Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pennsylvania Sees Third Measles-Associated Death This Year
NBC News: Pennsylvania Woman Dies From Measles Complications, State’s Third Death This Year
A 40-year-old woman has died from measles complications in Pennsylvania, marking the state’s third measles-associated death this year as the U.S. experiences its worst resurgence of the highly contagious disease in 35 years. The woman, a Jefferson County resident, died Saturday, county Coroner Greg Furlong said on Facebook. (Weaver, 9/13)
CIDRAP: US Measles Cases Approach 3,300—Over 1,000 More Than All Of Last Year
The number of confirmed US cases of measles has reached 3,294, fully 1,000 more than all of last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in its weekly update today. The total includes 160 new cases, most of them in Pennsylvania, the nation’s measles hot spot. The country has now seen five straight weeks of triple-digit increases. (Wappes, 9/11)
The Hill: CDC Director Erica Schwartz Silent Amid Measles Epidemic, Virus Season
Just a month into her tenure as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Erica Schwartz is missing in action. The country is heading into respiratory virus season, and public guidance on COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines has been muddled, at best. The worst measles epidemic in more than 30 years continues unabated, while the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary is downplaying measles deaths and openly feuding with a sitting governor. (Weixel, 9/13)
USA Today: Dems Send RFK Jr. Letter, Say He's Focused On Cooking Show, Not Measles
A group of Senate Democrats allege that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is using taxpayer dollars to focus on "vanity projects" – like his new podcast and cooking show – rather than addressing Americans' health concerns, in a new letter sent to Kennedy. "We are concerned that, instead of addressing the struggles that Americans face today in trying to keep their families safe and healthy, you are using taxpayer dollars to promote your personal brand," Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan – who led the charge – Chuck Schumer, Angela Alsobrooks, Ron Wyden, Mark Warner and Ben Ray Luján wrote in the Sept. 10 letter obtained by USA TODAY. (Condon, 9/11)
In related news about vaccines —
Florida Trident: Cancer Advocates Join Physician Groups To Defend Vax Mandates
Advocates for cancer patients and cancer survivors have joined Florida medical associations in objecting to a revived state Department of Health plan to strike four longstanding vaccine mandates that the advocates say are safe and lifesaving. (Cassels, 9/14)
On Legionnaires' disease —
The New York Times: Legionella Bacteria Found In Cooling Tower At Yankee Stadium
Legionella bacteria have been detected in a cooling tower at Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx, New York City health officials said on Sunday afternoon. The neighborhood has been grappling with a recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has killed one person and infected nine others. (Fitzsimmons, 9/13)
CIDRAP: Study Highlights Role Of Climate In Rising US Incidence Of Legionellosis
In two neighborhoods in Manhattan this summer, 94 people were sickened, and 11 died, in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. It was the second summer in a row that New York City had experienced a cluster of cases of the severe type of pneumonia, which can cause lung failure and death. Both outbreaks were linked to cooling towers in the city’s large apartment buildings and office towers that had been contaminated with Legionella bacteria. (Dall, 9/11)
On cyclospora, West Nile virus, dengue, and Ebola —
Axios: Cyclospora Outbreak Over, CDC Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the cyclospora outbreak related to Taylor Farms lettuce over Friday, though the Food and Drug Administration says its investigation remains ongoing. (Lotz, 9/11)
CIDRAP: Most Americans Know Mosquitoes Cause Disease, But Few Know How To Use Bug Spray Properly, Survey Finds
Although more than eight in 10 adults know that avoiding mosquito bites is the best way to avoid West Nile virus and dengue fever, far fewer know how to select and correctly apply insect repellent, a new national survey shows. Nearly two-thirds say they try to prevent mosquito bites through methods such as wearing bug spray or long-sleeved shirts when outdoors, removing standing water from around the home, and maintaining window screens, according to an Annenberg Science and Public Health survey published yesterday. (Szabo, 9/11)
CIDRAP: DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Spreads To 7th Province As Cases, Deaths Mount
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread to a seventh province as cases rise to 6,843, including 3,310 deaths, according to media reports today. The newly affected province, Sud-Ubangi, is in the northwestern DRC, on the border with the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville. A male Ebola patient who became ill in Tshopo province died in Sud-Ubangi after traveling through Rwanda and Uganda and across several provinces, some of them which have not reported cases, Acting Sud-Ubangi Governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe told reporters yesterday. (Van Beusekom, 9/11)
