Many times, the first we realize we're getting sick is when symptoms show up. New science research is making it possible for people to discover they're getting sick before symptoms appear, allowing for the possibility of faster treatment.

Alec Ford is the CEO of Karius, a life sciences company focused on advancing technology in the fight against infectious diseases. He says it's quite common for people battling cancer to die from a sickness instead of their cancer.

"Actually, more than half of all the people in the United States who die from cancer die from an infection," Ford said.

Ford says he knows from personal experience the threat of infectious disease on patients with cancer.

"To identify the cause of infection with someone in cancer. You might see anywhere from 15 to 17 different tests that are required, and it might take seven to 10 days of running those tests if ever they find the cause of your infection," Ford said.

He says with cancer, time is the enemy, but Karius has developed a rapid test that's been rolling out to hospitals across the country since 2017. Tim Blauwkamp is one of the innovators behind the technology.

"One of the challenges with the way that infectious diseases are diagnosed today is that almost all of the approaches still require a specimen that contains the actual pathogen itself," Blauwkamp said. "Things like bronchoalveolar lavage, where they wash your lungs or find needle aspirates, where they go in and try to find just a little piece of your lung tissue that has enough of the pathogen that they can identify it."

Using a blood sample, Tim Blauwkamp says the Karius test can detect more than a thousand different pathogens like pneumonia, fungal infections, or monkeypox.

"Any time you have an infection, there are fragments of the thing causing that infection that are shed into the bloodstream and we find those,” Ford said. "So, we take your blood, we look for those fragments of the things that are likely to be causing infection, and we tell your doctor why you're sick and what's causing your infection."

Mike Fahey, a monkeypox patient, says the early-detection Karius test would have made a huge difference for him.

"If I had caught it six days earlier, I think my entire prognosis would be different right now," Fahey said.

Fahey says his experience with monkeypox has been rare. He developed encephalitis which is inflammation of the brain. He's had numbness and pain in his hands ever since.

"It has been almost two full months," Fahey said. "To this day, I can't button my shirt, I can't tie my shoes. If I pick something up, I'm likely to drop it."

According to chief technology officer Sivan Bercovici, the Karius test would have detected monkeypox before he even had lesions and he would have been able to start treatment very early on.

"In a paper that we published several years ago, we identified the ability to detect bacterial infections several days before symptoms. In the case of fungal infection, now we can go several weeks before symptoms arise."

Bercovici says this technology is continuing to expand and he's hopeful they will reach a point where infectious disease is no longer a major threat to human health.

 

People with certain health conditions that make them moderately or severely immunocompromised may get a fourth mRNA COVID-19 shot, according to updated guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC authorized a third dose or certain immunocompromised people 18 and older in August. It said a third dose, rather than a booster — the CDC makes a distinction between the two — was necessary because the immunocompromised may not have had a complete immune response from the first two doses.A study from Johns Hopkins University this summer showed that vaccinated immunocompromised people were 485 times more likely to end up in the hospital or die from COVID-19 compared to most vaccinated people. In small studies, the CDC said, fully vaccinated immunocompromised people accounted for about 44% of the breakthrough cases that required hospitalization. People who are immunocompromised are also more likely to transmit the virus to people who had close contact with them.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also authorized booster shots of all three available vaccines for certain people and that would include the immune compromised, the CDC says.Research showed that a booster dose enhanced the antibody response to the vaccine in certain immunocompromised people.That would make for a fourth shot at least six months after completing the third mRNA vaccine dose. At this time, the CDC does not have a recommendation about the fourth shot. People should talk to their doctors to determine if it is necessary, the CDC says.Moderately to severely immunocompromised people include those who are in active cancer treatment for cancers of the blood or for tumors, certain organ transplant and stem cell recipients, people with advanced or untreated HIV, and those who take a high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress their immune systems. The CDC estimates about 9 million people who live in the U.S., or about 2% of the population, fall into this category.People who are immunocompromised who got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot should get a booster at least two months after their initial vaccine. People who choose a Moderna vaccine as a booster, even if they received a different vaccine as the first dose, should get the half-dose sized shot that was authorized as a booster for Moderna's vaccine, the CDC said.Even if they are vaccinated, the CDC recommends people with conditions that compromise their immune systems should still try to avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and should wear a mask in indoor public spaces.

The FDA could approve vaccine booster shots for some of the most vulnerable Americans within weeks. 

According to multiple reports, in the next week or so, the FDA is planning to review CDC data on additional doses for the immunocompromised.

That includes people who have gotten organ transplants, are being treated for cancer, or have HIV, just to name a few. 

This story was originally reported by Kamil Zawadzki on Newsy.com

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday warned people who are immunocompromised that the COVID-19 vaccine may not have been effective for them and encouraged them to take precautions as if they were not vaccinated."People who are immunocompromised should be counseled about the potential for reduced immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines and to follow current prevention measures (including wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others staying they don't live with, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces) to protect themselves against COVID-19 until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider," according to the CDC's website.The CDC did not go so far as to tell the millions of immunocompromised people in the U.S. to get an additional shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, noting that "the safety, efficacy and benefit of additional doses for COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised persons continues to be evaluated."A federal official told CNN that "CDC is looking into ongoing research exploring the possibility that immunocompromised could benefit from an additional dose."Some immunocompromised people have, on their own, received additional doses of the vaccine, and a study last month by Johns Hopkins researchers suggested that an extra shot may help increase COVID-19 antibody levels for some organ transplant recipients who did not have a full response to their original vaccinations.On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, acknowledged the reality that some people are acting ahead of official recommendations, noting that there are individual physicians "right now that are saying, 'I want to go the extra mile with someone who might have a lower level of immunity.'"On Friday, the CDC said data suggest the response to the vaccines might be reduced for several groups, including organ transplant recipients, people who are receiving chemotherapy for cancer, people who have certain blood cancers, and people receiving dialysis or taking certain medications that suppress the immune system.The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to discuss additional doses for immunocompromised individuals during its meeting on July 22.

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Will COVID-19 vaccines work if I have a weak immune system?

Probably not as well as they do in healthy people, but the shots should offer some protection.

It's why vaccinations are still recommended for people with immune systems weakened by disease or certain medications. It's also important that your family, friends and caregivers get vaccinated, which will make it far less likely that they pass on the virus.

About 3% of U.S. adults have weakened immune systems. Among them are people with HIV or AIDS, transplant recipients, some cancer patients and people with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.

COVID-19 shots weren't studied in large numbers of people with weak immune systems. But limited data and experience with flu and pneumonia vaccines suggest they won't work as well as they do in others. That means people with weakened immune systems should keep taking precautions like wearing masks and avoiding large crowds.

"It's prudent to use all the precautions you were using before you were vaccinated," said Dr. Ajit Limaye, a transplant expert at University of Washington Medicine in Seattle.

Although most cancer patients should get vaccinated as soon as they can, people getting stem cell transplant or CAR T-cell therapy should wait at least three months after treatment to get vaccinated, according to guidance from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. That delay will make sure the vaccines work as well as they can.

For transplant recipients, researchers are looking at whether an extra dose might make the vaccines more effective.

French guidelines recommend a third COVID-19 dose for the immunocompromised, including organ recipients. Israel recently began giving an extra dose of the Pfizer vaccine to transplant patients and others with weak immune systems. Some U.S. transplant recipients seek out a third dose on their own in hopes of more protection even though the federal government hasn't authorized extra vaccinations.