Infectious Diseases

A discussion of the problems associated with the new CDC recommendations for immunizing children with the flu vaccine.

Infections during the first year of life may increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis later in life, according to new findings.

Two doses of a whole-virus vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza produced on Vero cell cultures induced neutralizing antibodies against multiple H5N1 strains, indicating its usefulness against this virus with pandemic potential, according to research published in the June 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A 4-day-old girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) for evaluation of a copious discharge from the right eye with associated swelling and redness of the eyelid (Figure 1). The discharge began 2 days earlier and had become profuse and yellow-green. Chemosis and injection of the conjunctiva of the right eye were also noted (Figure 2).

ABSTRACT: Children who present with rash and fever can be divided into 3 groups: the first group includes those with features of serious illness who require immediate intervention. The second and third groups include those with clearly recognizable viral syndromes and those with early or undifferentiated rash. The morphology of lesions among children with symptoms of serious illness offers clues to the underlying cause. Purpura or ecchymoses in a well-appearing child may not be associated with serious illness; a large percentage of children who present with fever and purpura have Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Kawasaki disease typically manifests with blanching rash and fever. Vesicular or bullous lesions and fever are the hallmark of erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. Umbilicated papules and pustules are the sine qua non of molluscum contagiosum and varicella.

Children who present with rash and fever can be divided into 3 groups: the first group includes those with features of serious illness who require immediate intervention. The second and third groups include those with clearly recognizable viral syndromes, and those with early or undifferentiated rash.

Household secondhand smoke exposure during infancy increases the risk of severe infection during childhood, according to the May 27 online Tobacco Control.

Immunization rates among children living in the inner city and enrolled in subsidized health care are just over half of national averages, a recent study has found.

With all the talk over the past year about preventing human papilloma virus in girls, the fact that boys get HPV as well is often downplayed. A small study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, provided new insight into the under-recognized issue of HPV infection in young males.

Neonatal viral infections are four to eight times more common than systemic bacterial diseases, but often go unrecognized. “Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common causes of infant death and permanent disability in America,” said Michael Cannon, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Nosocomial infections are a growing problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) along with methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug- resistant gram negative organisms, Candida and respiratory virii.

The electromagnetic fields produced in incubators may create changes in newborns' heart rate variability, according to research published online May 1 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood -- Fetal & Neonatal Edition.

Vital signs were normal. The patient had left-sided periorbital edema with slight ecchymosis and enophthalmos. There was conjunctival injection of the left eye, but no hyphema was noted. Pupils were equal, round, and reactive. Extraocular muscles revealed some restriction with upward gaze. Tympanic membranes were intact without hemotympanum. Nasal and oral examination findings were normal.

A mother's diet around the time of conception may play a role in determining the gender of her baby, findings published April 22 in the online Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggest.

According to interim results of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2007-2008 influenza season was moderately severe, and two of three vaccine strains were not optimally matched with circulating viruses.

Genetic and environmental factors both have an impact on fears in middle childhood and early adulthood but they act in a dynamic way and change over time, according to a report published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Older adolescents who have a television in their bedroom are less physically active, have fewer family meals and a poorer diet compared to their counterparts without a bedroom television, according to a report published in the April issue of Pediatrics.

The maker of the antiviral drug Relenza (zanamivir) informed health care professionals this week of a potential risk of behavioral changes and delirium associated with the drug's use. Relenza is approved for the treatment of influenza A and B.

A review of the latest sexually transmitted infection screening recommendations in teens.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, together with Roche Laboratories, Inc., the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), have informed health care professionals of neuropsychiatric events associated with use of the antiviral drug in patients with influenza. The Tamiflu package insert has been updated to reflect these safety concerns.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, together with Roche Laboratories, Inc., the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), have informed health care professionals of neuropsychiatric events associated with use of the antiviral drug in patients with influenza. The Tamiflu package insert has been updated to reflect these safety concerns.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans this week to expand next year's flu vaccine by including three new flu strains, in the hopes of producing a vaccine that is more effective than this year's vaccine. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on this season's flu activity in the Feb. 15 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Due to new types of flu strains that have spread in the past weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to scrap last year's vaccine and start from scratch...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its immunization schedules from 2008, changing three recommendations....