Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC To Start Tracking Cronobacter In Wake Of Contaminated Baby Formula
The Washington Post: States And CDC To Track Cronobacter Cases Like Other Infectious Diseases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will start collecting data from state and local health departments about infections caused by cronobacter, the pathogen at the center of last year’s infant formula crisis. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, which makes recommendations to the CDC about illnesses it should track, made the recommendation at a conference Thursday. The CDC has said it will adopt the recommendation starting next year. CSTE members worked closely with CDC experts and representatives of the Food and Drug Administration and the Association of Public Health Laboratories to come to this decision. (Reiley, 6/29)
Also —
Medical Xpress: Researchers Find Unsafe Feeding Methods Spiked During Infant Formula Shortage
Nearly half of parents who relied on formula to feed their babies during the infant formula shortage last year resorted to potentially harmful feeding methods, according to a survey from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study was published in the journal BMC Pediatrics. In an online anonymous survey of U.S. parents, the number of individuals that used at least one unsafe feeding practice increased from 8% before the formula shortage to nearly 50% during the shortage. Unsafe practices included watering down formula, using expired or homemade formula, or using human milk from informal sharing. (Quinton, 6/27)
In news about pregnancy —
KFF Health News: A New Law Is Supposed To Protect Pregnant Workers — But What If We Don’t Know How?
Vanessa Langness had always been a bit worried about the chemicals she worked with as a biomedical researcher, but when she got pregnant in October, her concerns grew. The 34-year-old based in Santa Maria, California, suspected the ethidium bromide she was using in the lab for molecular cloning could put her and her baby at risk. She wasn’t sure what to do; she was only a few weeks into her pregnancy and didn’t know how it would affect her career. (Jimenez, 6/30)
Military.com: An Army Couple Had Their Daughter At A Military Hospital. Then The Collections Calls Started For $600,000
Army Spc. Daysha Cartagena and her husband, Staff Sgt. Isaiah Cortez, were looking forward to the birth of their daughter in October 2021. The pregnancy hadn't been easy; Cartagena's legs and ankles were swollen, and her blood pressure had been erratic. When she began feeling contractions, Cartagena went to Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, where she was examined and sent home, told she wasn't ready yet to have her baby. She repeated the process two more times before finally returning to Womack, her contractions coming in painful waves seconds apart, the baby's heartbeat plummeting with each squeeze. Again, she was told she wasn't dilated enough to give birth, but by then, she was leaking brown, bloody fluid, and she was allowed to stay at the hospital. (Kime, 6/29)
