Unusual Parechovirus Cluster In Infants; Progress On Child Hepatitis

NBC News: Cluster Of Parechovirus Infections Found In Tennessee Newborns
A cluster of 23 infants in Tennessee were diagnosed with a potentially severe childhood virus within a six-week span this spring — an unusually short amount of time for such a large number of cases, doctors reported Thursday. (Edwards, 7/28)

CBS News: Hospitals Report More Cases Of Parechovirus In Infants: "This Is Not Normal"
So far, at least 21 of the babies have recovered. One child is expected to face "severe developmental delay" after "persistent seizures." The findings from doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Tennessee's health department were published on Thursday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Fever, fussiness, and a low appetite were the most common symptoms among babies admitted in the study. (Tin, 7/28)

On developments in the child hepatitis outbreak —

NBC News: Severe Hepatitis In Children: Amid Fresh Clues, Researchers Wonder Whether The Phenomenon Is New At All
“Liver failure always appropriately sounds horrific and should never happen, but it does happen, and it does happen without us often knowing the cause in children,” said Saul Karpen, a gastroenterology professor at the Emory University School of Medicine. “We do all the right studies. We can’t figure it out.” (Bendix, 7/29)

In news on other public health matters —

CNN: PFAS Levels Should Be Tested In High-Risk People, Report Says
The report sets "nanogram" levels of concern and encourages clinicians to conduct blood tests on patients who are worried about exposure or who are at high risk. (A nanogram is equivalent to one billionth of a gram.) People in "vulnerable life stages" -- such as during fetal development in pregnancy, early childhood and old age -- are at high risk, the report said. So are firefighters, workers in fluorochemical manufacturing plants and those who live near commercial airports, military bases, landfills, incinerators, wastewater treatment plants and farms where contaminated sewage sludge is used. (LaMotte, 7/28)

Axios: Survey: 1 In 4 LGBTQ Youth With High Trauma Symptoms Attempted Suicide In 2021
One in four LGBTQ young people experiencing high levels of trauma said they had attempted suicide in 2021, according to a survey from The Trevor Project released Thursday. The big picture: Over 300 anti-LGBTQ laws have been introduced this year and at least 25 have passed. Medical experts say the rancor surrounding such policies can weigh heavily on LGBTQ young people's mental health. (Gonzalez, 7/28)

CIDRAP: Peanut Butter Salmo Outbreak Winds Down, 5 More Cases Reported
The investigation into a multistate Salmonella Seftenberg outbreak linked to peanut butter is over, with five more cases reported, bringing the total to 21 from 17 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday. The latest illness onset was May 24. Of 13 people with available information, 4 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported. (7/28)

KHN: What The Polio Case In New York Tells Us About The End Of Polio
No one studying polio knew more than Albert Sabin, the Polish-American scientist whose vaccine against the crippling disease has been used worldwide since 1959. Sabin’s oral vaccine provides lifelong immunity. It has one drawback, which Sabin, who died in 1993, fiercely disputed: In rare cases, the weakened live poliovirus in the vaccine can mutate, regain virulence, and cause polio. Those rare mutations — one of which appears to have paralyzed a young man in Rockland County, New York, who belongs to a vaccine-resistant Hasidic Jewish community, officials there reported July 21 — have taken center stage in the global campaign to eradicate polio, the largest international public health effort in history. (Allen, 7/29)