New numbers released by Centers for Disease Control reveal that the number of children who have been diagnosed with autism has nearly doubled since 2002. Susan Hyman, chairperson of the Autism Subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Dr. Perri Klass, pediatrician and professor of Journalism and Pediatrics at New York University; and Benedict Carey, science writer for our partner The New York Times, take a closer look at what's behind the numbers.
Flu season starts officially on Sunday, and while the government has been urging schools to close only as a last resort in the battle against H1N1, there have already been at least 187 school closures since the school year started last month. Ross Hammond from the Brookings Institution discusses his new report that reveals that the true cost to the nation of closing schools and day care centers could be as much as $47 billion. Kathleen Murphy is a registered nurse and the health services coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Schools; she tells us what her school district is doing to prevent closings. We also speak to Dr. Faheem Younus, the medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at the Upper Chesapeake Health Center in Bel Air, Md., who has some practical advice for parents who can't take the day off of work.
"Approximately 75-80% [of students] eat two meals a day at school, so right there, when schools close, there's an impact on their nutritional status and a family's ability to meet that child's needs."
—Kathleen Murphy, registered nurse and health services coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Schools, on a side effect of closing schools in case of an H1N1 outbreak
A Centers for Disease Control advisory panel has recommended that pregnant women get top priority for an H1N1 vaccine when it is expected to become available this fall. How is this recommendation reverberating on the frontlines? The Takeaway turns to Dr. Richard Wenzel, an epidemiologist and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, who has just returned from studying the spread of the flu in South America. Also joining the conversation are Leila Laniado, an Atlanta resident who is 5 months pregnant and weighing her options, and Dr. Laura Riley, an OB/GYN at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston explains what she is telling her patients about the vaccine.
"It's clear that the CDC suggests that pregnant women be at the top of the list. I think what pregnant women need to do is go into their obstetricians or primary care physicians and say, 'I'm pregnant, I want the vaccine, I understand that there are some safety issues potentially, but I also understand that getting the flu in this situation could be far worse.'"
—Dr. Laura Riley on flu treatment for pregnant women
The swine flu has been out of the headlines lately, but the H1N1 virus has already infected over one million people in the United States. Federal health officials are very concerned about a pandemic when flu season ramps up in the fall. The heads of several federal agencies including Kathleen Sebelius, the head of Health and Human Services, Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, are all working to try and prevent an epidemic. Dr. Fauci joins The Takeaway with his thoughts on beating the virus.
"It is not an overwhelmingly virulent virus at this time. The concern that we have is that influenza viruses can change, can mutate; you have to watch it very carefully that it doesn't become more fierce or more virulent as it evolves in humans. The good news is that we've been tracking this intensively since the beginning of April. And now, in mid-July, it hasn't changed at all. It's virtually identical."
—Dr. Anthony Fauci on the nature of the H1N1 virus
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with The BBC World Service, New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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