Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Ground Turkey
The Department of Agriculture issued an alert about ground turkey made by Plainville Brands. In other news, your newly discovered gray hair could be pandemic-related.
USA Today:
USDA Issues Public Health Alert For More Than 211,000 Pounds Of Ground Turkey For Possible Salmonella Risk
A public health alert has been issued for approximately 211,406 pounds of raw ground turkey products potentially linked to salmonella hadar illness. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued the alert Saturday night for the products that were produced by Plainville Brands, LLC, which is based in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. The affected products were shipped to stores nationwide and have January "use by/freeze/sell by" dates. The health alert said there were concerns that "some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers." (Tyko, 4/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Is Premature Graying A Pandemic Thing? Experts Explain Possible Links
“In certain people, gray hair is kind of a telltale sign, of stress,” said Dr. Natasha Mekinsova, a dermatologist at UC Irvine who is an expert on hair conditions. “It’s probably going to depend on how we all process stress.” Though there hasn’t been a large-scale study of graying during the pandemic, studies have already found promising links. A team of researchers at Harvard found that in mice, stress activated nerves that triggered the fight-or-flight response, which then caused damage to stem cells that differentiate to create specialized cells called melanocytes, which produce the color we see in our hair. The study, published in Nature, found that stress caused those cells to deplete, and the effect was permanent — and resulted in gray. (Vainshtein, 4/11)
360Dx:
NIH Aims To Address COVID Testing Disparities In Underserved Communities
Not long after the start of COVID-19 pandemic, communities of color as well as underserved communities, in general, complained about their lack of access to testing. More than a year later, some diagnostic companies say they are seeing a decline in COVID-19 testing as more tests are being made available. Yet for those in neighborhoods where access to tests were limited, challenges to getting a SARS-CoV-2 test remains. (Ketchum, 4/11)
KHN:
Readers And Tweeters Give Tips On Treating Diabetes And Long Covid
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (4/12)
In other public health news about CTE —
The Washington Post:
Ex-NFL Player Phillip Adams’s Brain To Be Examined For CTE
The brain of Phillip Adams, the former NFL player identified as the gunman who fatally shot six people Wednesday in Rock Hill, S.C., will be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in dozens of former players. Forensic autopsies typically do not identify CTE, but York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said her office will work with Boston University, whose CTE center has studied the disease for more than a decade, to determine whether Adams had the disease, she said in a statement. (Hill, 4/10)
AP:
Adams Said To Have Spurned NFL, Union Health Programs
The NFL and its players’ union have an array of health programs designed to help players in their life after football. According to his agent, Phillip Adams did not avail himself of those opportunities. Adams, a journeyman player, spent six seasons in the league. Authorities say he fatally shot five people in South Carolina — including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren — before killing himself early Thursday. Agent Scott Casterline told The Associated Press the 32-year-old Adams did not participate in the physical and mental health programs that are easily accessible for ex-players. (Wilner, 4/9)
