Five infectious diseases that might re-emerge

TB patient to make sure all medication is taken to the end. Often, McSherry said, a patient will stop taking medication after starting to feel better and the disease re-emerges, thereby threatening others in close proximity.

Although TB remains a threat, McSherry said the public health system seems to have a handle on the disease once again. He noted that the 12,000 cases reported in the United States last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was the lowest level since statistics were first collected in the early 1950s.

Mumps

What it is: A contagious disease caused by a virus that can be transmitted by close contact, mumps dates to the fifth century B.C. The most obvious symptom is swelling of the salivary glands under the jaw, along with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and a loss of appetite.

Treatment and prevention: There is really no treatment for mumps. Victims simply have to be kept as comfortable as possible until the disease runs its course. Mumps were relatively common in children and young adults until a vaccine was developed in the 1960s. The vaccine has proven highly effective in combating mumps. Some parents, however, eschewed the vaccine after reports of serious side effects, including a link to autism. Most physicians give little credence to any side effects more serious than a sore arm.

Current status: Physicians say the only people who get mumps these days are ones who have never been vaccinated. Dr. Lisa Tkatch, who operates an infectious disease practice in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said “congregated settings” like college dormitories are common areas for transmission. Tkatch said “mumps are very much controlled by vaccination” and she, McSherry and Goldman all strongly recommend it. All three note that the non-vaccinated are threats to children who have not yet received the vaccine.

“Everybody has the right not to vaccinate,” Goldman said. “But they should keep in mind that they are also possibly exposing other people’s children.”

Whooping cough

Background: “Whooping cough” is really a term for pertussis, a highly communicable disease that continues to pose high mortality rates in some portions of the world. The disease, which is particularly prevalent in children, is pretty much what its name implies: persistent and violent coughing spells that can sometimes induce vomiting. Whooping cough can also lead to such complications as pneumonia, hypoxia, apnea and seizures.

Treatment and prevention: A vaccine against the disease was developed in the 1930s and today