Harris County Infectious Disease Community Trends

Harris County Infectious Disease Community Trends

Caitlan McQuay

Representative: Mary Asomani-Nyarko

Representative’s Job Title: Nurse Epidemiologist

West Nile Virus

            West Nile Virus is one of the main infectious disease community trends in Harris County. It is a virus spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Though everyone is at risk, people over age 50 have an increased risk of developing severe illness from it. Usually there are no signs or symptoms, but low grade fever, headache, and swollen lymph glands can occur. In order to prevent being infected with the West Nile Virus, one can wear bug repellant, destroy mosquito reservoirs found around the home, avoid having standing water near the home, and wear long sleeves and long pants outside during dawn and dusk.

Hantavirus

            Though Hantavirus is not spread person-to-person, I discovered that it is a problem in Harris County. Hantavirus is spread by exposure to an infected deer mouse, white-footed mouse, cotton rat, and rice rat’s urine, feces, and saliva. Those at risk for this disease are people who have rodent infestations in their home, work at a site that has rodent infestation, or people who are cleaning up something like a shed that has rodents in it. Symptoms are flu-like and tend to include fever, myalgia, headache, chills, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Preventing Hantavirus from entering your body comes from getting rid of rodents in one’s home or work place, carefully cleaning up their urine, feces, or saliva by soaking bleach on it for at least ten minutes before removal, and thoroughly washing yourself and your clothes after coming into contact with these rodents.

Influenza

            Influenza is spread via person-to-person contact. Everyone, including healthy people, are at risk of being infected. Symptoms include fever, headache, malaise, cough, sore throat, rhinitis, and muscle aches. The best preventive strategy for influenza is that of getting vaccinated yearly; not only will this help an individual but if everyone were vaccinated it would help the entire community. If infected, however, one should rest, drink plenty of fluids, try to stay away from other people, and cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze.

Toxoplasmosis

            Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite found in cat feces. One can get this disease by coming into contact with infected cat feces and later, without washing their hands, putting their hands in their mouth or rubbing their eyes, by eating undercooked infected meat, eating raw unwashed infected vegetables, or drinking infected water. Though anyone can be infected, those who need to be more wary of it are pregnant women as if they become infected, their infant could have serious health problems including congenital defects or even death. Symptoms include mild or unrecognized illness, flu-like symptoms, and acute illness with fever. Preventative strategies include avoiding undercooked meat, avoiding unwashed, uncooked, or un-peeled vegetables, avoiding unpasteurized milk, cleaning one’s cat’s litter box daily, and not allowing one’s cat to hunt.

Chickenpox

            Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, is highly contagious, and is spread by direct contact or by coming into contact with air that has just been infected by an infected person coughing or sneezing. Everyone is at risk for infection, but people under the age of 15 more commonly are infected. Symptoms include a blister-like rash, itching, tiredness, and fever. After one becomes infected once, they usually build up an immunity to it to ensure they never get it again, but people do sometimes become infected more than once. The best preventative strategy is to simply vaccinate.

References

“Disease Facts Sheet.” Disease Fact Sheets. Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hcphes.org/factsheets/disease/disease_fact_sheets_Eng.htm>.