Summer Safe: Don’t let these three infectious diseases ruin your summer fun

Do your late summer plans include a trip to a state or county fair? How about a camping trip, or perhaps a visit to a local farm?

Reports of infectious diseases spread by animals and insects have been on the rise this summer. Here are three infectious diseases that have been in the news recently, along with tips for how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

H3N2v, aka “swine flu,” from pigs

[Image courtesy
USDA/Scott Bauer]

In the last few weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported new cases of a type of influenza, H3N2v, that comes from pigs. Most of the people who got sick with this new type of flu had direct contact with pigs on farms or at state and county fairs. If you work around pigs or if you will be attending a fair or farm show, follow these tips to protect yourself:

• Always wash your hands after touching animals.
• Don’t eat or drink if you’re in an animal enclosure, and keep your hands away from your face.
• If you have a weak immune system or are at high-risk for flu, stay away from pigs. This includes young children and adolescents, pregnant women, people who are already sick and people ages 65 and older.
• Stay away from any animal that looks sick or acts strange. Call a veterinarian if you suspect that an animal is sick.

For more information, check out CDC’s H3N2v page.

[Image courtesy
USDA/Keith Weller]

Salmonella from baby chickens
Live baby poultry such as ducklings and chickens are adorable — what kid can’t resist picking up one of these cute, fuzzy, chirping animals? Don’t let their cuteness fool you: These animals can pose a health risk, especially to young children. Baby poultry, found in petting zoos, fairs and even in classrooms or at home, have been known to spread salmonella.

This year alone, baby chickens have been linked to salmonella cases in states around the country. Here are some tips to prevent illness from salmonella:

• Don’t let children younger than age 5 touch or handle chicks or ducklings.
• Don’t bring chicks, ducklings or other live poultry into your house.
• Make sure anyone who handles baby poultry washes their hands thoroughly with soap and water. Adults should help young children wash their hands. For information about hand-washing for any age group, check out our collection of Get Ready fact sheets!

CDC has more information on salmonella and baby birds on its website.

West Nile virus from mosquitoes

[Mosquito image courtesy
CDC/ Frank Collins, PhD.]

So far this year, 42 states and the District of Columbia have reported West Nile infections in people, birds or mosquitoes. People get West Nile virus when they are bitten by mosquitoes that carry the disease. You can’t tell if a mosquito is infected just by looking at it, so the best protection is to prevent mosquito bites.

• When you go outdoors, use insect repellent — especially at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear long sleeves and pants when possible.
• Mosquitoes breed in still water, so remember to empty out barrels, flowerpots and buckets that are filled with water on your property or in your neighborhood. 
• Learn more about protecting yourself from mosquitoes by checking out our fact sheet (PDF).

You can learn more about West Nile virus from CDC.

Even though these infectious diseases are on the rise, protecting yourself can be as simple as washing your hands and wearing bug spray. We hope this helps you stay safe this summer!

Get Ready Mailbag: Do ticks spread babesisos? How do I protect myself?

Welcome to another installment of the Get Ready Mailbag, when we take time to answer questions sent our way by readers like you. Have a question you want answered? Send an email to getready@apha.org.

Q: My cousin was recently diagnosed with babesiosis, which her doctor said comes from ticks. I’ve never heard of it — am I at risk, too? How can I protect myself?

A: Your cousin’s doctor is right. The main way that people get babesiosis is from a tick bite.

The disease is spread by a parasite called Babesia which lives inside of certain types of ticks. These ticks are so small — about the size of a poppy seed — that you may not even know if you’ve been bitten.

[Photo: Young form of Ixodes scapularis, 
the type of tick that spreads Babesiosis.
Photo by G. Hickling,
University of Tennessee, courtesy CDC.]

Babesiosis can cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, headaches, body aches, tiredness, nausea and loss of appetite. Health professionals may suspect this illness if you live in the Northeast or upper Midwest and if these symptoms show up during the summer months. However, some people don’t show any symptoms at all, so preventing tick bites is the key! (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/prevent.html)

To prevent tick bites:

• Hike on well-marked trails and stay out of bushes and long grass.
• Make sure to cover your skin with long pants and shirts.
• Apply bug spray.
• After walking through wooded areas or spending time outdoors, inspect your clothes and body for ticks.

The good news is that babesiosis is easy to treat once it is detected.

We hope your cousin recovers quickly and that you continue to stay safe!

Flu Fridays: Swine flu, bird flu…Now bat flu?

Happy Flu Friday! You’ve probably heard of both swine flu and bird flu. But if you’ve been watching the news recently,  you may have heard of a new strain of the flu that was discovered in Guatemalan fruit bats.

Yes, we said bat flu! This newly discovered flu virus is a type of influenza A virus, with a scientific name of H17. Scientists discovered the influenza while testing the bats for other types of viruses; they believe that H17 is distantly related to the strains of influenza A that are prevalent in humans today.

Image courtesy CDC/ Amanda Mills

If you saw the movie “Contagion,”  you might remember that the flu virus in the film started with a bat. But don’t start to panic just yet: Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  don’t believe that this newly discovered bat flu poses any risk to humans — at least, not right now. There is always a chance that the virus could combine with other strains of influenza to produce a new version of the flu that is easily spread in human populations. Scientists are now testing bats in other parts of the world to see if H17 is widespread.

Why test bats, you ask? Well, they’re the second-largest group of mammals on the planet, and they live almost everywhere on earth, except for the Arctic and Antarctic. They’re known to host other types of viruses, like Ebola and the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, also known as SARS. And because they live in groups and are capable of flying, they could potentially spread whatever viruses they carry — to other bats, other animals and perhaps to humans.

By studying bats and bat flu,  researchers can learn more about the influenza and how it’s spread — hopefully keeping us safer in the process!