Science

CDC Warns About Elevated Risk Of Dengue Fever

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday sent an alert to health officials and providers about relatively elevated levels of dengue fever cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images

“Dengue activity remains high in some parts of the United States and globally, with many countries reporting higher-than-usual numbers of dengue cases in 2024 and 2025,” the CDC warned in a bulletin.

The agency urged health care providers and state and local health agencies, along with the public, to take steps to detect and prevent dengue.

Transmission remains high in North America and South America, including in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both territories of the United States, the CDC said.

“Spring and summer travel coincides with the peak season for dengue in many countries, increasing the risk of both travel-associated and locally acquired cases in the United States,” the CDC said in an alert.

The federal health agency pointed to data, updated as of March 10, that shows more than 13 million cases of dengue reported in North America, Central America, and South America, as well as the Caribbean region. It noted that local transmission of the virus was reported in Florida, California, and Texas last year.

Also known as “break-bone fever” because it can be so painful, dengue is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Four different but related viruses cause the disease: dengue virus 1, 2, 3, and 4, according to health officials.

The World Health Organization says that about half the world’s population is at risk of getting the disease and that there are 100 million to 400 million infections every year. Symptoms can include fever, severe headaches, and pain in muscles and joints. There is no widely available medicine for treating dengue infections.

Last year, the CDC sent out a similar health alert about an increased risk of dengue infections across the United States.

“Global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this calendar year; many countries are reporting higher-than-usual dengue case numbers,” the CDC said in its June 2024 advisory.

Some people can experience no signs or symptoms of a dengue infection. But when symptoms do occur, they can be mistaken for another illness such as influenza. Symptoms usually start between four and 10 days after being bitten by a dengue-infected mosquito, according to the Mayo Clinic. The virus generally causes a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and can include several other symptoms.

These include muscle, bone, or joint pain; vomiting; nausea; pain behind the eyes; swollen glands; and a rash. In some cases, the symptoms can become life-threatening in what is known as “severe dengue,” dengue hemorrhagic fever, or dengue shock syndrome, the clinic says on its website.

The severe symptoms often can occur after the fever goes away and can include persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, rapid breathing, bleeding gums or nose, blood in stool or…

Trump Admin Removes Advisory From HHS Website Labeling Gun Violence A Health Crisis

Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The June 2024 advisory by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declaring violent crime involving guns a public health crisis has been removed from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website.

The unprecedented advisory was the realization of a goal for gun control proponents.

An HHS spokesperson said the change was made to comply with a Feb. 7 executive order.

“HHS and the Office of the Surgeon General are complying with President Trump’s Executive Order on Protecting Second Amendment Rights,” Emily G. Hilliard, HHS deputy press secretary, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Second Amendment advocates praised the move.

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, said Murthy was selected by President Joe Biden mainly for his views on gun control. Pratt said the Biden administration was attempting to sidestep the U.S. Constitution to implement its gun control plans.

Pratt said the real issue is fighting crime, not disease.

“Scrapping that absurd ‘advisory’ from the HHS website was a no-brainer and absolutely the correct call,” Pratt stated in a text message to The Epoch Times.

“The true health emergency in this country is how Democrat-run cities play catch-and-release with hardened criminals while slapping law-abiding concealed carriers with off-limits zones left and right.”

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said the advisory was an empty gesture that did nothing to reduce crime or suicides.
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“The surgeon general should have never issued this advisory. He was just catering to the gun control lobby. Its total effect was symbolism over substance. Gun ownership is not a communicable disease,” Gottlieb told The Epoch Times.

Giffords, the gun control organization begun by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, posted a statement on its website decrying the change. The former congresswoman was shot while meeting with constituents on Jan. 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona. The gunman killed six people and injured 12.

“By removing this important public health advisory with lifesaving resources, President Trump has chosen to prioritize gun industry profits over protecting kids and families,” Giffords Executive Director Emma Brown said.

“Guns have been the No. 1 killer of American children and adolescents since 2020, and nonpartisan health care experts have understood gun violence as a public health crisis for years.”
Guns confiscated by the Santa Ana Police Department are displayed for a press event in Santa Ana, Calif., on March 11, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The advisory called for a public health approach to address violent crime involving firearms. Murthy described the issue as a “moral crisis” that required immediate action.

A surgeon general’s advisory is meant to highlight urgent public health issues and is reserved for significant public health challenges. One of the most well-known was the 1964 report on tobacco by then-Surgeon General Luther Terry. That report is credited as the genesis of cigarette warning labels.

Murthy said his experience as a doctor motivated him to issue the advisory on guns.

“I’ve…