Parents PACK

Did You Know?

FluView and Flu Vaccine Finder

Did you know that you can easily track influenza disease or find out where to get the influenza vaccine? Tools offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) can help all of us stay healthier:

Tracking influenza disease

If you’re traveling this holiday season, you can see whether influenza is occurring at your destination. FluView, created by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides up-to-date information about current influenza activity within the United States and its territories.

Finding influenza vaccine

Flu Vaccine Finder, provided by Flu.gov, allows users to find influenza vaccine providers by zip code. Users can also narrow their searches by specifying the type of influenza vaccine they wish to receive (i.e., nasal spray, injection, intradermal or high-dose injection version).

Find an influenza vaccine provider»

Because it will take one to two weeks after vaccination before a vaccine recipient is likely to be protected, planning ahead is important for maximizing the vaccine’s effectiveness should you be heading to an area where influenza is circulating. However, because influenza season will last well after the holidays, getting the vaccine any time during the season (before spring) could help ward off the disease.

Dec. 2012

Salmonella and small turtles

Although the sale and distribution of small turtles measuring less than 4 inches long has been banned since 1975, people still keep them as pets or come in contact with them in the environment. Because small turtles, other reptiles and amphibians can be infected with Salmonella and shed it in their feces, people who handle the animals or things they come in contact with sometimes get Salmonella. So far this year, 196 people have been diagnosed with Salmonella after being exposed to animals that carried the bacteria, and 36 have been hospitalized. Although no one has died, the infections have been reported in 31 states and many of those who were infected were less than 10 years old.

Some information about Salmonella

• Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis are the most commonly occurring types of Salmonella in the United States.
• Illness occurs when Salmonella infect the intestines, causing diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps that typically last for 4 to 7 days.
• People usually recover from Salmonella infections without treatment but, in some, diarrhea can be so severe that hospitalization is required.
• Some people may develop a condition known as reactive arthritis that causes joint pain, eye irritation and painful urination that can last for months to one year. In some people, symptoms such as arthritis and back pain may reappear.
• Death may occur if bloodstream infection with Salmonella occurs and is not treated with antibiotics.
• Severe illness is more likely to occur in infants, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems (i.e., people with cancer or HIV/AIDS).

Preventing Salmonella infections

• Do not have reptiles or amphibians in the homes of people with weakened immune systems (i.e., people with cancer or HIV/AIDS).
• Do not keep reptiles or amphibians in places where young children may be present, like childcare centers or nursery schools.
• Wash hands with soap and warm water immediately after touching reptiles, amphibians or anything found where they live.

Learn more about recent human cases of Salmonella and small turtles»

Nov. 2012

One virus causes chickenpox and shingles

If you have ever had chickenpox, you can get shingles because the virus that causes chickenpox also causes shingles. After a chickenpox infection, the virus lives silently in the nerves. When the virus re-awakens, usually due to age or a weakening immune system, it causes shingles, a very painful rash that typically occurs along a nerve path.

• Learn more about chickenpox and the chickenpox vaccine» 
• Learn more about shingles and the shingles vaccine»  

Oct. 2012

REAL SIMPLE magazine publishes article about vaccines

Did you know that REAL SIMPLE magazine recently published an article about vaccines? The article, titled 15 Things You Need to Know About Vaccines, was written by Kate Rope and published in the July 2012 issue. Experts answered a variety of questions regarding vaccines and vaccine safety, including “Do vaccines cause side effects?”, “What is thimerosal and is it dangerous?”, and “Do I need to worry about ‘vaccine overload’?”

If you didn’t see the REAL SIMPLE article, check it out now»

Sept. 2012

Infections that cause cancer

Each year, 12 million people around the world are diagnosed with cancer. Amazingly, about 2 million of these patients have cancers caused by infections.

The four most common infections that lead to cancer are caused by:

• Hepatitis B virus
• Hepatitis C virus
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Helicobacter pylori

Hepatitis B and HPV can be prevented by vaccination. Widespread immunizations would, therefore, decrease the incidence of two of the most common cancers caused by infections: liver and cervical cancers. 

Learn more about hepatitis B and the hepatitis B vaccine»

Learn more about HPV and the HPV vaccine»

Aug. 2012

Hepatitis A exposure at an Indiana restaurant

Recently, diners at a restaurant in Indiana were exposed to hepatitis A virus after their food and drinks were handled by a bartender who was unknowingly infected with the virus. Everyone who ate at the restaurant during a five-day period was urged to get a hepatitis A vaccine. More than 500 people were vaccinated. Luckily, no one developed hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver that is spread through contaminated food or water. In countries without clean water systems in place, the virus can easily spread; however, it can also be spread if uncooked food is not properly washed or when someone who has the virus handles food with unclean hands, such as what happened at the Indiana restaurant.

Common symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, pale stool and dark urine. Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, may also occur. Symptoms typically develop about one month after exposure and usually last for about two months. Although children often do not experience symptoms of hepatitis A infection, they can still spread the virus. Hepatitis A, unlike hepatitis B and C, does not typically cause long-term liver disease. Severe complications are very rare.

• Learn more about hepatitis A and the vaccine»
• Access a copy of Q&A “Hepatitis A: What you should know” in English or Spanish

July 2012

Living on less than $1 a day

Each day throughout the world, approximately 1.3 billion people live below the poverty line, defined as living on less than $1.25 US dollars per day.

June 2012

Protecting susceptible infants from pertussis

Older children and adults commonly transmit pertussis to infants and young children. Adults usually recover, but pertussis can be particularly severe, even deadly in infants who are too young to get a vaccine. Because of this, public health officials have started educating parents about a technique called “cocooning.”

Cocooning is like wrapping your baby in a blanket of protection. Specifically, this technique involves making sure everyone who comes in contact with a baby has been protected with a recent dose of the pertussis vaccine. Cocooning makes it much less likely that the baby will come in contact with the pertussis bacteria until he or she develops immunity from the DTaP vaccine, which is given at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months of age. Booster doses are given at 15 to 18 months and again at 4 to 6 years.

May 2012

National Infant Immunization Week

April 21-28 is National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). The goal of NIIW is to promote the benefits of immunization in protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases. Hundreds of communities participate each year by planning awareness and education events in partnership with local, state, national and international organizations.

NIIW is held in conjunction with Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization. VWA participants work to promote the need for routine vaccination of infants and children in more than 40 countries in the Western Hemisphere. 

Read about activities and events planned in cities across the U.S.»

Browse educational resources related to infant immunization»

Plan a NIIW event for your community»

April 2012

Recurrence of shingles

Up to 5 of every 100 people who get shingles will get it again. This is why people who had shingles in the past should still get the shingles vaccine. 

Learn more about shingles disease and the vaccine»

March 2012

India achieves one year without polio

January 13, 2012 marked a huge milestone in the fight against polio. For the first time in history, India had no children paralyzed by polio over a one-year time period. Until now, transmission of polio had never been stopped in four countries — Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. With one less country on the list, we are even closer to realizing the goal of eradication. 

Learn more about polio eradication»

Learn more about polio and the vaccine»

Feb. 2012

Prevalence of HPV

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and in the world. Twenty million Americans are currently infected with HPV and an additional 6 million Americans are infected every year. Half of those newly infected with HPV are between 15 and 24 years of age.

Jan. 2012