Tainted Medical Scopes Linked To 3 California Deaths: Report
A recently discovered regulatory report finds that contaminated devices are likely to be the source of an outbreak at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. In other public health news, KHN reports on the four things consumers should know about the latest listeria warnings while the Los Angeles Times writes about doctor visit frequency.
Los Angeles Times:
Three Patients Died In Suspected Pasadena Outbreak Tied To Scopes
At least three patients died last year at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena in an outbreak suspected to have been caused by tainted medical scopes, according to a newly discovered regulatory report. Huntington hospital officials had confirmed in August that three patients were sickened the previous month but declined to say more about their condition. They later told Olympus Corp., the scope’s manufacturer, of the deaths, according to the company’s report to federal regulators. (Petersen, 5/5)
Kaiser Health News:
Is There Gunk On Your Greens? 4 Things To Know About The Listeria Recall
Kaiser Health News' Lydia Zuraw reports: "Frozen vegetables are a staple in many diets, so a huge recall of them has us peering at the packages in our freezers. On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an outbreak of the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and frozen vegetables and fruits are believed to be the cause. More than 350 products like green beans, broccoli, peas and blueberries sold under 42 brands at U.S. and Canadian grocers including Safeway, Costco and Trader Joe’s have now been recalled." (Zuraw, 5/5)
Los Angeles Times:
How Often Do You Go To The Doctor? It Depends On Where You Live, Study Says
The odds that you’ve seen a doctor in the last year vary quite a bit depending on where you live — but so far, the way your state has implemented the Affordable Care Act doesn’t seem to have much to do with it, government data show. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that 17.3% of American adults did not have a home base for their medical care in 2014, and 34% had not seen or talked to a doctor in the last year. (Kaplan, 5/5)
And, stories on digital eye strain, HIV infection rates and cancer survival odds are in the news —
NPR:
After A Long Day At The Computer Do You Have A Medical Problem?
It's 2:00 p.m. and you have a few more hours until the end of your workday. Your eyes sting, your vision is getting blurry and your head hurts. The computer screen that you've been staring at for the past six hours seems so bright that you want to shut your eyes. ... Depending on whether you consult an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, you might get different answers on what ails you. Is it computer vision syndrome? Is it digital eyestrain? Is it just dry eyes and some eyestrain? The most common definition is given by the American Optometric Association, which coined computer vision syndrome and digital eyestrain as a group of vision-related problems from viewing digital screens for a long time. (Tan, 5/4)
The Baltimore Sun:
HIV Infection Rates Drop, But Miss Obama Administration Goals
The number of new HIV infections annually in the United States has dropped by an estimate 11 percent from 2010 to 2015, though it didn’t fall enough to meet goals set by the Obama administration’s 2010 comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy, new research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Pennsylvania. (Cohn, 5/4)
The Miami Herald:
Cancer Survival Rates Higher At Academic Medical Centers, Study Says
Patients treated at specialty cancer hospitals have a 10 percent lower chance of dying in the first year than those who receive care at community hospitals, according to a study of Medicare claims and other data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Chang, 5/4)