Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
8 Deaths During Hurricane Laura Caused By Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Officials Say
NPR: Majority Of Hurricane Laura Deaths Linked To Improper Use Of Portable Generators
More deaths associated with Hurricane Laura were caused by the improper use of portable generators than the storm itself. And officials warn that the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning persists, as thousands of households in Louisiana remain without power. Eight of the 15 hurricane-related deaths confirmed by the Louisiana Department of Health are attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators, which can provide life-saving power in emergency situations but also pose a deadly threat if used incorrectly. (Treisman, 9/1)
In other public health news —
ABC News: Deadly Opioid 'ISO' Implicated In At Least 19 Overdoses In US After China Bans Fentanyl
A deadly and potent opioid, nicknamed "ISO," first hit the illicit drug market in the United States last year, and since August 2019 has taken the lives of at least 19 Americans, alarming addiction experts and prompting the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to take action. Most of the deaths occurred in the Midwest, but ISO has also appeared in Canada and Europe. (Kagan, 9/1)
CIDRAP: Study Finds No Link Between Maternal Flu Vaccination And Autism
In the latest in a body of literature showing flu vaccines not tied to autism, a study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine found no link between maternal H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy—including in the third trimester—and the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The study was conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where researchers looked at 39,726 infants with prenatal exposure to the vaccine (13,845 during the first trimester), and 29,293 unexposed infants born in 2009 and 2010. During a follow-up of more than 6 years, the researchers found that 394 (1.0%) vaccine-exposed and 330 (1.1%) vaccine-unexposed children had a diagnosis of ASD. (9/1)
AP: Study: Cancer Cases Likely In Those Exposed To Atomic Test
After years of study, the National Cancer Institute said Tuesday that some people probably got cancer from the radioactive fallout that wafted across New Mexico after the U.S. government detonated the first atomic bomb in 1945. However, the exact number is unknown. The institute disclosed its conclusions in a series of scientific papers on radiation doses and cancer risks resulting from the Trinity Test, which marked a key point in the once-secret Manhattan Project. The findings were published in the journal Health Physics. (Montoya Bryan, 9/2)
Stat: Scientists Find A Metabolite Leads To Healthier Aging In Middle-Aged Mice
The field of aging research is increasingly asking not just how people can live longer, but also how they can age healthier. The latest example, a new study on middle-aged mice, found that mice given a metabolite naturally found in the body were not only healthier as they grew older, but also were sick for a far shorter time before they died than mice in a control group. The research, led by scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, was published Tuesday in Cell Metabolism. (Gopalakrishna, 9/1)
CNN: Colon Cancer Survivor Says It's Time To Take The Disease Seriously
In a year that has already brought so much tragedy and loss, Chadwick Boseman's death at age 43 seems unthinkably cruel and unfair. How could such a vibrant performer, such a vocal and visible Black role model, have been suffering through late-stage colon cancer? (Stewart, 9/2)
USA Today: What Is Lewy Body Dementia, The Disease Robin Williams' Widow Called 'The Terrorist' Inside His Brain?
Susan Schneider Williams, the widow of late comic and actor Robin Williams, once called Lewy body dementia "the terrorist inside my husband's brain." While it afflicts more than one million Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it is regularly overshadowed by Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's, often leading to misdiagnoses in patients with Lewy body dementia. (Bote and Deerwester, 9/1)
