RFK Jr, HHs & Public Health News | Measles outbreak, etc.
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A Mad Cow-Like Prion Disease Has Killed Two People and Sickened a Third in Same Oregon Town
Three people in Hood River County have contacted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease over the span of eight months, an unusual pattern for an incredibly rare disease.
gizmodo.com
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My law partner (who lived in Chapel Hill) was diagnosed with this last November. He died 16 days after diagnosis. His death occurred just a matter of weeks after the first symptom appeared. To make matters even worse (as if they could be worse), all this happened right after his 23-year-old daughter was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was absolutely devastating.A Mad Cow-Like Prion Disease Has Killed Two People and Sickened a Third in Same Oregon Town
Three people in Hood River County have contacted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease over the span of eight months, an unusual pattern for an incredibly rare disease.
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BlooVooDoo
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This is actually quite concerning if they can’t pin it on BSE tainted meat. Prion diseases are known in a variety of mammals, but evidence of zoonotic transmission of humans is limited to cows. The big worry is that cervids (deer and their relatives can get chronic wasting disease - a prion disease that leads to ataxia, myoclonus and rapid loss of skeletal muscle and is 100% fatal) may pose a threat - cell culture results suggest transmission from deer to people is possible. We can monitor domestic livestock. Keeping track of the health of deer herds is damn near impossible.A Mad Cow-Like Prion Disease Has Killed Two People and Sickened a Third in Same Oregon Town
Three people in Hood River County have contacted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease over the span of eight months, an unusual pattern for an incredibly rare disease.
Oh, and prion protein is found in antler velvet so think twice about those supplements.
I had thought that some years ago they found a link to humans getting some form of prion disease from eating squirrel head stew. Maybe it didn't prove out. Not a large target group to follow, I'd guess.
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Reminds me of this prion like disease where the researchers were shut down by a conservative government. (In this article the newly elected left-wing provincial premier is trying to restart the research.
New Brunswick premier calls on Canadian government to investigate mysterious brain illness
Previous provincial government said most patients were misdiagnosed and instead had dementia or cancer
Health officials first warned in 2012 that more than 40 residents of the province were suffering from a possible unknown neurological syndrome, with symptoms similar to those of the degenerative brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A year later, however, an independent oversight committee created by the province determined that the group of patients had most likely been misdiagnosed and were suffering from known illnesses such as cancer and dementia. A final report from the committee, which concluded there was no “cluster” of people suffering from an unknown brain syndrome, signalled the end of the province’s investigation.
But earlier that year, the Guardian reported that a top federal scientist worried there was “something real going on” in New Brunswick. Another said the investigation “was shut down” and that caseloads were higher than officially acknowledged. “I don’t think it is helpful to suggest or point to who or why – suffice to say that we were prepared to marshal both financial and human scientific resources to tackle the mystery, but they were declined,” the scientist wrote.
More than 450 people in the province – many living on the Acadian peninsula – are believed to be suffering from the illness, including several under the age of 45. At least 40 people have died, according to the premier.
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Ugh. that's awful.
BlooVooDoo
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Yeah, so that’s an interesting one. There are quite a few stories about “prion-like” illnesses in people who had eaten squirrel meat. Enough in fact that it used to be mentioned as a likely case of zoonotic transmission, but cell culture studies have failed to demonstrate that it’s possible.
Does one grow squirrel culture lines with or without serum
. "Bullwinkle, do you know what an A-Bomb is?"
superrific
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Prions: the official hybrid vehicle of atomic nuclei everywhere.
BlooVooDoo
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You know, I have no idea if there are commercially available, immortalized squirrel cell lines, but it would probably be a lot easier for technicians to warm to the idea of handling live squirrels than rats.Does one grow squirrel culture lines with or without serum
"Bullwinkle, do you know what an A-Bomb is?"
On the other hand, I shudder to think what IACUC and veterinarians would require as enrichment for research squirrels.
Recognizing this is not at all what this thread is about.... So anyway I looked:
Cellosaurus cell line GS-iPSC1 (CVCL_A2WQ)
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www.sciencedirect.com
Who knew
BlooVooDoo
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That’s actually pretty cool.
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Video shows doctor with measles treating kids. RFK Jr. later praised him as an ‘extraordinary’ healer
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www.cnn.com
“A Texas doctor who has been treating children in a measles outbreak was shown on video with a measles rash on his face in a clinic a week before Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met him and praised him as an “extraordinary” healer.
Dr. Ben Edwards appeared in the video posted March 31 by the anti-vaccine group Kennedy once led, Children’s Health Defense. In it, Edwards appears wearing scrubs and talking with parents and children in a makeshift clinic he set up in Seminole, Texas, ground zero of the outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people and killed three, including two children.
Edwards is asked whether he had measles, and he responded, “Yes,” then said his infection started the day before the video was recorded.
“Yesterday was pretty achy. Little mild fever. Spots came in the afternoon. Today, I woke up feeling good,” Edwards said in the video.
Measles is most contagious for about four days before and four days after the rash appears and is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors and public health experts said Edwards’ decision to go into the clinic put children, their parents and their community at risk because he could have spread it to others. They said there was no scenario in which Edwards’ conduct would be reasonable. …”
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“… Kennedy met with Edwards about a week after the video was posted by Children’s Health Defense, the group Kennedy led for years until December. In an April 6 post on X, Kennedy said he “visited with these two extraordinary healers,” including Edwards and another doctor, and praised their use of two unproven treatments for measles.
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It was unclear whether Kennedy knew that Edwards had gone into his clinic while infected with measles before meeting him. A spokesperson for Kennedy said he is not anti-vaccine and that he is “committed to improving children’s health in America and has re-deployed resources to Texas to help with the current outbreak.” He did not answer why the health secretary chose to meet with and praise Edwards rather than any of the other doctors in West Texas who have been treating children in the outbreak.
Edwards told The Associated Press in an email that he “interacted with zero patients that were not already infected with measles” during the time he was infectious. “Therefore, obviously, there were no patients that were put in danger of acquiring measles since they already had measles.”
But Jessica Steier, a public health scientist, said the video shows Edwards in the room with people who do not appear sick, including parents of sick children and the people who visited the clinic from Children’s Health Defense. She also questioned what steps Edwards was taking to confirm people were sick with measles, rather than relying on guesswork. …”
JCTarheel82
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This reads like something from a third world country where resources are scarce, but no it's just Texas.
StrangePackage
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Everything's dumber in Texas
lawtig02
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To be fair, intelligence is a highly underrated resource.