Daniel Dunaife
Water in your home can not only be detrimental to your property, but it can also be hazardous to your health.
Local medical experts are advising Stony Brook residents whose basements flooded during heavy rains this weekend to be on the lookout for mold growth, which can be especially problematic for people with chronic respiratory conditions.
“People can inhale the spores over a period of time and develop respiratory symptoms,” said Dr. Sunil Dhupar, chief medical officer at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.
Patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis and emphysema “need to be especially careful about some of these issues,” he continued.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, suggested Stony Brook residents, who received up to 10 inches of rain in some areas this weekend, should “deep clean” any standing water in their basements because mold could start to grow within days.
“They're so small you can't see them,” she said, but they need to dry out walls, floorboards and under carpets. “The water needs to be pumped out.”
Local doctors also recommended dumping standing water from surfaces that could serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus.
At this point, the county health department did not consider the threat of West Nile to be very high.
“Heavy rain and strong winds may have washed away adult larvae and adult mosquitoes,” Dr. Scott R. Campbell, chief of the Suffolk County Health Department's Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory, explained in an email.
“A wet spring and hot, dry summer may attract mosquitoes and birds to limited water sources, potentially contributing to the spread of West Nile virus.”
Heavy rainfall, three times the normal average for the whole of August, likely contributed to the decline in mosquito populations in the area, according to Weather Spark.
Local medical experts suggested residents should remove standing water to protect themselves from remaining mosquitoes.
Congenital viral infections
Besides the impact of the local floods, the doctors also discussed a number of other medical issues.
Since last fall, New York state has been testing newborns for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), which infected mothers can transmit to their fetuses.
Testing to date indicates that CMV is less prevalent than previously estimated.
The state has launched a year-long study of the virus to track children who may later develop symptoms such as hearing loss or learning disabilities.
“The earlier we identify babies with hearing loss, the earlier we can treat them and the less impact it has on their intellectual development,” said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children's Hospital who, along with Nachman, heads one of 11 units across the state.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, from the Stony Brook Medicine Facebook page
Medical sources previously estimated the infection rate among newborns to be around 1 in 200. But with around 300 newborns testing positive, the infection rate is closer to 1 in 325.
The percentage of babies with symptoms remains around 10 percent, as previously expected. Symptoms of congenital CMV at birth include hearing loss, jaundice, low birth weight, seizures, and retinitis.
“Our numbers are consistent with 90% of people who have the virus but are asymptomatic,” Handel added.
“That's why we feel screening is so important.”
About 10 percent of asymptomatic newborns develop permanent hearing loss, so doctors follow them very closely.
The virus is a relative of the Epstein-Barr virus that causes mononucleosis and is transmitted by direct contact with bodily fluids such as tears, saliva, and urine. More than half of adults have had a CMV infection, with some studies estimating the infection rate to be as high as 80%.
Adults shed the virus for several weeks after infection, while children shed the virus for several months.
All newborns are tested for CMV after birth, but parents have five days to decline to link their child to a reported case of the virus.
Currently, less than 1% of parents choose not to get tested. Some parents aren't interested in getting tested, others don't think it will help, and still others don't want to go through additional testing because their baby seems fine.
Most parents appreciate the opportunity to stay informed about their children's health, and patients are “grateful that the state has put this program in place,” says Sunil Sood, MD, system CMV specialist at Northwell Health.
Doctors at Stony Brook and other hospitals are monitoring babies who test positive.
The county health department is also assisting with testing.
“Routine testing of newborns for congenital CMV can help identify infected infants early so they can receive appropriate follow-up and treatment,” Cynthia Friedman, public health director for the Suffolk County Health Department, said in an email.
“Babies who screen positive should be closely monitored by their paediatrician and referred to specialists if necessary so that any hearing, vision or developmental problems can be identified early so appropriate care and support can be put in place.”
When testing funding runs out around October, hospitals across the state will no longer be able to perform tests.
Parents can order a urine test, which doctors estimate could cost between $50 and $100 and is unlikely to be covered by insurance, especially if the child has no symptoms.
Lawmakers including Rep. Linda Rosenthal (D-N.Y.) plan to introduce legislation in January that would fund the tests for years to come.
“We advocate for it to become a permanent part of infant screening,” Sood said, “so that diseases that are much rarer than CMV are being incorporated into newborn screening programs.”
Immunity
While some pharmacies are encouraging people to get flu shots, medical experts are suggesting people wait until late September or early October to get the shot.
“The vaccine only lasts about three to four months,” Nachman said, “so if you get it in August when flu season arrives in January, it may not be as effective.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends a similar time frame, around September or October.
At the same time, Nachman expects a new batch of COVID-19 vaccines to be available around September.
She recommends getting both doses at the same time to increase the effectiveness of both vaccines.
Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and BioNTech recently reported that a single dose of their combined COVID-19/influenza vaccine was not effective against influenza B, meaning that people who want to get vaccinated this fall should plan to get two doses.
Coronavirus numbers
As for the new coronavirus, the current strain became prevalent this summer.
“Everybody was infected with COVID-19, everyone was infected with it, everyone was infected with it,” Nachman said, adding that the virus was spreading across all age groups. The new coronavirus was “definitely more contagious than the one we had in the spring” and was infectious for longer.
Although case numbers are declining, the start of the fall semester could trigger an increase.
