Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minnesota Measles Outbreak Spreads To 30, Shutters Somali Religious School
Sahan Journal: Measles Outbreak Affects At Least 30 In Minnesota, Closes Somali Religious School
A measles outbreak that began in May in Minnesota has spread to 30 people, primarily infecting children in the Somali community. One dugsi, or Islamic religious school, has voluntarily closed in order to curtail the spread, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. About a third of the patients have required hospitalization, a state spokesperson said. All but one were unvaccinated. (Eldred, 9/2)
On West Nile virus and EEE —
CNN: Illinois, Wisconsin Report Their First West Nile Virus Deaths Of 2024
Two deaths from West Nile virus have been reported in Wisconsin and one in Illinois, the first such deaths in those states this year, according to the state health departments. (8/29)
CBS News: New Hampshire Man Fighting For Life After Testing Positive For 3 Mosquito Viruses, Including EEE
Doctors at Exeter Hospital say Joe Casey, 54, has tested positive for three different antibodies, including EEE. "He was positive for EEE, for West Nile, and St. Louis Encephalitis, but the CDC, the infectious disease doctors don't know which one is making him this sick," a relative said. Last week, 41-year-old Steven Perry of Hampstead, N.H., died after contracting EEE. (Burton, 9/2)
In updates on bird flu —
Reuters: Bird Flu Infects California Dairy Cows, Widening US Outbreak
Cows at three dairy farms in California, the top U.S. milk-producing state, tested positive for bird flu, the state's agriculture department said on Friday. The infections expand a U.S. outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cattle to a 14th state. More than 190 herds have been infected nationally since March, along with 13 dairy and poultry farm workers, according to federal data. (Polansek, 8/31)
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Farmworkers Continue To Tend To Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu
In early August, farmworkers gathered under a pavilion at a park here for a picnic to celebrate Farmworker Appreciation Day. One sign that this year was different from the others was the menu: Beef fajitas, tortillas, pico de gallo, chips, beans — but no chicken. Farms in Colorado had culled millions of chickens in recent months to stem the transmission of bird flu. Organizers filled out the spread with hot dogs. (Bichell, 9/2)
Reuters: Fake Cows Ready For Milking At State Fairs As Bird Flu Looms
In Michigan this year, where dairy workers and herds have fallen ill from bird flu, a pair of unlikely prized cows are being prepped to take the state fair stage. State fair organizers are this year featuring Milkshake and Buttercup, two life-sized fiberglass cows complete with rubber teats and water-filled udders, for a popular milking demo. "Normally, we'd have a real cow out there," said Jill Nathe, the fair's deputy general manager of agriculture and competition. "We just can't do that right now." (Polansek and Huffstutter, 8/31)
On polio and Oropouche —
The Washington Post: Mass Polio Vaccination To Begin In Gaza Amid Pause In War With Israel
The World Health Organization and its partners are gearing up for an ambitious mass vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip after an 11-month-old boy contracted the Palestinian enclave’s first case of polio in 25 years. “All his limbs are now paralyzed,” the boy’s mother, Nevin Abu al-Jidyan, said in a telephone interview this week from her tent in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. “The left side is more rigid. He is even unable to bend over. I cannot even help him sit.” The campaign was scheduled to begin Sunday and will roll out in phases, with both Israel and Hamas agreeing to brief “humanitarian pauses” to allow the vaccinations to take place. (Sun and Harb, 8/31)
Reuters: Cuba Faces Uphill Battle As Oropouche Virus Spreads
Cuban health authorities launched small-scale fumigation efforts in Havana on Friday to fight the spread of the Oropouche virus, but a rainy Caribbean summer, fuel shortages and growing roadside trash heaps are complicating those efforts, workers and officials said. More than 500 cases of the virus have been registered since May when the disease was first detected in far-eastern Cuba, health officials said this week. (8/30)
