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30th Commemoration of HIV/AIDS
Thirty years ago this June, an article reporting the first known cases of what we now call AIDS was published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Since then, extraordinary progress has been made in treating and preventing HIV, and annual new infections have fallen by more than two-thirds since the height of the epidemic.
National HIV Testing Day (NHTD): June 27
Despite this progress, HIV remains a crisis in our country. Over the last three decades, prevention efforts have helped reduce new infections and treatment advances have allowed people with HIV to live longer, healthier lives. But as these improvements have taken place, our nation's collective sense of crisis has waned. Far too many Americans underestimate their risk of infection or believe HIV is no longer a serious health threat, but they must understand that HIV remains an incurable infection. Today, the most infections are among people under 30—a new generation that has never known a time without effective HIV treatments and who may not fully understand the significant health threat HIV poses. The reality remains that about 50,000 new infections occur each year in the U.S. and, today, more than one million people are living with HIV in our nation. Reducing HIV rates in the U.S. is not only possible – it’s imperative – and new advances in HIV prevention hold promise in changing the course of this epidemic.
How can I find out more about HIV and AIDS?You can call CDC-INFO at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636); TTY access 1-888-232-6348. CDC-INFO is staffed with people trained to answer your questions about HIV and AIDS in a prompt and confidential manner in English or Spanish, 24 hours per day. Staff at CDC-INFO can offer you a wide variety of written materials and put you in touch with organizations in your area that deal with HIV and AIDS.
On the Internet, you can get information on HIV and AIDS from www.AIDS.gov or www.cdc.gov/hiv
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Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/brochures/at-risk.htm
http://www.actagainstaids.org more -
Featured Condtion/Disease: Group B Strep
We are featuring a childhood/infant disease or condition informational post every other Friday. Today's topic is Group B Strep.
Definition
Group B strep (GBS) is a type of bacteria that is often found in the vagina and rectum of healthy women. In the United States, about 1 in 4 women carry this type of bacteria. Women of any race or ethnicity can carry these bacteria. Being a carrier for these bacteria does not mean you have an infection. It only means that you have group B strep bacteria in your body.
Finding the GBS bacteria does not mean that you are not clean, and it does not mean that you have a sexually transmitted disease. The bacteria are not spread from food, sex, water, or anything that you might have come into contact with. They can come and go naturally in the body.
GBS can be passed from a mother to her baby during childbirth.
GBS is a leading cause of life-threatening infections in newborns, including pneumonia (lung infection), sepsis (blood infection), meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord), and other problems. Sadly, many infants can die or have serious long-term effects from a GBS infection.
Preventing Group B Strep in New Borns
Ask your doctor or nurse for a GBS test when you are 35–37 weeks pregnant (in your 9th month). The test is an easy swab of the vagina and rectum that should not hurt.
Each time you are pregnant, you need to be tested for GBS. It doesn't matter if you did or did not have this type of bacteria before; each pregnancy is different.Carrying GBS bacteria does not mean that you are not clean, and it does not mean that you have a sexually transmitted disease. The bacteria are not spread from food, sex, water, or anything that you might have come into contact with. They can come and go naturally in the body.
The medicine to stop GBS from spreading to your baby is an antibiotic given during labor. The antibiotic (usually penicillin) is given to you through an IV (in the vein) during childbirth. If you are allergic to penicillin, there are other ways to help treat you during labor.
Antibiotics taken before labor will not protect your baby against GBS. The bacteria can grow back so fast that taking the medicine before you begin labor does not prevent the bacteria from spreading to your baby during childbirth.
Other people in the house, including kids, are not at risk of getting sick from GBS. If you think you might have a C-section or go into labor early (prematurely), talk with your doctor or nurse about your personal GBS plan.
More Information
To get more information about Group B Strep and its prevention in New Born Infants, go here.
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Diabetes Awareness Month
November is Diabetes Awareness month
This is a time to communicate the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of diabetes prevention and control. Nearly 24 million children and adults in the U.S. are living with diabetes. If current trends continue, one out of every three children born today will face a future with the disease.
*Facts:
- Diabetes kills more Americans every year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
- It is the #1 cause of blindness in adults.
- It doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke.
- 1 in 13 of all Americans have diabetes.
- 1 in 4 of those don't know it yet.
- 1 in 5 are on their way to getting it. Having a condition called prediabetes means you are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next three to six years. People with prediabetes have blood glucose (sugar) levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
*American Diabetes Association
Prevention:
Research shows you can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes through a healthy lifestyle.
- Change your diet. People at high risk for type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the disease by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight, or about 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person. You can do that by eating healthier and being physically active for 30 minutes, five days a week.
- Increase your level of physical activity. Physical activity can help you control your weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure, as well as raise your "good" cholesterol and lower your "bad" cholesterol.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese raises your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes care begins with informed patients. - Talk to your health care provider about how to manage your blood glucose (A1C), blood pressure, and cholesterol.
- Get a flu vaccine. For those with diabetes, it is important to ask for the "shot" version. Talk to your health care provider about a pneumonia (pneumococcal) shot. People with diabetes are more likely to die from pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes.
Stay Informed and share what you learn. You can join the effort to help promote National Diabetes Awareness Month in your area by using NDEP messages, tools and resources. more -
Featured Condtion/Disease: Human Papillomavirus
Starting today, we will be posting a featured childhood/infant disease or condition informational post every other Friday. Today's topic is Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
General Information
There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of males and females. These HPV types can also infect the mouth and throat. Most people who become infected with HPV do not even know they have it. HPV is not the same as herpes or HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). These are all viruses that can be passed on during sex, but they cause different symptoms and health problems.
HPV Prevention
Vaccines can protect males and females against some of the most common types of HPV. These vaccines are given in three shots. It is important to get all three doses to get the best protection. The vaccines are most effective when given before a person's first sexual contact, when he or she could be exposed to HPV.
- Girls and women: Two vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) are available to protect females against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. One of these vaccines (Gardasil) also protects against most genital warts. Both vaccines are recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls, and for females 13 through 26 years of age, who did not get any or all of the shots when they were younger. These vaccines can also be given to girls as young as 9 years of age. It is recommended that females get the same vaccine brand for all three doses, whenever possible.
- Boys and men: One available vaccine (Gardasil) protects males against most genital warts. This vaccine is available for boys and men, 9 through 26 years of age.
*Most of the information provided here is from the CDC site, click here to visit their site. more
Showing posts with label prevention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prevention. Show all posts
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