Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Warns TB Is Rising, And Covid Is To Blame
AP: WHO: Tuberculosis Cases Rise For The First Time In Years
The number of people infected with tuberculosis, including the kind resistant to drugs, rose globally for the first time in years, according to a report Thursday by the World Health Organization. The U.N. health agency said more than 10 million people worldwide were sickened by tuberculosis in 2021, a 4.5% rise from the year before. About 1.6 million people died, it said. WHO said about 450,000 cases involved people infected with drug-resistant TB, 3% more than in 2020. Dr. Mel Spigelman, president of the non-profit TB Alliance, said more than a decade of progress was lost when COVID-19 emerged in 2020. (10/27)
ScienceAlert: The World's Biggest Infectious Killer Regains Its Deadly Lead
Mel Spigelman, president of the non-profit TB Alliance, hailed the swift and dramatic progress to rein in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a vast array of safe and effective vaccines, tests, and treatments developed in the space of two years. "But the juxtaposition with TB is pretty stark," he said in a recent interview.Tuberculosis, once called consumption, was the world's biggest infectious killer before the arrival of COVID-19, with 1.5 million people dying from the disease each year. (Larson, 10/24)
On the monkeypox outbreak —
CIDRAP: CDC Emphasizes Testing, Treating Monkeypox In Pregnancy
Today during a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity call, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children who have been exposed to monkeypox be tested promptly if they show symptoms. The officials also said pregnant or breastfeeding women should be offered the Jynneos vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) if they have a known close exposure to the virus. (10/27)
KHN: When Monkeypox Reaches Rural Communities, It Collides With Strained Public Health Systems
When a case of monkeypox was reported in Nevada’s Humboldt County in August, it was the state’s first detected occurrence of the virus in a rural area. Soon, cases were found in other rural counties — Nye, Lyon, and Elko — posing another hurdle for public health systems that have been worn thin by the covid-19 pandemic. Experts say the response to the monkeypox virus in rural America may be affected by the patchy resources and bitter politics that are a legacy of the pandemic, challenges that some worry could allow sporadic infections to gain a foothold. (Rodriguez, 10/28)
On respiratory viruses —
Becker's Hospital Review: Amid Early RSV Surge, Treatment Options Remain Limited
Besides one preventive drug that can only be prescribed in some cases, there are no FDA-approved treatments for respiratory syncytial virus — which leaves healthcare workers with limited treatment options. (Twenter, 10/27)
CNN: What To Do If Your Child Has A Respiratory Infection? Our Medical Analyst Explains
What kinds of respiratory infections can be treated at home — and with what treatments? Which symptoms should prompt a call to the doctor, or for parents and caregivers to bring their children to the hospital? (Hetter, 10/27)
ABC News: Family Reveals Ordeal Of 2-Year-Old Son In Hospital With 3 Viruses Simultaneously
An Ohio family is speaking out to share their son's battle with three different viruses as respiratory infections spike in children across the country, filling up hospital beds. It all started when the Jackson family, from Middletown -- about 35 miles north of Cincinnati -- returned from vacation to Walt Disney World the first week of September. (Pezenik, 10/27)
