The Washington Post: Bird Flu Found In Michigan Dairy Worker, Second U.S. Case In Two Months
A Michigan dairy worker has been infected with a highly virulent bird flu, the second human case in less than two months of the H5N1 virus circulating among dairy cows. Federal officials said Wednesday that the case does not change their assessment that the risk to the general public remains low. But in a sign of increased urgency, they announced additional financial incentives for dairy producers to expand testing of cattle and accelerated the timetable to ready nearly 5 million doses of vaccine in case the virus becomes more widespread among people. (Sun and Roubein, 5/22)

Stat: Bird Flu Surveillance In Wastewater Gets Boost From Consortium 
Less than a month ago, researchers reported for the first time the ability to scan wastewater for signs of the H5 influenza virus currently sickening dairy cows in at least nine states across the U.S. That technology is now at the threshold of real-world use. (Molteni, 5/22)

CNN: Wastewater Monitoring In Texas Picked Up An Early Signal Of The Bird Flu Outbreak
In early March, Dr. Blake Hanson and his colleagues at the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute were preparing for a fire drill of sorts. What if a virus with the potential to spark the next pandemic turned up in the wastewater they monitor? And what if that virus was the bird flu, H5N1, which has killed millions of animals and about half the nearly 900 people it has infected worldwide over the past two decades? (Goodman, 5/22)

KFF Health News: Clues From Bird Flu’s Ground Zero On Dairy Farms In The Texas Panhandle
In early February, dairy farmers in the Texas Panhandle began to notice sick cattle. The buzz soon reached Darren Turley, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen: “They said there is something moving from herd to herd.” Nearly 60 days passed before veterinarians identified the culprit: a highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1. Had it been detected sooner, the outbreak might have been swiftly contained. (Maxmen, 5/23)

CIDRAP: HHS Advances Plan To Produce 4.8 Million H5N1 Vaccine Doses 
Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said officials are moving forward with a plan to produce 4.8 million doses of H5N1 avian flu vaccine for pandemic preparedness. (Schnirring, 5/22)

Also —

CIDRAP: Australia Reports Imported Human H5N1 Avian Flu Case And Unrelated High Path Poultry Outbreak
Health officials in Australia's Victoria state reported the first human H5N1 avian flu case in the country, which involves a child who contracted the virus in India and was sick in March. In a statement, the Victoria Department of Health said the child had a severe infection but has fully recovered. The H5N1 strain that infected the child isn't the same as the one fueling outbreaks in the United States, health officials said, noting that H5N1 had never been detected in animals or people in Australia before. (Schnirring, 5/22)

The Washington Post: Fentanyl Is Fueling A Record Number Of Youth Drug Deaths
Fentanyl, a pervasive killer in America’s illicit drug supply, is increasingly landing in the hands of teens across the region and nation, worrying providers who say treatment options for youths are limited. Across the country, fentanyl has largely fueled a more than doubling of overdose deaths among children ages 12 to 17 since the start of the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released this month. (Portnoy and Keating, 5/22)

The New York Times: Almost 6,000 Dead in 6 Years: How Baltimore Became the U.S. Overdose Capital
People in Baltimore have been dying of overdoses at a rate never before seen in a major American city. In the past six years, nearly 6,000 lives have been lost. The death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly double that of any other large city, and higher than nearly all of Appalachia during the prescription pill crisis, the Midwest during the height of rural meth labs or New York during the crack epidemic. (Zhu, Thieme and Gallagher, 5/23)

The Colorado Sun: As Colorado Fentanyl Deaths Rise, Here’s The DEA’s New Approach 
Fentanyl-related overdose deaths hit a new high in 2023 as law enforcement seized record amounts of the synthetic opioid, official data shows. At least 1,089 people died from fentanyl poisoning last year, up 18.4% from 920 the year before, according to preliminary data released by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. (Cabral, 5/22)  

Also —

NBC News: Fentanyl Test Strips Are Being Used By Drug Dealers To Advertise 'Clean Pills'
Fentanyl test strips are sold online and easily obtained free from many public health departments. They’re touted as a harm reduction tool to help drug users determine whether fentanyl is present in a pill or powder. But Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Craven, the lead detective of the newly formed opioid response team in rural Placer County, California, warns that the test strips are now being used by drug dealers who post photos on social media showing “negative” test results to advertise that their drugs are “clean.” (Nguyen and Blankstein, 5/22)

WIRED: Eventbrite Promoted Illegal Opioid Sales To People Searching For Addiction Recovery Help 
A WIRED investigation found thousands of Eventbrite posts selling escort services and drugs like Xanax and oxycodone—some of which the company’s algorithm recommended alongside addiction recovery events. (Burgess and Mehrotra, 5/21)

Science News: Two Distinct Neural Pathways May Make Opioids Like Fentanyl So Addictive
A study in mice looked at how feelings of reward and withdrawal that opioids trigger play out in two separate circuits in the brain. (Lloreda, 5/22)

AP: Daily Marijuana Use Outpaces Daily Drinking In The US, A New Study Says 
For the first time, the number of Americans who use marijuana just about every day has surpassed the number who drink that often, a shift some 40 years in the making as recreational pot use became more mainstream and legal in nearly half of U.S. states. In 2022, an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily compared to 14.7 million daily or near-daily drinkers, according an analysis of national survey data. In 1992, when daily pot use hit a low point, less than 1 million people said they used marijuana nearly every day. (Johnson, 5/22)

NBC News: Teens Who Use Marijuana Are More Likely To Suffer Psychotic Disorders, Study Finds
Teenagers who used cannabis within the last year had a dramatically higher rate of developing a psychotic disorder, according to a study published Wednesday. The study, led by researchers from the University of Toronto, found an 11 times higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder among teenagers who used cannabis compared with those who did not. When the analysis was limited to just emergency room visits and hospitalizations, there was a 27-fold increase in psychotic disorders in teenagers who had used the drug. (Syal, 5/22) 

Marijuana Moment: Former Obama Drug Czar Says Marijuana Is 'Not Medicine' And That 'Big Cannabis' Is Behind Federal Rescheduling Decision 
The former U.S. drug czar under President Barack Obama expressed skepticism of marijuana’s medical value and the Biden administration’s move to federally reschedule cannabis in a new interview, warning of ominous industry influence over politicians and the country’s medical review process. “It’s not medicine,” said former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Gil Kerlikowske, speaking on the podcast of former U.S. Rep. Mary Bono (R).“This is all Big Cannabis,” he added. “This isn’t people my age that are just old hippies that want to open up a pot shop somewhere. This is a huge business like Big Tobacco. Absolutely.” (Adlin, 5/21)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Vaccination Lowers Risk Of Long COVID 
COVID-19 patients vaccinated against the novel coronavirus were less likely to have symptoms of post-COVID condition (PCC), or long COVID, according to a new study in Nature Communications. The study was based on outcomes seen among patients in eight large healthcare systems in the United States who had positive SARS-CoV-2 tests between March 2021 and February 2022. (Soucheray, 5/22)

Stat: New Antiviral Works Against Coronaviruses In Mice, But Human Testing Will Have To Wait
A new study in mice, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, tested a new antiviral, a small molecule inhibitor called obeldesivir, against SARS-CoV-2. Like remdesivir and molnupiravir, it “targets what is an Achilles heel of coronaviruses: this particular protein that … is required for the virus to copy itself and keep infecting new cells,” said lead author David Martinez, an assistant professor in the department of immunobiology at Yale. (Merelli, 5/22)

The Hill: House Committee Adopts Amendment To Rehire Troops Fired For Refusing COVID Vaccine
The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would push the Department of Defense to rehire U.S. service members who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. The measure, which would require the Pentagon to create a robust plan for rehiring those service members, was adopted by voice vote as the committee considered a round of amendments for a markup of the 2025 national defense authorization act (NDAA). (Dress, 5/22)

Fox News: HHS Moves To Debar EcoHealth Alliance President Over Failure To Comply With Grant Procedures
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) commenced formal debarment proceedings against Dr. Peter Daszak, the president of EcoHealth Alliance – a firm that used taxpayer funds to conduct gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The move took place on Tuesday evening, according to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, and came one week after HHS implemented an immediate, government-wide suspension on all funds allocated to EcoHealth Alliance. (Morris, 5/22)

The Washington Post: Companies Made Millions Charging Veterans For Help Applying For Benefits 
Senators savored the moment on a summer day outside the Capitol — the passage of a sweeping, bipartisan agreement to add $280 billion in new benefits and health care for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. But glitches, slowdowns and other mishaps have dogged the program’s rollout by the Department of Veterans Affairs, enabling the growth of an unregulated shadow industry that promises to drastically boost tax-free disability checks, according to lawmakers, advocates and leaders in the claims industry — in exchange for veterans signing away thousands of dollars in future benefits. (Rein, 5/23)

Bloomberg: Health Care Hack Fixes Were Overstated By UnitedHealth
UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s claims that it had made progress fixing some systems in the weeks after a crippling cyberattack frustrated state health officials who said they were still having problems. Utah officials were waiting for UnitedHealth to fix pharmacy systems that served thousands of low-income residents when the company said in a March 7 news release that all major pharmacy claims and payment systems had been restored, according to documents obtained through a public-records request. (Tozzi, 5/22)

Modern Healthcare: CommonSpirit, Providence, Others See Gains In Net Patient Revenue
Hospitals and health systems are making more money taking care of patients, with some reporting double-digit increases in patient revenue in the latest quarter. Net patient revenue, or revenue from providing healthcare services after contractual discounts, was up substantially for health systems in the first quarter, primarily driven by higher utilization and improved payer rates. Touting the improvement was a popular topic in recent earnings reports. (Hudson, 5/22)

The CT Mirror: Lamont Meets With Prospect Medical, YNHH Leaders To Try For Deal
Gov. Ned Lamont met with the two chief executive officers involved in the plan for Yale New Haven Health to purchase Prospect Medical Holdings on Wednesday in an effort to move the stalled negotiations out of the courtroom. (Altimari and Carlesso, 5/22)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: How Much Will My Surgery Cost? Despite Price Transparency Laws, It’s Still Hard To Know For Sure 
Despite federal rules that have required hospitals to make their prices public since 2021, Cleveland area hospitals are failing to fully comply with the regulations, according to a report released Wednesday by the PIRG Education Fund. (Kroen, 5/22)

KFF Health News: Los Angeles County Launches Ambitious Plan To Tackle Medical Debt. Hospitals Groan
Los Angeles County has launched one of the most ambitious efforts in the nation to tackle medical debt, targeting hospitals for their role in feeding a $2.9 billion problem. For over a year, the nation’s most populous county has worked on a comprehensive plan to track patient debt and hospital collection practices; boost bill forgiveness for low-income patients; and buy up and forgive billions in medical debt — an effort helmed by its Department of Public Health. (Castle Work, 5/23)

Modern Healthcare: Epic Posts Open-Source AI Validation Tool For Hospitals To Github
Electronic health record company Epic launched an open-source tool on Wednesday that will allow healthcare providers to test and validate artificial intelligence models. The tool is free and available through the public coding website Github where health systems can add it to their electronic health record systems, said Corey Miller, vice president of research and development at Epic. The tool will allow health systems to evaluate the performance of any AI model that integrates with any EHR, whether it's from Epic or not, Miller said. (Turner, 5/22)

The Hill: Democrats Want To Force Senate GOP To Vote On Contraception
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday the Senate will vote next month on legislation to protect women’s access to contraception, setting up a campaign issue for the fall. Democrats expect Republicans to block the bill, just as they have blocked legislation protecting access to in vitro fertilization, which Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) said included “poison pills.” (Bolton, 5/22)

The Texas Tribune: Anti-Abortion Doctor Appointed To Texas Maternity Committee
A leading anti-abortion doctor has been appointed to Texas’ maternal mortality review committee. Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB/GYN from San Antonio, will be serving in the role designated for a community member representing a rural area. (Klibanoff, 5/22)

Stateline: New Rules Protect Pregnant Workers, But Red States Sue Over Abortion Provisions
Natasha Jackson was four months pregnant when she told her supervisor she was expecting. It was 2008, and Jackson was an account executive at a rental furniture store in Charleston, South Carolina — the only female employee there. “I actually hid my pregnancy as long as I could because I was scared about what could happen,” she said. (Claire Vollers, 5/22)

In other reproductive health news —

North Carolina Health News: Parents Lobby To Raise Awareness About Stillbirth, A ‘Silent Epidemic’
Brittany Day will never forget when she saw the lifeless bodies of her twin daughters, Sophie and Ruby, on a hospital ultrasound in 2017. The day before, she’d felt some erratic movements. She’d taken that as a sign of healthy babies, but she now knows otherwise. (Vespa, 5/22)

Tampa Bay Times: Procreation Vacation: Why The Global IVF Market Is Booming
Khendra Riley was 39. She had just broken up with her fiance. Her ovaries, doctors said, may not be releasing eggs regularly. She’d wanted a baby since she turned 30. It seemed impossible. In vitro fertilization seemed the only option left, but the St. Petersburg flight attendant’s health insurance didn’t cover it. The near $30,000 quotes she got from two Tampa Bay clinics were out of reach. (O'Donnell, 5/22)

NPR: Uterine Fibroids: Benign, Common And Sometimes Debilitating
When Tanika Gray Valbrun was 13 years old, she got her first period at a family function. It was apparent because she was wearing white shorts and because her flow was heavy. That heaviness persisted each time she got her period, along with intense pain.It wasn't until her mid-twenties that Tanika would find out these debilitating periods — and ongoing fertility struggles — were caused by fibroids, benign uterine tumors. But just because they aren't cancerous doesn't mean they can't cause problems. (McCoy, Kwong and Ramirez, 5/22)

Bloomberg: Mapping The Human Ovary, Cell By Cell
Since 2016, a global consortium of researchers have been mapping the cells of the human body. Known as the Human Cell Atlas, the objective is to understand and improve health outcomes, particularly those related to the origins of disease. A recent contribution to the project advances that goal with respect to the ovary. In a paper published in Science Advances in April, a group of University of Michigan scientists describe how they mapped the human ovary at the resolution of a single cell. (Bliss, 5/22)

Reuters: Cancer Victims Sue J&J Over 'Fraudulent' Bankruptcies 
A group of cancer victims sued Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday, accusing the healthcare company of committing fraud through repeated and continued efforts to use a shell company's bankruptcy to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc products contained asbestos and caused cancer. (Knauth, 5/22)

Axios: Safety Risk Cited For Novo Nordisk's Long-Acting Insulin
A long-acting insulin from Novo Nordisk was shown to have a greater risk of excessively lowering patients' blood sugar without offering better management of sugar levels or other benefits, Food and Drug Administration staff found. (Bettelheim, 5/23)

Stat: For Longer-Lasting Obesity Drugs, Biotechs Turn To Gene Silencing 
Enticed by the immense market opened by GLP-1 weight loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, a handful of biotech companies are trying to develop next-generation, longer-lasting therapies based on a very different approach: RNA interference. (DeAngelis and Chen, 5/23)

Axios: Ozempic Among Weight-Loss Drugs Boosting Pharma's U.S. Reputation
The blockbuster success of new anti-obesity drugs helped boost the corporate reputations of pharmaceutical brands, according to new rankings from the annual Axios/Harris Poll 100. For now, drugmakers are largely getting a pass from the public on the high prices of these transformational treatments, even as inflation-weary consumers have soured on other industries over price hikes. (Reed, 5/23)

Stat: FDA Poised To Publish Guidelines For Clinical Trial Diversity
The Food and Drug Administration is poised to tell drug and medical device makers how to better include people of color in the clinical trials that test whether products work and are safe, an agency official said Wednesday. Those guidelines are five months late. (Wilkerson, 5/22)

The New York Times: Despite Setback, Neuralink’s First Brain-Implant Patient Stays Upbeat
Just four months ago, Noland Arbaugh had a circle of bone removed from his skull and hair-thin sensor tentacles slipped into his brain. A computer about the size of a small stack of quarters was placed on top and the hole was sealed. Paralyzed below the neck, Mr. Arbaugh is the first patient to take part in the clinical trial of humans testing Elon Musk’s Neuralink device, and his early progress was greeted with excitement. (Jewett, 5/22)

Bloomberg: Miami Faces Surge In Dengue Fever That’s Roiling Latin America
Miami’s role as the gateway to Latin America has also made it the US epicenter of dengue fever. Cases of the mosquito-borne illness in Florida have more than doubled this year compared with the same period in 2023, as unsuspecting travelers have carried the virus back from the Caribbean and Southern Hemisphere. Now, authorities are working to keep the disease from infecting the local mosquito population before this summer’s heavy rains turbocharge the risks. (Wyss, 5/22)

Houston Chronicle: Mosquito Sample Collected In Houston Tests Positive For West Nile
A mosquito sample collected by Harris County Public Health has tested positive for the West Nile virus, according to a social media post by the department. The sample was collected within Houston ZIP code 77019, which includes the River Oaks and downtown area. As a proactive measure, the department will be treating, in the evening, the areas where the positive sample was found and the surrounding area. (Garcia, 5/22)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Seeing More Kinds Of Ticks, Longer Season, Experts Say
As tick season approaches, experts warn that Illinois residents should be even more wary as the type of ticks in the state increases and the season lengthens. Researchers discovered the Asian longhorned tick — an invasive species native to Japan, Korea and parts of China and Russia — in Illinois in April. First reported in the United States in 2017, the tick has since spread to 20 states. (Kalra, 5/22)

CBS News: New Statistics Show Heightened Mortality Rate From Fine Particulate Pollution Across Allegheny County, Mon Valley
New air pollution and early death statistics in Allegheny County have been unveiled through a new study. The study finds that county residents have a higher mortality rate from fine particulate pollution than other parts of the country, particularly in the poorer towns of the Mon Valley and parts of the city.Clean air advocates are calling for change. (Sheehan, 5/22)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: They’re Getting Sick Because Of The Cross-Border Sewage Crisis. This Committee Aims To Prove It
Cassandra Sutcliffe has been using her inhaler more often to treat her chronic bronchitis. She lives on an oceanfront property in Imperial Beach, one of the southernmost communities impacted by sewage and toxic chemicals that spill over the U.S.-Mexico border. “The smell makes your eyes water and your throat close up,” said Sutcliffe, one of many residents who have reported having similar symptoms and who say they find relief when they leave town. (Murga, 5/22)

Also —

NPR: Lead Poisoning, Long Neglected, Is Emerging As A Priority On The Global Scene
In a world full of threats to children — from war to disease to starvation — there's a neglected crisis that's just now getting a jolt of attention. It's lead poisoning, which affects both adults and children and can be especially devastating for the cognitive development of youngsters. (Kritz, 5/23)

WLRN Public Media: Do Local Environmental Factors Contribute To Dementia? FAU Researchers Want To Know 
The phenomenon that locals refer to as “black snow” – intermittent sugar cane burning that starts each October and ends as late as May – might not only be a problem for South Florida's air quality, but also could have an impact on residents’ brain health. (Bergmann, 5/22)

The Boston Globe: When Temperatures Spike, The Risk Of Dying From Stroke Does Too
As Massachusetts sweats through the first day this year at or near 90 degrees, a newly released study finds that the risk of dying from stroke increases when temperatures are extreme. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Stroke, found that on both ends of the spectrum — heat and cold — roughly 11 out of every 1,000 stroke deaths are caused by extreme temperatures. (Shankman, 5/22)

NPR: ADHD Cases Are Up. 7 Million U.S. Kids Have Gotten A Diagnosis, Study Finds
About 1 in 9 children in the U.S., between the ages of 3 and 17, have been diagnosed with ADHD. That's according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that calls attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder an "expanding public health concern." Researchers found that in 2022, 7.1 million kids and adolescents in the U.S. had received an ADHD diagnosis – a million more children than in 2016. (Godoy, 5/23)

CBS News: Starting ADHD Meds In Adulthood May Increase Risk Of Heart Disease, Study Says
A new study finds adults who start taking ADHD medications may be at higher risk of heart disease and stroke. It's estimated that up to 5% of U.S. adults have the condition, but a new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that those taking medication for the first time may have an elevated heart risk. (Marshall, 5/22)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Healthy Diets With Only 10% Ultraprocessed Foods May Raise Risk Of Cognitive Decline, Stroke
Eating more ultraprocessed foods is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and stroke, even if a person is trying to adhere to a Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet or the MIND diet, a new study found. All three diets are plant-based, focused on consuming more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds while limiting sugar, red meat and ultraprocessed foods. (LaMotte, 5/22)

CBS News: Research Finds Fish Oil Supplements May Not Be Beneficial For Healthy Adults
If you're a healthy adult, you may want to avoid fish oil supplements. Many people take fish oil supplements because they contain omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce inflammation and provide some heart-health benefits. But researchers found that taking these supplements regularly might actually increase the risk of stroke and heart disease in healthy adults. (Marshall, 5/22)

Fox News: Half Of Americans Not Equipped To Provide ‘Life-Saving Treatment’ In A Crisis
Only half the people in the U.S. feel they could be helpful in an emergency situation, a new poll found. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center surveyed a national sample of 1,005 Americans, finding that only 51% of them knew how to perform hands-only CPR if needed. In cases of serious bleeding, only 49% said they could assist, and 56% said they would be equipped to help someone who was choking. (Rudy, 5/22)

Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Department Of Corrections Severs Ties With Embattled Prison Medical Company
After working with the same prison medical company for 18 years, the Wyoming Department of Corrections is on the cusp of entering into a new partnership designed to serve the needs of inmates across the Cowboy State. (Dudley, 5/22)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Sununu, Hospitals Fight Over Proposed Changes To State Medicaid Payments
Gov. Chris Sununu is at odds with the state’s hospitals over proposed changes to a key source of funding for Medicaid. The governor says his proposal would bring more federal dollars into the state to support Medicaid. It would also set aside more funding for certain community-based health services – including mental health, which Sununu has accused the hospitals of not doing enough on. (Cuno-Booth, 5/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Uvalde Families Sue State Police, School District For Response To School Shooting 
Families of children killed in the mass shooting at an elementary school here two years ago and survivors filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 91 state police officers and the local school district, calling their response the “single greatest failure of law enforcement to confront an active shooter in American history.” Even in an era of frequent mass shootings, the Uvalde attack and failures of responding law enforcement to stop the killing shocked the nation. A gunman killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers while nearly 400 officers from some two dozen state and federal agencies waited to intervene for more than an hour, even as children repeatedly called 911 from inside the classroom. (Findell, 5/22)

Houston Chronicle: Harris County Pauses Program Diverting 911 Calls To Crisis Team
The future is uncertain for a Harris County initiative that sends social workers – rather than law enforcement officers – to respond to non-violent 911 calls, after members of Commissioners Court clashed Wednesday over whether to continue making payments to the contractor running the program. Following a lengthy and divisive debate, the court narrowly voted to withhold a $270,000 payment for work completed in February and March of this year. (Rice, 5/22)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Drones Could Move Blood Samples Across Missouri
A St. Louis-based organ transplant agency is exploring unmanned drones as a faster, cheaper method of moving blood samples and medical supplies across the Midwest. Leaders at Mid-America Transplant, the region’s coordinator for organ and tissue donations, said their first goal is to create a system to transport blood samples from potential organ donors to confirm eligibility, via drone. But they also want to eventually use the devices to move medications and supplies to and from rural areas. (Merrilees, 5/22)

ABC News: Doctors, Beauty Queen In DC To Advocate For CPR Training And AEDs In Schools
Chloe Burke, a 25-year-old upcoming Miss Texas contestant, will be in Washington D.C. Thursday to lobby for the HEARTS Act and Access to AEDs Act. Access to AEDs (or Automated External Defibrillators) is a deeply personal issue to Burke, who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2019 at University of Houston while she was cheerleading at a football game. She remembers completing her stunt, and then collapsing on the ground. (Parekh, 5/23)

ScienceDaily: Ancient Viral DNA In The Human Genome Linked To Major Psychiatric Disorders 
New research has found that thousands of DNA sequences originating from ancient viral infections are expressed in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. (King's College London, 5/22)

CIDRAP: Study: Kids With Long COVID Have Impaired Exercise Capacity
Researchers conducting a small study in Rome discover that, compared with healthy controls, children with long COVID (LC) have objective impaired functional capacity as expressed by a low VO2 peak (oxygen uptake at peak of exercise) during exertion testing. Kids with LC also showed signs of deconditioning, and cardiogenic inefficiency. The study is published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. (Soucheray, 5/17)

CIDRAP: WHO Updates Bacterial Priority Pathogens List
The World Health Organization (WHO) today updated its list of the bacterial pathogens it considers the biggest threat to human health. The updates are the first since the WHO released its initial Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL) in 2017. The list aims to provide guidance for prioritizing research and development (R&D) and investments in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and has been used by WHO officials to assess the antibiotic pipeline and to guide AMR surveillance efforts and infection prevention and control strategies around the world.  (Dall, 5/17)

CIDRAP: Repeated Flu Vaccination In Older People Not Linked To Lower Protection 
A new study published in Vaccine reveals that repeated flu vaccination does not appear to significantly weaken the protective effect of annual vaccines in older recipients. (Soucheray, 5/20)

Scientific American: Innovative Thinking Could Make New Sickle Cell Treatments More Accessible 
Last fall, to great fanfare, US regulators approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease, and the European Union and UK soon followed. Many people hope that these treatments will provide a “functional cure” for the genetic condition, which causes rigid, misshapen red blood cells that lead to anemia, episodes of extreme pain, blood vessel and organ damage, stroke risk and lower life expectancy. (Shobita Parthasarathy, 5/22)

Stat: Addressing Health Care Workers' Trauma Can Help Fight Burnout 
Burnout is a growing crisis in health care: More than 50% of health care professionals report symptoms of it. Addressing the trauma they face at work can help. (Sadie Elisseou, 5/23)

Scientific American: We Don’t Need To Choose Between Brain Injury And ‘Mass Hysteria’ To Explain Havana Syndrome
They didn’t have brain injury. So concluded the recent National Institutes of Health clinical and brain imaging studies of about 80 individuals reporting “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs)—a variety of unexplained symptoms experienced by U.S. officials in the diplomatic and intelligence services that have created alarm and puzzlement since they were first reported in Havana in late 2016. (Jon Stone and Kenneth R. Foster, 5/22)

Los Angeles Times: Why Most Older Americans Who Need Hearing Aids Don't Use Them 
Nearly two-thirds of Americans over age 70 have some degree of hearing loss, and over half of those 75 and older experience impairment serious enough to be considered disabling. But most don’t wear hearing aids. (Mary C. White, 5/23)

Newsweek: Drugs Are Making Our Nation's Mental Health Crisis Worse 
The relationship between drug use and mental health issues moves in both directions. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse points out, "many individuals who develop substance use disorders (SUD) are also diagnosed with mental disorders, and vice versa." Those with mental health issues are more likely to use drugs, perhaps to cope or self-medicate. And those who use drugs are more likely to develop mental health issues, given the inherent risks of many illicit drugs. (Kevin Sabet, 5/22)