autism starts to be diagnosed around the same time that the child's social skills should have started to be developed. This is also the time that vaccines are due. So, when searching for answers for their child's conditions, the parents of the autistic child will put 2 and 2 together. "Was the child okay before their autism diagnosis?" Yes. "What happened around the time of their autism diagnosis?" They got their vaccines. Ah, so it must be the vaccines!

Never mind that study after study has not shown a link between the vaccines and autism. Someone must be lying... Could it be that someone is misinformed?

Leprosy is not what Lou Dobbs thinks it is

Hansen's Disease, better known as Leprosy, has been around in humans for as long as history has been recorded, perhaps longer. In fact, ancient cultures wrote about people in their communities affected by the disease, but the disease remained shrouded in misinformation and myth for centuries. Many times, it was confused with syphilis, which causes similar body-wide lesions on the skin. It wasn't until 1873 that Gerhard Armauer Hansen discovered Mycobacterium leprae, a bacterium closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis which causes, well, tuberculosis, in the skin samples of patients with Leprosy. Since then, numerous effective treatments for Leprosy have been developed, and the disease is no longer the burden it used to be. Still, about 760,000 people in the world get the disease each year, most of them in Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nepal.
Over 130 years after the real hard science started working on Leprosy, Lou Dobbs, a political commentator better known for his CNN show "Lou Dobbs Tonight", raised concerns over the disease by supporting a claim that 7,000 cases of the disease were imported into the United States by immigrants over the course of three years. Even when challenged with fact and figures from the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and numerous other experts on the disease and its prevalence, Lou Dobbs stood by this assertion. A little over 650,000 people watch his CNN show on an average night. The potential for misinformation is significant. At best, his viewers went to formal information sources and learned that the numbers were wrong. At worst, they now see foreigners as disease-infested "undesirables".
Yes, Hansen's Disease is contagious. However, it is not contagious once proper treatment has been started. Once treatment has been started, recovery is possible. No, people with the disease do not automatically lose their limbs (like in the movies). Rather, their limbs have to be surgically removed after the disease consumes them. In fact, it is recommended that people with the disease who are receiving treatment are allowed to touch other people to alleviate the psycho-social stigma from the disease.
Hansen's Disease, like any other disease, is not exclusive of one group of people. In fact, there is no evidence that any contagious disease prefers one racial group over another. Every human is susceptible to every disease that any other human gets, absent vaccines or control measures. Viruses, bacteria, and fungi don't have the complex nervous systems (like Lou Dobbs') for being racist. That one disease is more prevalent in one population over another is a consequence of many factors, none of which is race, unless their race prejudiced the delivery of treatment to them.

College kids need to think about meningitis while they drink their beer

Ask any teacher and they will tell you about all the infections they have acquired from their children. Children are the perfect transmitters of disease because of several factors. They are young, so their immune systems have not learned to get rid of all diseases. They have not grasped the concept of washing their hands each and every time. And they share a lot. They hug and kiss each other and others, and they share their lunches and drinks with each other. Younger children explore their world by tasting it. Yet the ability to infect others does not stop with children. Young adults can also be the epicenters of outbreaks.

Patient zero of the H1N1-swine flu pandemic, maybe

Young adults in college dorms or other group settings transmit diseases because of their behavior, their living arrangements, and their social situation. Unprotected sex transmits, of course, sexually transmitted diseases. Drug use may transmit blood-borne infections like hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Living in close quarters allows respiratory infections to jump from one person to another easily. Sharing drinks (like at a party) may transmit anything from norovirus (a virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea) to the more serious meningitis.

These geniuses surely did not clean the bong before they shared it

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord. Viral meningitis can be the result of a number of viruses, including herpes virus and West Nile virus. Viral meningitis is usually milder than bacterial meningitis, with only supportive treatment given to counter the fever and meninges' inflammation. On the other hand, bacterial meningitis is far more serious. Just think of all the bacteria eating away at your meninges (zombie bacteria?).

Bacterial meningitis can be caused by several bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitis, and Haemophilus influenzae. There is a vaccine against Strep pneumo and H. flu (as they are commonly called). The most serious is N. mening (as it is commonly called) since up to 14% of those who who get meningitis from it die. If you recover from it, you have a one-in-ten chance of further complications, like loss of hearing, mental retardation, or even worse... you can lose your limbs.

N. mening can be present in people's nasal cavities and in their throats. When they are there without causing disease, they are said to be “normal flora”. However, if something happens to upset the habitat of the normal flora, like an upper respiratory infection, the bacteria might get into the person's blood and travel to the meninges (causing what is called “meningococcal infection”). The person can also infect others through sneezing, kissing, or other ways of sharing their saliva and respiratory tract secretions. (There's a reason why people who spit while they talk are unappealing.)

The safest way to share a drink, unless there's backwash

So you can imagine why public health authorities get a little bent out of shape when there is a report of a young person with meningitis especially if it's one who lives in a group setting. This is because all of those people who lived with the sick person (the “case”) need to be identified and offered antibiotics. Sometimes, this translates to hours of work in tracking down hundreds of people. And, all the while, the disease could have been prevented by a vaccine.

Sure, some would say that vaccinating everyone (at $50 to $80 a shot) would be costly and maybe wasteful. But tell that to the parents of those who have died or suffered irreparable damage from meningococcal infection. Tell that to the star athlete who lost all limbs. Those $80 sound like a heck of a deal after all that... having everyone vaccinated and practicing care when they live together sounds even better.

Flesh eating bacteria infections do not follow a Hollywood script

Flesh eating bacteria infections do not follow a Hollywood script

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