Currently viewing the category: "meningitis"

Recalled Wal-Mart Meat Products

By On · Add Comment · In contaminated, deli meats, immunocompromised, infection, Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, Marketside Grab and Go sandwiches, meningitis, Wal-Mart

If tainted eggs ain’t bad enough, we’ve now got contaminated deli meats to contend with.  According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Zemco Industries of Buffalo, New York, has recalled approximately 380,000 pounds of deli meat that may be contaminated with a potentially life threatening bacteria.

The deli meats, distributed to Wal-Marts nationwide, may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which was discovered in a retail sample collected by inspectors in Georgia. The USDA has received no reports of illnesses associated with the meats.  Wal-Mart notes that the voluntary recall is of meats that are ingredients in their Marketside Grab and Go sandwiches, but not individual packages of deli meat.

Copyright Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. (www.denniskunkel.com)

Copyright Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. (www.denniskunkel.com)

Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis, the leading cause of death among food-borne bacterial pathogens with fatality rates exceeding even Salmonella and Clostridium botulinum.  Listeriosis is rare and most commonly affects immunocompromised people–newborns, the elderly and people with immune deficiency syndromes. Pregnant women are at a higher risk.

Symptoms of listeriosis are fever, muscle aches and vomiting, and less commonly nausea and diarrhea. If the infection spreads to the nervous system it can cause meningitis, an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord, which can lead to headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.  Symptoms usually last 7-10 days.

 

“Listeriosis can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy,” the USDA said.

The products being recalled are:

  • 25.5-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches BLACK FOREST HAM With Natural Juices Coated with Caramel Color” with the number 17800 1300
  • 28.49-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches HOT HAM, HARD SALAMI, PEPPERONI, SANDWICH PEPPERS” with the number 17803 1300
  • 32.67-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches VIRGINIA BRAND HAM With Natural Juices, MADE IN NEW YORK, FULLY COOKED BACON, SANDWICH PICKLES, SANDWICH PEPPERS” with the number 17804 1300
  • 25.5-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches ANGUS ROAST BEEF Coated with Caramel Color” with the number 17805 1300.

The meats were produced on dates ranging from June 18 to July 2, 2010. The “Use By” dates range from August 20 to September 10, 2010.

If you shop at Wal-Mart and buy their Grab and Go sandwiches, better grab and throw…that crap away–listeriosis is serious business.

Rare Fungus Invades Pacific Northwest

By On · Add Comment · In British Columbia, Coccidioides immitis, Cryptococcus gattii, fungus, meningitis, Pacific Northwest, pneumonia, spores, Valley fever

A rare fungus is being blamed for fifteen deaths in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to California over the last six years.  Don’t worry grungers…not your magic mushrooms, but a fungus called Cryptococcus gattii, which grows on or around trees.  Breathing its microscopic spores can cause persistent cough, headache and shortness of breath, and even pneumonia or meningitis in some people.

Before you get too freaked about it, the risk is still very low.  First, it’s still a relatively rare species in North America–C. gattii is found primarily in the tropics.  Second, the people who have died from infection of the fungus in the U.S. and Canada all had predisposing illnesses.  Third, many more have likely contracted illness related to the fungus but it has been mild.  So you don’t have to avoid nature or the outdoors just yet.

The fungal illness showed up initially in British Columbia, Canada in 1999.  It has since migrated southward, and in 2004, there have been 43 cases in Oregon, 15 in Washington, one in California and one in Idaho, the CDC reported this week.  Canadian officials report 272 illnesses since cases were first detected.  The death rate there from the fungal infection have been reported at 9%.

Humans are not the only ones becoming infected, either.  To date more than 50 cases of cats, dogs, ferrets, elk and porpoises have been reported in the U.S.

Living in Southern California, I can’t help but think of Coccidioides immitis, the causative agent in Valley fever.  Hoping my brothers and sisters up in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland don’t have to deal with that type of scenario.  I, along with doctors in the region and public health officials, will be keeping eyes and ears open.  I’ll keep you informed.

Frank McCourt Succumbs to Melanoma Treatment

By On · Add Comment · In ABCDE rule, Abraxane, Frank McCourt, malignant melanoma, meningitis, skin cancer, sunscreen, UVA and UVB rays

Pulitzer prize winning author Frank McCourt died today from complications related to the treatment of malignant melanoma. According to reports, McCourt was suffering from meningitis, likely resulting from the immune-suppressing treatments he was receiving for the deadly skin cancer.

An Irish-American born writer, McCourt won the Pulitzer prize in 1997 for his work, Angela’s Ashes, which propelled him into wealth and popularity. He was being treated for malignant melanoma for the past few years and was released from New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Center to recuperate. Two weeks ago he developed meningitis, an inflammation of the sheath covering the brain and spinal cord.

This recent death brings up the importance of protection and detection of skin cancer. I’ve just written an article on the importance of daily sunlight for people, but still we all need to be careful. Sun exposure in and of itself is not dangerous; it’s getting sunburned that can lead to skin cancer. Using a good sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays is essential, and protecting exposed areas if sun exposure will be for an extended time is equally important. And sunbed tanning is for the unwise, as it increases the risk significantly.

When it comes to melanoma, males and Caucasians are most susceptible. 7,800 people will die in the U.S. this year, and 48,000 worldwide, from malignant melanoma. Melanoma is most common on the back in men and on legs in women (areas of intermittent sun exposure).

To detect melanomas, one may follow the ABCDE rule:

  • Asymmetrical skin lesion.
  • Border of the lesion is irregular.
  • Color: melanomas usually have multiple colors.
  • Diameter: moles greater than 6 mm are more likely to be melanomas than smaller moles.
  • Enlarging: Enlarging or evolving

Rule D is a slight weakness in the method, as malignancies can be less than 6mm, but overall the ABCDE a good screening tool. If you are unsure about a spot or growth, don’t hesitate, get it checked out. People who live in sunny climates–Southwestern U.S., Southern California, Florida, Australia should be especially cautious.

The treatment for melanomas range from tumor excision, immunotherapy, adjuvant treatment, chemotherapy, and radiation. A new treatment for malignant melanoma using the breast cancer drug, Abraxane, is in the final stages of study. If the drug passes the Phase 3 clinical trial, it will be a new weapon in the arsenal against malignant melanoma.

In spite of all this, cancer treatments in general are risky. Since cancer cells share most traits with regular cells, just that they multiply uncontrollably, most treatments kill off all cells, including healthy ones. This can leave the patient immunocompromised, like Frank McCourt was, and thus susceptible to opportunistic diseases like meningitis.

So protect yourself, and get any unusual growths or discolorations checked out by an expert. In the meantime, give a minute of remembrance for a fine writer who will be sorely missed.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.