Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Michigan Baby Formula Factory Reopens, Again, After Floods
NPR: Abbott Reopens Michigan Baby Formula Plant After Flooding
One of the nation's largest suppliers of baby formula has reopened its Sturgis, Mich., plant after severe flooding from heavy rains forced it to temporarily shut down in mid-June. The Abbott Nutrition facility reopened July 1 and began producing EleCare, its specialty baby formula, an Abbott spokesperson told CBS News and other outlets. Abbott is one of the four companies in the U.S. controlling roughly 90% of the multibillion-dollar infant formula market. (Miranda, 7/10)
In environmental health news —
Fox News: Beach In Iowa Closed After Brain-Eating Amoeba Confirmed In Missourian
A rare brain infection has led Iowa officials to close a Taylor County beach. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the temporary closure is a precautionary response to a confirmed infection of Naegleria fowleri in a Missouri resident who had recent potential exposure while swimming at the beach at Lake of Three Fires State Park. (Musto, 7/9)
Chicago Tribune: Forever Chemicals Found In Drinking Water Throughout Illinois
Something as simple as drinking tap water is exposing millions of Illinoisans to toxic chemicals that build up in human blood, cause cancer and other diseases and take years to leave the body. (Hawthorne, 7/10)
KHN: Colorado’s Efforts Are Not Enough To Solve Its Ozone Problem
A year after health officials issued a record number of alerts for high ozone levels on Colorado’s Front Range, federal and state officials are trying to rein in the gas that can make outdoor activities a health risk. But new Colorado laws aimed at improving air quality along that urban corridor east of the Rocky Mountains aren’t expected to do much to directly reduce ozone, according to experts charged with bringing down the levels. “These are not the magic bullets that will bring us into compliance, but they will be helpful in reducing emissions,” said Michael Silverstein, executive director of the Regional Air Quality Council, the lead air-quality planning organization for nine counties of the Front Range. (Robbins, 7/11)
Newsweek: Texas Faces Rolling Blackouts As ERCOT Warns Not To Use Major Appliances
Texans have been asked to conserve power amid a heatwave on Monday as the state's power grid operator warned of potential rolling blackouts. The state faces a "potential reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available" on Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said in an operations message on its website Sunday night. (Rahman, 7/11)
In other public health news —
WMFE: As Deadly Meningitis Outbreak Worsens, Some Are Mourning Losses
More than 26 people have fallen ill, and at least seven have died in Florida from a deadly meningitis outbreak that is mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. (Prieur, 7/10)
CNN: Superbug Crisis: How A Woman Saved Her Husband's Life
In February 2016, infectious disease epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee was holding her dying husband's hand, watching him lose an exhausting fight against a deadly superbug infection. After months of ups and downs, doctors had just told her that her husband, Tom Patterson, was too racked with bacteria to live. (LaMotte, 7/8)
