3 New West Nile Cases In Mass.; Another Tick-Borne Illness On The Rise

The Boston Globe: State Reports Three New Human Cases Of West Nile Virus In Mass.
Health officials on Tuesday announced three new human cases of West Nile virus detected in the state, raising the total to 10 for the year. The state Department of Public Health said all three cases were detected in people who are in their 60s. One is a woman who was exposed in Bristol County, another is a man who was exposed in Suffolk County, and the third is a man who was exposed in Barnstable County, the department said. Six human cases of the virus were reported in the state last year, health officials said. (Stoico, 9/10)

The Washington Post: Babesiosis, Another Disease Spread By Ticks, Is On The Rise
If you spot a blacklegged tick crawling up your leg — or worse, attached to your skin — you might be worried about getting Lyme disease. That’s reasonable because Lyme is the most commonly reported illness spread by ticks. But it is far from the only one: The blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme can spread at least six different illnesses. The tick-borne illness babesiosis is one of the next most common after Lyme. And it is on the rise, especially in the Northeast, according to a 2023 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Loria, 9/9)

The Atlantic: Bird Flu Is Quietly Getting Scarier
Up until last Friday afternoon, a total of 13 people in the United States had officially come down this year with avian influenza H5, also known as bird flu. A subtype of that virus, a potential pandemic pathogen called H5N1, has for months been circulating in our dairy herds, and has already killed tens of millions of birds here. The 13 human cases through last Friday were generally mild, and more important, they were all clearly linked to sickened cows or poultry. (Tayag, 9/10)

The New York Times: ‘Imminent Threat’ Found At Boar’s Head Plant 2 Years Before Listeria Outbreak 
Two years before a deadly listeria outbreak, U.S. inspectors warned that conditions at a Boar’s Head plant posed an “imminent threat” to public health, citing extensive rust, deli meats exposed to wet ceilings, green mold and holes in the walls. But the U.S. Agriculture Department did not impose strict measures on the plant, in Jarratt, Va., which could have ranged from a warning letter to a suspension of operations. (Jewett and Rosenbluth, 9/10)

The New York Times: Cholera Deaths Soar Worldwide Despite Being Easily Preventable
The cholera outbreaks spreading across the globe are becoming more deadly. Deaths from the diarrheal disease soared last year, far outpacing the increase in cases, according to a new analysis by the World Health Organization. Cholera is easy to prevent and costs just pennies to treat, but huge outbreaks have swamped even well-prepared health systems in countries that had not confronted the disease in years. The number of cholera deaths reported globally last year increased by 71 percent from deaths in 2022, while the number of reported cases rose 13 percent. Much of the increase was driven by conflict and climate change, the W.H.O. report said. (Nolen, 9/11)

On the gun violence epidemic —

KFF Health News: Fearing The Worst, Schools Deploy Armed Police To Thwart Gun Violence
A false alarm that a gunman was roaming one Catholic high school and then another in March 2023 touched off frightening evacuations and a robust police response in the city. It also prompted the diocese to rethink what constitutes a model learning environment. Months after hundreds of students were met by SWAT teams, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh began forming its own armed police force. (Spolar, 9/11)