Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The World Braced Itself For A Bird Flu Epidemic. Then Nothing Happened.
Stat: What Happened To Bird Flu? How A Threat To Human Health Faded From View
Just over a dozen years ago, a bird flu virus known as H5N1 was charting a destructive course through Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, ravaging poultry in apocryphal numbers and killing 6 in 10 humans known to have contracted it. ...The virus continued to kill chickens and to occasionally infect and sometimes kill people. But as the years passed, the number of human H5N1 cases subsided. There has not been a single H5N1 human infection detected since February 2017. This is the good news. The bad news is that the situation could change in an instant. (Branswell, 2/13)
Bloomberg: Measles Outbreak 2019: Anti-Vaccine Movement Spurs New Cases
A growing band of immunization detractors is driving a surge in measles cases from the Philippines to Washington State that threatens to derail efforts to wipe out the disease. Worldwide cases of the viral illness increased by about 50 percent to 2.3 million last year, according to data from the World Health Organization, which included “vaccine hesitancy” in its list of top ten threats to global health this year. The contagion has cropped up in Israel, Greece, Madagascar, the Ukraine and Venezuela, among others. (Altstedter and Griffin, 2/12)
The Oregonian: Vancouver-Area Child Diagnosed With Measles -- But Total Stays At 58
One more child with measles was confirmed by Clark County Public Health on Tuesday, but one was deleted from the list of cases, making the total count stay the same. Many people have rushed to vaccinate themselves and their children since the Vancouver-area outbreak started at the beginning of the year. Some of those have a short-term mild rash triggered by the vaccine that goes away without any other symptoms. However, it can look like measles at first. (Harbarger, 2/12)
The Wall Street Journal: FDA Panel Assesses Risks Of Women’s Surgical Mesh
Officials should consider women’s reports of pain, sexual dysfunction and other maladies as they re-evaluate a medical device used in women’s pelvic surgery that has triggered thousands of lawsuits, an advisory panel said. The panel of outside doctors, convened to advise the Food and Drug Administration, recommended that the agency evaluate women’s medical self-reports as it decides whether synthetic mesh products should stay on the market. Such recommendations are generally, but not always, followed by the federal agency. (Burton, 2/12)
The Washington Post: Breast Cancer Survivors Sometimes Encounter Sex And Intimacy Problems
Jill was just 39 in July 2010 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Her longtime boyfriend had felt a lump in her right breast. Two weeks later, she had a mastectomy and began chemotherapy. The shock, stress, fatigue and treatment took its toll on the relationship, and her boyfriend left. “That’s when I began to realize that breast cancer was not only threatening my life, but would affect me physically, emotionally and sexually going forward,” said Jill, a library specialist in Denver who asked that her last name not be used to protect her privacy. (Sadick, 2/12)
USA Today: Infected Raw Milk From PA Farm Reached People In 19 States, CDC Says
Federal and state health officials are investigating an outbreak of raw milk tainted with Brucella, a drug-resistant bacteria which can cause serious complications such as heart problems, arthritis and miscarriage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people in 19 states have bought or consumed the raw milk from Miller's Biodiversity Farm, a members-only club in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, that sells dairy products to its members. (Rossman, 2/12)
The New York Times: Eating Processed Foods Tied To Shorter Life
Eating highly processed foods could shorten your life, a new study suggests. The study, in JAMA Internal Medicine, tracked diet and health over eight years in more than 44,000 French men and women. Their average age was 58 at the start. (Bakalar, 2/12)
Kaiser Health News: Facebook Live: Helping People Age With Independence
What are the keys to aging with independence? How can we help you or your parents find ways to live independently? What tools and support are helpful? How do we help older adults do as much for themselves as possible, despite physical limitations? What can be done about depression and pain? How can Medicare and Medicaid help meet the needs of those who live at home and need more help? (2/12)
