With coronavirus taking up all the space in the news, it is easy to forget about other diseases. However, diseases do not stop spreading when the news stops talking about them. So this blog will give you some updates about 2 non-COVID diseases. It is important to stay informed on things outside of COVID, some of these diseases are just as dangerous or more dangerous and should be followed closely. If you get too caught up on coronavirus, you will leave yourself vulnerable to infection from some other common diseases.
Some countries are suspending the vaccine campaigns of other diseases in response to the COVID pandemic. The WHO organization recently recommended suspending all measles, polio and HPV vaccines in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. Seth Berkley called the decision “A devil’s choice”. On the one hand, poor countries need these mass vaccination efforts to get rid of these other diseases. However, by doing these large-scale vaccinations for polio, measles and other diseases, they are risking the spread of COVID-19 inadvertently. Due to this suspension of vaccinations, experts expect there to be a surge in cases of polio and measles, as well as other diseases where vaccination has temporarily ceased. I think this is an unfortunate and unexpected complication of the coronavirus pandemic. People are being denied other important vaccines in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. I think I do agree with this decision, it is important to address the matter at hand, COVID is the big and immediate danger at the moment. However, the sooner we can restart vaccinations for other diseases, the better.
The USDA has recently confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial turkey flock in South Carolina. These are the first confirmed cases of this disease in the US since 2017. Scientists believe that this strain of avian influenza mutated from a low pathogenic strain found in poultry in the same area recently. While no cases of this disease have been detected yet, it is important to note that humans can indeed contract this disease and should be cautious when handling and cooking poultry and eggs. In a time where most Americans are eating from home, people should make sure to cook their food thoroughly to kill all potential pathogens.
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