Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oropouche Virus Lingers In Semen For Over 2 Weeks, Scientists Find
CIDRAP: Case Report: Live Oropouche Virus Found In Semen 16 Days After Symptom Onset
A study published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases describes prolonged shedding of Oropouche virus RNA in a symptomatic traveler's whole blood, serum, and urine, while viral replication was detected in semen 16 days after infection, which the authors say suggests a risk of sexual transmission. Oropouche virus, an emerging zoonotic arbovirus, is spread mainly by biting midges and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. (Van Beusekom, 10/8)
CIDRAP: Babesiosis Rates Rising Steadily In The US
Rates of babesiosis, a tickborne disease, increased by 9% per year in the United States from 2015 to 2022, according to a study today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. The study also found 4 in 10 people with babesiosis were coinfected with another tickborne illness, including Lyme disease. ... The infection attacks the red blood cells, and though most people recover after flu-like symptoms, infection can be deadly in the elderly and immune compromised. (Soucheray, 10/8)
The Washington Post: 2 New Alzheimer’s Drugs May Help Early Stage Patients Manage The Disease
When Dennis Carr learned he had early Alzheimer’s disease, he immediately thought of his older brother who had died of the illness in 2023. “There was not much anyone could do,” Carr said of his brother’s long decline. “You could see him diminishing.” Today, Carr is trying a new treatment called Leqembi that has been shown to modestly slow the disease for people in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s. Carr knows it is not a cure but he wants to buy time — to be with his family, to work and to give scientists a chance to find more solutions. (McGinley, 10/8)
Newsweek: Your Brain Changes Based On What You Did Two Weeks Ago
Your behavior today could affect your brain activity in two weeks' time, new research suggests. These findings have significant implications for our mental health as well as our attention, cognition and memory. "The effect of your daily choices is not only reflected in today's brain connectivity," Ana Triana, a researcher at Aalto University in Finland and the study's lead author, told Newsweek. (Dewan, 10/8)
Also —
AP: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Awarded To 3 Scientists For Work On Proteins, Building Blocks Of Life
The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to three scientists for their breakthrough work predicting and even designing the structure of proteins, the building blocks of life. The prize was awarded to David Baker, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, and to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who both work at Google DeepMind, a British-American artificial intelligence research laboratory based in London. (Niemann and Corder, 10/9)
