Certain areas of the U.S. have been bombarded by various infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites. Five recent and ongoing disease outbreaks in the U.S. are highlighted below.
1. Cryptosporidosis
Three counties in Ohio have been dealing with an outbreak of cryptosporidosis, a diarrheal disease caused by parasites, since July. As of Sept. 23, 729 people in the state have come down with the illness commonly known as Crypto.
Crypto is difficult to contain because the parasites have a strong outer shell, making them difficult to kill, and an infected person can spread the illness for two weeks after symptoms subside. However, public health officials are hopeful the outbreak has reached a plateau and will decline soon.
2. Hand, foot and mouth disease
More than a dozen students at Florida State University in Tallahassee came down with hand, food and mouth disease earlier this month. The viral infection is more typically seen in daycares with young children, but it is very contagious. Hand, foot and mouth disease is spread via person-to-person contact and through contact with contaminated objects. University officials urged students to sanitize living spaces and proprietors to disinfect restaurants and bars.
3. Legionnaires' disease
Several areas of the country are currently struggling with Legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria.
For instance, two hospitals in the Seattle area have reported Legionnaires' disease cases in the last month. Five patients at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle have contracted Legionella infections, and two of them have died. Additionally, one patient at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, Wash., contracted Legionnaires' disease, the hospital confirmed Sept. 23.
In addition to those hospital-related cases, one town in Minnesota is dealing with a community-onset Legionnaires' disease outbreak, with at least 14 infected and one individual dead. The source of that outbreak is still unknown.
There are also five cases of Legionnaires' disease in Memphis, Tenn., linked to a La Quinta Inn hotel.
4. Mumps
Two states — Arkansas and Oklahoma — are currently experiencing mumps outbreaks. As of Sept. 23, 322 people across 30 schools in three school districts in Arkansas were diagnosed with mumps. Oklahoma's outbreak is smaller, as the state health department reported four confirmed cases and 34 suspected cases as of Sept. 14 in one county. Most of those cases were middle and high school students.
According to the CDC, 1,897 mumps cases have been reported to the agency this year as of Sept. 10.
5. Zika
This outbreak spans the entire country and even U.S. territories, as 3,358 people in the states and 19,777 people in U.S. territories have contracted the Zika virus as of Sept. 21. The virus can cause birth defects like microcephaly in infants if a pregnant woman is infected and is spread via mosquitoes, sexual contact, blood transfusions and potentially bodily fluids saliva, urine or stool.
Hospitals are in the midst of implementing Zika treatment and prevention plans, but the federal government has yet to provide funding for nationwide, comprehensive prevention and research efforts. However, the U.S. Senate recently agreed to include $1.1 billion in Zika research in a stopgap spending bill.