Author: Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD

Measles Outbreak

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 2 Comments

By now we’re all familiar with the recent Measles outbreak in California, stemming from Disneyland. We also are familiar with the controversy associated with it’s spread and the anti-vaccination movement. What we all might not be familiar with are the facts and history of Measles, and why it’s so important. Is it all just media hype and fear mongering, to make the pharmaceutical companies rich, or is there real danger and a reason for concern?

What is Measles?

Measles is not a bacteria, it is a virus, you cannot treat it with antibiotics. Measles is one of the leading childhood diseases worldwide, but adults can contract it too. Only humans are known to get Measles,  it is not spread from some wild animal somewhere. You can only get it from another human being. With that being said, it is an infectious disease, meaning it is highly contagious. If you are exposed to it without having immunity, there is a 90% assurance that you will develop the disease.

How is it spread?

The Measles virus is spread through the air via droplets from  someone coughing or sneezing, making crowded and enclosed places like stadiums, airplanes, dorms, schools, and urban cities prime location for its transmission. It infects your lungs first before moving to your lymphatic system, where it then spreads throughout the rest of your body. Once you’ve been infection anywhere from 8 to 12 days can pass before you begin to show symptoms. This is one reason why it is so communicable. People who do not know they are infected can spread it to their families, coworkers, and anyone else they come in contact with without even knowing it. You become contagious 1 day before symptoms appear and up to 4 days after the rash subsides.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Infected persons will experience a runny nose, irritability, red eyes, cough and fever. The disease is characterized by small grayish white spots in the mouth and throat, and a blotchy red rash that spreads from the face down until it covers the body. The virus suppresses your immune system. As a result, a secondary bacterial infection could develop, this can be treated with antibiotics, but measles itself has no cure. Only the symptoms can be managed; drugs to lower fevers, and fluids to maintain hydration. Once you’ve had measles, you cannot get it again, if you survive you will acquire life long immunity. There are however some complications that could arise from the Measles such as, pneumonia and encephalitis, which can be fatal.

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Measles Outbreaks

My generation grew up with chickenpox, similarly previous generations routinely got childhood diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and scarlet fever. Polio has been eradicated, and now there is a vaccine against chickenpox. With the advent of the first Measles vaccine in 1963 and the subsequent MMR(measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine in 1972, a mass campaign was set out to immunize all school age children. Measles was on its way to being eradicated in the Western hemisphere, until 1998 when Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an article in the Lancet claiming an association between vaccines and, autism and bowel disease. It was later withdrawn from the journal, found to be erroneous, and further disproven by the science community. However, the media did not spread the good news, parents became fearful, and the anti-vaccination movement was birthed.

There have been several Measles outbreaks before. From 1989 to 1991 more than 55,ooo cases were reported with 130 resulting in death. Then again from 1993-1995 there was about 300 more cases reported in the U.S. in which victims were unvaccinated. In 2005 and 2006 there were outbreaks in Indiana, and Boston respectively. Current strains  stem from Europe an Asia, where the disease still occurs. In 2013, there was an increase in Measles outbreaks in England, France, and Spain. So, travelers from other countries that do not immunize can bring in the disease, and traveling un-vaccinated can also expose you to the Measles while abroad.

Even if you are vaccinated, you can still get Measles. Yes, you read correctly, you can still get Measles if you have been vaccinated, however if you do it will be much milder. The reason for this, is as you age the immunity you gained from your childhood vaccination may wane, or decrease. The amount that this happens differs from person to person, and can only be assessed by your doctors. This is the reason you have heard medical officials suggest a booster shot for adults as a result of the recent outbreak. It is not a scheme for “big pharma” to make more money. Another reason is that some people who have been vaccinated never acquired immunity, this doesn’t happen often, and to prevent this from occurring a 2 dose vaccine has been employed. The first is given as early 1 year of age to the start of pre-k/kindergarten. The second dose can be given any time after. However, of those recently infected, most were of the population that has not been vaccinated. Those who have been vaccinated will have protection for at least 27 years. Some people are not vaccinated for good reason. These include, cancer patients, those with HIV/AIDS, and other immunosuppressive illnesses, pregnant women, and babies under 1 year of age. Newborns acquire immunity from their mothers, this immunity however is only short-lived.

Thus far, measles outbreaks have occurred recently in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It was once near complete eradication in the western hemisphere and other developed countries, it’s still a major problem in Africa and the East. There are efforts worldwide to eliminate this disease completely. As long as human hosts exist whom are capable of carry and spreading the disease there will be outbreaks. This is why vaccine compliance is required. As vaccinations go down, those with natural immunity die off (people who had it and survived), and the immunity of an aging population wanes, heard immunity goes down. With heard immunity lowered, the virus has the chance to spread and infect those who are susceptible and unvaccinated.  The good news is that once an outbreak has passed through a community, all those who have been exposed will become immune for life, and those who have been vaccinated will have their immunity boosted naturally.

Who cares, It’s all GMO?!

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 2 Comments

Okay, so I was on my Facebook sometime ago and noticed a heated debate about some change Chipotle made to its menu and why it wasn’t a big deal because “everything is GMO”. The problem with this argument was that the commenters were fighting with each other but nobody seemed to really know what a GMO is, never the less what the acronym even stands for. I felt my blood pressure rising with every comment that I read. I didn’t know how to step in without demeaning the poster, or insulting any of the commenters. But, I knew I had to…as a scientist it was my duty. It got a little heated but after much example giving, and assurance that I was qualified to speak on such things, egos were assuaged, cooler heads prevailed, and much knowledge was “dropped”.

So what is GMO? 

GMO stands for genetically modified organism. Also referred to as genetically engineered organism, bioengineered food, or transgenic organism/food, simply put, a GMO is one that has a gene inserted into its own DNA from another organism using what is known as recombinant DNA technology. The “new” gene confers some beneficial trait or characteristic such as: increased nutritional value, herbicide or pesticide resistance, faster maturation, increased size, or bug and disease resistance.

Which foods/organisms are GMO?

Although it seems new, in the United States GM crops were introduced back in the 1990’s. Everything is not genetically modified, only some bioengineered crops have been allowed by the government to be used as or in food, food products, animal feed, and fibers. Currently the most common GM crops in commercial use are corn, canola, soybean, potatoes, tomatoes, sugar beets, wheat, and cotton, among a few others.

Which foods are not GMO?

Foods that are made from GMO’s would be any product containing ingredients from the above mentioned crops. Naturally, we think of cereals, breads, oils, syrups, and food snacks. So, when reading the ingredient list on the back of the package, and you find soybean and corn as ingredients, know that most likely those products contains GMO’s. Other less obvious foods products might be soups and sauces that are thickened with cornstarch or contain tomatoes, mayonnaise, and sugars.

There still remains a lot of confusion, because people just don’t understand all the jargon and lingo. Here, I will pause to rebuff all of you who said you would never need biology or science in the real world…but I digress. The point is, seedless grapes, the pink color of salmon, hybrid fruits like grapefruit, and the use of pesticides or herbicides does not make an organism genetically modified. Seedless fruit like watermelon do contain seeds, its just that their seeds have not reached maturation, or the fruit was not fertilized by pollination. Methods of agriculture such as hybridization (cross-breeding) have been around for almost forever, and has nothing to do with recombinant engineering. Although some unscrupulous manufacturers have added dyes to enhance the color of some pink salmon, pink salmon is already naturally pink. Furthermore, no GMO animals or fish are commercially available for public consumption. Pesticides and herbicides are applied to the soil and outside the crop and does not change the crops DNA or genetic makeup.

So Is it a big deal or not?

Many people worry that because a foreign gene has been added to their food that it will harm them. The Food and Drug Administration monitors the safety of all foods here in the U.S. and GMOs have been on the market for about 2 decades now. Some people are afraid because people are just often afraid of new things, especially when they don’t understand what it is. However, there are some real concerns. For instance, if a fruit has a gene from another fruit that someone is allergic to, that modified fruit might now carry that same protein that causes an allergic reaction in that person. The FDA test all GMO’s for allergenicity and toxicity prior to approving it for consumption. Often times, processing and cooking of the GMO denatures or breaks down and otherwise removes the genes and proteins in it before consumption. So for those who are worried that the new gene may become incorporated into their own DNA, well that won’t happen. The genes of the fruits and vegetable that we eat that are not GMO are not incorporated into our DNA, and neither are those of GMOs. Trangenic crops and the foods derived from them  are NOT frankenstein monsters that are coming to destroy us from the inside out. They do have many benefits, potatoes for example have been modified to resist “blight” a disease that destroyed potato crops. Other crops are engineered to repel or kill the bugs that try to eat them, thereby reducing the use of pesticides, and increase yields.

Hello Hookah

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 1 Comment

You’ve probably noticed the obnoxious smell of contraband in the air, your hair and your clothes while visiting a club, bar, or lounge has been suddenly replaced with the sweet smoldering scent of Hookah. Gone are the days of the disk jockey abruptly stopping the music to announce that management will shut down the party if, the owner of some offensive ganga smoke doesn’t extinguish his ‘spliff” immediately. So how did this come to be, how did Shisha replace Maryjane on the dance floor? Is she the new slimmer sexier safer cigarette or something more sinister and insidious?

Hookah also known  as shisha, and commonly referred to as waterpipe smoking is a combination of tobacco, water, and charcoal smoked through a waterpipe. Although novel, mysterious, and exotic to many in the U.S.A. is has been smoked for centuries primarily by men in the Middle East, eastern Mediterranean , and parts of Asia like India. During the 1990’s fancy flavored tobacco was introduced and the hookah experience began to explode. All sorts of exotic fruity flavors, and sultry perfumed fragrances captured the senses of young women, and collage aged adolescents and young adults.

I still remember when my roommates would go down to the Village in Manhattan to secluded hookah lounges where they could be hip and trendy. Now hookah is at any and every venue imaginable. It’s now the accepted and expected thing to do while on the scene these days. It’s commonly perceived as being a safe and noncriminal alternative to smoking cigarettes or weed People say “it’s just flavored water vapor” or that “the water filters out the bad stuff”. Is this true though? Why buzz would you get from smoking mist anyway?

In actuality, hookah contains the same harmful chemicals as cigarettes such as nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. Just like with traditional smoking, it carries a risk of cancer, but with the added risks of infectious disease. Sharing a mouthpiece or pipe can transmit tuberculosis and other respiratory infections. In habitual users, research has shown an increase  in heart rate  blood pressure, and bronchitis. Long term use can result in cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, because  of the tar, nicotine, and fine particulate matter released from the burning coal and tobacco.

Hookah has not been regulated by the FDA in the U.S. so there are no warnings labeled at sale. Due to the current lack of government regulation many people assume it is safe. The EPA and National Toxicology Program warn against the adverse affects of hookah, its second-hand smoke, and addictive propensity. Organizations like the Society of Toxicology are working to education the public and push for more research and government control. The reality is that a rose by any other name is still a rose. Hookah is the new cigarette in a sexier dress and better perfume.