Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'We Need Action': WHO Says Sepsis Is Behind 1 in 5 Deaths Worldwide
CIDRAP: WHO Says Sepsis Causes 20% Of Global Deaths
The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday released its first report on the global epidemiology and burden of sepsis, estimating that the life-threatening reaction to infection causes 1 in 5 deaths worldwide. Data from 2017 show that sepsis affected 49 million people and was linked to approximately 11 million deaths worldwide—roughly 20% of annual global deaths. The report also reveals that sepsis disproportionately affects children and vulnerable populations living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Twenty million of all estimated sepsis cases worldwide, and 2.9 million deaths, occurred in children under 5 in 2017, while roughly 85% of sepsis cases and related deaths occurred in low-resource settings. (Dall, 9/10)
Stat: Persistent Post-Viral Symptoms Are Common But Hard To Study
From 2014 to 2018, DePaul University psychologist Leonard Jason and colleagues collected personal information and blood samples from more than 4,500 healthy college students. They followed the group as some students contracted mononucleosis and a small proportion of those subsequently developed chronic fatigue syndrome — the debilitating disease also called myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS, that is frequently triggered by an acute viral illness. (Tuller, 9/11)
The New York Times: Missed Vaccines, Skipped Colonoscopies: Preventive Care Plummets
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Americans vastly scaled back their preventive health care, and there is little sign that this deferred care will be made up.Vaccinations dropped by nearly 60 percent in April, and almost no one was getting a colonoscopy, according to new data from the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute. (Kliff, 9/11)
