Very Odd Flu Season: It’s Highly Active Among Young Children, Getting Off To Earliest Start In Years
Another difference is the type of influenza being seen in parts of the south: Type B is preceding Type A. So far, the northeast is being spared, but it's coming, health specialists warn. Public health news is on aims to get consistent results in psychology studies, ways to reduce the risk of dying, treatment of volcano burn victims, and a potential HIV vaccine, as well.
Bloomberg:
Flu Season Is Already Here, And It’s Coming For Your Kids
The flu is out in force. And so far this season, it’s been hitting children the hardest. ...Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu-like symptoms started spurring higher than normal doctor visits in the U.S. in early November—weeks earlier than other recent flu seasons. The disease has also shown up in and shut down elementary schools across the South and West, in states such as Texas, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska. Much of the Northeast, a traditional hotbed for flu-induced misery, remains largely unscathed for now. (Cortez, 12/13)
NPR:
The Psychological Science Accelerator Pushes For Large-Scale Global Research
In 2008, psychologists proposed that when humans are shown an unfamiliar face, they judge it on two main dimensions: trustworthiness and physical strength. These form the basis of first impressions, which may help people make important social decisions, from whom to vote for to how long a prison sentence should be. (Chawla, 12/13)
The New York Times:
You Could Die Today. Here’s How To Reduce That Risk.
Everyone dies, but almost nobody expects to die today. Yet, accidents do happen. In 2017, accidents and unintentional injuries were the third-most-common cause of death of Americans. Although we live in a remarkably safe world by historical standards, many of us needlessly increase our risk of sickness, injury and even death without realizing it. Let’s look at a hypothetical day and see which choices have the greatest potential benefits to our well-being. (Webb, 12/12)
The New York Times:
New Zealand Seeks Human Skin To Treat Volcano Burn Victims
To treat more than two dozen tourists severely burned in a volcanic explosion earlier this week, doctors in New Zealand are rushing to obtain a unique medical export from the United States. The doctors are buying nearly 1,300 square feet of human skin. At a briefing on Thursday in Auckland, health officials outlined the desperate task before them. The volcanic explosion on White Island left 27 visitors with severe burns, some covering up to 95 percent of their bodies. Twenty-two are in critical condition. (Rabin, 12/12)
MPR:
A New HIV Vaccine Effort With A Different Kind Of Strategy
The method behind their potential vaccine mimics a rare process detected in the immune systems of some people with HIV — a process the reduces the amount of virus in the body. The team from Duke and Harvard behind the work, which appears this month in the journal Science, says there is still a long road ahead before an actual vaccine is ready for large-scale field trials. But scientists in the field are more optimistic than they've been for some time. (Huang, 12/12)
