‘People who have not been vaccinated for polio are at a great risk and are advised to get vaccinated.’
THE polio virus was detected in the sewage system in New York City, a discovery that signals this dangerous virus has been spreading locally.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a contagious, disabling, and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus, which infects the spinal cord and results in paralysis. It can lead to meningitis and death. The polio virus enters the mouth, through feces-contaminated hands.
A most popular polio victim, infected in 1921, at age 39, was US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the early 1950s, before the polio vaccines were available, it was a most feared disease, with outbreaks of 15,000 cases of paralysis among children and adults per year. Like the vaccines for COVID-19, the vaccines for polio are safe and very effective as historical statistics show.
With the introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in 1955 and the oral polio vaccines (OPV) in 1963, polio cases dropped precipitously to less than 100 in the 1960s and less than 10 in the 1970s.
Last month, a man in his 20s in New York was found to be infected with polio and is now paralyzed.
People who have not been vaccinated for polio are at a great risk and are advised to get vaccinated. Consult your physician about this matter.
COVID new rules
Last Tuesday, in the United States, there were almost 130,000 cases and 555 deaths from COVID-19, with 40,406 hospitalizations. In spite of these statistics, the CDC revised its mitigating guidelines to the following: (1) “Instead of quarantining if you’re exposed to COVID-19, wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested on or after day 5, irrespective of vaccination status;” and (2) “quarantine is no longer recommended for persons exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status.”
This departure from pure science, particularly from the principles in epidemiology in dealing with serious infectious diseases, like COVID-19, might cause a rebound. Let’s continue to be vigilant and see what happens with this lowering of our guard.
For those who are concerned and want to be careful, especially seniors and those with weak immune system, there is no law against wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and doing social distancing to prevent infection, even if others don’t.
Scary racing heart
This is a response to an email query about a “scary rapid heart rate.” The incident, as described by the reader, could be SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), where the heart suddenly beats much faster from usual (60-100), pulse becomes weak, a sense of “palpitation” and mild chest fullness, sometimes light headedness, and then the beat slows down to normal.
Alcohol, smoking, drugs, stress, low oxygen, tiredness, could cause it among some individuals. SVT is not life-threatening, but could be scary. Valsalva (taking a deep breath, holding it, straining, for 10 seconds and repeating it, side of the neck (carotid) massage, cold water on the face, are maneuvers one could try, while waiting to see you physician, for confirmation of the diagnosis (to rule out other conditions) and treatment.
GERD-COPD
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a lung disease usually caused by smoking, which, over time, burns the lung tissues, rendering the air sacs to thin out and inefficient in oxygen transfer from the lungs to the blood. This leads to chronic hypoxia (low blood oxygen level) and shortness of breath, which could be so severe as to require continuous nasal oxygen treatment.
But a significant number of COPD is seen among non-smokers who have gastro-esophageal regurgitation (reflux), where the sphincter between the esophagus (food pipe) and the stomach became loose, allowing acid fumes (normally in thew stomach) to rise up and inhaled into the lungs. Over time, this burns the lung tissues, and lead to COPD, some shortness of breath. This condition is milder than smoking-related COPD. Treatment is primarily aimed at the gastric reflux.