Many people have been complaining this extended winter about colds that will not go away or colds that seem to go away but come back stronger within a week or two.
However, doctors say that it’s not that colds are leaving and coming back. It’s that colds can take longer to overcome and that because of so many different viruses that cause colds, it’s possible to get two different cold viruses back-to-back.
The common cold can last up to two weeks for the initial symptoms and the coughing that goes with it could last for weeks after the virus had been cleared from the body.
In the case of someone getting consecutive colds, some doctors believe that because the body’s immune system is weakened from dealing with one cold it leaves the body open to a different strain of cold virus. There are more than 200 known viruses that can cause the common cold.
The average adult gets 2 to 5 colds per year, children can have between 7 and 10. In the U.S. every year, about one billion Americans will get a cold.
A virus that causes debilitating illness has been discovered in the Caribbean after previously only being identified in Africa.
A dozen cases of the chikunguya virus has been confirmed in St. Martin, and islan d in the northeast Caribbean. Health officials say that another dozen people are suspected to be infected with the virus.
The virus causes fever, rash and fatigue along with intense muscle and joint pain that can leave victims virtually incapacitated for weeks. In some cases, doctors have been able to document victims with joint and muscle pain for years.
While the disease can be debilitating, it is not fatal. It is spread through mosquitos that can also carry the deadly dengue fever virus.
There are no specific treatments for the disease and there is no vaccine available. Health officials say a few cases of the disease have been seen in Italy and France in recent years but the St. Martin cases are the first in the Americas.
The Centers for Disease Control has sent a health advisory to U.S. doctors to be alert for potential signs of the virus.
A report in the journal Nature shows that monkeys can be cleared of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) through the use of a new vaccine.
The vaccine cleared the virus from 9 of 16 inoculated monkeys. The scientists say the process now provides a blueprint for testing a vaccine for HIV in humans. Continue reading →
World virologists are concerned about the Islamic hajj to Saudi Arabia in wake of the outbreak of the deadly MERS virus.
The virus has originated in Saudi Arabia but no one has been able to find the source of the virus. The virus has struck hardest in Saudi with 40 deaths, a 52% mortality rate. Continue reading →
The disease is called Crimean-Congo Viral Hemorrhagic Fever.
In 30 percent of cases, it’s fatal.
You have likely never heard of the disease, but this tick-borne illness has jumped from animals in Asia and Africa to humans…and has claimed it’s first victim in the UK when a 38-year-old man who contracted the disease in Afghanistan while attending his brother’s wedding. Continue reading →
An illness similar to the SARS virus that killed hundreds in 2003 has been discovered in a man being treated in London.
The 49-year-old man was rushed from Qatar to London after being the second person confirmed with the coronavirus. The first case was a Saudi Arabian who died from the disease. Continue reading →
An Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed 31 people and is threatening major towns, according to the World Health Organization.
An epidemic has been officially declared. The death toll has doubled in the last week. Continue reading →
The death toll from West Nile virus broke into the triple digits last week as another 30% increase in cases is being reported by health officials.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported at least 2,636 cases of the virus with a confirmed 118 fatalities. The totals are the highest recorded by the second week of September since 2003 when public health officials launched an aggressive random testing campaign. Continue reading →
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that cases of West Nile virus rose 40 percent last week and are on pace to hit the record levels of 2002 and 2003.
The CDC says 1,590 cases have now been confirmed with 66 deaths. Half the cases have been in Texas. Continue reading →
Scientists are warning that H5N1, the “Bird Flu”, could change into a form that would pass easily and rapidly through humans.
Researchers reported in the journal of Medicine that five genetic changes have been identified that could allow the virus to cause a lethal human pandemic. Continue reading →
