Legionnaires’ Disease Sickens 19, Kills 1 In Bronx Neighborhood
The Health Department is reportedly investigating cooling towers in the borough's Highbridge section. Also: a child's death from a polio-like illness is giving clues on enterovirus; a new analysis in San Francisco shows pollution's impact on Black, Latino, Asian, and low-income residents, and more.
AP:
19 Diagnosed With Legionnaires' Disease In Bronx; 1 Death
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in a Bronx neighborhood has sickened 19 people since the beginning of the month, with one person dying, city health officials said Wednesday. The Health Department said cooling towers in the borough’s Highbridge section had been tested for the presence of the bacteria Legionella which causes the disease, a form of pneumonia. The bacteria was found in four of the towers, which the department ordered to be disinfected. (5/25)
Stat:
Child’s Autopsy From 2008 Becomes A Clue To A Polio-Like Illness
Within days, the boy went from having cold symptoms to being unable to walk. To Peter Wright, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, it looked similar to polio — a condition not seen in the United States anymore. It had to be something else. The case occurred back in 2008, and tragically, the 5-year-old New Hampshire boy died. But his family permitted the scientific team to conduct an autopsy, to help solve “the mystery around the child’s death and illness,” Wright recalled. The researchers found something unusual: evidence of a common pathogen called an enterovirus, but in the fluid that bathes the spinal cord. (Joseph, 5/25)
The Washington Post:
Block-By-Block Data Shows Pollution’s Stark Toll On People Of Color
Finding the most polluted places in the San Francisco Bay area is simple, a new air quality analysis shows: Locate places where mostly Black, Latino, Asian and low-income residents live, and pay them a visit. The data released Tuesday by Aclima — a California-based tech company that measured the region’s air quality block-by-block for the first time — found that communities of color are exposed to 55 percent more nitrogen dioxide, which contributes to smog, than mostly White communities. (Fears, 5/25)
CNN:
Sleepio App: Insomnia Patients Now Have An Alternative To Sleeping Pills In England
Searching for a better night's sleep? A digital app to treat insomnia is an effective alternative to sleeping pills, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom. The recommendation from NICE last week means that doctors in the UK's National Health Service can prescribe the Sleepio app, which uses artificial intelligence to provide people with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia instead of sleep medications like zolpidem and zopiclone that can be dependency forming and aren't intended for long-term use. (Hunt, 5/26)
CNN:
Maternal Mental Health: When Mothers Suffer, Babies Suffer, Say Experts
Postpartum depression (PPD) is estimated to affect more than one in ten women who have a baby and is just one of many mood disorders that a woman can get during pregnancy or in the first year after birth, known as the perinatal period. Yet these conditions, known as perinatal mood disorders, remain largely misunderstood by the public and healthcare providers alike, said experts at a roundtable discussion hosted by CNN's gender reporting team As Equals. (Senthilingam, 5/26)
The Baltimore Sun:
UMBC Graduate Overcomes Battle With Cancer, Now Hopes To Guide Other Through Rigors Of College Life
While this will be University of Maryland, Baltimore County President Freeman A. Hrabowski III’s last graduation — he announced his retirement last August — he will leave the school with a number of leaders who will help the next generation of graduates to push past challenges and earn their degrees. Jane De Hitta, who had to pause her social work studies due to cancer treatment, is one of those leaders, and will help guide adult undergraduates through returning student programs. (Roberts, 5/26)
