Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hazardous Air And High Temps Blanket Stretch Of US, Prompting Health Alerts
AP: Wildfire Smoke Engulfs Swaths Of The US Midwest And Northeast
Thousands of visitors were told to evacuate a remote Minnesota wilderness area accessible only by boat as wildfires send dangerously heavy smoke over the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this week. More than 100 wildfires are burning in Canada, where a train crew in northern Ontario filmed themselves surrounded by flames before being safely evacuated. Winds are carrying the smoke southeast. (Pineda and Ganun, 7/15)
In related news about heat and sleep —
Bloomberg: Hotter Nights Linked To 56 Hours Of Lost Sleep Per Year, Climate Central Reports
Climate change is contributing to higher nighttime temperatures that are causing people to lose an average of almost 56 hours of sleep a year and threatening health, according to a new study. An analysis of 1,338 major cities estimated that residents in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were worst impacted, with people in those locations losing between 55 and 87 hours of sleep a year between 2020 and 2025 because of warmer nights, said the report published Wednesday by the US-based nonprofit research group Climate Central. (Usmani, 7/15)
On the cyclosporiasis outbreak —
The Washington Post: How Much Did CDC Cuts Really Impact This Cyclosporiasis Outbreak?
The CDC last year reduced its surveillance for cyclospora and several other pathogens in a program that tracks longer-term disease trends. The program, known as FoodNet, was scaled back because funding for food safety has not been maintained over the last several years (even before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary and cuts from the U.S. DOGE Service), said Dan Jernigan, former director of CDC’s Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, which includes foodborne outbreaks. That program is not designed for real-time outbreak detection or response, and the Trump administration cuts would have little impact on the current situation, said Jernigan, one of three top CDC officials who quit last year over Kennedy’s policies. (Sun, 7/15)
USA Today: Are Locally-Grown Fruits And Vegetables Safer? Experts Explain
While a nationwide surge in cyclosporiasis cases has many concerned about eating certain produce, experts say locally grown fruits and vegetables – like those sold at farmers markets –may be a safer option. (Khan, 7/16)
CBS News: NYC Man Spent Weeks Suffering From Cyclosporiasis: 'My Body Would Not Allow Me To Eat Food'
When he began experiencing symptoms back in May, Chase Strangio thought he had a stomach virus, but as the days progressed, he didn't see any improvements. "My body would not allow me to eat food, and it even reached the point where drinking water was challenging," he said, "and I was having a lot of pain." No one in Strangio's family got sick, but many friends he had lunch with a week prior did. "The common ingredient we were able to discern was either a lettuce or a cilantro," he said. (DeAngelis, 7/15)
On tuberculosis, measles, and childhood vaccines —
The Colorado Sun: GEO Group Blocking Tuberculosis Investigation At Aurora ICE Facility
The private company that operates the immigration detention facility in Aurora is blocking investigation into the possible spread of tuberculosis there, an Adams County health official stated in a court document earlier this month. Now, a new report is raising questions about how much the highly contagious disease has spread in the facility, even as the standoff with the public health department continues. (Ingold, 7/15)
ABC News: Measles Cases In 2026 Are Set To Surpass Last Year's Total. Here's Why
The number of reported measles cases in the United States this year is soon set to surpass the total reported for all of last year. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the U.S. has reported 2,231 cases as of July 9, which is just 58 shy of the 2,289 cases reported for the entirety of 2025. Previously, the 2025 total was the highest number of cases seen in more than 30 years, and some public health specialists believe the U.S. is on track to lose the elimination status it earned in 2000. (Kekatos, 7/16)
The Baltimore Sun: Five Cases Of Measles Confirmed At Westminster Hospital
Five cases of measles have been confirmed in Maryland residents, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Officials are warning anyone who visited the Carroll Hospital Center emergency department waiting room in Westminster on July 13 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. may have been exposed. All five cases were in people who recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. that has an active measles outbreak. (Byrne, 7/15)
CIDRAP: Slight Gains Made In Global Childhood Vaccination Rates, Says New Report
Despite vaccine hesitancy spreading worldwide, the number of children receiving the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine has slightly increased, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)-United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Estimates of National Immunization Coverage published today. DTP immunization rates often show how successful a country is at providing routine childhood vaccines. Almost 116 million infants (90%) globally received one dose of DTP, and 110 million babies (85%) were fully vaccinated with three shots. (Holohan, 7/15)
The latest on the Ebola outbreak —
Reuters: Uganda To Discharge Last Ebola Patient, Spokesperson Says
Uganda is due to discharge its last Ebola patient on Thursday, triggering a 42-day countdown that could see the country declared free of the virus, a spokesperson for the government said. The wider outbreak, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May, has caused 2,011 confirmed cases of infection and 754 confirmed deaths in the DRC as of Wednesday, according to data from the government. (7/16)
