The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees are researching a breakout of brain abscesses in children in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2022, the number of brain abscesses in kids increased. The number of kids affected went from four to five cases a year to 18 and counting.
“In my 20 years’ experience, I’ve never seen anything like it,” a professor at the University of Utah, Dr. Taryn Bragg, who treated the cases, said.
Bragg treated many cases and alerted the local health department once she noticed the pattern forming.
Brain abscesses are pus-filled pouches that spread to the brain. They may cause seizures, changes in vision, speech and coordination, or balance.
Some early symptoms include brief headaches and fever at different times of the day. Abscesses usually require several surgeries to treat.
In the Clark County cluster, many cases were in boys, and most were around age 12. The CDC continues to observe the issue.
