With the COVID pandemic of the past two years, the terms “immunization” and “vaccination” can be found in almost every news article out there. In fact, many times writers interchangeably use the terms immunization and vaccination. Although the two words are related, they do not mean the same thing, which can sometimes cause confusion when they’re used incorrectly.
Most individuals have experienced at least a mild version of the flu at some point in their life. Every year, somewhere between 3 and 11 percent of the US population will contract the flu virus.
Typical flu symptoms include fever, chills, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, cough, head and body aches, or fatigue. It’s common for an infected individual to have only a few of these symptoms manifest strongly, and not everyone will experience every single symptom. It’s also common to confuse the flu with the common cold, especially as not everyone with the flu will experience a fever – a symptom considered a hallmark of the virus. But, the flu differs from the cold as it tends to come on more suddenly. The onset of these symptoms is usually two days but can range from one to four days.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that currently causes the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. HPV causes genital warts and can also lead to cancers of the reproductive and respiratory organs. It’s important to recognize the dangers of HPV and proactively vaccinate ourselves and our loved ones in order to stay healthy.
Dengue viruses are spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito of the Aedes species, more specifically the female Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus. Mosquito-borne diseases include malaria, Zika, West Nile virus, chikungunya, and dengue fever.
Among these diseases, dengue fever is considered to be the most immediately critical. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue fever is also the most rapidly spread mosquito-borne disease with a “30-fold increase in global incidence over the past 50 years”. Dengue viruses are spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito of the Aedes species, more specifically the female Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus. With almost half of the world’s population, roughly 4 billion people, living in areas at risk of dengue fever, it’s important to recognize the mosquito specifies and to take necessary precautions to protect yourself.
Earlier this year, in September, a Wyoming resident was diagnosed with the plague. The woman had contracted it from her cat. To be specific, she was diagnosed with pneumonic plague, which is a form of the plague that is rare. Even in this day and age, it is very uncommon, (but not impossible) for the plague to be around. According to the CDC, during the years 2018-2019, the United States saw only one case each year.
