Another Good Reason to Wash Your Hands

Good hygiene may reduce transmission of a deadly adenovirus.

While MRSA bacteria have been in the headlines lately, the CDC recently alerted health professionals to a new strain of the adenovirus, which may be deadly.

Ad-14 caused outbreaks in three states in 2007. Among the 140 patients diagnosed with Ad-14, 9 died, 53 were hospitalized, including 24 who got so sick, they had to be admitted to ICUs. The virus attacks membranes of the nose, throat, lungs, eyes, intestines and urinary tract, with symptoms ranging from pinkeye or a common cold to life-threatening viral pneumonia.

“We don’t know too much about Ad-14, other than that it has recently been associated with more severe disease,” says Gregory C. Gray, MD, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. More common in winter, Ad-14 spreads through air, water or contaminated surfaces. “There are no preventive treatments, vaccines or therapies specific to this strain,” says Dr. Gray. But good hygiene, such as hand-washing, can reduce transmission.

From The Washington Post: Virus starts like a cold — but can be a killer

From readersdigest.com - December 2007

 

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