Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mpox Is No Longer A Public Health Emergency: WHO
Reuters: WHO Declares End To Mpox Public Health Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was ending a 10-month-long global health emergency for mpox, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more than a hundred countries. The organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022 and backed its stand in November and February. (Mahobe and Sunny, 5/11)
And other health threats —
NBC News: Drug-Resistant Ringworm: CDC Says At Least 2 Cases Found In U.S.
Two cases of highly contagious, drug-resistant ringworm infections have been detected in New York City — the first such cases reported in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. The infection was first identified in a 47-year-old woman who had developed a bad case of ringworm, also known as tinea, while traveling in Bangladesh. (Edwards, 5/11)
The Washington Post: Bacteria Linked To Tainted Baby Formula May Become Nationally Reportable
The federal government may soon ask states to notify them when doctors or epidemiologists identify infections caused by a common bacteria that can cause severe illness in the very young and was at the center of last year’s baby formula crisis. A working group convened by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists is considering recommending that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ask states to track and submit cases of Cronobacter sakazakii. As they do with salmonella and more than 100 other pathogens, state and local health departments would be asked to report documented cases to the CDC so the bacteria can be tracked nationally. (Reiley, 5/11)
NBC News: Eyedrops Bacteria: Why Woman's Infection Diagnosis Took Months
How a rare type of bacteria infected and ultimately blinded Nancy Montz's left eye was a head-scratcher for Dr. Morgan Morelli, a physician who specializes in infectious diseases. The Ohio woman had been infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium resistant to most antibiotics. Morelli, chief fellow in the division of infectious diseases and HIV medicine at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, had never seen this kind of bacteria in an eye. (Edwards, 5/11)
The Mercury News: Bitten By An Iguana? You Could Get A Rare Bacterial Infection, New Study Says
Iguanas, those pesky green critters that come out in full force during the summer months in South Florida, are more than just a nuisance. They also pose health risks. While touching an iguana or its feces can cause salmonella, a new Centers of Disease Control & Prevention report links an iguana’s bite to a rare bacterial infection called mycobacterium marinum. (Krischer Goodman, 5/11)
More health and wellness news —
Los Angeles Times: Fentanyl-Related Deaths Among Children Rising, Yale Study Says
Fentanyl-related deaths among children increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021, illustrating the opioid crisis’ unrelenting impact across the United States, according to a study by the Yale School of Medicine. Between 1999 and 2021, 37.5% of all fatal pediatric opioid poisonings were caused by fentanyl, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The drug is now the primary agent noted in the pediatric opioid crisis, said Julie Gaither, the study’s author and an assistant professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at Yale. (Arredondo, 5/11)
NPR: Peloton Recalls Popular Exercise Bike
The current recall involves bikes with model number PL01 and sold in the U.S. from January 2018 to this month. Peloton received 35 reports of the bike's seat post breaking and detaching from the bike during use — including 13 reports of users suffering a broken wrist, lacerations and bruises after falling from the bike, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (Diaz, 5/11)
