10 Vaccine Articles of Note & A Special PBS Documentary
We are hearing from our members that while many of you are administering fewer immunizations during the pandemic, you are finding the time for more reading. This month, rather than recommend a book, we are offering our members some valuable articles on vaccines, thanks to Julie Richards, Past President, who sent along these recommendations from the popular press.
But before we share the articles, we encourage you to view a PBS feature on Dr. Deborah Wexler, the founder of Immunization Action Coalition (IAC). Most of us know that IAC is an essential resource for anyone in our specialty and this documentary is inspiring.
www.immunize.org/aboutus/iac-film-history.asp
COVID19 vs SARS: How Similar? How Different?
Every few weeks we are updating the COVID19 resources that you can access at the top of the homepage. These are selected by ATHNA experts for relevance to travel health nursing, for the most part. For the last two months we also have posted on our website a slide set on the Spanish Flu. As you know, it is an event that everyone has been discussing in light of the current pandemic.
Recently there has been more discussion about the SARS pandemic in 2003 and this current one. In particular, people are asking about differences between the two viruses, the role of different social and demographic factors, and what lessons might be learned by comparing the two. Lancet printed an article in May that does just that, "Can We Contain the COVID-19 Outbreak with the Same Measures as for SARS?" The first author is Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith, editor of JTM, former ISTM President, previously based in Singapore, and currently at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Lancet is offering all its COVID19 content free access, so we share this interesting article with our members.
Kids Travel
Even during this year with COVID19, August is the most popular month for domestic family travel in the United States.
And in 2020, more than in any previous years, families are forsaking "the friendly skies" and planning car trips around the country.
Travel health nurses prepare individuals, families and groups for both international and domestic travel. Perhaps this year, you are being asked to help someone arrange a trip within the U.S. to visit relatives, get away for a long weekend, or take the kids on their first camping trip. During "normal" times, the logistics for on-the- road vacations can be challenging for adults of every age. COVID19 complicates the planning even more. To help you, CDC has some good resources for planning that kind of travel.
However, when road travel involves infants and young children, the issues begin to multiply. To address concerns for how to keep the whole family healthy and safe while traveling around the United States, ATHNA encourages you to explore a terrific, free, long-valued resource: Dr. Karl Newman's bi-monthly newsletter "Kids Travel Doc". The current issue demonstrates its usefulness featuring guidance on the topic "Warning: Driving with an unruly child in your car is hazardous." Recent archived issues cover these topics: motion sickness, sun protection, sunglasses for kids, early childhood swim lessons, and a host of articles on COVID19 and kids. Written for health professionals and the public, Dr. Newman shares practical, well documented guidance for traveling with children-both domestically and international.
TravelByte #38 Rabies FAQ's
Zero by 30 is an important WHO campaign to eliminate human deaths due to canine rabies by the year 2030.
Dogs are the number one risk for rabies transmission to humans worldwide, responsible for more than 60,000 deaths annually.
In support of this major One Health initiative, ATHNA shares a powerpoint presentation this month that addresses frequently asked questions about rabies encountered in the pre-travel encounter. Developed by Gail Rosselot, NP, MPH this slide set can serve as a tool to educate staff who will be counseling travelers- both domestic and international- about rabies risk, prevention, and treatment.
Infection Control Vocabulary
Crosswords are a longtime favorite of ATHNA members and this month's puzzle is in keeping with the year-long theme of infections and how to best control them. Good Luck! (Check for the answer key next month.)
A Woman's Right to Vote was Hard Won by Nurses and Others in this Country
Be Sure to Cast Your Ballot in this Year's Elections
"In 1917, nurses joined protests in front of the White House gates for a different reason. They believed that if women won the right to vote, they could reform public health, set workplace standards, fund hospitals, and improve the lives of the working-class and poor people who bore the greatest burden of sickness. Medical professionals often face pressure to appear neutral and stay out of politics, but nurses have long believed that sick bodies are political. Their profession formed in defiance of those who devalued care work as feminine and unskilled. For many nursing leaders, joining the movement for women's suffrage and going to jail with fellow protesters was part of their medical mission."
ALICIA PUGLIONESI www.teenvogue.com/story/history-activist-nurses-united-states
Autumn in the Sylvania Wilderness Area
This month we again share the photographic talent of our Secretary, Diane McHugh. The subject this time, however, is domestic travel rather than international- in keeping with the current pattern of US family travel during the COVID19 pandemic.
Many of you may be familiar with the Boundary Waters region of Northern Minnesota where it meets Ontario. That region is well known and very popular with campers, house boating, canoeing and kayaking, but it is also rather remote, wild and untamed... This photo captures the beauty of another northern wilderness region located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Sylvania Wilderness is comprised of more than 18,000 acres of protected lands and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It is located much closer to major metropolitan areas and yet provides a calming world apart for lucky backcountry campers, hikers, and kayakers. An occasional moose, many fish and sometimes the Northern Lights await visitors to this preserve that was once a private Sylvania Club favored by Dwight Eisenhower and Lawrence Welk among others.
As described on its website: "The old-growth forests and pristine lakes in the region provide habitat for a wide range of animal and plant life, including rare orchids, bald eagles, loons and osprey. The wilderness contains 34 named lakes, some with sandy beaches and others surrounded by record-size red and white pines. The Ottawa National Forest is comprised of nearly 1 million acres and is located in the western reaches of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The forest's rolling, tree covered hills extend from the south shore of Lake Superior to the Wisconsin border. Lakes, rivers and waterfalls are found throughout this beautiful landscape."
Sounds like a match for any destination...
Do you have a travel photo to share? In this new website feature, we'll post member favorites each month. Send your photographs to info@ATHNA.org.
