U.S.                                                                  California

                                   CASES               DEATHS                                     CASES               DEATHS       

December 2020    19,111,443              341,149                              2,120,610               24,241

2021   Timeline

January                  26,185,362              441,319                              3,310,949                40,702

December            54,859,966               825,816                              5,515,250                76,520

2022 Timeline

January                74,333,528                884,265                              8,292,735                79,801

December          100,751,994            1,092,674                            11,829,499                98,637

2023 Timeline

January              104,196,861            1,132,935                            11,964,001                99,944

February             105,345,992            1,146,142                            12,084,297              100,816

March                 106,102,029            1,153,730                            12,155,825              101,798

April                    106,630,327            1,159,839                            12,221,606              102,390 

May                    107,085,763            1,164,967                            12,263,722              102,769

June                   107,280,827            1,167,763                            12,292,399              103,169

July                     107,437,289            1,169,154                            12,301,545              103,216

August               108,105,276            1,173,745                            12,374,490              104,562    

UPDATED WEEKLY – Worldometer, Last updated on 27 August 2023

POPULATION - is 340,283,327 of 27 August 2023, 10:53 am PST, based on Census U.S. and World Population Clock.

      * updated information

    **  no updated information at this reporting

Worldometer

Cases Worldwide 

• TOTAL CASES       -    694,196,127

              Recovered        -    666,135,066

• TOTAL DEATHS     -        6,910,652

Cases in the U.S.

• TOTAL CASES       -    107,951,575

              Recovered        -    105,899,699

• TOTAL DEATHS     -        1,173,270
  • Employment increased by 187,000 in July. 
  • The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%

Cases in California

• TOTAL CASES       -      12,357,592

             Recovered         -      12,209,555

• TOTAL DEATHS     -           104,440

                     *   Correction

                   **   No updated information

08/27/2023 (WHO)                Cases                 Deaths      Recovered    

• Texas                    -    8,710,084             94,759          8,565,175        
• Florida                  -    7,710,779             89,905          7,568,696        
• New York             -    7,078,278             77,952          6,987,263        
• Ohio                     -    3,478,624             42,475          3,417,709         
• Georgia               -    3,131,839             43,007          3,058,041
• Tennessee           -    2,572,042             29,707           2,535,094
• Arizona                -    2,498,167             33,721          2,455,360           
• Louisiana             -    1,636,089            19,130           1,598,979
• Nevada               -       906,306            12,109              889,935
• W. Virginia           -       654,662              8,175              643,794   

 *    Changes in Vaccination Data Reporting

On June 16, the COVID-19 vaccination reporting system will track only two types of vaccinations–primary series and CDC’s new up-to-date measure. The reporting system will update data monthly and stop publishing average doses administered and doses on hand.

• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
• https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/ - fullyVaccinatedhttps://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
• https://www.edd.ca.gov/newsroom/unemployment-may-2021.htm
• https://www.bls.gov/
• https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm
• https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/

COVID UPDATE

WHAT’S GOING ON IN FLORIDA??  MALARIA!   AND….. NOW….LEPROSY?????   FOR REAL, FOR REAL???

New malaria case reported in Florida brings national total to 8.  JULY 19, 2023.   The United States has had eight reported cases of malaria, seven in Florida, state health officials reported. 

Considered a public health emergency, these cases are the first in two decades acquired within this country's borders, not reported by someone who had traveled elsewhere, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned last month.  Seven of the cases have been found in Sarasota County, including the latest, according to a report from Florida health officials.  The remaining case reported in Texas in June and not connected to the Florida cases, according to Texas Department of State Health Services.

A parasite known as Plasmodium vivax caused the recent cases, according to the CDC.  It's not as deadly as other parasites that can cause malaria, yet can still cause chronic infections for years if it lies dormant in the liver.

Symptoms typically start 10 days after a mosquito bite and include:

• fever,
• chills,
• headache,
• muscle aches,
• fatigue,
• nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
• Anopheles mosquitoes typically transmit the parasite to humans, according to the CDC.

Treatment can include: 

• three days of medication to kill the parasite in the blood,
• a two-week, at-home treatment to kill parasite in the liver. Among the ways to avoid infection are using bug spray, wearing long sleeves and pants, and draining standing water

Some patients had prolonged hospital stays with the last outbreak. Patients were dehydrated, low blood counts - especially platelets, putting them at risk for bleeding.  Some experience renal kidney failure, a complication of malaria," Dr. Manuel Gordillo, an infectious disease specialist at Sarasota Memorial Hospital,

Public health officials are not concerned about a widespread outbreak because of fewer places for mosquitos to breed than in past, as building development has expanded, protective screens and air conditioning have left people less vulnerable to mosquito bites.   "Past U.S. outbreaks have been ‘relatively small and contained.’  We don't anticipate going to a nationwide outbreak," Dr. Monica Parise, director of the CDC's Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, told NBC News.

Leprosy could be endemic in Central Florida, researchers say. What to know about the disease.  July 31, 2023, UPDATED: AUGUST 1, 2023.  Leprosy, aka Hansen's disease, is becoming endemic in the southeastern United States.  Rising scientific evidence suggests the endemic is natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place (native, indigenous) or exclusively or confined to a particular place

A research letter in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says Central Florida accounted for 81% of cases reported in Florida and almost one-fifth of cases reported across the U.S.  According to the National Hansen's Disease Program, 159 new cases were reported in the U.S. in 2020.

What is leprosy?  Leprosy is an age-old bacterial disease that affects the skin and nerves.  Bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae attacks the nerves, which can become swollen under the skin causing the affected area(s) to lose the sense of touch and pain and also can lead to cuts and burn injuries. Usually, the affected skin changes color. 

What causes leprosy?  Leprosy is typically spread through "Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease."   Casual contact, such as:  shaking hands, hugging or sitting next to someone during a meal or on the bus.  Approximately 90% of people "tend to be naturally immune, while 10% of people get leprosy," indicated Dr. Aileen Marty, infectious diseases specialist at Florida International University.   

According to the World Health Organization, more than 200,000 new cases are reported every year in over 120 countries, the largest numbers in Brazil, India and Indonesia.  According to the CDC, in the U.S. approximately 150 people get infected annually.

Leprosy symptoms:  It takes time to develop signs of the disease due to the slow-growing nature of the bacteria.  The CDC says symptoms of leprosy to the skin include: 

• Discolored skin patches
• Skin growths
• Thick, stiff or dry skin
• Painless ulcers on the soles of feet
• Painless swelling or lumps on the face or earlobes
• Loss of eyebrows or eyelashes

Symptoms to the nerves include:

• Numbness of affected areas of the skin
• Muscle weakness or paralysis
• Enlarged nerves
• Eye problems that may lead to blindness

If left untreated, advcanced signs may develop, including:

• Paralysis and crippling of hands and feet
• Shortening of toes and fingers due to reabsorption
• Ulcers on the bottoms of the feet
• Blindness
• Nose disfigurement

Is there a treatment for leprosy?  Hansen's disease can be treated with a combination of typically two to three antibiotics.  "Treatment usually lasts between one to two years.  The illness can be cured if treatment is completed as prescribed," the CDC says.  Early diagnosis is key!  Treatment can cure the disease and prevent it from getting worse, but does not reverse nerve damage that may have occurred.   

VARIANT UPDATE

The US has a new Covid-19 variant on the rise.  Meet Eris.  What “Eris” tells us about the future of the pandemic.   Aug 9, 2023, 7:30am EDT.  In the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Covid-19 hospitalizations rose 12.5 percent between July 23 and July 29. Overall, they have been increasing since July 1.  Covid-19 appears to be making a comeback and coincides with a new dominant strain of called EG.5, or Eris, causing 17.3 percent of current Covid-19 cases in the country.

The EG.5 variant descended from the omicron variant.  Infectious disease experts indicate the new strain is worth paying attention to, but are cautious in saying how concerned we should be.

How severe and contagious is EG.5?  Symptoms don’t appear to differ from other omicron sub-variants:  cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, loss of taste or smell, and headaches.  But it’s possibly more contagious than other strains.

The WHO reports that EG.5 is not resulting in more cases or deaths than its predecessor, the XBB strain of omicron.  The good news, this strain won’t cause as big of a wave as past variants, said Maureen Miller, an epidemiologist with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.  There’s more widespread immunity to SARS-CoV-2 from either vaccines or natural infection.  The bad news is that protections wane. 

How to protect yourself.   All the same Covid-19 prevention methods still apply with the same groups are at highest risk for severe infection - older adults, those with compromised immune systems and those with chronic diseases. 

People should wear an N-95 mask, social distance when possible in public spaces, and keep up-to-date on vaccines and boosters.  The shots are important with upcoming back-to-school and winter seasons.  There is seasonality to Covid-19 infections that line up with weather patterns.  When it’s too cold outside, people are inside.  When it’s too hot outside, people are inside.  The virus thrives in spaces where people are in close proximity, this is the problem.

The CDC is preparing for a winter with '3 bugs out there': Covid, flu and RSV.  Vaccine fatigue is already here, although many Americans will be urged to get three different shots this fall.  July 22, 2023, 3:00 AM PDT.  As the nation is faced with blistering heat waves this summer, Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is already thinking ahead to cold and flu season this winter.  “We’re going to have three bugs out there, three viruses:  Covid, the flu and RSV.”

The CDC has begun to detect slight increases in positive Covid tests and Covid-related emergency department visits.   Omicron XBB sub-variants remain the most prevalent forms of Covid.  The World Health Organization identified a new XBB version, the EG.5, as rising in prevalence around the world and in the U.S.

The WHO noted there's no evidence it causes more severe illness, but remains susceptible to Covid shots.  For the first time, the U.S. will have access to vaccines for another expected virus:  respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.  With a new monoclonal antibody injection for babies and a third vaccine up for approval, has the potential to drastically reduce cases of the virus that typically hits infants and older adults hardest, experts say.

An unexpectedly severe surge of RSV infections in late 2022 overwhelmed children’s hospitals with babies and young kids whose immune systems hadn’t been exposed to the virus during lockdown.  July 17, the Food and Drug Administration approved a monoclonal antibody injection to help prevent RSV for children up to age 2.  The injection works by delivering antibodies against RSV directly into the bloodstream.

Chinese scientists find ‘suspicious’ feature of coronavirus in the wild.  May 9, 2023.  A genetic feature of Sars-CoV-2 which makes it so infectious, but not previously been seen in other coronaviruses, has been identified in the wild by Chinese scientists for the first time.  Pre-pandemic, a “furin cleavage site” had not been identified in bat coronavirus, suggesting it had been artificially inserted in a lab.

Scientists for the Chinese Center for Disease Control have identified two beta-coronaviruses, a class of virus found in bats and rodents with furin cleavage sites and other genetic features similar to Sars-Cov-2.   Two samples were found to have identical furin cleavage sites that resemble the corresponding sites of Sars-CoV-2.  In addition, one sample – CoV CD35 – had a receptor-binding domain which was “highly similar” in structure to that of both Sars-CoV-1 and Sars-CoV-2. 

Furin Cleavage Site Is Key to SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis.   A deletion of the furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 amplifies replication in Vero cells, but attenuates replication in respiratory cells and pathogenesis in vivo.   Loss of the furin site also reduces susceptibility to neutralization in vitro.

Bat CoV CD35 is the closest relatives of Sars-CoV-2 with a polybasic furin-like site, suggesting that the cleavage site is of natural origin. 

 “Coronaviruses are adept at exchanging genetic material through recombination.  This is an effective way for the virus to gain advantageous blocks of genetic material from other coronaviruses, genetic changes that enable it to acquire new behaviors, to infect and transmit in new species.

How to Protect Yourself?  Getting vaccinated is your best bet!

IT’S NOT OVER!

Stay safe.  Mask.  Social distance.  Frequent hand washing.  Avoid crowds

ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL

• https://news.yahoo.com/chinese-scientists-suspicious-feature-coronavirus-162109894.html
• https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-malaria-case-florida-national-total.html
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32869021/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/leprosy-endemic-central-florida-cdc-what-to-know-disease/
• https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tripledemic-covid-rsv-flu-winter-cdc-rcna95448
• https://www.vox.com/health/2023/8/9/23825133/covid-eris-variant-eg5-cdc-pandemic-coronavirus-precautions-masking-booster-vaccine