United States: A responsible study demonstrates that a pioneering experimental stem cell method enables the repair of sight-stealing corneal injuries. 

More about the news 

Damage to the cornea will result in permanent effects when the disease or injury interrupts the cell regeneration process of this transparent eye layer. 

Researchers described their stem cell technique in the March 4 publication of Nature Communications, which enables patients to obtain cells from their healthy eye for rebuilding damaged corneas. 

Research indicates that the methodology demonstrates both safety and workability through patient assessments spanning 18 months in 14 treated patients. 

The medical procedure is called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells, which doctors abbreviate as CALEC. 

What are the experts stating? 

According to the lead investigator, Dr. Ula Jurkunas, associate director of the Cornea Service at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, “Our first trial in four patients showed that CALEC was safe and the treatment was possible,” US News reported. 

“Now we have this new data supporting that CALEC is more than 90% effective at restoring the cornea’s surface, which makes a meaningful difference in individuals with cornea damage that was considered untreatable,” she continued. 

Research notes explain how the limbus at the cornea perimeter contains numerous stem cells referred to as limbal epithelial cells. 

Weight-bearing stem cells construct the cornea at all times, which results in its smooth and clear state. 

A cornea injury will deplete the essential cells located in the limbus region of the eyes. 

The permanent damage to eye surface tissue becomes known as limbal stem cell deficiency. 

This eye damage makes organ replacement surgery irrelevant since doctors require donor tissue for the procedure, according to researchers’ statements. 

Researchers explain that CALEC requires stem cell extraction from healthy eyes followed by tissue graft manufacturing through a new method extending to two to three weeks. 

Through surgery, the specialist transfers the graft to an eye containing damaged cornea tissue to enable natural cornea regeneration. 

Research data revealed that CALEC promoted complete cornea restoration in fifty percent of study participants during their first three months, and success rates reached eighty percent after eighteen months. 

The complete recovery success rates for CALEC reached 90 percent based on researchers’ assessment, including patients who experienced partial treatment success. 

“We feel this research warrants additional trials that can help lead towards [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval,” Jurkunas added. 

United States: The county health department data shows that Multnomah County has had its largest number of Shigella infections during wintertime since 2012 for two consecutive years, where the January count reached multiple-year high levels. 

Know about Shigella 

The bacterial agent Shigella leads to a human illness that manifests as severe diarrhea alongside fever and fatigue because, historically, physicians referred to it as dysentery. 

The transfer of infected fecal bacteria from one person to the mouth of another person defines the transmission of Shigella based on county health officials. 

From November 2023 to January 2024, Multnomah County documented 72 Shigella infections, excluding those cases where patients contracted the disease overseas, kgw.com reported. 

During this period, 105 cases of Shigella were reported, with a specific total of 40 confirmed infections happening in January. 

Since 2012, the number of Shigella cases in Multnomah County has been growing, and the county recently recorded antibiotic-resistant strains among its local infections. 

Reasons for its spread 

The homeless population experienced most of the outbreaks because their limited access to sanitation services facilitates the transmission of diseases, as the majority of transmission-related infections happened in Old Town. 

The culprit bacteria originate in food outbreaks, but transmission mostly occurs between people through direct sexual contact and by touching unclean objects, which leads to mouth contamination. 

Mild to life-threatening illnesses exist, but individuals usually acquire fatal infections upon contracting Shigella dysenteriae only when it spreads from countries with deficient sanitation systems, kgw.com reported. 

Within Oregon, two main strains of Shigella bacteria exist: Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei, which produce lower severity of illness among infected individuals. 

More than 80 percent of cases in Multnomah County were contracted locally instead of any international connection involved, according to the city health reports. 

United States: Health authorities have declared an active measles outbreak risk at the New York JFK International Airport. 

Medical professionals have confirmed a highly contagious illness in a child who took China Airlines to reach his destination. 

More about the news 

After arriving at Terminal 4, the patient visited two medical facilities until being diagnosed with the illness. 

The shuttle bus route passengers need to undergo testing for a disease from the February 25 period starting at 9:30 pm through 3:15 am, according to public health officials. 

The officials are trying to determine which patients came into contact with the unvaccinated US citizen child, Daily Mail reported. 

One of two persons found with measles after arriving at LAX on the Korean Air flight from Seoul tested positive for the disease on February 19. 

Measles outbreak in US 

A substantial Texas measles outbreak affected at least 173 individuals along with two documented fatalities while becoming the first American reported deaths from measles within this decade. 

The newly appointed health chief, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has persistently opposed vaccines, expresses his support for immunization. 

Multiple experts agree that declining vaccination levels have made the United States susceptible to increased occurrences of disease outbreaks. 

The transmission of measles occurs through contaminated airborne droplets spread by patient coughs and sneezes as well as breathing activities. 

This disease remains one of the most contagious illnesses in global society since an infected person can transmit it to nine out of ten people in the surrounding region. 

Hospitalization affects four out of ten patients in the US, while the disease proves fatal for approximately three persons out of one thousand treated patients who experience dangerous swelling of their brains. 

The time for infectious droplets to remain airborne reaches two hours, while the disease can show its symptoms between seven to 14 days following infection, Daily Mail reported. 

Most individuals develop a fever, cough, and runny nose, which further turns into a rash, starting at the hairline, to the neck and trunk, and leading its way to till feet.