Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cyclospora Outbreak Prompts Inquiry Into Lettuce Supplier's Ties To White House
The Hill: Lawmaker Seeks Records On Taylor Farms And White House Connections
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Monday called on Taylor Farms to provide information about its connections with the White House amid a parasitic outbreak potentially linked to the company’s lettuce supply. Garcia wrote a letter to Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor questioning whether the company used its influence on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) investigation into the outbreak. (Mancini, 7/27)
The Hill: Survey Finds Cyclospora Outbreak Changing Food Habits, Less Trust In FDA
A poll released Sunday shows that 40 percent of U.S. adults are buying or eating less produce after the cyclospora outbreak. Comparatively, according to survey results from CBS/YouGov, 4 percent of people said they are eating more produce. Among respondents, 56 percent said there has been no change in their diet. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an investigation into the outbreak. (Fields, 7/27)
CNBC: Cyclospora Outbreak Shows Risks Of Consolidated Food Supply
The cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands in the U.S. is drawing renewed attention to a decades-long shift in how fresh food moves through the country. While investigators work to identify the original source of contamination, some food safety experts say the industry’s centralized sourcing and distribution networks after a wave of consolidation can help turn what once may have been an isolated contamination event into a multistate outbreak. (Gomez, 7/27)
KFF Health News: Cyclospora Boosts Fears That Deadlier Foodborne Outbreaks Are Ahead
The next foodborne illness outbreak could be much worse. That’s the concern of food safety leaders across the U.S. who are raising alarms over federal cuts they say have made it harder to detect and stop the spread of foodborne illnesses, such as the recent outbreaks of cyclospora, which has sickened thousands in dozens of states. And they’re especially worried the next pathogen will be much more deadly. (Wells and Armour, 7/28)
On salmonella —
CIDRAP: Egg-Related Salmonella Outbreak Sickens Nearly 100 In 17 US States
Midwest Poultry Services has recalled 1.6 million cartons of eggs, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a food-safety alert about a 98-case Salmonella outbreak in 17 states. The CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and public health authorities are investigating the outbreak, which has led to 26 hospitalizations. Among the 44 patients interviewed, 91% said they ate eggs before symptom onset. The FDA traced the cases to Midwest Poultry Services. (Van Beusekom, 7/27)
On vaccine exemptions and long covid —
HR Dive: Previous Vaccinations Shouldn’t Bar Worker’s Religious Vaccine Exemption Request, 9th Circuit Says
The 9th Circuit’s analysis turned upon the question of whether the plaintiff had sufficiently communicated to her employer how her sincerely held religious belief conflicted with its vaccine mandate. Under both Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, religious discrimination plaintiffs must show that they have a “bona fide religious belief” that conflicts with an employment duty, the court said. The plaintiff also must have informed the employer of the conflict and be able to show that the employer threatened the employee with, or subjected them to, discriminatory treatment because of that conflict. (Golden, 7/27)
CIDRAP: Many Black US Patients With Long COVID Being Missed, Analysis Reveals
A new study suggests that Black patients with acute COVID-19 infection are less likely to be diagnosed as having long COVID than White patients, despite no significant difference in long-COVID symptom burden between the two groups. For the study, published this month in Health Affairs, researchers led by a team at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley analyzed electronic health records for roughly 2.4 million US patients diagnosed with acute COVID from January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The researchers identified six race and ethnicity categories and 222 symptoms within one year after infection. (Bergeson, 7/27)
The latest on the Ebola outbreak —
CIDRAP: First Volunteer Vaccinated In Ebola Vaccine Trial
The first volunteer has been vaccinated in a phase 1 trial of an investigational vaccine that targets the Bundibugyo virus. The trial is assessing the safety and immune response of ChAdOx1 BDBV in 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. The vaccine was developed by researchers with the Oxford Vaccine Group, which is conducting the trial with support from the Serum Institute of India and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness. (Dall, 7/27)
Medical Xpress: Stockpiled Ebola Vaccines Trigger Antibody Response Against Bundibugyo Virus In Lab Tests
Because there was no licensed vaccine designed specifically for the virus, researchers wanted to know whether vaccines already used for the more common Zaire ebolavirus could be repurposed to help protect people against Bundibugyo virus. Although existing vaccines were designed specifically for the Zaire strain of Ebola, they still activated immune mechanisms that helped the body build a defense against the related Bundibugyo virus. (7/27)
Reuters: Uganda's Health Minister Declares Country Free Of Ebola
Uganda's health minister declared the country Ebola-free on Tuesday following the East African nation's latest outbreak of the viral haemorrhagic disease that infected 20 people and killed two of them. Fifteen people in the latest outbreak, declared in mid-May, were infected in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - the epicentre of the epidemic where the number of confirmed cases now stands at more than 3,000. (7/28)
