Infectious Diseases

As swimming pools become the popular hangout spot for kids during the summer months, they can also become filled with germs and may cause water-related ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 18, 2012.  With the hot, muggy summer season arriving, kids will be heading to the pool to cool off. While swimming is refreshing, fun and good exercise, even chlorinated pools contain many germs that can make them ill. Mayo Clinic pediatric experts warn that many swimmers may not be aware of the water illnesses associated with pools due to the germs that can linger. VIDEO ALERT: To download broadcast quality video of this report, please register for the Mayo Clinic News Network. "A swimming pool is basically a community bathtub without the shampoo," says Thomas Boyce, M.D., pediatric infectious diseases specialist, Mayo Clinic Children's Center. "Children can still get sick in a properly chlorinated pool. Chlorine does not kill germs instantly and, in fact, does not kill cryptosporidium at all, which is a common germ that causes water-associated gastrointestinal illness." Recreational water illness outbreaks peak in summer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21.6 percent of Americans don't know that swimming while they have diarrhea puts other swimmers at risk for water-associated illnesses. To help keep germs from entering the water, Dr. Boyce advises parents to take young children on bathroom breaks often; change their diapers in the bathroom, not poolside; and wash a toddler's bottom with soap and water before entering the water. Swimming is a great way for kids to cool off and get exercise in the summer, however, Dr. Boyce cautions that children who swallow water while they swim can be at risk for diarrhea, viral meningitis and other illnesses. Parents can keep children safe by having their children rinse off before entering the pool, not allowing children with diarrhea to swim and teaching children not to swallow the pool water that they swim in, he says.

This is National Infant Immunization Week , and Mayo Clinic vaccine expert Gregory Poland, M.D., and Mayo pediatrician Robert Jacobson, M.D. are refuting three of the most common myths about child ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — In the limited time of an office visit, how can a primary care physician make the case to parents that their child should be vaccinated? During National Infant Immunization Week, a Mayo Clinic vaccine expert and a pediatrician offer suggestions for refuting three of the most common myths about child vaccine safety. Their article, The Clinician's Guide to the Anti-Vaccinationists' Galaxy, is published online this month in the journal Human Immunology. VIDEO ALERT: Audio and video resources are available for journalists at the Mayo Clinic News Network. "Thousands of children are at increased risk because of under-vaccination, and outbreaks of highly transmissible diseases have occurred" says lead author Gregory Poland, M.D., Mayo Clinic vaccinologist. "Primary care physicians have less time than most to explain the scientific case for vaccination. This article gives them the background and tools to debunk some of the major myths." Dr. Poland and Mayo pediatrician Robert Jacobson, M.D., review the three immunity-related misconceptions that they say "fuel patient and parental concerns, questions and fears about vaccines." Those myths are: Babies' systems aren't ready for the number of vaccines given today. Vaccines can cause autoimmune diseases. Natural immunity is safer and better. The Mayo experts explain that the number of active molecules in infant vaccines is far lower than ever before, so while vaccines are not only safe, each child is receiving a fraction of actual antigen compared to children in the past. Among other evidence, they point to a recent review of 1,200 articles by the Institute of Medicine that failed to find any autoimmune side effect from vaccines. They make the point that there is either no impact or that any relation to autoimmune conditions is not causative. Finally, they make the case that while natural immunity does protect as well, the risk of illness and death is far higher than with a vaccine. The article also includes background on the anti-vaccine movement and outlines the harm it has done by spreading inaccurate information. "We want to offer a user-friendly guide for doctors, but also issue a call to action," Dr. Poland says. "We can now show that children have died because of under-vaccination and that diseases have spread needlessly because of this trend." Dr. Poland says lack of vaccination has put many children at risk for diseases that are avoidable, including whooping cough and measles. He emphasized that the risk of death for measles is three in 1,000 without vaccination, while the risk of death from the measles vaccination is zero.

Desert soil may harbor a potentially invasive fungus. The fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract which mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, appears to be emerging in the Southwestern United States ...

PHOENIX — March 29, 2012.  An emerging fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract that mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease appears to be emerging in the Southwestern United States and other desert regions, according to Mayo Clinic researchers in Arizona investigating the disease. The invasive fungus, Basidiobolus ranarum, is typically found in the soil, decaying organic matter and the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bats. VIDEO ALERT: Click here to watch. Mayo researchers studied 44 cases of human gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis reported from around the world, including 17 from Arizona, one from southern Utah and one from elsewhere in the U.S. Eight of the 44 patients died. Mayo's review of the cases is published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Basidiobolomycosis is usually a subcutaneous infection in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world that develops following traumatic inoculation of the fungus under the skin. The emergence of gastrointestinal involvement with Basidiobolus in arid regions has been considered unusual. "The exact mode of acquisition of this gastrointestinal infection is unclear, although consumption of contaminated food or dirt is the favored hypothesis," says lead author H.R. Vikram, M.D., an infectious diseases physician at Mayo Clinic, where seven of the 19 U.S. cases studied were treated. "The infection is still considered so rare that no one had put together a complete description." He adds that more study needs to be done to determine how this infection is contracted, what underlying diseases might predispose patients to this infection and how best to treat it. He emphasizes that early recognition is key to successful treatment. The first U.S. case of gastrointestinal Basidiobolus infection was reported in 1986. The CDC subsequently investigated six cases in Arizona between 1994 and 1999. This sparked the interest of researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona to study this infection.

Spring has only just arrived, but tick season is well under way. Physicians are seeing new cases of tick-borne illness several weeks earlier than usual, likely because a mild winter in much of the country made life easier for ticks and their offspring. That means it’s time for gardeners, hikers, pet owners and others who spend time outdoors to take steps to protect themselves -- and to watch for symptoms of tick-borne illness if they do come in contact with the tiny bloodsuckers. “We’ve already started getting positives for tick-borne disease such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis,” says Bobbi Pritt, M.D., a Mayo Clinic microbiologist and director of the Clinical Parasitology and Virology Laboratories. That is a month or two earlier than normal for Minnesota and other states with unusually warm weather in recent months are likely seeing the same.

In a joint effort, Mayo Clinic, Rochester Public Schools' Hawthorne Education Center, Winona State University and various community agencies are working together to identify opportunities to improve the health of immigrant and refugee families in Rochester. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant to Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP), a collaboration that includes community-based organizations, local health service organizations and academic institutions, to develop sustainable physical activity and nutrition interventions with and for immigrant and refugee families. The project is called, "Healthy Immigrant Families: Working Together To Move More and To Eat Well." RHCP takes a community-centered research approach whereby community agencies, academics and researchers learn and work together to promote a balance between research and sustainable action. This approach equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. "It addresses health concerns brought up by the community and, in the process of community-academic collaboration, improves the health of the community," says Irene Sia, M.D. of Mayo Clinic's Division of Infectious Diseases, a lead researcher in the partnership.