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☆ Syphilis is at its highest levels since the 1950s. Here's how experts are trying to fix that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-08 | by ( Simar Bajaj | Simar Bajaj Is A Marshall Scholar | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Stigmatized Diseases | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Soon after, the mother’s syphilis test — given to all women before delivery — came back positive. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 200,000 syphilis cases — the highest counts since 1950. Spreading the word about syphilisSome public health departments have launched eye-popping awareness campaigns, trying to raise the alarm among both the public and health care providers. Make syphilis testing convenientBeyond greater awareness, access to testing and treatment needs to be quick, easy and convenient, Chokshi said. But permanently bending the syphilis curve will require scaling these efforts nationally and promoting greater coordination between health care and public health.

Persons: Irene Stafford, Stafford, —, It’s, could’ve, they’re, ”, Kenneth Mayer, Mayer, Dave Chokshi, Donna Fox, Fox, ” Fox, “ We’re, “, Lucas, they’ve, we’re, ” Stafford, Chokshi, Jessica Leston, Jessica Leston “ We’re, ” Leston, Trojan Carvajal, Jai Winchell, Winchell, Arlene Seña, it’s, ” Seña, don’t, Seña, that’s, ” Chokshi Organizations: University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Fenway Institute, Common Health Coalition, Health, Lucas County Health Department, Alaska Natives, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, STI, Mobile Care Clinic, Shasta, University of North, Hospital, University of Chicago, U.S, Fenway Health Locations: Houston, U.S, Boston, New York, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, Texas, Alaska, Cass, Minnesota, California, Shasta County, Oregon, Shasta, University of North Carolina, Grady, Atlanta, America

A generic high blood pressure drug has become the most commonly prescribed oral medication to treat acne in women, overtaking antibiotics and birth control pills, a new report from Epic Research shows. Prescriptions for oral antibiotics — previously the go-to pill for acne — decreased from 41% to 27% in the same time period. While the drug was approved as a high blood pressure medication in 1960, it was in the 1980s that some doctors began prescribing it to women for acne. Birth control pills can also be an effective treatment for this type of acne, and indeed, can be prescribed by dermatologists for this reason. However, prescriptions of birth control for acne also fell from 2017 to 2023, Epic Research found.

Persons: spironolactone, John Barbieri, epidemiologist, Barbieri, “ There’s, ” Barbieri, Jessica Krant, ” Krant, Patricia Oyetakin, ”, Oyetakin, “, dermatologists, Krant, Deborah Bartz Organizations: Epic Research, NBC, American Academy of, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Surgery, New, Research, Women’s Locations: Boston, New York, Atlanta

☆ Lessons from the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( John Miller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

This was anthrax,” Pogan said, and he briefed his superiors. Between October 5, and November 22, 2001, five people who were exposed died from anthrax poisoning. For help, they turned to the US Department of Defense lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where anthrax expert Dr. Bruce Ivins worked. Investigators in protective suits prepare to enter the New York Times building in New York on October 12, 2001. Police cars are parked outside the American Media building in Boca Raton on Oct. 8, 2001 where environmental tests detected anthrax bacteria.

Persons: CNN —, Bin Laden, America, Robert Stevens, Tom Dachle’s, Tom Brokaw, Patrick Pogan, ”, “, Judith Miller, Pogan, Miller, ’ Pogan, “ Hey, ” Pogan, John Scarbeck, Saddam Hussein, Bin, Bruce Ivins, Steven Hatfill, FBI swabbed, John Ashcroft, Peter Morgan, ” Dr, Bob Mueller, Mueller, Hatfill, Luis M, Alvarez, Dr, Ivins, John J, He’s Organizations: CNN, Center for Domestic Preparedness, Army, New York Police Department, ABC News, ABC, American Media, Boca, New York Post, NBC News, Terrorism Task Forces, New York Times, FBI, New York, New York City Health Department, Unit, US Department of Defense, Department of Defense, Reuters, Counterterrorism, LAPD, Justice Department, Police, Intelligence, Los Angeles Police Department Locations: Anniston, Alabama, Florida, Boca Raton , FL, Staten, New York City, “, Fort Detrick , Maryland, Maryland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, New Jersey, New York, Boca Raton

☆ Doctors warn they’re seeing syphilis patients with unusual and severe symptoms
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Disease detectives in Chicago say they have been seeing a worrisome trend: Patients complaining of unusual symptoms like vision and eye problems, headaches and hearing loss or dizziness caused by the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. More than two-thirds of these patients (68%) lacked typical syphilis symptoms, like a rash or chancre sore, that might tip doctors off to the infection. Syphilis cases are surging across the US. In 2022, there were more than 207,000 syphilis cases reported, the highest number since the 1950s, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “There could just be an increase in untreated or inadequately treated patients, which is leading to more severe outcomes of syphilis,” Nham said.

Persons: ”, Amy Nham, Nham, “ They’re, —, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, ” Nham Organizations: CNN —, Intelligence Service Conference, Chicago Department of Public Health, US Centers for Disease Control, CNN, CNN Health, CDC Locations: Chicago, Atlanta

☆ An Antibiotic After Sex Greatly Reduced Syphilis and Chlamydia Cases
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A single dose of doxycycline, a widely used antibiotic, taken after sex halved the incidence of chlamydia and early syphilis among gay and bisexual men and transgender women in San Francisco, city health officials announced on Monday. The findings offered a glimmer of hope amid a rising tide of sexually transmitted infections nationwide. In San Francisco, gay and bisexual men and transgender women who had a history of S.T.I.s or multiple sex partners were given a supply of the antibiotic and asked to take two 100-milligram pills within 72 hours of unprotected sex. New cases of chlamydia and early syphilis — but not gonorrhea — dropped over the course of about a year. “It’s not subtle, it is very fast and we’re seeing the beginning of it, not the end,” Dr. Hyman Scott, a medical director at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said in an interview.

Persons: —, “, Dr, Hyman Scott Organizations: Conference, San Francisco Department of Public Health Locations: San Francisco, Denver

More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022 — 10 times more than a decade ago and a 32% increase from 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The 2022 count was the most in more than 30 years, CDC officials said, and in more than half of the congenital syphilis cases, the mothers tested positive during pregnancy but did not get properly treated. The rise in congenital syphilis comes despite repeated warnings by public health agencies and it’s tied to the surge in primary and secondary cases of syphilis in adults, CDC officials said. It’s also been increasingly difficult for medical providers to get benzathine penicillin injections — the main medical weapon against congenital syphilis — because of supply shortages. Nearly 40% of last year’s congenital syphilis cases involved mothers who didn't have prenatal care, the CDC said.

Persons: it’s, It’s, Laura Bachmann, “, Mike Saag, ”, Nina Ragunanthan, ___ Hunter, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Federal, Associated, University of Alabama, OB, Delta Health Center, Pfizer, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: U.S, Illinois, Birmingham, Mound Bayou , Mississippi, Atlanta

☆ Doctors are now prescribing doxy-PEP, a morning-after pill that helps prevent STIs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Taking doxy-PEP within 72 hours of unprotected sex has the potential to help anyone concerned about their risk of bacterial STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, doctors say. More recently, studies have found it can reduce STI risk in certain groups. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year found that doxy-PEP reduced the risk for STIs like chlamydia. The medication is already approved for use in anyone 12 or older, and an updated CDC recommendation isn't necessary for doctors to prescribe it. Condoms are still importantThe CDC recommendation is in what's called a public comment period, which will last through mid-November.

Persons: aren't, —, Stephanie Cohen, Laura Purdy, Purdy, Doxycycline, gonorrhea, Dahlia Philips, chlamydia, Philips Organizations: CDC, Service, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco City Clinic, Associated Press, The New England, of, Care Locations: The, what's

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The proposed CDC guideline was released Monday, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period. Doxycycline, a cheap antibiotic that has been available for more than 40 years, is a treatment for health problems including acne, chlamydia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. That kind of antibiotic resistance hasn't materialized in San Francisco, but it will be important to watch for, Cohen said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: ”, Jonathan Mermin, Mermin, Stephanie Cohen, —, Taimur Khan, Khan, Cohen Organizations: —, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, New, of Medicine, Fenway Health, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: — U.S, “, Boston, San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk once caught malaria on safari and was 'hours from death,' book says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Polly Thompson | Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk shines new light on the world's richest person. Musk once took a safari during a vacation to his native South Africa but contracted malaria. Walter Isaacson, whose biography of Elon Musk was published this week, was given access to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over the past two years. AdvertisementAdvertisementPeter Thiel and Elon Musk with X.com credit in October 2000. Recalling the ordeal earlier this year, Elon Musk and his mother, Maye, tweeted that "modern medicine" had saved his life.

Persons: Walter Isaacson's, Elon Musk, Musk, he'd, Elon, Walter Isaacson, Peter Thiel, Isaacson, Justine Musk, Paul Sakuma, Max Levchin, Maye, I'd, Musk's, Thiel, X.com, Levchin, Grimes Organizations: Service, SpaceX, PayPal, Canada, Sequoia Hospital, Centers for Disease Control, Paypal Locations: South Africa, Wall, Silicon, Brazil, Pretoria, Palo Alto , California, Redwood City, X.com, Crimea

☆ STIs are on the rise in the US. A pill taken after sex could help slow them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Yet recent research suggests that one pill of the drug can be effective in preventing such infections among men who have sex with men if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. He added that any guidance from the CDC will help “fill gaps,” provide direction to clinics and offer a framework for using doxyPEP for STI prevention. “Drug resistance when taking doxyPEP is currently being studied in people using this treatment for STI prevention. “There are still many STI prevention and treatment gaps left to fill. “In STI prevention, we’ve been relying on tools that are decades, sometimes centuries old.

Persons: Dr, Jonathan Mermin, ”, doxyPEP, Stephanie Cohen, “, “ We’re, ” Cohen, ” David C, Harvey, ” Harvey, DoxyPEP, someone’s, Annie Luetkemeyer, gonorrhea, ” Luetkemeyer, Connie Celum, Kenya Medical Research Institute —, Jenell Stewart, Stewart, ” Stewart, Suneer Chander, Wisp, ” Chander, Sanjay Gupta, Mermin, Deidre McPhillips Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC’s National Center, HIV, CDC, San Francisco Department of Public Health, California Department of Public Health, San Francisco Department of Public, National Coalition, STD, “, New England, of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF, University of Washington, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Hennepin Healthcare, University of Minnesota, PEP, Food and Drug Administration, CNN Health Locations: United States, San Francisco, Seattle, King County, Washington, Kenya, Hennepin

☆ Lyme disease: A doctor explains what it is
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —As model Bella Hadid opens up about Lyme disease and other health issues, her ordeal brings up many questions. Lyme disease is transmitted through the bite of a particular tick, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus). CNN: Is there a blood test one could take to see whether they have Lyme disease? False positives can also occur, with some other tickborne diseases and autoimmune illnesses triggering a positive result in the absence of Lyme disease. Wen: Without a vaccine, the best way to prevent Lyme disease is to prevent tick bites.

Persons: Bella Hadid, Leana Wen, Lyme, Wen, It’s Organizations: CNN, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Getty, National Institute of Allergy, Pfizer Locations: Lyme, United States

☆ What It’s Like to Live With a Tick-Borne Disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Dana G. Smith | More About Dana G. Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This includes not only Lyme, but other tick-borne infections that used to be rare, like babesiosis. “We basically have tick-borne diseases almost everywhere,” in the United States, Dr. Pritt said. Lynley Smith, 43, knew about the heightened risk of Lyme disease in Maine when she vacationed with her family there last summer. Over the next few days, Ms. Smith felt progressively worse. On the seventh day of her symptoms, Ms. Smith noticed a large, round rash on the right side of her torso.

Persons: “, ”, Bobbi Pritt, Pritt, Lynley Smith, Smith, Smith hadn’t Organizations: Mayo Clinic, Lyme Locations: Lyme, United States, Maine, Baltimore

☆ Amazon launches $5-a-month unlimited prescription plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Amazon is expanding its push into healthcare with a $5 monthly unlimited delivery pass on 60 common generic prescription drugs treating allergies, inflammation, high blood pressure and other conditions. Amazon announced the new delivery service, RXPass, on Tuesday and it will launch immediately in most states except California, Texas, Minnesota and others with specific prescription delivery requirements. The $5-a-month delivery pass is an add-on to Amazon Prime, Amazon’s $139 annual program, and is available exclusively to Prime subscribers regardless of their insurance status. Amazon has long offered a Prime prescription savings benefit to get discounts on generic and brand-name medications. Amazon’s new plan will mean consumers may see lower costs for some generic drugs, Nicholson said.

☆ 15 best skin care products for rosacea and redness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +20 min

SKIP AHEAD Best products for rosacea | How to best manage rosacea | What type of products should you avoid with rosacea? The best products for rosacea in 2022Our expertssaid that a skin routine with gentle, non-abrasive products is best for people with rosacea. Cetaphil’s Gentle Skin Cleanser is recommended by dermatologists thanks to its gentle, non-foaming formula that helps hydrate and soothe rosacea-prone skin. Clinique’s Redness Solutions skin care line offers everything from cleansers to sunscreens that can be beneficial for those with redness and rosacea. Like Avene, La Roche-Posay is a French brand that makes gentle products for sensitive skin — our experts recommended this brand for both rosacea and acne-prone skin.

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