Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congo Ebola Outbreak Fuels Worry Over More Virulent Strain
Bloomberg: DRC Congo Ebola Fatalities In Congo Raise Concern Of More Virulent Strain
The strain of Ebola virus that killed all three people known to have caught it in the Democratic Republic of Congo since April may be more virulent, according to a nonprofit group that runs three treatment centers there. An acute loss of blood was the first symptom observed in all three patients reported in Congo’s remote northwestern province of Equateur, said Baweye Mayoum Barka, the incoming head of mission in the country for the Alliance for International Medical Actions. That’s unlike cases seen during the previous two outbreaks there in which most began with fever or fatigue and only about 15% of patients hemorrhaged, he said. (Sguazzin and Kew, 5/19)
In news from Spain and the U.K. —
The Washington Post: Spain Plans For Paid ‘Period Leave’ For Women Workers, Wider Abortion Access
Spain’s left-wing coalition government this week approved a draft proposal with a broad range of reproductive rights provisions, including one that would make Spain the first European country to grant workers paid “menstrual leave.” Under the plan, the government would foot the bill for women to take days off work if they are diagnosed by a doctor with severe menstrual pain. More than half of women who menstruate experience some pain for one to two days each month, with some feeling pain so acute that it keeps them from doing normal tasks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (Westfall, 5/18)
Press Association: Bulimia Anorexia Hospital Admissions Almost Double In England In 5 Years
Hospital admissions for people with eating disorders have risen 84% in the last five years, with boys and young men increasingly affected, a new analysis has found. There were 11,049 more admissions for illnesses such as bulimia and anorexia in 2020/21 than in 2015/16, reaching 24,268 admissions across England. Admissions in children and young people rose from 3,541 to 6,713, with a 35% increase in the last year alone as the Covid pandemic hit, according to the analysis by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. (Kirby, 5/19)
Bloomberg: NHS Patients Left With Drill Bits, Scalpels Other Objects Inside: Analysis
There have been nearly 100 cases of a foreign object - including drill bits - left inside NHS patients by mistake, according to a new analysis. Some 407 "Never Events" - things so serious they should never happen - were recorded in the NHS in England from April 2021 until March 2022, figures examined by the PA news agency show. This is the equivalent of nearly eight every week and is an increase from the same period the year before, which had 364 in total. (Bradley, 5/19)
