Fast Facts on Influenza from the CDC 2010-2011

A total of 3,306 new cases of influenza confirmed during
influenza season week 6.

Influenza A accounted for 78.6% of the influenza cases
Influenza B accounted for 21.4%

2011-2011 35 pediatric deaths

FDA approves meningococcal vaccine for infants

The FDA has approved the use of the meningococcal vaccine for infants. Menactra was approved to prevent N. meningitidis for use in infants. The approval is for a 2 dose series to be administered 3 months apart. It is not yet officially included in the immunization schedule but we are definitely looking forward to its inclusion.

Booster for Meningitis Shot Recommended

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control for 2011 is recommending to give a booster to all teenagers who had the meningococcal vaccine.

Routine recommendation between 11-12 years of age and a booster at 16 years.
Adolescents who receive their first dose between 13-15 years of age should receive a booster between 16 to 18 years old.
If patient is at risk for meningococcal disease and are between 2-54 year of age a 2-dose primary series should be administered at least 2 months apart.

For more information please go to www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/provisional/default.htm

Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation of the Lung

Since the advent of the prenatal ultrasonography we have been able to pick-up a lot of diseases while the baby is in the womb so we can be better prepared to handle them when they are born. CCAM(Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation) is a rare intrathoracic tumor that is present in the lungs. This occurs in 1 - 25,000 to 35,000 pregnancies. This is usually found during the 20 week gestation and they hare followed closely with repeat ultrasounds. The wonderful thing about this is that 60% resolve at birth. The ones that do not resolve are classified into types. The presenting symptoms at birth depends on the size of the cyst if it is encroaching on the blood vessels or the other organs.
Type I - isolated cyst present in the lungs during the neonatal period
Type II - the cyst in the lung is usually associated with other malformations on the baby
Type III - this is the worse kind because the baby would be born as a fetal hydrops and they do not survive.

If the cyst is significant that baby will be in respiratory distress at birth. The ultimate cure for this is surgical excision. If the baby is asymptomatic and the cyst is small. The pediatric surgeon will follow-up in a few weeks and determine when they are going to operate. Even if the cyst is small this can be a focus of recurrent pneumonia so most surgeons operate on the lesion.