Month: May 2016

Overlooking an isolated stretch of runway at Martin State Airport, officials from the Maryland Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Baltimore County Police and safety advocates witnessed a sudden and violent impact between two cars on Tuesday, May 24, 2016. The T-bone crash simulation effectively showed the devastating consequences of unbelted occupants during a typical car crash and demonstrated the need to wear seat belts in every seat during every ride. Officials specifically focused on the need for backseat passengers to wear seat belts to avoid becoming human projectiles in a crash and killing others in the vehicle, including those who did the right thing by buckling up.

“Our message is simple: buckle up in every seat, every time, day and night,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn. “The most effective way to save your life— and the lives of others— is to wear your seat belt.”

On average, about 120 people who died in traffic crashes each year in Maryland were not wearing their seat belts. Over the past five years, 59 percent of all backseat passengers who died in Maryland were unbelted.

“Seat belts prevent ejection during rollovers, and they stop back seat passengers from becoming projectiles during a crash,” said Dr. Beth Baker, Region 3 Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “No matter how short or far you’re traveling, buckle up.”

In 2015, Maryland’s seat belt usage rate was 93 percent, an increase from the 2014 rate of 92.1 percent. Despite the increase, the number of traffic fatalities in Maryland went from 443 in 2014, the lowest number since 1948, to a preliminary number of 521 in 2015. Thirty six percent of people who died in Maryland motor vehicle crashes last year were unbelted. Not wearing a seat belt continued to be a leading cause of death on Maryland roads last year. If Maryland could reach a 100 percent seat belt usage, about 54 more lives could be saved each year.

“The tragic increase in traffic deaths on our roads last year is unacceptable,” said Motor Vehicle Administrator Christine E. Nizer. “Maryland’s efforts to reach zero traffic deaths must include more people wearing this simple, life-saving device.”

“As a police officer, there is nothing worse than notifying a family that they have lost a loved one and knowing that the loss could have been prevented if they had simply buckled their seat belt,” stated Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson.

“As drivers and as passengers, we all have choices to make each and every time we get into a vehicle,” said Suzanne Elzey, founder of the CruiseSafe Foundation, a nonprofit driving safety organization. “Whether you realize it or not, the choices you make at that time, will impact hundreds of people for the rest of their lives. So make safe, smart choices – buckle up, drive the speed limit and avoid distractions— as a driver or a passenger.”

Suzanne founded CruiseSafe after a horrific crash claimed the lives of her teenage son and his three best friends on Kent Island in April of 2013. Suzanne shared her personal story and spoke about the choices people make as drivers and passengers, and the long-term impact those choices have on family, friends and communities.

The crash demonstration marks the start of the national Click It or Ticket media campaign aimed at increasing seat belt use across Maryland and the country. The campaign features a television spot, which was designed specifically to address the issue of unbelted back seat occupants. The spot, which was developed using federal highway safety funding, can be seen here. The campaign also features radio advertisements and digital media, as well as grassroots partnerships with local radio stations and Uber.

Buckling up in every seat is the law in Maryland. Every person who is not buckled faces the possibility of an $83 ticket. Along with not wearing seat belts, officials highlighted areas that have historically been leading causes of deaths on Maryland’s roads, including: impaired driving; speeding; distracted driving; and not using crosswalks.

(URBAN NEWS SERVICE) — Genetically modified mosquitoes could mean curtains for the Zika virus. New U.S. cases of Zika virus infections are continually being discovered, as the Food and Drug Administration looks to these high-tech mosquitos as a possible solution.

Zika’s potential to spring from mosquito “nurseries” in the American South could hammer poor minority communities as summer heats up. Atlanta has the nation’s worst mosquito problem, according to Orkin, the pest control company. Mosquitoes only need standing water to spawn.

Scientists believe Zika spreads when a female mosquito feeds off of an infected person and later bites a new victim. Harmless male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar. Zika also can be transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected partner. Symptoms, while rare, can last for a week and range from a mild fever to muscle and joint pain.

Concerns rocketed after last year’s discovery that Brazilian babies with unusually small skulls and brains were born to mothers who contracted the virus while pregnant. Brazil’s Zika woes continue as athletes, fans, journalists and others from around the globe prepare to converge on Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, is battling potential local Zika infections. The Aedes aegypti, which lives in the Deep South, is one of several mosquitoes that scientists believe spread the virus.

Specialists with Fulton County’s Department of Health and Wellness, according to the agency, are working with Georgia’s Department of Public Health and the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor outbreaks and educate the community.

“The mosquitoes that spread Zika virus will bite four or five people before they are satisfied,” said Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for Georgia’s health department.

She said people should use insect repellent, eliminate standing water around their homes and stay indoors during dawn and dusk, when mosquitos are most active.

An $85-million fund is available to states, cities and territories at risk of Zika outbreaks, the CDC announced on May 13, 2016. The money would finance Zika-prevention efforts only temporarily, said Dr. Stephen C. Redd, a director at the agency. More money from Congress is needed, he said.

The CDC reported that between January 1, 2015 and May 18, 2016, all of the 544 U.S. Zika cases are travel-associated, meaning the virus was originally contracted abroad. To date, 157 pregnant women in the U.S. have reported symptoms.

New York logged 114 travel-related cases, the highest number in America. Florida was second with 109, and California’s 44 cases put it in third. Texas was fourth, with 35 reported infections. These states all have high black and Hispanic populations, foreshadowing what this disease could do to these communities.

Among 836 Zika cases in U.S. territories, 832 were contracted locally. These include 803 infected people in Puerto Rico, 15 in the Virgin Islands, and 14 in American Samoa.

Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, is testing its genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Key Haven, Florida. Oxitec’s male mosquitoes mate with wild female Aedes aegypti, producing offspring that “have a very high probability of dying before they reach adulthood,” according to its website.

Mosquitoes generally live about two weeks. The company’s experiments “have resulted in reduction of the wild population by more than 90 percent,” said Oxitec spokesman Matthew Warren. “Existing methods to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito, such as insecticides, are only 30 to 50 percent effective, at best.”

More than 150 million Oxitec mosquitos have been released, Warren said, with no reported adverse effects. Oxitec’s mosquitos were one possible approach within a larger program, said FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman.

“However, it is too early to say with any certainty whether such an approach would be successful.”

The agency approves and regulates biotechnology treatments, including vaccines.

“The FDA is acting responsibly with its mosquito pilot approach, and we’re glad to see that the CDC has activated the resources to respond,” said Adolph Falcon, executive vice president for the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

Oxitec’s solution, however, only targets one mosquito species. Also, pesticides no longer could be used against the insects, since they would kill both the dangerous female mosquitoes and the modified males. Mosquito breeding habits show Zika disproportionately could affect poor countries and communities with inadequate sanitation.

A still-undiscovered Zika vaccine and improved sanitation would be more effective solutions, said Jaydee Hanson, senior policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety.

“People like magic,” said Hanson. “We want easy answers and we like technology. I’m a big fan of technology, but it needs to be assessed for it what it can do.”

In Greater Baltimore, Hepatitis C affects African Americans more than any other group, according to Joseph Cooke, a senior outreach worker at the Blalock 319 Hepatitis Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

If left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis which is why treatment and awareness should be a priority in local communities where conversations should be held in churches, barber shops and other local gathering spots, Cooke said.

“It is now a very exciting time in hepatitis C treatment and new oral regimens have extremely high cure rates,” he said. “However, we still face challenges as individuals must first know that they are infected and then be linked to hepatitis C care.”

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was highlighted earlier this month by the U.S. National Library of Medicine revealed that the number of hepatitis C-linked deaths in the United States reached a record high in 2014, and the virus now kills more Americans than any other infectious disease.

There were 19,659 hepatitis C-related deaths in 2014, according to preliminary data from the CDC.

“Why are so many Americans dying of this preventable, curable disease? Once hepatitis C testing and treatment are as routine as they are for high cholesterol and colon cancer, we will see people living the long, healthy lives they deserve,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin said in an agency news release.

Mermin directs the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.

If not diagnosed and treated, people with hepatitis C are at increased risk for liver cancer and other life-threatening diseases. They may also unknowingly infect others.

The new CDC study found that the number of hepatitis C-related deaths in 2013 exceeded the combined number of deaths from 60 other infectious diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis.

The numbers might even be higher because the new statistics are based on data from death certificates, which often underreport hepatitis C.

Most cases of hepatitis C are among baby boomers— those born between 1945 and 1965, according to the National Library of Medicine. Many were infected during medical procedures such as injections and blood transfusions when these procedures were not as safe as they are now. Many hepatitis C-infected “boomers” may even have lived with the disease for many years without knowing it, according to the report.

On Thursday, May 19, 2016, Johns Hopkins held a National Hepatitis Testing Day at the William H. Welch Medical Library where providers, clinic staff and patients networked and where free testing was offered.

Johns Hopkins officials also celebrated the curing of 1,000 individuals who had hepatitis C.

“We are seeing a huge surge in youth because of the rise in drug use and tattoos,” said Nancy Haselhuhn, a nurse practitioner at Johns Hopkins. Normally, blood work that could detect the virus isn’t ordered for young people and insurance companies usually won’t authorize such procedures unless there’s already a serious health problem, Haselhuhn said.

What’s more, deaths due to hepatitis C-related illness tops HIV and tuberculosis which is alarming, Haselhuhn said.

“Often it takes several years to realize damage but once the liver shows scarring you’re now at risk for cirrhosis. I tell people that if you’re feeling sick, it’s probably late, your liver is already infected,” she said, adding that some symptoms could include nausea, vomiting and the yellowing of the eyes.

The most common complaint is feeling tired, Haselhuhn said. “A lot of people are quick to blame getting older for feeling tired,” she said.

For more information, visit www.hopkinsmedicine.org.