Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
San Francisco Probing Misuse Of Rape Victims' DNA
Los Angeles Times: San Francisco Police Misused Rape Victims' DNA, D.A. Says
San Francisco’s district attorney said Monday that police used a database with DNA collected from victims of rape and sexual assault to connect some of them to crimes. Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin said the San Francisco Police Department crime lab had been using the database to “attempt to subsequently incriminate” victims of rape and sexual assault, a practice he called “legally and ethically wrong.” The district attorney called for an immediate end to the alleged practice, committed to working with police to address the allegations and urged changes to local and state laws, according to a statement by Boudin’s office. (Yee, 2/14)
NBC News: San Francisco Police Used Rape Victim Database To Identify Suspects, Prosecutor Says
The San Francisco Police Department is accused of using DNA from sexual assault victims to identify possible crime suspects in a practice that the city’s district attorney called “legally and ethically wrong.” San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement Monday that his office had demanded an immediate end to the alleged practice, which he said “treats victims like evidence, not human beings.” (Stelloh, 2/14)
In news about the environment and health —
The Washington Post: Megadrought In Southwest North America Worst In 1,200 Years
The extreme heat and dry conditions of the past few years pushed what was already an epic, decades-long drought in the American West into a historic disaster that bears the unmistakable fingerprints of climate change. The long-running drought, which has persisted since 2000, can now be considered the driest 22-year period of the past 1,200 years, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. (Leonard, 2/14)
AP: Fox Tests Positive For Rabies; 1st New Mexico Case This Year
A fox from Catron County near Reserve has tested positive for rabies. New Mexico Department of Health officials announced Monday. They said it’s the first positive fox rabies case in New Mexico so far this year. The fox was submitted to the state public health laboratory in Albuquerque for testing after it bit a person last Friday. Authorities said the unidentified victim is receiving treatment. They said rabies is a deadly viral disease that can be prevented, but not cured. (2/14)
Bloomberg: Bird Flu Spreads To Kentucky And Virginia After Discovery Last Week
A strain of influenza deadly to chickens and other fowl has spread to poultry flocks in Kentucky and Virginia, less than a week after an outbreak in Indiana prompted some countries to limit shipments from the state. Mexico is among countries that have banned or limited poultry imports from Indiana after the virus was detected there, and the wider spread raises the possibility of additional curbs. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement Monday that tests show the virus present in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, and a backyard flock of mixed species birds in Fauquier County, Virginia. (Dorning, 2/14)
In other public health news —
Press Association: Screen Time For Kids: Most 5-Year-Olds Spend Too Much Time Online, Survey Shows
The majority of children aged five and younger are not meeting screen-time guidelines, new worldwide analysis suggests. According to the study, only a quarter of children under two, and one in three aged two to five, are meeting international recommendations, highlighting the need for additional public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthy device use. On average, global guidelines suggest infants younger than two avoid screen time altogether, while children aged two to five years spend no more than an hour a day in front of a screen. (2/14)
The Boston Globe: ‘Everything’s Going Up’: Seniors Struggle With The Prices Of Food, Fuel, And Medicine
The last time prices rose this fast, today’s seniors were in their prime and drawing paychecks. Now they’re older, retired, and feeling the crunch in a world where everything suddenly costs more. Higher rents and heating bills and steeper gas and prescription drug prices are pinching almost everyone. But older folks on fixed incomes are being squeezed hardest. Lately, seniors make up nearly half — more than in the past — of those stopping by a food pantry on Mission Hill run by Action for Boston Community Development, an antipoverty group, on the three days each week it distributes chicken, fruit, cereal, and other provisions. (Weisman, 2/14)
AP: Georgia State Official Is Accused Of Faking Pregnancies
A state official is accused of faking multiple pregnancies and using at least one of those ruses to get out of work and be paid for the time off. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Robin Folsom, former director of external affairs for the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, on three felony counts of making false statements. She’s also charged with one count of identity fraud, also a felony. Folsom, 43, had supervised the agency’s marketing and media communications. (2/14)
