Forget Alcohol, Tobacco: Dirty Air Is Now Biggest External Health Threat

CBS News: Dirty Air Is Biggest External Threat To Human Health, Worse Than Tobacco Or Alcohol, Major Study Finds
Air pollution is more dangerous to the health of the average person on planet Earth than smoking or alcohol, with the threat worsening in its global epicenter South Asia even as China quickly improves, a benchmark study showed Tuesday. Yet the level of funding set aside to confront the challenge is a fraction of the amount earmarked for fighting infectious diseases, said the research from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, known as EPIC. (8/29)

Fox News: Massachusetts Sees First Two Cases Of Deadly West Nile Virus
Two Massachusetts residents have contracted the mosquito-born West Nile virus in the state's first human cases of the year. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced Tuesday, August 29 that one woman in her 70s was exposed to the virus in another area of the country and a man in his 40s was exposed in Middlesex County in Massachusetts. (Rumpf-Whitten, 8/29)

AP: Five People Hospitalized In E. Coli Outbreak At The University Of Arkansas
Health officials are investigating an outbreak of E. coli food poisoning among students at the University of Arkansas, with dozens reporting symptoms and five people needing treatment in the hospital. Among those affected are two 19-year-old sorority members who developed a serious complication that can lead to kidney failure after being infected with the E. coli strain O157:H7. That’s according to Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who said he reviewed the patients’ medical records after being contacted by the families. (Aleccia, 8/29)

CIDRAP: CDC Issues Malaria Alert After Marylander Infected With Plasmodium Falciparum 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday issued its second malaria alert of the season, which includes new information about locally acquired infections, including one in Maryland that was caused by the mosquito-borne parasite linked to the most severe form of the disease. (Schnirring, 8/29)

The Washington Post: Dogs Are Key To Stopping Spread Of Deadly Tick Epidemic In U.S., Mexico
The boy came home from school weakened by fever, his ears burning-hot. Over the next few days, the 7-year-old got sicker — vomiting and complaining of abdominal pain, his mother recalled. Then, the telltale red spots appeared on his hands. But none of the doctors in this rural community along Mexico’s Pacific coast recognized the warning sign for one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the Americas — Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A week later, the boy was dead. The following year, in 2020, the disease killed a 5-year-old boy in a nearby house. Then last October, a few blocks away, another 7-year-old succumbed to the same scourge. (Sun, 8/29)

The Boston Globe: Chronic Lyme Disease Research Gets Big Boost
Georgina and Madison Pinckney share an unusual mother-daughter bond. ... The condition has ensnared tens of thousands of Americans but still has no definitive diagnostic test, let alone agreed-upon effective treatments. It’s why the Pinckneys recently enrolled in new studies by Massachusetts scientists who have been awarded millions of dollars by the National Institutes of Health to help unlock some of long Lyme’s mysteries. (Lazar, 8/29)

Axios: 5 Coping Tips For Anniversaries Of Hurricanes And Other Traumatic Events 
Anniversaries of trauma-causing events, like catastrophic hurricanes, have a way of resurfacing difficult emotions and throwing us off kilter, according to NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness team. The phenomenon is called the "anniversary effect." It can make you feel restless, on edge and depressed. It can also cause trouble sleeping. (Wells, 8/29)