You can view Dr. Klotman’s Week 240 video address here. My synopsis appears below.

  • Other than the news of E. coli in McDonald’s quarter pounders, there is also news of Listeria infections arising from TreeHouse Foods brand frozen waffles and other brands of blueberry pancakes. Sigh, I like an Eggo for breakfast now and then.
  • The most common Upper Respiratory Illness (URI) in Texas right now is Enterovirus D68 – a cold virus.
  • If you get a URI travelling out of the country it is more likely to be COVID.
  • COVID and Influenza A activity in Texas, for the moment, continues to be very low.
  • If you have backyard chickens, the risk for contracting clinically significant H5N1 Bird Flu is pretty small. The recorded infections thus far have been very mild.
  • Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever, still active in sub-Saharan Africa, has been seen in European travelers returning from that region.
  • Oropouche virus (Zika-like virus) infections have been recorded in Cuba and the USA. The USA cases were in travelers to areas where the Oropouche infections are endemic.
  • COVID strain XEC now makes up ~11% of US cases. The dominant strain is still KP.3.1.1

My commentary

  • Food-borne illness is a major cause of acute illness. Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella infections are the most common, but there are others as well. The common food sources for these infections are milk products, leafy vegetables, ground meats, and poultry. The CDC, USDA, and state health inspectors are our best defense against such illnesses. We should keep that in mind when politicians are talking about “deregulation” of industries and cutting back on the “nanny-state.” ‘Nuff said.
  • Travel is the common way for non-endemic illness to show up in locations where it has been otherwise unknown. This has been the case for centuries – leprosy, syphilis, yellow fever, mosquito borne diseases, etc. all move about in the company of travelers.
  • Regarding COVID, the CDC has recently issued a recommendation for COVID booster vaccinations six months after initial vaccination for this Fall season. This applies to seniors >64yo and also younger people who have significant immunocompromising illness or treatments (blood cancers, chemotherapy, immune system defects.) If in doubt, consult with your PCP.
  • Susan and I got our latest COVID shot in September. Like most of our friends in both real- and cyberspace, we’re in our mid-seventies. Our boosters will be due in March. I think that the Universe may be trying to balance the scales for us since we ordered tens of thousands of IVs, blood tests, and other kinds of pokes for our patients during our clinical careers. 🙂

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