Higher Humidity in Buildings Can Help Lower Infections
Harvard Medical School graduate and pediatric oncologist Stephanie Taylor, MD once took care of children with cancer at a teaching hospital. She wondered why many of her young patients contracted infections, such as influenza, despite the hospital’s heavy emphasis on prevention. Taylor began to suspect increased susceptibility to contracting infections might have something to do […]
Samoa Measles Emergency Extended
On Dec. 20, 2019, the government of Samoa announced that 94 percent of the island nation’s population of about 200,000 people had been vaccinated against measles as part of a government-led mandatory, mass vaccination campaign. As of Dec. 20, the Samoan Ministry of Health (MOH) had confirmed 5,463 reported cases with 1,762 hospitalizations and 78 […]
Indonesia: Measles, Chickenpox Kill Dozens of Children
Asmat tribe in Papua. Barely alive. Their bodies exhausted and weak from hunger and disease. Undernourished, they’re battling against outbreaks of measles and chickenpox. Military medical teams have arrived in some remote areas. Maria Epam and her husband Linus had to travel for five hours and their six-month-old daughter would not survive. Our daughter has […]
Measles in Samoa: Why are So Many Dying?
A total of 72 people have died in Samoa during the current outbreak of measles there that began in mid-October. Most of the deaths have involved children under five years of age. U.S. and global media outlets have been following this story closely, providing regular updates on the number of people in Samoa who have […]
Ugandan Boy Dies of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome After Getting Measles-Rubella, Polio Vaccines
Uganda Radio Network (URN) reported on Nov. 16, 2019 that the Ministry of Health of Uganda is investigating the sudden death of a boy who died on Nov. 14, 2019 after receiving the measles-rubella and polio vaccines at a community vaccination center in the town of Kalagi, Uganda. Ugandan health officials stated that preliminary findings did not related the death to the vaccinations […]
Vitamin A Shipped to Samoa
Health officials in Samoa, assisted by international health organizations, have struggled to manage a surge in measles and apparent deaths from measles on the impoverished island since the first laboratory confirmed cases were reported in September 2019. A state of emergency was declared on November 15, and by December 11, 4995 measles cases had been recorded, […]