Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Achoo! Flu Cases Spiking In More States
Minnesota Public Radio: As Flu Cases Surge In Minnesota, Vaccinations Stall
Minnesota and neighboring states are seeing an increase in the number of flu cases. It'll likely be several more weeks before flu season peaks in Minnesota. There's still time to get a flu shot, but federal data show that most people haven't bothered. (Benson, 1/6)
NH Times Union: Widespread In NH, Flu Hits 2 VA Units
The Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center restricted visits to its elderly and palliative care units on Thursday, with state officials describing flu as widespread in New Hampshire. The VA said that two residents of its 31-patient Community Living Center displayed flu-like symptoms and later tested positive for Influenza A. Outpatient services at the VA Medical Center in Manchester have not been affected, officials said. Meanwhile, state epidemiologist Benjamin Chan has determined that influenza activity was widespread in the state for the 51st and 52nd weeks of the year, according to a weekly influenza surveillance report. (Hayward, 1/6)
The Wall Street Journal: In The Fight Against Zika, Insecticides Hit A ‘Dead End’
Health workers have a thinning arsenal of insecticides capable of killing mosquitoes that carry Zika and similar viruses as the Southern Hemisphere’s summer begins and as outbreaks persist in other areas. One reason: Eliminating disease-carrying mosquitoes is a niche business with costly barriers to entry. “We may be hitting a dead end,” said Doug Carlson, director of the Indian River Mosquito Control District in Vero Beach, Fla. “In the not-too-distant future, we may very well not have chemicals that are effective.” (Bunge and McKay, 1/5)
The Washington Post: Ebola Virus Found Hiding In Lungs Of Health-Care Worker
Ebola has proven itself a tricky foe to get rid of in the human body. In numerous cases in which it was thought to be gone and patients fully recovered, the virus has been found in the eyes, semen, amniotic fluid, placenta, breast milk and central nervous system. Now a paper published in the journal PLOS Pathogens describes another possible hiding place for the virus: the lungs. (Cha, 1/5)
