About Betsy Todd, MPH, RN

Former clinical editor, American Journal of Nursing (AJN), and nurse epidemiologist

Why Should You Care About Malaria?

malaria parasite Colorized electron micrograph showing malaria parasite (right, blue) attaching to a human red blood cell. The inset shows a detail of the attachment point.

In June and July, eight locally acquired cases of malaria were diagnosed in the U.S.—seven in Florida and one at the southern tip of Texas. Cases in the two states appear to be unrelated, and all patients are recovering. In both geographic areas, it’s likely that malaria in people with travel-related cases was transmitted by local (U.S.) mosquitoes to the people who developed the locally acquired cases.

Malaria was endemic in this country until the early 1950s, when mosquito control programs and public health campaigns brought the disease under control. Since that time, virtually all cases in the U.S—now at almost 2000 per year—have been travel related.

Malaria transmission.

Malaria is caused by several species of the Plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito infected by the parasite. In less than one percent of cases, transmission occurs congenitally or via transfusion, organ transplant, or unsafe needle sharing.

Why it matters.

If […]

Poliovirus: Still a Threat

First U.S. polio case in nearly a decade.

Henderson respirator 20th century. Credit: Wellcome Library, London, via Wikipedia Creative Commons.

Last month, an unvaccinated 20-year-old in Rockland County, New York, was diagnosed with paralytic polio. He had not traveled in the previous month; he was infected by an (unknown) individual who had travelled and acquired the infection abroad.

According to the CDC, poliovirus was also found in wastewater from Rockland and a neighboring county—coincidentally sampled in May, June, and July as part of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance—and some of the positive samples were genetically linked to virus from the patient. This reflects ongoing community transmission and ongoing risk to unvaccinated residents. Because most poliovirus infections are […]

The Monkeypox Vaccine: What Nurses Need to Know

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell, cultured in the laboratory. Credit: NIAID. (Wikimedia Commons)

In the current monkeypox outbreak, the pandemic-strained U.S. public health system is once again faced with a major threat. This time, a vaccine is already available, but only in limited quantities. Here’s what nurses need to know. It will remain important to keep up with new developments as they occur.

The Jynneos vaccine

Jynneos is a live but nonreplicating vaccine for the prevention of both monkeypox and smallpox. It is made from vaccinia virus, a less virulent relative of these two viruses. The vaccine is given subcutaneously in two separate doses administered at least 28 days apart, and a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose.

The most common vaccine side effects are pain, redness, induration, swelling, or itching at the vaccination site. (People with HIV infection or atopic dermatitis do not seem to experience additional or more severe side […]

Monkeypox Update: As Knowledge Increases, More to Be Learned

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory. Credit: NIAID. (Wikimedia Commons)

It seems impossible that we have to confront the rapid spread of a new virus when we’re still dealing with the effects of COVID-19. But for monkeypox, we didn’t have to respond “from scratch.” After decades of research and clinical work on smallpox, a related but considerably more lethal virus, testing protocols and vaccines were already available for use in monkeypox.

Nearly 20,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported around the world since May, with more than 5,000 infections reported in the U.S. There are probably many more undiagnosed and unreported cases.

Variations in presentation.

In New York City, where more than 1,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported, clinicians are seeing variations from “classic” presentations of monkeypox. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports that many people with monkeypox are not experiencing prodromal symptoms […]

Progress in Dementia Care as Treatments and Prevention Lag Behind

Chair exercise class at the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. Photo courtesy of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center.

Dementia has long been a diagnosis dreaded by patients and families, as there is no cure. Despite decades of effort, scientists have had little success in developing effective treatments or methods to prevent or slow down the characteristic brain deterioration.

Nearly 6 million people in the United States, including about 14% of the population ages 71 years and older, are afflicted. Dementias, including Alzheimer disease, are among the most common causes of disability and dependency in older adults and projections of the actual number of Americans with dementia—as much as 13.8 million by 2060—suggest rapid growth as the population ages.

Some progress, however, has been made in understanding symptoms and progression of dementias. Recent studies have also shed light on potentially modifiable risk factors, identified new methods of diagnosis, and explored ways to slow disease progression and improve patients’ quality of life. Among these […]

2022-06-15T10:13:05-04:00June 15th, 2022|family caregiving, Nursing|0 Comments
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