Pertussis Rates Have Been Rising: What Nurses Need to Know

Pertussis, or whooping cough, remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide, with most deaths occurring in young babies who are either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the infection prevention and control measures such as masking, social distancing, and remote learning for children resulted in decreases in reported cases of pertussis. However, in 2023 and 2024 a return to routine activities has resulted in an increase in pertussis cases. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that more than five times as many cases of pertussis have been reported as of October 19, 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. This is higher than was seen during the same time period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Compounding this problem are the alarming trends showing lower rates of routine vaccination among adults and children, trends which indicate reduced vaccine confidence and increases in vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. population.

Key points of knowledge and action for nurses

Epidemiology of pertussis

Pertussis is caused by Bordetella pertussis, a gram-negative coccobacillus and is highly contagious and easily spread person-to-person via respiratory droplets or through direct […]

2024-11-11T11:32:08-05:00November 11th, 2024|infectious diseases, Nursing, pediatrics, Public health|0 Comments
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The Epidemic of Gun Violence: A ‘Problem to Be Solved, Not a Battle to Be Won’

The alarming surge in child gun deaths

For decades, gun violence in America has been framed “as a battle to be won rather than a problem to be solved,” in the words of a poignant New York Times op-ed by Nicholas Kristof, who argues that we should acknowledge the blunt reality that guns aren’t going away. Therefore, he writes, it’s time to “bypass the culture wars and try a harm-reduction model familiar from public health efforts to reduce deaths from other dangerous products such as cars and cigarettes.”

The current combative public debate has been accompanied by devastating increases in gun violence, particularly for the youngest members of our society. According to an October 2023 study published in Pediatrics, between 2011 and 2021, gun deaths among Americans under the age of 18 surged by 87%, making gun violence the leading cause of death for American children. In stark contrast, there has been an overall steady decline of child deaths from motor vehicle fatalities, with a 51% reduction from 1999 through 2020, showcasing the potential for effective interventions when society’s most confounding issues are treated through a public health lens.

The stark reality of gun violence

The reality of gun violence in America is stark and sobering. […]

2024-08-08T09:48:27-04:00August 8th, 2024|gun violence, Nursing, pediatrics, Public health, school nurses|1 Comment
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Dengue Fever: What Nurses Need to Know Now

This summer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory as countries in the Americas report 9.7 million cases of dengue, the highest number in any year. The United States and Puerto Rico have reported 2,559 cases of dengue since January. The CDC expects the numbers to continue to rise as the environment warms.

Nurses in every specialty, but especially those who prepare individuals and families for international travel, will want to know about this latest dengue surge. All U.S. nurses will want to know how to triage, manage, and follow-up these patients to prevent local outbreaks and life-threatening complications.

Dengue (“den-gay”) fever is an age-old viral illness rapidly expanding its global impact beyond the tropics. According to the Rockefeller Foundation, “dengue fever is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral infection in the world.”

Also known as “breakbone fever” because of the painful arthralgias and myalgias associated with the infection, dengue is a common disease in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, where it is a health risk for travelers and locals alike.

Currently 3.9 billion people are at risk in 129 countries, including certain areas of the United States. The WHO estimates […]

2024-07-18T15:10:04-04:00July 18th, 2024|climate change, infection control, infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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10 Lessons from Clara Barton’s Life for Living and Making an Impact

Oil painting of Clara Barton by Mathilde Leisenring, 1937.

Clara Barton lived an amazing life with extraordinary accomplishments, as a group of us recently learned on a tour retracing her steps (this will be the final post in the series). But it was an unlikely, even improbable, journey. She was painfully shy, suffered from anxiety and depression, and had to endure discrimination due to her gender, marital status, and age.

Out of these challenges, she became a teacher and started the first public school in New Jersey; was among the first women appointed to government work, serving in the U.S. Patent Office; served as a Civil War nurse; opened an Office for Missing Soldiers after the war; and remained an avid suffragette and abolitionist throughout her life.

She then started the American Red Cross at the age of 59 and convinced the International Red Cross to expand their services to disaster work. Resigning at age 82, […]

2024-06-12T15:40:21-04:00June 12th, 2024|Clara Barton Tour 2024, Nursing, nursing history, Public health, volunteering|0 Comments
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At Red Cross National Headquarters, a Vision of Past and Present Priorities

The author speaking to the Clara Barton tour group before the Tiffany stained glass windows at national Red Cross headquarters.

“Because of the climate crisis, the Red Cross launches nearly twice as many relief operations for major disasters than it did a decade ago.”

Today a group of us tracing the career and legacy of Clara Barton arrived at the ornate national Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., a building I have been at countless times over my last 48 years of volunteering. Every time I enter, it reminds me of the people who have worked so hard to help millions of people have better lives—whether through disaster or war recovery, aid for military families, or donating the gift of blood.

Built as a memorial to the women of the Civil War with U.S. and private funds, the headquarters features exquisite architecture. The building’s showpiece—the Tiffany stained glass windows—are designed to “symbolize reconciliation following the Civil War and are reputed to be the largest suite of Tiffany windows created for a secular environment.”

A Brief History

We learned how the Red Cross initially focused on domestic and overseas disaster relief efforts, assisted the U.S. military […]

2024-06-05T10:44:05-04:00June 5th, 2024|Clara Barton Tour 2024, climate change, Nursing, nursing history, Public health|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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