Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Crowded Hospitals Could Also Be Hot Spots For Superbug
Live Science: Superbug May Be Spreading In Hospitals Overrun With COVID-19
As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to surge around the world, another dangerous infection may also be sickening patients: a drug-resistant superbug called Candida auris, National Geographic reported. The superbug is a yeast that can infect the ears and open wounds, and it can also enter the bloodstream to trigger severe infection throughout the body, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The yeast clings to surfaces and spreads easily in health care settings, especially among patients with catheters or other tubes that enter their bodies. (Lanese, 10/24)
The New York Times: Why False Positives Merit Concern, Too
In the high-stakes world of coronavirus testing, one mistake has taken center stage: the dreaded false negative, wherein a test mistakenly deems an infected person to be virus-free. These troublesome results, experts have said, can deprive a person of treatment and embolden them to mingle with others, hastening the spread of disease. (Wu, 10/25)
In other science and research news —
The Washington Post: Tuberculosis Is A Major Worldwide Threat And The Pandemic Could Make It Worse, WHO Says
In 2019 alone, an estimated 10 million people worldwide got tuberculosis, a deadly bacterial disease that usually affects the lungs. An estimated quarter of the world’s population has a TB infection. Most aren’t actively sick — yet. People with TB have about a 5 to 15 percent risk of getting ill. Still, the highly contagious disease was one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide last year and is the leading infectious killer worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ public health agency. (Blakemore, 10/24)
The Washington Post: ‘This Is Not A Miss America Contest’: Sexism In Science, Research Is Challenged
In any other year, Londyn Robinson would have interviewed for her medical residency in person. Instead, an Internet search for tips on how to put her best foot forward online resulted in posting a photo of herself in a bikini top and shorts and setting off an uproar over sexism in science. With the high-pressure interviews online because of the coronavirus, Robinson, a 26-year-old medical student at the University of Minnesota, went looking for tips on social media etiquette for medical students as part of her preparation. (Blakemore, 10/24)
In obituaries —
The Washington Post: J. Michael Lane, Epidemiologist Who Helped Conquer Smallpox, Dies At 84
J. Michael Lane, an epidemiologist who helped see to its end the global campaign to eradicate smallpox, a disease that killed hundreds of millions of people over centuries before it was vanquished in one of the most celebrated feats in the history of medicine, died Oct. 21 at his home in Atlanta. He was 84.The cause was colon cancer, said his wife, Lila Summer Lane. Dr. Lane, the last director of the smallpox eradication bureau at what is now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, was one of the “disease detectives” who stalked the smallpox virus around the globe until the last naturally occurring case was identified in Somalia in 1977.(Langer, 10/23)
