Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Mutated common cold virus is a killer
By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007 | No comments posted.
ATLANTA - A mutated version of a common cold virus has caused 10 deaths in the last 18 months, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that aren’t considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC officials don’t consider the mutation to be a cause for alarm for most people, and they’re not recommending any new precautions for the general public.
“It’s an uncommon infection,” said Dr. Larry Anderson, a CDC epidemiologist.
The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so-called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus and one 19-year-old trainee died.
“What really got people’s attention is these are healthy young adults landing in the hospital and, in some cases, the ICU,” said Dr. John Su, an infectious diseases investigator with the CDC.
There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and also trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.
Some adenoviruses have also been blamed for gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and cystitis.
There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.
Some people who get infected by the new bug probably would not suffer symptoms, and some may just feel a common cold. Sick people should see a doctor if they suffer a high fever or have trouble breathing, Anderson said.
In the CDC report, the earliest case of the mutated virus was found in an infant girl in New York City, who died last year. The child seemed healthy right after birth, but then became dehydrated and lost her appetite. She died 12 days after she was born.
Tests found that she been infected with a form of adenovirus, called Ad14, but with some little differences, Su said.
It’s not clear how the changes made it more lethal, said Linda Gooding, an Emory University researcher who specializes in adenoviruses.
Earlier this year, hundreds of trainees at Lackland became ill with respiratory infections. Tests showed a variety of adenoviruses in the trainees, but at least 106 — and probably more — had the mutated form of Ad14, including five who ended up in an intensive care unit
In April, Oregon health officials learned of a cluster of cases at a Portland-area hospital. They ultimately counted 31 cases, including seven who died with severe pneumonia. The next month, Washington state officials reported four hospitalized patients had the same mutated virus. One, who also had AIDS, died.
The Ad14 form of adenovirus was first identified in 1955. In 1969, it was blamed for a rash of illnesses in military recruits stationed in Europe, but it’s been detected rarely since then. But it seems to growing more common.
The strain accounted for 6 percent of adenovirus samples collected in 22 medical facilities in 2006, while none was seen the previous two years, according to a study published this month in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The new bug could have implications for the military. Other forms of adenoviruses have been a common cause of illness in recruits. Military officials are bringing back an adenovirus vaccine — administered as a pill — that was given to recruits from 1971 to 1999, CDC officials said.
A Barr Pharmaceuticals vaccine for the military, currently being tested, is expected to be licensed in 2009. Like the old pill, it focuses on adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7, because those bugs have been persistent problems, said Col. Art Brown, an Army physician involved in the product’s development.
Some CDC officials said a vaccination against the mutant Ad14 might be needed. Brown said it isn’t clear if the mutant Ad14 will be an enduring threat.
, but the military will monitor illness reports.
“If it persists, then we’d consider if the vaccine needs to be modified further,” said Brown, of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity.
———
Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that aren’t considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC officials don’t consider the mutation to be a cause for alarm for most people, and they’re not recommending any new precautions for the general public.
“It’s an uncommon infection,” said Dr. Larry Anderson, a CDC epidemiologist.
The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so-called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus and one 19-year-old trainee died.
“What really got people’s attention is these are healthy young adults landing in the hospital and, in some cases, the ICU,” said Dr. John Su, an infectious diseases investigator with the CDC.
There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and also trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.
Some adenoviruses have also been blamed for gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and cystitis.
There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.
Some people who get infected by the new bug probably would not suffer symptoms, and some may just feel a common cold. Sick people should see a doctor if they suffer a high fever or have trouble breathing, Anderson said.
In the CDC report, the earliest case of the mutated virus was found in an infant girl in New York City, who died last year. The child seemed healthy right after birth, but then became dehydrated and lost her appetite. She died 12 days after she was born.
Tests found that she been infected with a form of adenovirus, called Ad14, but with some little differences, Su said.
It’s not clear how the changes made it more lethal, said Linda Gooding, an Emory University researcher who specializes in adenoviruses.
Earlier this year, hundreds of trainees at Lackland became ill with respiratory infections. Tests showed a variety of adenoviruses in the trainees, but at least 106 — and probably more — had the mutated form of Ad14, including five who ended up in an intensive care unit
In April, Oregon health officials learned of a cluster of cases at a Portland-area hospital. They ultimately counted 31 cases, including seven who died with severe pneumonia. The next month, Washington state officials reported four hospitalized patients had the same mutated virus. One, who also had AIDS, died.
The Ad14 form of adenovirus was first identified in 1955. In 1969, it was blamed for a rash of illnesses in military recruits stationed in Europe, but it’s been detected rarely since then. But it seems to growing more common.
The strain accounted for 6 percent of adenovirus samples collected in 22 medical facilities in 2006, while none was seen the previous two years, according to a study published this month in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The new bug could have implications for the military. Other forms of adenoviruses have been a common cause of illness in recruits. Military officials are bringing back an adenovirus vaccine — administered as a pill — that was given to recruits from 1971 to 1999, CDC officials said.
A Barr Pharmaceuticals vaccine for the military, currently being tested, is expected to be licensed in 2009. Like the old pill, it focuses on adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7, because those bugs have been persistent problems, said Col. Art Brown, an Army physician involved in the product’s development.
Some CDC officials said a vaccination against the mutant Ad14 might be needed. Brown said it isn’t clear if the mutant Ad14 will be an enduring threat.
, but the military will monitor illness reports.
“If it persists, then we’d consider if the vaccine needs to be modified further,” said Brown, of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity.
———
New bug has killed one and sickened four in the Northwest
By Donna Gordon Blankenship, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE '” A Pierce County woman who also had AIDS died earlier this year from a mutated version of a common cold virus that also sickened three other women at the same residential-care facility, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
A new variant of adenovirus has caused 10 deaths and at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas in the last 18 months, according to a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington health officials began testing for the disease at the request of the federal government because more than 30 cases had been discovered in Oregon, said Dr. Marcia Goldoft, the acting state epidemiologist for communicable diseases.
She expected the disease would be found in more states if widespread testing was conducted, but doctors do not usually do a viral culture for cold or pneumonia.
'We don't know how common it is because most people are not tested,' Goldoft said. 'It's got to be out there if you do enough culturing. It's just a question of how much effort you put into looking for new organisms.'
The four Washington patients all had initial symptoms of cough, fever or shortness of breath between April 22 and May 8, 2007. Three were hospitalized. The patient with AIDS died after 8 days in the hospital. The four were the first cases of identified adenovirus in Washington since 2004, the CDC said.
Prevention of adenovirus is similar to health department recommendations for flu, cold and pneumonia, and most people get better with standard care, she said.
'If everyone washed their hands, didn't touch their faces and stayed home when they were sick, a lot of these diseases would go away,' she said.
There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.
Goldoft called adenoviruses the 'disease of the week' and said people should not be terribly worried about contracting or dying from these viruses, which were first identified in 1955.
The four people who contracted the virus in the Pierce County facility ranged in age from 40 to 62 and all had risk factors. They were all smokers and the three without AIDS had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the CDC reported.
There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.
By Donna Gordon Blankenship, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE '” A Pierce County woman who also had AIDS died earlier this year from a mutated version of a common cold virus that also sickened three other women at the same residential-care facility, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
A new variant of adenovirus has caused 10 deaths and at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas in the last 18 months, according to a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington health officials began testing for the disease at the request of the federal government because more than 30 cases had been discovered in Oregon, said Dr. Marcia Goldoft, the acting state epidemiologist for communicable diseases.
She expected the disease would be found in more states if widespread testing was conducted, but doctors do not usually do a viral culture for cold or pneumonia.
'We don't know how common it is because most people are not tested,' Goldoft said. 'It's got to be out there if you do enough culturing. It's just a question of how much effort you put into looking for new organisms.'
The four Washington patients all had initial symptoms of cough, fever or shortness of breath between April 22 and May 8, 2007. Three were hospitalized. The patient with AIDS died after 8 days in the hospital. The four were the first cases of identified adenovirus in Washington since 2004, the CDC said.
Prevention of adenovirus is similar to health department recommendations for flu, cold and pneumonia, and most people get better with standard care, she said.
'If everyone washed their hands, didn't touch their faces and stayed home when they were sick, a lot of these diseases would go away,' she said.
There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.
Goldoft called adenoviruses the 'disease of the week' and said people should not be terribly worried about contracting or dying from these viruses, which were first identified in 1955.
The four people who contracted the virus in the Pierce County facility ranged in age from 40 to 62 and all had risk factors. They were all smokers and the three without AIDS had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the CDC reported.
There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines