A potentially deadly infection carried by mosquitoes may be more prevalent than once thought, U.S. health officials report. Named the Cache Valley virus after the Utah area in which it was first found in 1956, it has caused seven serious infections nationwide. But it may have infected up to 18% of the population, according to an expert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We don’t know much about it, there’s only been seven documented cases,” said CDC research microbiologist Amanda Calvert. Of these, three died and the others have had lasting effects, she said. In all seven people, the virus caused a brain infection called encephalitis or an infection of the membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord, called meningitis. All seven patients had conditions affecting their immune system, which seems to be why they developed a serious infection. Calvert said the last known case was in a patient who got it from a transfusion of infected blood. Most people who get the virus have mild symptoms or none at all, she said. Symptoms are non-specific and can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and rash. No specific treatment for the virus is known. Care consists of easing symptoms with painkillers. Cache Valley virus is seen mostly in sheep. It causes stillbirths and birth defects in lambs. Whether the virus…  read on >  read on >

CVS Health plans to pull cold medications that contain phenylephrine from its store shelves after federal regulators determined recently that the decongestant doesn’t work. Oral phenylephrine is an active ingredient in such well-known products as Sudafed and Dayquil. An FDA advisory committee ruled last month that the ingredient was useless in easing congestion. “We are removing certain oral cough and cold products that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient from CVS Pharmacy stores,” the company told CBS MoneyWatch. “Other oral cough and cold products will continue to be offered to meet consumer needs,” the company added. Another drugstore chain, Walgreens, said it “follows FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] regulations,” but did not say if it would stop selling the medications. “We are closely monitoring the situation and actively partnering with the Walgreens Office of Clinical Integrity and suppliers on appropriate next steps,” a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. Medications that contain phenylephrine account for $1.8 billion in annual sales, according to FDA data. More information The National Library of Medicine has more on phenylephrine. SOURCE: CBS News, Oct. 19, 2023  read on >

Despite warnings and public education campaigns, kids continue to suffer injuries from swallowing small but strong magnets, according to a new study. Children are also inserting high-powered, rare-earth balls into their ears and noses, even in households where parents fully understand the dangers of the toys, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). “High-powered, rare-earth magnetic balls or beads are often sold as fun, stress-relieving toys, but they are among the most dangerous toys when kids eat them. It doesn’t matter what the child’s socioeconomic or racial background is, whether the child is being watched, or if supervising adults know the magnets are dangerous — kids still manage to eat them and many of them need surgery to fix the internal damage caused by the magnets,” Dr. Minna Wieck said in an AAP news release. She is an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, Calif. “The only foolproof way to make sure these injuries don’t happen is to keep these types of magnets away from kids,” Wieck added. For the study, the researchers reviewed 2017 to 2019 data from patients aged 21 and younger from a study that included 25 U.S. children’s hospitals. The investigators previously found that these injuries were increasing despite age restrictions, warning labels and educational public health campaigns explaining the dangers. Among more than…  read on >  read on >

Tens of thousands of U.S. children received burns over a decade from beauty devices found in many homes: curling irons. “Hair styling tools are a timeless piece of our everyday routine, helping to create the picture-perfect look. Yet they have the greatest propensity to create a not so picture-perfect accident when not handled with care,” said Dr. Brandon Rozanski, lead author of a new study and a pediatric resident at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. “Electric hair styling tools can reach temperatures as high as 450 degrees F in a matter of minutes, creating potential situations of unintentional burn injury for both the device user and surrounding bystanders,” Rozanski said in a news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics. His study found nearly 31,000 burns in children and young people between 2013 and 2022. Researchers used data from emergency department visits for patients 24 and younger from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. There were more than 1,050 emergency department visits. Hair curlers and curling irons were responsible for 97% of the burn injuries. About two-thirds of those who went to hospital emergency departments for burns were age 10 or younger. About 65% were girls. Roughly 72% of the injuries happened at home, and less than 2% required a hospital stay. “This study demonstrated that children have the greatest propensity to present…  read on >  read on >