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76 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 18, 2004 Trio of rare diseases puts county on alert By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Bad luck comes in threes, the saying goes, and so, it appears, do unusual diseases. Bugs so rare you might never have heard their names have surfaced in Jackson County during the past few weeks. Public health officials have identified two cases of yersinia along with single cases of infant botulism and query fever, also known as Q-fever. To see one case of any of the three would be rare; to have them all surface at the same time is highly unlikely, said Gary Stevens, Jackson County’s director of environmental health. "Weird stuff happens," Stevens said. "It’s just unusual when it all happens at the same time." All three diseases are reported to health officials because they could become a threat to the public if they were to spread. Health officials try to find the source of such diseases to protect the public from widespread outbreaks. Advertisement "We look at every one of these," Stevens said. "We don’t get too excited about unique cases. It’s the multiple unique cases that concern us." Stevens declined to release information about the people who have come down with the diseases to protect their privacy. Federal laws enacted in 2003 dramatically restrict the amount of information that can be released about a patient without consent. He said the diseases are rare precisely because each requires a specific chain of events to unfold for infection to develop. Yersinia, for example, is spread by a bacteria that is often ingested in raw or undercooked pork. It can also enter the body through a wound. One of the local yersinia cases was caused by ingesting bacteria, and the other was caused by bacteria that entered the body through a wound, Stevens said. Yersinia is the most reported of the three diseases, but it is still quite rare. Stevens said there were 144 cases of yersinia reported in Oregon from 1994 to 2003, but just three in Jackson County. Yersinia symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal pain. Many cases are resolved without any kind of medical treatment. Stubborn cases may require antibiotics. Q-fever is spread by a bacteria that lives in cattle, sheep and goats with few ill effects, but it can cause high fever (104 to 105 degrees) when transmitted to humans. Infected livestock often shed large quantities of the bacteria during birthing in their amniotic fluids and placentas. The bacteria’s resistance to heat, drying and many common disinfectants enables it to survive for long periods of time. Humans are usually infected by inhaling the bacteria in air that contains barnyard dust contaminated by dried placental material, birth fluids and excreta of infected animals. Symptoms may also include severe headache, general malaise, confusion, sore throat, chills, sweats, non-productive cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and chest pain. In some patients it can lead to pneumonia or hepatitis. Q-fever responds best to antibiotics taken within the first few days of the onset of symptoms, according to information from the Web site maintained by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Q-fever is extremely rare, but Stevens noted that it would have been more common when more people worked with animals. Only 10 cases were reported in Oregon during the past 10 years, and just one in Jackson County. Infant botulism is a relatively new disease discovered in the 1970s. It’s caused by the same bacteria that produces a powerful poison known as botulinus. Spores of the bacteria are found in soil, dust and the unwashed surfaces of unpeeled fruits and vegetables, as well as some honey. Infant intestines are a perfect growth environment for the spores because infants have not yet developed their own colonies of beneficial intestinal bacteria. The toxin affects infants’ nervous system, and may cause the baby to have weakened ability to nurse, constipation, a weak cry and general muscular weakness. The disease can be treated successfully with antitoxin but severe cases may require hospitalization. Doctors suggest parents avoid feeding honey to infants to reduce their exposure to the disease. There were just 21 cases of infant botulism reported in Oregon in the past 10 years, and none were reported in Jackson County, said Carol Knapp, one of Jackson County’s community health nurses. Stevens said people who have unusual symptoms that don’t go away within a few days should see a doctor, just to be on the safe side. "Sometimes," he said, "when you think you’ve got something weird, you’ve got something weird." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities