Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Releases New Guidance For Physicians On PFAS Testing
San Francisco Chronicle: CDC Offers Doctors Guidance On Testing For PFAS, ‘Forever Chemicals’
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new guidance for doctors on how to manage and test patients who may have been exposed to “forever chemicals” — potentially harmful substances found in drinking water, food wrappers, cookware and assorted everyday items that have been linked to high cholesterol, organ damage and other health problems. The new guidance, issued Jan. 18 by the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, marks an expansion of the agency’s previous thinking on how health care providers should address patients’ concerns about exposure to ... PFAS. (Ho, 2/1)
NPR: The EPA Is Proposing That 'Forever Chemicals' Be Considered Hazardous Substances
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that nine PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," be categorized as hazardous to human health. The EPA signed a proposal Wednesday that would deem the chemicals "hazardous constituents" under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. For the agency to consider a substance a hazardous constituent, it has to be toxic or cause cancer, genetic mutation or the malformations of an embryo. (Archie, 2/2)
San Francisco Chronicle: How Climate Change Will Affect The Health Of Californians
California has taken steps to address climate change and cut greenhouse gas emissions. ... The policies are intended to reduce the state’s air pollution, which consistently ranks among the worst in the nation — especially in the San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles basin — and contributes to the premature deaths of thousands of Californians annually. Regulators estimate California’s climate policies could reduce the cost of hospitalizations, asthma cases, and lost work and school days by $199 billion in 2045 alone. (Young, 2/1)
The Atlantic: Deer Are Beta-Testing A Nightmare Disease
Scott Napper, a biochemist and vaccinologist at the University of Saskatchewan, can easily envision humanity’s ultimate doomsday disease. ... “Imagine if consuming a plant could cause a fatal, untreatable neurodegenerative disorder,” Napper told me. “Any food grown within North America would be potentially deadly to humans.” This nightmare illness doesn’t yet exist. But for inspiration, Napper needs to look only at the very real contagion in his own lab: chronic wasting disease (CWD), a highly lethal, highly contagious neurodegenerative disease that is devastating North America’s deer, elk, and other cervids. (Wu, 2/1)
KFF Health News: Possibility Of Wildlife-To-Human Crossover Heightens Concern About Chronic Wasting Disease
Each fall, millions of hunters across North America make their way into forests and grasslands to kill deer. Over the winter, people chow down on the venison steaks, sausage, and burgers made from the animals. These hunters, however, are not just on the front lines of an American tradition. Infectious disease researchers say they are also on the front lines of what could be a serious threat to public health: chronic wasting disease. (Robbins, 2/2)
