by Dr. Allen Cherer | Apr 10, 2018 | blog, Dr. Allen Cherer
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious illness in the newborn and young infant. The virus, first discovered in the mid-1960s, is transmitted through percutaneous (i.e., puncture through skin) or mucosal (i.e., direct contact with mucous membranes) exposure...
by Dr. Allen Cherer | Nov 28, 2017 | blog, Child Health Care, Dr. Allen Cherer
In 1943, Julia Bell and James Martin first described the sex-linked heritable condition now termed Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). In their paper, “A Pedigree of Mental Deficit Showing Sex-Linkage”, they described a single kindred in which eleven males spanning two...
by Dr. Allen Cherer | Apr 24, 2017 | blog, Child Health Care, Dr. Allen Cherer, Pediatrics
Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the leading cause of diarrhea-associated hospitalizations and death in children younger than 5 years of age. Rotavirus illness is caused by a virus which enters the body by mouth and infects the intestines. It is a particularly hardy and...
by Dr. Allen Cherer | Jul 20, 2016 | blog, Child Health Care, Dr. Allen Cherer, Pediatrics
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) is a serious health issue, especially in the very young infant. It is caused by a bacteria, Bordetella pertussis, and is transmitted person to person via aerosol droplets usually by coughing or sneezing. The illness typically begins with...
by Dr. Allen Cherer | Jun 14, 2016 | blog, Child Health Care, Dr. Allen Cherer, Pediatrics
Neonatal tetanus is one form of a devastating illness with a very high mortality rate. The illness was recognized by Hippocrates as early as the 5th century BC. The causative bacterium and its exotoxin were identified in the late 1800s. An effective toxoid vaccine was...