{"id":2020239,"date":"2023-09-02T12:26:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T16:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-declares-outbreak-of-rare-but-serious-disease\/"},"modified":"2023-09-02T12:27:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T16:27:51","slug":"virginia-declares-outbreak-of-rare-but-serious-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-declares-outbreak-of-rare-but-serious-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia declares outbreak of rare and serious disease."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-declares-outbreak-of-rare-but-serious-disease%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2020239&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0902\/a7fdc847-cf54-4d9a-81f0-3298f3ad960d\/audio.mp3?length=5175405&#038;duration=431\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Statewide Outbreak \u200dof Meningococcal Disease in Virginia<\/h2>\n<p>The Virginia Department of Health\u200b (VDH) has announced a \u200c <strong>statewide outbreak<\/strong> of Meningococcal disease, with recorded infection numbers \u2062 <strong>triple\u2062 the normal\u2063 level<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Meningococcal disease is caused\u200c by the bacteria &#8220;Neisseria meningitidis type\u200d Y&#8221; and \u2063can result in infections\u200d of \u2064the \u200dbrain lining,\u2064 spinal cord,\u2063 and bloodstream. \u2063The \u2062disease can be severe\u2062 and even \u200cresult \u200din death. Twenty-seven cases of the &#8220;rare \u200bbut \u200cserious&#8221; \u2063meningococcal disease have\u2064 been reported in\u2063 eastern, central, and southwest Virginia since \u2062June 2022, the\u200d VDH said in an Aug. 30 \u2063blog post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This development is\u2063 three times the expected number of cases during this time period. Most cases are residents of eastern Virginia, where \u200da regional outbreak was first announced in September 2022.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Five patients have died from complications associated with \u2064this\u200d disease. \u200bThe strain associated with this \u200boutbreak is known to be circulating more widely in \u200bthe United States. Risk\u2064 to Virginia&#8217;s population is \u2062low.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Even though VDH has not identified a common \u200drisk factor for\u200d the\u200b current spread, testing has confirmed \u2063that incidents are\u2062 &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-declares-outbreak-of-rare-but-serious-disease\/\" title=\"Virginia declares outbreak of rare and serious disease.\">highly \u200cgenetically related<\/a>.&#8221; Most of\u2063 the \u200cpatients were black adults in the \u200dage group of 30 to 60 years.<\/p>\n<p>Out \u2063of the 27 \u2063cases of meningococcal disease identified by VDH, \u206426 were found among people who were not vaccinated against Neisseria meningitidis type Y.<\/p>\n<p>During a 2023\u200b Immunization Coalition Meningococcal Webinar, Professor\u2064 Robert Booy, an\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/late-night-restaurant-owners-want-to-play-fair-so-far-they-say-newsom-hasnt\/\" title=\"Late-night restaurant owners want to play fair. So far, they say, Newsom hasn't\">infectious diseases expert<\/a>\u2062 at the University of Sydney, Australia, \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/3-dead-following-meningococcal-outbreak-in-virginia-5112109\">suggested<\/a> that COVID-19 restriction \u2064measures \u2064could be responsible for \u2064the rising \u2062number of\u200b meningococcal cases.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Booy\u2062 pointed out \u2064that measures like social distancing, masks, and handwashing prevented infections like meningococcal. And because of less contact, &#8220;we incurred an immune debt; we weren&#8217;t exposed\u2064 to all sorts\u200c of infections.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to the VDH, most of the cases of meningococcal\u2064 disease were recorded in the eastern \u200bUnited \u2063States,\u2063 where 20\u2062 out\u2062 of the 27 infections were identified. The Southwest\u200b recorded five cases and the central United\u2062 States recorded\u200d two. No infections have been reported from the northern or \u2063northwest United States.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People spread meningococcal bacteria to\u200d other people by sharing respiratory\u200d and throat secretions \u2064(saliva or spit). Generally, it\u2064 takes close (for example, coughing \u200bor kissing) or lengthy contact to spread these bacteria,&#8221; the \u2062CDC stated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fortunately, \u200dthey are not as contagious \u200das \u200cgerms that cause the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-i-got-a-covid-test-four-times-in-one-day-two-came-back-negative-two-came-back-positive-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Elon Musk: I Got A COVID Test Four Times In One Day. \u2018Two Came Back Negative, Two Came Back Positive.\u2019 | The Daily Wire\">common cold<\/a> or the flu. People do not\u200d catch the bacteria through casual contact\u2062 or by breathing air where someone with\u200b meningococcal disease has\u200c been.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The agency points \u200bout that people who are in constant \u200ccontact with an \u2062infected \u200cindividual, like\u200c those living in the same household \u2062and\u2064 roommates, are at &#8220;increased risk&#8221; of \u200dgetting sick.<\/p>\n<p>Most\u200b of meningitis infections \u2064are\u2063 caused by six types of Neisseria meningitidis\u2014A,\u2063 B, C, W, X,\u200b and Y. \u2062In the United States, it \u2062is the B, C, and Y types that are\u2064 responsible for most of the illnesses.<\/p>\n<h2>The Illness<\/h2>\n<p>The bacteria that causes meningococcal disease is present in around 1 in 10 \u200bpeople\u200d in \u2062the back of their nose and throat.<\/p>\n<p>The highest rate of meningococcal disease in \u200cAmerica is among infants younger than a year \u200dold, teens and young adults between the ages \u200cof 16 and 23, and adults aged 65 and above.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5481050\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/26\/id5481050-08252023-DSC08645-CDC-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>Certain medical conditions can\u200c weaken the immune system, thus putting \u2062some individuals at higher risk of contracting meningococcal disease.\u2064 This includes\u2064 HIV,\u2063 functional and anatomic asplenia, and persistent \u2062c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The VDH has declared a statewide Meningococcal disease outbreak in Virginia, with infection rates three times higher than usual. Caused by the bacteria &#8220;Neisseria meningitidis type Y,&#8221; this disease can lead to severe infections in the brain lining, spinal cord, and bloodstream, potentially causing serious consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2020240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2020239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2020239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2020240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2020239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2020239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}