Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Taking Full Load Of Antibiotics May Actually Exacerbate Resistance, Not Protect Against It
Stat: Doctors' Antibiotics Guidance May Not Stand Test Of Time
You’ve heard it many times before from your doctor: If you’re taking antibiotics, don’t stop taking them until the pill vial is empty, even if you feel better. The rationale behind this commandment has always been that stopping treatment too soon would fuel the development of antibiotic resistance — the ability of bugs to evade these drugs. Information campaigns aimed at getting the public to take antibiotics properly have been driving home this message for decades. But the warning, a growing number of experts say, is misguided and may actually be exacerbating antibiotic resistance. (Branswell, 2/9)
NPR: From Measles To Syphilis, The Golden Age Of Germs
Ten thousand years ago, at the dawn of the agricultural revolution, many of our worst infectious diseases didn't exist. Here's what changed. With the rise of agriculture, for the first time in history humans were living in close contact with domesticated animals — milking them, taking care of them and, of course, eating them. All that touching and sharing gave animal germs plenty of chances to get inside us. (Poole, 2/9)
Stat: Making Family Trees For Disease-Causing Microbes May Help Stem Outbreaks
The international team of researchers sequenced the genomes of HIV viruses that had been recovered from more than 2,000 blood samples taken in the late 1970s — before AIDS had been identified in the United States. By comparing those sequences to other strains of HIV in the Los Alamos National Laboratory HIV database, the scientists were able to build a family tree of the disease, also known as a phylogeny. From there they were able to work out which strains were descended from which, how each one was transmitted, as well as how they may have mutated as they spread from place to place and person to person. (Crandall, 2/8)
The New York Times: Licorice During Pregnancy Tied To Problems In Children
Pregnant women may want to avoid licorice, which may affect the cognitive abilities of their children, a study suggests. Licorice contains glycyrrhizin, a sweetener derived from the root of the licorice plant, and is used to flavor candies, soft drinks, herbal teas and other products. Pills and supplements containing concentrated licorice are also a popular herbal remedy for respiratory ailments and other ills. (Bakalar, 2/8)
The New York Times: The N.H.L.’s Problem With Science
In the 1950s, tobacco companies responded to research proving a link between smoking and lung cancer by trying to discredit the science. They formed their own research group to poke holes in the data and to stave off public panic that cigarette smoking could cause serious diseases and death. More than 60 years later, the N.H.L. has responded to a class-action lawsuit regarding head injuries with a similar approach. (Macur, 2/8)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: When You've Got Cold Or Flu, Don't Infect Co-Workers
If you're sick during this cold and flu season, your co-workers have this message for you: "Stay home," according to a national survey. Forty-two percent of employees said coming to work sick is the most annoying behavior their co-workers could engage in during cold and flu season, says the survey by the staffing firm OfficeTeam, based in Menlo Park, California. The survey of 500 employees also found that another 42 percent of those polled were most annoyed when a co-worker didn't bother to cover his or her mouth when coughing or nose when sneezing. (Perkins, 2/8)
The Star Tribune: Achoo! The Distance Germs Can Travel Is Nothing To Sneeze At
Sneezes are everywhere these days, during this, the height of cold and flu season. The chorus of achoos in offices, on buses and in homes often sends bystanders scrambling to get out of the line of germ-spreading fire. But how far is far enough away to avoid getting hit by a snot-and-fluid projectile? A lot farther than you might — or would like to — think. We’re talking 20 feet or more. The question of what constitutes an achoo-safe zone has long intrigued sneeze-ologists, better known as doctors, nurses and medical researchers working to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Recent research, however, offers new insights on the science of sneezing — revealing what happens when we sneeze and how far the spray of saliva and mucus can travel. (Shah, 2/8)
Georgia Health News: Latino Kids Being Bullied More Amid Political Controversy, Groups Say
Latino youths in metro Atlanta are being harassed and bullied more since the Nov. 8 vote, say officials with Norcross-based CETPA, a mental health and substance abuse services organization. National reports also cite an increase in hate incidents against Hispanic children. (Miller, 2/8)
Columbus Dispatch: Expectant Moms May Face More Health Issues If Baby's A Girl
Ohio State University researchers studied 80 women, including Fox, and looked at the effect of fetal gender on various immune-system markers during pregnancy. They found that, when exposed to bacteria, immune cells in the women carrying females produced more cytokines, proteins that signal immune responses, such as inflammation. (Viviano, 2/9)
The Star Tribune: In Wake Of Dayton's Cancer Diagnosis, Clinic Phone Lines Are Lighting Up
Despite extensive research over the years, medical groups have come to different conclusions on whether to routinely offer PSA blood tests that can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, and whether to treat any cancer that is found with surgery or radiation — or to do nothing at all. Even the most ambitious and comprehensive study to date, published late last year, couldn’t clarify the best course. Following 1,600 men with low-risk prostate cancer over 10 years, researchers in the Protect trial found no difference in death rates, regardless of whether men treated their cancers with surgery or radiation or left them alone — although untreated cancers were more likely to spread. (Olson, 2/8)
