Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wildfire Smoke May Raise Chances Of Catching Covid
AP: Study: Wildfire Smoke May Add To COVID-19 Risk
Nevada-based scientists argue in a new study that wildfire smoke may increase the risk of contracting the coronavirus. A study published last week by scientists at the Desert Research Institute found that coronavirus infection rates increased disproportionately during wildfire season in 2020, when smoke from fires in neighboring states blanketed much of northern Nevada. (Metz, 7/19)
The Washington Post: Extreme Heat Bakes West Amid Elevated Fire Danger, Drought
For the fourth time in the past month and a half, a strong heat wave is roasting parts of the western U.S., as wildfires run amok. High-temperature records could fall in parts of the northern Rockies on Monday, where the most exceptional lobe of warmth is concentrated. There are signs that the seemingly unrelenting heat that has proved a staple of summer 2021 won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, with prolonged hot, dry conditions likely for weeks over large areas of the western Lower 48. (Cappucci, 7/19)
In other public health news —
CIDRAP: CDC Reports Salmonella Tied To Lettuce Salad, Other Foodborne Outbreaks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday reported a two-state outbreak involving eight Salmonella cases linked to BrightFarms Sunny Crunch lettuce salad that was produced in Rochelle, Illinois. The cases are in Wisconsin and Illinois, and the salad was distributed in "at least" Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, the CDC said. The outbreak strain is Salmonella Typhimurium. Sick people range in age from 31 to 61 years, with a median age of 46, and five are women. Illness-onset dates range from Jun 10 to 15. No hospitalizations or deaths were reported. The CDC is advising people not to eat, sell, or serve BrightFarms brand Sunny Crunch salad. (7/16)
Austin American-Statesman: Lead Exposure In Childhood Can Result In Meaner, Crankier Adults, Texas Study Finds
Sucking on a silvery chunk of lead as a kid can, decades later, cause you to be mean and self-centered. While it might sound like a prophecy from a witch, this bizarre fact was the primary finding of a massive University of Texas study examining the effects of lead exposure on people’s personalities. The study, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, investigated the impact of lead on more than 1.5 million people in the United States and Europe. It found that lead exposure was linked to being less agreeable and less considerate as well as other personality issues. (Allf, 7/19)
North Carolina Health News: Even Before COVID, Almost Half Of Rural Adults Went Without Dental Care
Millions of rural residents have not seen a dentist in over a year, a recent CDC report reveals. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic forced dentists to shut down, 42 percent of adults in rural areas did not receive dental care, according to the survey. In urban areas, roughly a third of adults did not see a dentist that year. (Engel-Smith, 7/20)
KHN: With a Diagnosis at Last, Black Women with ADHD Start Healing
Miché Aaron has always been a high achiever. The 29-year-old is in her third year of a planetary sciences doctoral program at Johns Hopkins University, where she researches minerals found on Mars. She’s a former NASA space grant scholar and hopes to become an astronaut one day. But last year, Aaron was barely keeping it together — missing classes, late on assignments and struggling to explain that she understood the required material to pass her qualifying exams. Her academic adviser warned that if she didn’t get professional help she would flunk. (Sibonney, 7/20)
ABC News: Soon-To-Be Youngest American In Space Shares How Surviving Cancer Helped Prepare Her For Mission
Hayley Arceneaux's dreams of becoming an astronaut were crushed after being diagnosed with pediatric bone cancer at 10 years old, but now she's set to go to space in the world's first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth. Now, the 29-year-old St. Jude Children's Research Hospital physician assistant is set to make history as the youngest American, first pediatric cancer survivor, and person with a prosthesis to go to space as one of the crew members in SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. (Rosa, 7/19)
And in cancer news —
The New York Times: Heart Failure Tied To Increased Cancer Risk, Study Finds
People with heart failure may be at increased risk for cancer. Cancer patients are usually monitored for heart failure because some cancer drugs can damage the heart. Now a new study suggests that heart failure patients, who may live for many years with the condition, might benefit by being monitored for cancer. (Bakalar, 7/19)
Health News Florida: Police Chief, Wife Go Public With Her Cancer Battle In Hopes Of Inspiring Others
Many Tallahasseeans have fought cancer and lived to tell the tale. But one of the Capital City's more prominent couples is using their encounter with the illness to bring comfort and inspiration to others. Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the memory of what happened to his wife, Kim, remains fresh and frightening. "She just knew something wasn't right for a while," he said. "And then trying to figure out what that was. Eventually, she was at vacation Bible school and felt a lump; just reached under to adjust her bra innocently and felt something that didn't feel right, and it went from there." (Flanigan, 7/19)
