Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Europe Deploys Experimental Antiviral To Treat Hantavirus Patients
Forbes: Experimental Hantavirus Treatment Sent To EU Countries Where Patients Are Being Treated
An experimental antiviral scientists hope will be effective in treating patients who were sickened by a hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has been sent to France, Spain and the Netherlands—where a handful of patients are being treated—the European Commission said Thursday. A total of 1,400 tablets of an experimental treatment called favipiravir was reportedly made available to EU member states by Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals in Japan, and individual countries will decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not to use the medicine, which has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency. (Roeloffs and Pequeño IV, 5/28)
CNN: Hantavirus-Exposed Cruise Passengers May Soon Be Allowed To Return Home But Must Remain Under 24/7 Watch
The US government is prepared to allow American passengers who were exposed to a unique strain of hantavirus to return home as early as Monday, provided their states post a monitor outside their homes 24/7 for the remaining three weeks of their six-week quarantine. (Goodman, 5/28)
More news from around the globe —
AP: Canadian Man Expected To Plead Guilty To Selling Lethal Substances To People Who Killed Themselves
A Canadian man accused of selling lethal substances online to people who took them to end their own lives is expected to plead guilty Friday to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide, his lawyer said. Kenneth Law is scheduled to appear in a Newmarket, Ontario, court to enter the plea and sentencing is expected to take place later. Canadian prosecutors will withdraw 14 murder charges in exchange for Law’s plea, his lawyer Matthew Gourlay said. (Gillies, 5/29)
Bloomberg: Virgin Galactic-Flown Mission To Study Menstruation In Space
A reproductive health nonprofit is seeking to raise $1.2 million to book space travel with Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. and research menstruation in weightless conditions. The group, called Operation Period, will study the impacts of space on menstrual physiology — a key consideration for female astronauts during long-duration space travel. The research, which is slated to take place during a 90-minute suborbital flight next year, will also study the performance of menstrual products, according to a statement from the group and Virgin Galactic. (Pashankar, 5/28)
Bloomberg: Trump's Health-Aid Overhaul Faces A Critical Test In Mozambique
Floodwater stagnates in parts of Matola near Mozambique’s capital of Maputo, where clinics treat a familiar post-disaster mix: malaria, suspected cholera and children at risk from unsafe water. At the Matola II health center, staff are racing to contain outbreaks while catching up on tuberculosis and HIV treatments after months of flood disruption. The clinic, which sees roughly 400 patients a day, is also still reeling from last year’s abrupt US aid cuts that forced layoffs of community-health workers and disrupted disease-surveillance programs. (Kew and Cebola, 5/29)
