Health

Boston health officials this week confirmed a resident has the measles, marking the city’s first case since 2013.

The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) on Wednesday announced the confirmed case, noting the patient was officially diagnosed with the virus on Oct. 6. It’s not clear how the person was infected.

“During the infectious period, the individual went to locations where other people may have been exposed,” officials said in a press release, noting anyone who does not know their measles vaccination status should receive the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine if they haven’t already.

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“Those who have had measles in the past or have received two doses of [a] measles-containing vaccine are unlikely to become ill even if exposed,” they added.

Locations where the patient may have exposed others to the virus include: Render Coffee in the South End on Oct. 4; Cafe Madeleine in the South End on Oct. 4; Gyroscope in the Fenway on Oct. 4; CouCou in the South End on Oct. 5; and Sir Speedy in the Back Bay on Oct. 5.

People who visited these locations at those times could potentially become ill 21 days after exposure.

“Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears.”

— CDC

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Others can contract measles when they breathe the contaminated air or touch a contaminated surface, and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.

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“Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears,” the CDC says.

The MMR vaccine can protect both individuals and other people from contracting the virus.

Young children are typically most at risk of contracting measles. The CDC recommends children get two doses of the MMR vaccination, but the first dose is typically given to children when they are between 12 and 15 months old, with the second occurring between ages 4 and 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A man who had to call out sick from work when he woke up with vertigo and an earache was shocked when the olive oil he was using to ease the pain actually worked to coax a critter out of his ear canal that had crawled in during the night.

MAN DIES AFTER ‘VERY HOT’ FISH CAKE BURNED HIS THROAT SO BADLY HE COULDN’T BREATHE: REPORT

“I put a couple of drops of olive oil in my ears and decided to go back to sleep for a bit – I could feel tickling in my ear, but put it down to the oil,” Liam Gomez, of Kent, England, told South West News Service, a British news agency. “When I woke up a couple hours later, I could still feel the sensation, but also hear a faint scratching sound, so I decided to investigate with a cotton bud.”

Gomez, who the night before had found a spider’s nest in his doorway, said the spider came out in one fell swoop except for one wayward leg.

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“I used a hairpin and the cotton bud to retrieve the spider, making sure to count the legs coming out, then made sure to give my ear a good clean,” he told SWNS.

Gomez, who told SWNS he skipped the doctor and is hoping the spider was male, said he’s taken to sleeping with headphones on to prevent it from happening again.

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“My initial reaction was just to get the bloody thing out of me as fast as possible – I was obviously revolted as I hate spiders,” he told SWNS. “Once I’d calmed down a bit I did think, ‘Well, that’s one for Facebook!’”

A vaccine undergoing testing at the Mayo Clinic has reportedly removed cancer cells in a breast cancer patient.

Florida resident Lee Mercker became the first patient to participate in a clinical trial for a new vaccine after being diagnosed in March with early-stages of the disease.

She told First Coast News she had “DCIS stage zero” breast cancer, meaning the cancer cells had not yet spread. She was left with three options — have a lumpectomy where the cancer cells are removed, undergo a mastectomy where the breasts are removed, or join a clinical trial for a potentially life-saving vaccine to kill the cells and prevent them from coming back.

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“I signed on the dotted line that day,” Mercker said of the 12-week trial at the clinics Jacksonville campus.

“It’s supposed to stimulate a patient’s own immune response so that the immune cells like t-cells would go in and attack the cancer,” said Dr. Saranya Chumsri, an oncologist at the world-renowned medical center.

Mercker said the process entailed a series of shots and tests.

“They always took your blood, you had a physical, they’d make your shot right there on the spot for you,” Mercker said. “It was three shots, all in a row, alternating arms, four shots, two weeks apart.”

“It’s supposed to be just off the shelf, kind of similar to when you get the flu shot or pneumonia shot,” Chumsri said.

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She was still required to get a mastectomy to make sure everything was removed properly. Researchers can view the breast tissue to access how the vaccine works.

The treatment is being used on another patient who is reportedly showing positive results.

Chumsri said clinical trials for patients with other stages of cancer are also showing good results.

A new report says a 51-year-old British wedding planner died earlier this year after he reportedly ate a fish cake so hot it burned his throat, causing swelling to his airways that ultimately impeded his breathing.

Darren Hickey — who was described by his partner, Neil Parkinson, as a “larger-than-life character” —  reportedly sampled a fish cake at a wedding venue around noon back on April 4, South West News Service (SWNS), a British news agency, reports.

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The pain from the burn led Hickey, a stroke survivor, to seek medical attention at the Urgent Care Ward at Chorley Hospital. Medical professionals reportedly sent him home with acetaminophen and told him to return if the pain worsened. Hickey then went home to rest.

That evening, Parkinson, 55, claims he heard Hickey “making noises” and rushed upstairs. He reportedly found Hickey, of Bolton, Lancashire, choking.

“He was stood up choking and coughing so I banged his back but then he slid forward onto the floor,” Parkinson said, according to SWNS. Hickey was taken by ambulance to Royal Bolton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after midnight that evening. His death came roughly 12 hours after he’d sampled the cake.

The recent inquest into the man’s death heard by Bolton Coroners’ Court ruled that the burns to his throat caused extreme pain and swelling. The swelling to his airways eventually made it impossible for him to breathe and swallow.

Dr. Patrick Waugh, a pathologist who performed Hickey’s post-mortem, said the burns were far enough down in the man’s throat that they would not have been seen without specialized equipment.

Waugh compared the burns to those sustained by people who breathe in smoke during a house fire.

“The patient can appear well, they will be talking to you, but then the swelling starts,” Waugh said at the recently conducted inquest into the April death, per SWNS.

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Hickey’s cause of death was ruled asphyxiation.

Acting Senior Coroner Alan Walsh called the wedding planner’s death an “immense tragedy.”

“I believe there are enormous lessons to be learned,” he said. “This was caused by eating a fish cake, very small and very hot but with catastrophic consequences.”

Texas is the third state in as many days to report its first vaping-related death, mirroring similar tragic news out of New York and Utah. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 26 deaths across 21 states, including three fatalities each in Alabama and California.

The number of confirmed and probable lung illnesses tied to vaping had also climbed to 1,299.

DOCTOR SAYS VAPING COULD MAKE YOU MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE FLU

Texas’ Department of State Health Services did not release additional information about the victim in a news release, but the Associated Press reported that the death involved an older woman in north Texas who died last week.

The state did say that of the 95 confirmed or probable cases of lung illnesses, 25 percent involve patients under 18 years old, but they range in age from 13 through 75 years old. Officials said 76 percent of the illnesses involve males, and 88 percent have reported vaping products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

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In Utah, health officials said the victim was under 30, and had also “vaped THC prior to their death.”

“This death is a sad reminder of the severity of these unexplained illnesses,” Dr. Angela Dunn, Utah Department of Health epidemiologist, said in the news release. “Based on what we know about this outbreak and what may be contributing to it, our best advice to the public is to stop vaping products that contain THC.”

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The FDA had similar advice for consumers earlier this month, as federal investigators are currently looking at the more than 1,200 lung illnesses reported have also found that nearly 80 percent of cases involve a THC product. However, they have yet to pinpoint any one product or ingredient but say they are increasingly focused on thickeners and additives found in black market THC cartridges.

Federal health officials again warned doctors against abandoning or abruptly ending opioid treatment for pain patients, citing risks of psychological distress, withdrawal, exacerbation of pain and even suicide.

The U.S. Department of Health Human Services guidelines, released on Thursday, states “opioids should not be tapered rapidly or discontinued suddenly due to the risks of significant opioid withdrawal.” It also states that unless there are “indications of a life-threatening issue, such as warning signs of impending overdose, HHS does not recommend abrupt opioid dose reduction or discontinuation.”

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The wide-ranging guidelines–which pinpoint when to consider tapering, and steps to consider before deciding to taper– go so far as to outline six steps doctors should take prior to initiating a taper, including discussing it with the patient.

In a bullet point list labeled “Important steps prior to initiating a taper,” health officials urge doctors to commit to working with the patient to improve function and decrease pain with accessible, affordable nonpharmacologic and nonopioid pharmacologic treatments, as well as integrating behavioral and nonopioid pain therapies before and during the taper to “help manage pain and strengthen the therapeutic relationship.”

Doctors are also encouraged to treat comorbid mental disorders to improve the likelihood of opioid tapering success, and to arrange for a consultation with a behavioral health provider before initiating a taper if the patient has a serious mental illness or is a high suicide risk. The guidelines also call for doctors to watch for signs of opioid misuse behavior, and to assess if there is an opioid use disorder, using specific criteria before offering to arrange for medication-assisted treatment.

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The HHS also recommends doctors treating pregnant patients access appropriate expertise if considering tapering, as withdrawal risks include spontaneous abortion and premature labor. The guideline also states that for pregnant women with opioid use disorder, medication-assisted treatment is preferred over detoxification.

The final step highlights the importance of advising patients that there is an increased risk for overdose on abrupt return to a previously prescribed higher dose of opioids, and to strongly caution that it takes as little as a week to lose tolerance. The HHS advises doctors to provide opioid overdose education and considering offering naloxone.

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“When opioid dosage is reduced, a taper slow enough to minimize opioid withdrawal symptoms and signs should be used,” the guidelines advise. “Tapering plans should be individualized based on patient goals and concerns. The longer the duration of previous opioid therapy, the lower the taper may take.”

According to the HHS, opioid prescriptions reached an all-time high in 2012 at 225 million, and then dropped to 191 million in 2017. But in 2016, in an effort to combat the overprescribing practices the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines that saw many physicians rapidly taper down or abruptly end pain patients prescriptions, leaving many without relief.

The agency lamented that the guidelines were not meant to be interpreted as law, but many physicians took it as such out of fear of being prosecuted. But while prescriptions for painkillers continued to drop, overdose deaths rates continued to soar. In June 2019, the CDC issued updated guidelines urging physicians not to cut patients off abruptly.

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“Avoid misinterpreting cautionary dosage thresholds as mandates for dose reduction,” the HHS guidelines state. “While for example, the CDC Guideline recommends avoiding or carefully justifying increasing dosages above 90 MME/day, it does not recommend abruptly reducing opioids from higher dosages. Consider individual patient situations.”

Arizona is leading the country this year in terms of West Nile virus deaths, according to a recent tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of Oct. 8, 16 of the 35 nationwide West Nile virus-linked deaths this year had been reported in the Grand Canyon State. All but one in the state have been reported in Maricopa County, according to the Arizona Republic.

“For whatever reason, Maricopa County seems to be the West Nile virus hot spot this season, and we honestly don’t know why,” Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, the Maricopa County Public Health Department’s medical director for disease control, told the outlet.

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“It is by far the most we’ve seen in the last decade,” Sunenshine said. “We’re so dry and you don’t think of us having a heavy mosquito population. Something is going on, and we’re working with the CDC to figure it out.”

Officials are studying bird and mosquito populations, as well as rainfall patterns and local ecology, to determine what’s behind the increase.

In 2018, Arizona saw six deaths from West Nile virus, according to the Arizona Republic.

Mosquitoes are largely to blame for spreading West Nile virus. The insects become infected when they feed on infected birds. The virus can spread to humans if they’re bitten by an infected mosquito, per the CDC.

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Most people who are infected do not experience symptoms, the CDC warns. However, a small percentage of people – roughly 1 in 5 – develop a fever and may additionally experience headaches, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, or a rash, among other signs of the virus. Even rarer, about 1 in 150 people who are infected with West Nile virus can develop a serious illness – such as inflammation of the spinal cord or brain – the CDC said.

There is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment to treat or prevent the virus. Those infected can take over the counter pain and fever reducers to alleviate symptoms. In severe cases, however, “patients often need to be hospitalized to receive supportive treatment, such as intravenous fluids, pain medication, and nursing care,” according to the CDC.

The Mayo Clinic warns people who are older, as well as those with pre-existing medical conditions, are the most susceptible to the virus.

A fourth Connecticut resident has contracted the rare tick-borne Powassan encephalitis disease, more commonly referred to as Powassan virus.

The patient, who was not identified, is from Ridgefield, according to various local media outlets. Their condition is currently unclear. The Connecticut Department of Health on its website recently updated the number of reported cases to four.

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Other cases have been reported in New Canaan, New Preston and Newton, reports NBC Connecticut.

Powassan virus — which “belongs to a group of viruses that can cause infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) —  is typically spread to humans after they’re bitten by an infected woodchuck or deer tick. The federal agency says those who live or work near brushy or woody areas are more likely to be exposed to potentially infected ticks.

Those infected with the virus typically experience fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures and memory loss.

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Patients often need support breathing and treatment for swelling around the brain, but there is no medicine to treat the virus, nor is there a vaccine to prevent it. About 10 percent of cases result in death, the CDC says.

Powassan virus is rare, with an average of seven reported cases each year in the U.S. Most cases of the virus — which was first discovered in Powassan, Ontario, in 1958 — have occurred in the northeast and Great Lakes areas of the U.S.

Vaping could make you more susceptible to the flu, a doctor in Michigan says.

“Vaping causes a change of events in your lungs. It’s impairing your immunity and lung function to fight infection and bacteria and we know that it does change the lungs after one use,” Dr. Brandon Hooks, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, told local news station WWMT. 

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Though research is still needed to understand the long term effects of vaping, which is linked to more than a dozen fatalities across the country, one 2018 study found the vapor from e-cigarettes impairs key immune cells in the lungs. The same study also found the vapor also increased the production of inflammatory chemicals.

The inflammation may make the lungs more susceptible to harmful bacteria and viruses, Hooks said.

“The flu is a very serious thing, bottom line,” he added. “I think we underestimate the flu a lot, but if your immune system is down, this could increase your chances of the flu turning into pneumonia.”

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Though the 2019-2020 flu season is only just beginning, the virus has already claimed the life of at least one person this year. Health officials are urging everyone — especially the young, the elderly and those whose immune systems are compromised — to get a flu shot as soon as possible.

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Separately, the CDC in a recent report said most pregnant women aren’t getting the flu and whooping cough vaccines, both of which are important for the health of the mother and her unborn child.

A cancer survivor who grew up to become a pediatric nurse has returned to the hospital where she was diagnosed and treated for leukemia at age 2 — as one of the hospital’s newest employees.

Katy Payne, 21, will begin working at Colchester Hospital in Essex, in southeast England, more than 15 years after she was given the all-clear from her illness, SWNS reported.

“I remember patches of my time in hospital and some of the highs and lows,” Payne told SWNS of her cancer treatment. “The things I experienced have made me stronger, and I have always said I would like to give something back to the hospital, the doctors and the nurses, and everyone that’s been part of my journey.”

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Payne’s symptoms first started with feeling sick and lethargic before she was rushed to the hospital on Christmas Eve. Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens, accounting for almost 1 out of 3 cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Most cases are mainly treated with chemotherapy, while some cases may also require a stem cell transplant.

Once treatment ends and patients are declared cancer-free, patients go for regular follow-up exams to ensure no signs of leukemia have returned, as well as to check for short-term or long-term effects of treatment. After over two years of treatment, Payne’s last checkup was at age 16.

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She told SWNS that it was after one of her more difficult sessions of treatment that she told her mom, at a very young age, that she wanted to be a nurse.

“My mom always tells me that I woke up from a lumbar puncture and I looked at her with my bald head and smiley face and said, ‘Mom, when I’m older I will become a nurse and make all the children better like they help me.’”

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Payne graduated from Anglia Ruskin University’s Chelmsford campus on Tuesday, and has already started working. She told SWNS that she hopes to specialize in pediatric oncology.