As healthcare rapidly advances, so does technology. Separately, these two fields tackle the world’s problems every day. Together, these two fields can tackle the world’s most overlooked healthcare issues.

With everything else that is going on in the world, it is all too easy to delay research and funding for rare diseases. As major companies turn their focus to larger, more impactful concerns, there are a few small companies working on AI in healthcare. Companies like DeepMind and Healx have recently made advancements in the AI healthcare fields.

In December 2020 DeepMind released AlphaFold 2, a unique AI system that explains how proteins fold. With this information, healthcare researchers can accurately and quickly model proteins for future reference. Knowing the structure of proteins allows scientist to discover what medications work best against them. With this information, experts will have a wealth of information at their fingertips to help discover cures and treatments for rare disease.

The release of AlphaFold 2 is a major breakthrough in healthcare, and was hailed the solution to a 50-year-old problem. There are an estimated 7000 rare diseases, affecting 350 million people worldwide. The Drugs for Neglected Disease institute (DNDi) develops life-saving treatments for neglected diseases. This is where companies like Healx step in with their AI programs.

Healx created the Healnet platform, a comprehensive rare disease knowledge base. It allows providers to make accurate predictions when treating rare diseases. Predictions about treatments enable providers to make decisions quickly, which could be life-saving.

Advances in AI healthcare go beyond the treatment of rare disease. These advances in AI can help personalize healthcare for individual circumstances. Healthcare is very in depth and goes far below the surface. Genetic subtypes, both for individuals and diseases, can sometimes stump physicians. AI databases are loaded with more information than a human can retain. This gives AI the ability to quickly and efficiently diagnose a problem. That’s not to say that you will soon be seeing an artificial physician, AI’s role in healthcare is intended to be supportive.

Alone AI is not able to efficiently care for a patient, the system has to learn through trial and error, which can be dangerous for patients. That is why the role of physician will remain in human hands, while the algorithms (a set of problem-solving rules) will be left to AI.

“The superpower of these AI systems is that they can look at all of these large amounts of data and hopefully surface the right information or the right predictions at the right time,” said Finale Doshi-Velez, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

We don’t know how long it will take for AI to fully launch into healthcare, but it offers a promising future to patients with rare diseases. Merging AI with healthcare will be one of the most beneficial to happen to healthcare, and will undoubtedly alter the profession forever.

Passport Health offers a variety of vaccination and physical services to help you stay safe and healthy at home and abroad. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Written for Passport Health by Brittany Evans. Brittany is a freelance writer and photographer in North Carolina. She has a passion for the outdoors, health information, and traveling. You can find her at her website.

Polio is a virus that shook the United States during the 1940’s and 1950’s. The virus spiked during the summer months, causing paralysis in some cases. During the epidemic, most children were kept indoors away from others out of fear that they would contract polio.

Some cases of polio didn’t show any signs or symptoms of infection, making it hard to know whether a person was infected. In most cases, the infected person was able to recover without any complications. In rare cases, polio could leave a person with paralysis or other nerve conditions.

As polio devastated the US, with 57, 000 cases at its peak in 1952, Jonas Salk (the inventor of the polio vaccine) was hesitant to push the vaccine. Salk wanted to make certain that the vaccine was both safe and effective. Testing a vaccine’s effectiveness is not cheap, so Salk had to experiment with new techniques to prove the vaccine worked.

Russell W. Brown and Jimmy Henderson, two scientists who worked at the Tuskegee Institute, decided to help Salk with the polio vaccine. The scientists decided to use HeLa cells, cancerous cells that were taken from Henrietta Lacks, to test the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Using the HeLa cells didn’t come without challenges of its own. The pair needed to create a HeLa cell factory to reproduce the cells in large quantities. Salk’s trial required an estimated 10,000 tubes a week of HeLa cells. Both Brown and Henderson were knowledgeable scientists, but they had never experimented like this before. Growing, storing, and transporting cells required knowledge that neither Brown nor Henderson had.

Fortunately, they were able to connect with William F. Scherer, a young postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota. Scherer did early work on the poliovirus using HeLa cells and had instructed students on this topic. Scherer was able to teach both Brown and Henderson what they needed to know to grow their factory. Shortly after they met with Scherer, the HeLa factory was producing cells.

The team hit another roadblock when they tried to ship the cells across the US. The HeLa cells were very temperamental, and a change in temperature could kill them quickly. Brown and Henderson got help from Maria Telkes, a chemist at New York University. Telkes was able to create a type of cooler that could transport the cells for up to 96 hours.

Once the cells were successfully transported, the testing could begin.

Once cell testing was done, over 420,000 children were inoculated, and 200,000 were given placebo injections, with an additional 1.2 million other children observed in the study. The study was a success and the polio vaccine was given across the nation. The work that Brown, Henderson, and the other hidden scientists did, made it possible for polio to be eradicated in the US.

Passport Health offers polio and other key vaccines to help keep you healthy at home and abroad. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Written for Passport Health by Brittany Evans. Brittany is a freelance writer and photographer in North Carolina. She has a passion for the outdoors, health information, and traveling. You can find her at her website.

Diarrhea can put a damper on any kind of plan as soon as it hits you. You do not even have to be traveling to get it. We all get it at some point in our lives. While many feel it is a taboo topic to talk about, it is something that should be talked about. Have you ever wondered why diarrhea happens or how diarrhea works?

Diarrhea is made up of loose and watery bowels that happens at least three times a day. There are a variety of reasons that one may experience diarrhea. There are chronic conditions that can cause it to happen often for some. For others, it can be an acute, or sudden case that can come on with no warning.

Whether caused by a virus or chronic condition, diarrhea occurs when your digestive system moves too quickly. In this case, the intestines do not have enough time to absorb the fluids. It can also happen when the digestive system ends up producing extra fluid. The end result is diarrhea, where the stools become watery and loose.

Some common causes of diarrhea can include viral infections. For example, norovirus, hepatitis A, and rotavirus can all cause the condition. Rotavirus is the highest common cause of diarrhea in children worldwide. Different types of bacteria can also cause diarrhea. One common cause is “food poisoning,” as a result of food contamination. E. coli, listeria and salmonella are also common bacteria that can cause it, too. Often, bacteria from uncooked food or unsanitary water can cause diarrhea.

Those who are living with a chronic condition that causes diarrhea, are typically put on medication to manage it. Conditions like celiac, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis and food intolerances can cause it. Diet is also a factor in controlling diarrhea in chronic conditions.

With diarrhea, you lose fluids and salts from your body. You run the risk of dehydration if you are not replacing the fluids that you use. Sports drinks and fruit juices are good for re-hydration and get essential electrolytes and salts back into your body. If diarrhea lasts more than three days, seek medical attention.

Planning a trip? Up to 70 percent of travelers will contract diarrhea while abroad. Stay protected and get better faster with a travelers’ diarrhea kit from Passport Health. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Jennifer Passmore is a stay-at-home mom, writer and beader. She loves creating art with her words and through her jewelry. She is also a passionate mental health advocate. You can find more writing at her website Positivity In Pain.

Rabies is a fatal viral disease for humans. Currently, there is no cure for the disease, especially once symptoms begin to show. But there is a preventative vaccination that a person can receive.

What is rabies?

Rabies is a viral disease that affects the nerves and brain of a human.

The disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected animal. Although the disease is rare in the U.S., this doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get.

If someone is bit by an infected animal, the disease works by spreading throughout the body to the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain and a person begins to exhibit symptoms, it’s too late to treat the infection.

Is there a treatment for rabies?

While there is no cure for rabies, the virus can be treated if caught early enough. The only issue with this is that most people don’t know that they have rabies until it’s too late. There’s no way for a person to know if they have rabies until symptoms begin to show. But, once symptoms show, the disease is fatal.

If a person receives the rabies vaccine before they are infected or before symptoms present, then the vaccine will protect them against the virus.

Will there be a cure for rabies?

Researchers are currently working on creating a cure for rabies. Once rabies reaches the brain, it is impossible to treat.

But there are some medications that have already shown hope in animal studies. Both favipiravir and bufotenine have been effective in animals. But, this doesn’t mean they will be effective in treating humans, but it does show promise.

The best thing to do if you suspect you may have been bitten by an animal that is infected with rabies is to seek medical attention right away.

Passport Health offers pre-exposure rabies vaccines to help keep you safe from the virus. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Written for Passport Health by Elle Johnson. Elle is a freelance journalist and social media content creator in Florida. Not only does she enjoy working as a freelancer, but in her free time she enjoys working on fictional stories.

Everyone travels at one point or another in our lives. Whether it be for a much-needed vacation or a work-related travel trip. Getaways are usually something that we look forward to. But, what happens when you start feeling body aches, sniffling, coughing and sneezing? If you contract the flu while you are traveling, there are a variety of things you can do to help get yourself feeling back in tip-top shape.

See A Doctor

If you feel as if you are coming down with the flu, visit a health clinic as soon as you are able. Influenza is not something to be trifled with. You can also ask the hotel concierge or embassy to find where the closest clinic to where you are staying is. Luckily, if you catch it in the beginning stages, the flu can be easily treated.

Rest

Vacations are all about rest, aren’t they? The best thing that you can do when you are down with the flu, is to rest. One of the main symptoms of the flu is feeling fatigued. Even if it is a few extra naps here and there, hot showers, and drinking some tea, at least some rest will help you to feel less tired.

Pack Ahead

If this is not a spontaneous or work-related travel, and you know where you are visiting ahead of time, you can pack an emergency kit to take with you. You can have at least some of the necessary items that you might need, lest you get sick. Some of the items you can pack include Tylenol, for pain relief and fever reduction, Pepto Bismol, if there is stomach upset, a decongestant, etc.

Hydrate

If you do fall ill, one of the most important things that you should do is to make sure that you are drinking enough. Pick up a pack of water, or electrolyte replacement (like Gatorade or Poweraid), as you can lose electrolytes from stomach trouble. As long as you keep on drinking when you can, as much as you can, then you are at less of a risk of dehydration.

The CDC shares a list for travelers on how to prevent getting the flu. A great rule of thumb for prevention is to also get your yearly influenza vaccination. But, if you do find yourself ill with the flu while you are traveling, these tips should help you feel better and still enjoy your vacation.

Passport Health offers influenza and other key vaccinations to keep you safe before, during and after your trip. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Jennifer Passmore is a stay-at-home mom, writer and beader. She loves creating art with her words and through her jewelry. She is also a passionate mental health advocate. You can find more writing at her website Positivity In Pain.