Polio near New York City

Plus, loneliness gets linked to heart problems

Hi Health Deskers, today we’ve got breakdowns on dengue, Dengavaxia and new research on loneliness. First, here’s what’s going on with polio in the United States:

Wastewater surveillance is an exciting advance in epidemiology, but the results can sometimes be alarming. For the first time in several years, polio has been detected in two counties north of New York City. Researchers say this may be linked to the paralysis of a man in Rockland County last month. Vaccination rates in the area are some of the lowest in the state, but since the virus has likely been circulating for some time, it is difficult to measure the size of the outbreak. Public health agencies are already facing tight financial circumstances due to COVID-19 and significant staffing shortages, so increasing surveillance of infectious diseases is difficult right now. With global vaccination campaigns in decline, we fear more preventable communicable diseases will continue to spread throughout the world.

Social isolation and loneliness linked to heart and brain Issues

A recent statement from the Journal of the American Heart Association found that social isolation and loneliness are associated with about a 30% increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Though this analysis is limited in scope, social isolation and loneliness are both common, and may be considered independent risk factors for negative cardiovascular and neurological health. There is a strong need to develop and rigorously test interventions on people at risk. It may be that Gen Z is the loneliest generation, but nearly one quarter of adults over 65 in the United States are socially isolated with high prevalence rates of being lonely. COVID-19 isolation requirements may have exacerbated these issues especially among young adults ages 18-25, older adults, women and low-income individuals. We hope to see these numbers improve as COVID-19 measures may be eased but in an increasingly digital world, forging connections may be tougher than ever.

Now, you asked and our scientists answered:

What is dengue and where did it originate from?

Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes species. While most dengue cases are asymptomatic, they can cause dengue fever and more severe problems like hemorrhagic fever (a type of fever that can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death), or dengue shock syndrome, which is essentially a sudden decrease in the flow of blood.

“The first confirmed documented outbreak of dengue was in 1779 across Asia, North America, and Africa simultaneously. However, there have been documented outbreaks of illnesses causing fever with similar symptoms to dengue for many centuries. The first documented epidemic of this kind was recorded in 1635 in Martinique and Guadeloupe in the West Indies.“

What do we know about the safety of Dengavaxia vaccine?

Until recently, there have been no specific treatments or vaccines for dengue fever. Dengavaxia (also known as CYD-TDV) is the world’s first dengue vaccine to be approved anywhere in the world. The vaccine was licensed in 2015 in Mexico and has since been approved for use in several countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The vaccine is given through a set of three doses each six months apart. 

“Data has found that the vaccine works better for some more than others. For instance, the vaccination was not very effective in people under nine years old, which is why nine years has been set by health bodies like the WHO as the minimum age to get the vaccine.“

That’s all for this week. Don’t forget to check out health-desk.org for the latest information on health and science.