Baby 411 Blog

Measles Outbreak

Since January 2008, there have been 64 cases of measles reported in nine states in the U.S. That may seem like a small number, but it's actually the highest number for the same period of time since 2001. Currently outbreaks are still going on in Arizona, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin.

63 of the 64 people infected were either unvaccinated or they did not have any record of being vaccinated.

13 of the 64 were children under one year of age, who were too young to be vaccinated.

14 of the 64 (21.9%) people have been hospitalized due to their illness.

Most of these cases were due to exposures outside the United States. Switzerland, Israel, India, Belgium, and China are the countries where these people contracted their illness and then returned to the U.S. infected.

The Centers for Disease Control is currently recommending that babies from 6-11 months of age who are traveling abroad should get one dose of the MMR vaccine before their trip. The standard first dose for all children is at 12-15 months of age.

Flu frenzy: Caused by the drug or the bug?

The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing cases and news reports of bizarre behavior in primarily children overseas who were taking the antiviral medication, Tamiflu, while they were infected with the influenza virus (better known as "The Flu"). It is unclear whether the cases of delirium, hallucinations, and other bizarre behaviors are due to the medication or the flu.

The pediatric advisory committee for the FDA will meet later this week to discuss official recommendations based on these cases.

We'll keep you posted. Stay tuned!

Update: E coli outbreak from spinach

As we have all heard in the news, some batches of fresh spinach have been contamininated with the bacteria, E coli 0157 H7, found in cow manure. This bacteria causes a form of food poisoning, resulting in bloody diarrhea. And, some really unlucky people can get a complication called Hemolytic Uremic Sydrome (HUS). HUS involves the kidneys and blood cells, and can be deadly. For more information, go to the Center for Disease Control.

Watch out: What to look for with Staph skin infections/MRSA

Does your child have a skin lesion that looks like an infected bug bite or spider bite? Odds are good that it’s really a bacterial skin infection caused by a bug called Staph (MRSA). What makes this particular strain of Staph so annoying is that it resists being killed off my many types of antibiotics. And, the skin infection can spread to the entire family. If your child has a tender, red area of skin that seems to be getting worse instead of better—check it out with your doc.