Hepatitis Outbreak Has Affected At Least 9 Kids In Alabama

KFOR: Mysterious Illness Causing Liver Damage In Alabama Kids
Since November 2021, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), in collaboration with pediatric healthcare providers including hospitals that treat children and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been investigating an increase in hepatitis in young children. ... According to Dr. Wes Stubblefield with the Alabama Department of Public Health, The children tested positive for adenovirus, a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms. Each of the Alabama children is younger than 6-years-old but each had similar symptoms. (Valdez, 4/19)

AP: Puzzling Outbreak Of Liver Disease In Kids Spreads To EU, US 
Health officials say they have detected more cases of a mysterious liver disease in children that was first identified in Britain, with new infections spreading to Europe and the U.S. ... U.S. officials have spotted nine cases in Alabama in children aged 1 to 6. (Cheng, 4/19)

In news from California —

San Francisco Chronicle: California Cities And Counties Can Sue Oil Companies In State Court, Federal Appeals Court Rules
Local governments in California can proceed in state court with lawsuits against major oil companies for contributing to climate change by selling fossil fuel products and allegedly deceiving the public about their harmful effects, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The suits, filed in 2017, seek substantial damages from more than 30 companies that profit from products contributing to rises in temperatures and sea levels, which the cities and counties say are forcing them to spend more on sea walls and other protections. The plaintiffs are San Mateo, Marin and Santa Cruz counties and the cities of Richmond, Santa Cruz and Imperial Beach (San Diego County). (Egelko, 4/19)

Los Angeles Times: Opposition Mounts Against Newsom's Plan For Court-Ordered Treatment Of Homeless People
Six weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a far-reaching effort to push more people into court-ordered treatment for severe mental illness and addiction, homeless advocates are calling it legally misguided and immoral as the proposal’s first public hearing at the state Capitol has been delayed. More than three dozen organizations and individuals, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Disability Rights California and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, signed an April 12 opposition letter raising serious concerns with Assembly Bill 2830, one of two nearly identical measures moving through the Legislature to implement Newsom’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court. The groups often have significant sway among liberal legislative Democrats, the kind of influence that could hinder Newsom’s hopes for a new law to be in place by July 1. (Wiley, 4/19)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Mental Health Head Resigning Due To 'Health Scare'
Dr. Jonathan Sherin, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, is resigning effective July 1 because of his health, he said in a letter to staffers. Sherin, who started his post at the nation’s largest county mental health system in 2016, called it “by far the most difficult decision of my career.” “I have encouraged you to always take care of yourselves and your loved ones,” he said in his letter to staff. “Following a serious health scare of my own recently and weeks of subsequent soul searching, I am taking my own advice and stepping down ... so that I can focus properly on my own wellbeing and the wellbeing of my family.” (Cosgrove, 4/19)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sisolak Pledges $20M To Open Psychiatric ERs
Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday pledged millions of federal dollars to help fund psychiatric emergency rooms in Nevada and a three-digit suicide lifeline. The funding was announced during the governor’s summit for Nevada health care providers, which his office said drew more than 700 participants. During the summit’s keynote address, the governor pledged $20 million in pandemic American Rescue Plan Act funds to open so-called crisis stabilization centers across the state that will function essentially as psychiatric ERs. (Hynes, 4/19)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Denise Johnson Becoming Pa. Acting Health Secretary After Keara Klinepeter Departs
Acting Pennsylvania Health Secretary Keara Klinepeter will step down Friday and be replaced by Physician General Denise Johnson, Gov. Tom Wolf announced. Johnson, an obstetrician who became physician general in March 2021, will be the fourth person to head the Pennsylvania Department of Health since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Klinepeter is leaving the position ahead of the birth of her first child, due in June, said a Department of Health spokesperson. (McDaniel, 4/19)

Anchorage Daily News: Dunleavy Names State Attorney As Alaska’s Top Alcohol And Marijuana Regulator
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named Joan Wilson to be the head of the Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office. For the past four years, Wilson has been AMCO’s attorney, advising both the agency and the state’s alcohol and marijuana boards on a variety of legal issues. Wilson will replace the current director, Glen Klinkhart, who is leaving the agency for a position with the Alaska Department of Revenue. She will be AMCO’s third director since 2019 and its fifth since Alaska legalized recreational marijuana consumption in 2014. (The latter figure includes an interim director who served for six months.) (Brooks, 4/19)

Houston Chronicle: Texas State Troopers Begin Mandatory Weight Loss Program
Hundreds of Texas state troopers will need to shrink their waistlines by December or face discipline from the Department of Public Safety, according to DPS documents obtained by the Dallas Morning News. The department wants its 4,000 officers to maintain "command presence" by keeping waistlines below 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Those who exceed the threshold are required to start recording and sharing their weight loss with the department. (Zong, 4/19)