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HOUSE: Final 2007 Episode?
Hey, did I get ahead of myself? This season's ninth episode, "Games," narrowed the finalist pool to three and another long list of impossible diagnoses were entertained. Maybe the writers do need a break!
A drug-addicted rock musician develops bloody vomit, seizures, fever, a hemorrhagic rash, and encephalitis (brain inflammation - you know that's not good).
Could it all attributed to a dissolute lifestyle? No.
Drug impurities? No.
Malaria? No (although 100 USA cases are reported yearly).
Guess what? Rock star had measles (also called rubeola)!
Wasn't measles eliminated in this country? Well, almost. There were 37 cases reported by CDC in their last annual report, with no measles deaths. In 4 years House has treated two patients with measles. Worldwide there are approximately 30 million measles cases per year with 800,000 deaths.
Here in America, our measles record is pretty good with over 92% of children immunized. Remember, not every vaccination works in every individual. Besides, some parents still prevent their children from being immunized. Sometimes the protection wears thin over decades. Given the fact that House's patient suffers from chronic impaired immunity due to all the junk in his system (the patient, not House), his body was incapable of properly mounting resistance to the measles virus.
Measles is caused by a virus. Like a cold it is spread by respiratory droplets and saliva ... AH-CHOO! The first symptoms (cough, fever, fatigue) don't appear for 10 days or so following exposure and the rash appears even later. That is a real public health challenge in these days of rapid transcontinental travel.
For some unexplained reason House demanded a brain biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Rapid PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis of a throat swab can accurately confirm the presence of the measles virus. Like I said, maybe it's a good time for the writers to take some time-off...and perhaps read more.
One quick additional point worth mentioning: The patient in tonight's episode was prescribed nicotine replacement patches and applied dozens to his skin. Not funny. If you rely on nicotine patches, treat them like serious medicine. Keep them far from children because children like to imitate their parents. After 24 hours a discarded nicotine patch is still loaded and a small child might retrieve the patch from the trash and quickly overdose. Same thing happens if they chew on a used patch, so be very careful with replacement nicotine products.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: House, TV, measles, rubeola, nicotine patch
