Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctors Warn Climate Change Is Fueling Infectious Diseases
CIDRAP: Climate Change Unleashing Torrent Of Infectious Disease Threats, Physicians Caution
The shorter and milder winters, warming oceans, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather of climate change are fueling the spread of infectious diseases, experts warn today in JAMA. Infectious-disease physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of California Davis (UCD) noted that the past decade saw 9 of the 10 warmest years on record, along with severe heat, droughts, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. (Van Beusekom, 3/20)
On shigella, measles, hepatitis, syphilis, and yellow fever —
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Shigella Cases Continue To Grow In Santa Cruz County
Numbers are continuing to climb when it comes to a bacterial outbreak that Santa Cruz County public health officials have been battling for weeks. As of Monday, there were 37 confirmed cases of shigellosis in the county, primarily in the North County region among individuals experiencing homelessness, county Health Officer Lisa Hernandez told the Sentinel. That is an increase of 10 overall cases since late February. (Hattis, 3/20)
The New York Times: Following Measles Outbreaks, Officials Grow Wary Of Renewed Threat
Because widespread measles outbreaks have been rare, most Americans, including doctors, may not recognize the vibrant red rash that accompanies respiratory symptoms in a measles infection. They may have forgotten the impact of the disease on individuals and communities. “Most of our local health department folks have never seen a measles outbreak,” said Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist of Idaho, which contained a small cluster of cases last year. (Mandavilli, 3/20)
CIDRAP: CDC Details 2021-2023 Hepatitis Deaths Of 8 US Children, With Possible Link To Adenovirus
Yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers described the cases of eight US children who died of acute hepatitis of unknown cause—half of whom tested positive for adenovirus—from October 2021 to June 2023. (Van Beusekom, 3/20)
KFF Health News: Rapid Rise In Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest
From her base in Gallup, New Mexico, Melissa Wyaco supervises about two dozen public health nurses who crisscross the sprawling Navajo Nation searching for patients who have tested positive for or been exposed to a disease once nearly eradicated in the U.S.: syphilis. Infection rates in this region of the Southwest — the 27,000-square-mile reservation encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah — are among the nation’s highest. (Nowell, 3/21)
CIDRAP: WHO Warns Of Yellow Fever Spread In 13 African Nations
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today in an outbreak notice that 13 countries in Africa have reported confirmed or probable yellow fever cases since the start of 2023. It urged countries to increase surveillance because of the potential for onward transmission through travel and the presence of mosquitoes in neighboring countries that are capable of spreading the disease. (Schnirring, 3/20)
