Elevated temperatures, humidity and rainfall create the appropriate situations for various summer season bugs that may have an effect in your well being.
However in accordance with native and state knowledge, the summer season sicknesses which can be making headlines this 12 months are much less of a priority in South Texas and Bexar County than others which can be lesser-known.
Dr. Heather Yun, an area infectious ailments doctor who sits on the board of the Infectious Illnesses Society of America, defined finest practices to maintain your self protected each from the sicknesses making headlines in addition to the extra distinctive threats that exist domestically.
Cyclosporiasis and cryptosporidium
The U.S. is presently experiencing a major outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a abdomen bug that causes diarrhea and is attributable to the parasite cyclospora.
“It’s transmitted by what we affectionately confer with in infectious illness as ‘fecal-oral transmission,’ which implies fairly actually, we encounter these pathogens by ingesting small portions of sewage,” Yun mentioned.
U.S. officers imagine the outbreak is traced to contaminated produce. The primary offender thus far has been iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, which has since been recalled. However officers are nonetheless monitoring down different potential sources, together with different contemporary produce like berries, salad mixes and herbs.
Cyclosporiasis is just not new, however outbreaks to this magnitude are unusual within the U.S.
There have been greater than 11,500 circumstances of the illness confirmed or suspected thus far this summer season, in accordance with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, making it the most important outbreak on report. The vast majority of these circumstances are within the Midwest and Northeast, particularly Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
As of July 13, DSHS has reported 68 circumstances in Texas, which isn’t exterior the vary for typical circumstances round this time of 12 months.
The identical is true for San Antonio. The town has reported 15 circumstances of cyclosporiasis as of July 21, in accordance with San Antonio Metropolitan Well being District, much like what the world has seen round this time of the 12 months in previous years.
Most individuals who get cyclosporiasis get better from the sickness with out medical remedy, although particular remedy does exist for these whose sicknesses are extra extreme. Similar to with some other bug that causes diarrhea, the primary threat is dehydration.
On whether or not you need to keep away from shopping for sure produce, Yun mentioned it’s largely a private resolution. Should you’re immunocompromised, older or have younger youngsters, it could be value taking some precautions. That might embrace washing produce extra totally, cooking produce or making non permanent adjustments to your grocery listing.
“It’s a troublesome factor to inform wholesome folks simply don’t eat produce all summer season,” she mentioned.
Regardless of the headlines, there’s one other illness that causes related signs and is discovered extra generally in South Texas: cryptosporidiosis, attributable to one other parasite often called cryptosporidium.
That is most frequently encountered at water parks, swimming swimming pools and our bodies of water. Texas sees greater than 800 circumstances yearly on common. San Antonio sees 92 circumstances yearly on common, in accordance with Metro Well being knowledge from 2016-2024.
“That is one other diarrhea parasite that’s fairly frequent right here, and we see it each summer season extra generally than cyclospora,” Yun mentioned. “It doesn’t take very a lot in any respect — you get one mouthful of the river, and also you very effectively might get cryptosporidium.”
Alpha-gal syndrome and murine typhus
One thing else chances are you’ll be listening to about extra usually is the tickborne allergy often called alpha-gal syndrome, a doubtlessly life-threatening crimson meat allergy that may be obtained from the chew of lone star ticks.
Lone star ticks are named for the star-shaped white marking on their backs, not after Texas, the place the bug is comparatively unusual.
Greater than 110,000 suspected circumstances of alpha-gal syndrome had been recognized between 2010 and 2022 within the U.S. However circumstances will not be nationally notifiable to CDC, so the precise quantity is unknown. As many as 450,000 folks could also be affected.
Tickborne ailments, nevertheless, are fairly unusual in Texas in comparison with the Northeast and Midwest, which provide extra favorable climates and bigger populations of animals that carry the bugs.
Nevertheless, South Texas is house to a novel flea-borne illness often called murine typhus. The illness is attributable to a bacterium carried by contaminated fleas that may be transmitted to people.
“South Texas is definitely actually distinctive for murine typhus,” Yun mentioned. “We have now this greater than anyplace else actually on the planet, and we see this each spring and summer season because the flea populations right here improve.”
Widespread carriers of contaminated fleas embrace rats, opossums, cats, canines and different small mammals. Signs of the illness embrace fever, headache, chills, weak spot, nausea and vomiting, physique aches and rash. It may be critical, leading to hospitalization, if not handled.
Over 6,700 circumstances of flea-borne typhus had been reported between 2008 and 2023. Roughly 70% of the circumstances resulted in hospitalization and 14 fatalities had been attributed to the illness, in accordance with the Texas Division of Well being and Human Providers. Bexar County noticed a major variety of these circumstances.
Metro Well being reported 853 circumstances of typhus from 2016 by means of 2024.
“A lot of the tales that we encounter with this in South Texas have one thing to do with feral cats that somebody is feeding on their porch, or cats which can be going out and in of the home and interacting with opossums, or there’s a crawl area beneath the home the place possibly rats and possums go, after which the fleas are available and chew folks in the summertime,” Yun mentioned.
Yun suggested residents who’ve exterior pets to maintain up with flea prevention. It’s additionally essential to handle a rodent infestation or any small mammals residing beneath your house, she mentioned.
After all, there’s additionally the ever-present risk of mosquito-borne ailments like West Nile Virus. Metro Well being has detected WNV in three mosquito traps this summer season, together with in southwest and northwest San Antonio.
The only most essential factor you are able to do to maintain mosquitoes away is eliminating stagnant water round your house, particularly soiled water, the place mosquitoes reproduce.
If it’s a must to be exterior, particularly throughout peak mosquito exercise hours at daybreak and nightfall, put on lengthy sleeves and pants or spray your self with insect repellent.
