Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Massachusetts On Track For Local Record With Over 50 Dengue Cases
The Boston Globe: Dengue Fever Cases In Mass. Are On Pace To Break Local Records
Dengue fever, a potentially fatal, tropical mosquito-borne disease, has been diagnosed more than 50 times in Massachusetts this year, on pace to break local records, according to numbers released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week. But experts say the disease, caused by a virus that infects about 100 million to 400 million people globally each year, remains rare in the Northeast. Those 50 cases were likely in individuals who had contracted it elsewhere. (Piore, 6/29)
CBS News: Massachusetts And New Hampshire Residents Warned Of Possible Measles Exposure At Several Locations
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is warning residents of possible measles exposure after an international traveler was diagnosed. The Department of Public Health said the visitor traveled through Boston to Amsterdam while infectious on June 22. ... Measles symptoms begin to occur 10 days to two weeks after exposure. Symptoms include a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. A rash also appears on the skin two to four days after symptoms develop. (D., 6/30)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The CT Mirror: New CT Law Prohibits Medical Debt Reporting To Credit Agencies
On July 1, a new Connecticut law will take effect preventing health care providers from reporting medical debt to credit agencies, shielding residents’ credit scores from the potential adverse financial impacts of seeking care. (Golvala, 6/28)
The Baltimore Sun: State To Pause Licensure For Certain Mental Health Providers
Starting July 1, the Maryland Department of Health will temporarily stop enrolling certain kinds of behavioral health providers into the Maryland Medicaid Program in an effort to address potential fraud, waste and abuse, the department said in a news release Friday. (Roberts, 7/28)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Sees ‘Notably Greater’ Declines In Gun Violence Into 2024
By about this time last year, Southwest Baltimore’s Penrose/Fayette Street Outreach neighborhood had seen 15 shootings, six of which were fatal. This year, as of June 24, the community of aging two-story rowhouses and vacant lots stretching from Grace Medical Center to the westside MARC station saw two gun homicides and one nonfatal shooting. (Costello, 7/1)
Colorado Sun: Cancer Was The Leading Cause Of Death In Colorado In 2023
Cancer reclaimed the top spot as Colorado’s No.1 killer last year, according to finalized numbers released last month by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In 2023, 8,411 Coloradans died from what are known in vital statistics records as “malignant neoplasms.” Heart disease, the second-leading cause, claimed 8,071 lives. (Ingold, 7/1)
AP: Street Medicine Teams Search For Homeless People To Deliver Lifesaving IV Hydration In Extreme Heat
Alfred Handley leaned back in his wheelchair alongside a major Phoenix freeway as a street medicine team helped him get rehydrated with an intravenous saline solution dripping from a bag hanging on a pole. Cars whooshed by under the blazing 96-degree morning sun as the 59-year-old homeless man with a nearly toothless smile got the help he needed through a new program run by the nonprofit Circle the City. (Snow, 7/1)
KFF Health News: Supreme Court OKs Local Crackdowns On Homelessness, As Advocates Warn Of Chaos
The U.S. Supreme Court’s watershed decision on homelessness Friday will make it easier for elected officials and law enforcement authorities nationwide to fine and arrest people who live on streets and sidewalks, in broken-down vehicles, or within city parks — which could have far-reaching health consequences for homeless Americans and their communities. In a 6-to-3 ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the justices in the majority said allowing the targeting of homeless people occupying public spaces. (Hart, 6/28)
