Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As We Near An Era Where Antibiotics Will No Longer Be Effective Against Superbugs, Scientists Turn To Sewage
NPR: Assaying Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In Raw Sewage Pinpoints Hot Spots
Humanity is rapidly approaching a post-antibiotic era. Overuse of these miracle drugs has contributed to the emergence of many bacterial strains that are resistant to once-effective treatments. Our interconnected world and bacteria's ability to quickly swap genes that confer resistance with distant relatives make mapping hotbeds of resistance especially important. Where should we look? (Lambert, 3/27)
The New York Times: Flu Tied To Heart Failure Worsening
When the number of reported flu cases goes up, so does the number of hospitalizations for heart failure. A study in JAMA Cardiology used data on 451,588 people, ages 35 to 84, in four geographic areas over four flu seasons, from 2010 to 2014. The researchers randomly sampled 2,042 hospitalizations for heart failure and 1,599 for heart attack. To track flu activity, they used surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Bakalar, 3/27)
The New York Times: Can What We Eat Affect How We Feel?
The patient, a 48-year-old real estate professional in treatment for anxiety and mild depression, revealed that he had eaten three dozen oysters over the weekend. His psychiatrist, Dr. Drew Ramsey, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, was impressed: “You’re the only person I’ve prescribed them to who came back and said he ate 36!” (Schiffman, 3/28)
The New York Times: Air Pollution Tied To Mental Health Issues In Teenagers
Urban air pollution is associated with an increased risk for psychotic experiences in teenagers, researchers report. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry included 2,063 British teenagers whose health had been followed from birth through age 18. Almost a third of them said they had at least one psychotic experience, ranging from a mild feeling of paranoia to a severe psychotic symptom, since age 12. (Bakalar, 3/27)
WBUR: Is It Time To Rethink The Fly-In Medical Mission?
But today there's some real soul-searching going on about this kind of fly-in. At conferences and in academic papers, health professionals are asking: Is this really the most effective way to provide health care to the developing world? (Silberner, 3/27)
The New York Times: ‘Swat The Kaiser’, Stork Stands And Grenade Throws: The History Of Army Physical Fitness
Few tasks in American soldiers’ lives are judged as deeply as their performance on the Army’s required semiannual physical-fitness test: Push-ups, situps and a timed two-mile run are used to gauge physical readiness and also, supposedly, readiness for combat. But that long-predictable standard will soon change — radically. By October 2020, all soldiers will instead take the new Army combat-fitness test — a six-event exam that includes heavy deadlifting, a backward medicine-ball toss and dragging a 90-pound sled. (Lowe, 3/28)
Kaiser Health News: More Older Adults With Joint Replacements Recover At Home, Not Rehab
Older adults and their families often wonder: Where’s the best place to recover after a hip or knee replacement — at home or in a rehabilitation facility? Increasingly, the answer appears to be home if the procedure is elective, friends and family are available to help and someone doesn’t have serious conditions that could lead to complications. This trend is likely to accelerate as evidence mounts that recuperating at home is a safe alternative and as hospitals alter medical practices in response to changing Medicare policies. (Graham, 3/28)
The Associated Press: Study: Many In Ebola Outbreak Don't Believe Virus Is Real
One out of four people interviewed in eastern Congo last year believed Ebola wasn't real, according to a new study, underscoring the enormous challenges health care workers are facing in what has become the second-deadliest outbreak in history. The survey released late Wednesday found that a deep mistrust of the Ebola response resulted in those people being 15 times less likely to seek medical treatment at an Ebola health center, according to the study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. (3/27)
