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☆ Angry Ohio townspeople seek answers on train's toxic spill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Norfolk Southern officials did not attend the meeting, saying they feared violence. The Norfolk Southern Railroad-operated train's derailment caused a fire that sent a cloud of smoke over East Palestine. After railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars, residents were allowed to return to their homes on Feb. 8. Despite that, state health officials have insisted to residents that East Palestine is a safe place to be. Ohio state officials have said that a plume of pollution in the Ohio River is moving at one mile per hour.

☆ Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it's safe to return
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Aria Bendix | David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. For days, authorities have been telling residents of the area around East Palestine, Ohio, that it is safe to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams as of Wednesday. For some people who live near the derailment site, the reports continue to spur fear that they and their animals might be exposed to chemicals through the air, water and soil. The Ohio Department of Agriculture said the risk to livestock remains low.

☆ Doctor accused of spreading deadly meningitis arrested in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Police in northern Durango state early on Tuesday morning arrested the doctor, an anesthesiologist, who prosecutors accuse of distributing infected medicines they believe led to the mysterious outbreak. The doctor is changed with illegal re-use of drugs at the private hospitals where he worked. The cases have raised concern in both Mexico and from international bodies after the outbreak's first casualty was confirmed last November. Garza added that the detained doctor was the only physician who conducted procedures at the four hospitals where patients were infected. The meningitis outbreak has been confined to private hospitals in the state capital, also known as Durango, according to Mexico's health ministry.

☆ Black maternal deaths and disparities increase in Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report shows that the maternal mortality rate increased by 8.8% between 2013‐2016 and 2017‐2019, with the latter period being the most recent one analyzed by researchers. Of the maternal deaths directly related to pregnancy, 87.5% were determined to be preventable. Velvet Johnson holds a sign calling for support of the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable legislative agenda at Capitol in Jackson, Miss. It found that 42.5% of the maternal deaths it identified occurred more than 60 days but less than one year after delivery. Advocates from the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, an advocacy group, gathered at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to extend postpartum coverage.

☆ Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Amy Schoenfeld Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

But abortion-rights advocates say legal exceptions do nothing but make abortion bans appear more reasonable than they really are. One shows states with abortion bans with exceptions for rape or incest and the other shows states without those exceptions. One shows states with abortion bans with exceptions for fatal birth defects and the other shows states without those exceptions. One shows states with abortion bans with exceptions for patients with severe health risks and the other shows states without those exceptions. One shows states with abortion bans with exceptions for the life of the patient and the other shows states without those exceptions.

☆ Biden administration extends Covid public health emergency as highly infectious omicron XBB.1.5 spreads
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Eduardo Munoz | ReutersThe Biden administration has extended the Covid-19 public health emergency until April as a highly transmissible omicron subvariant stokes concern that the U.S. may face another wave of hospitalizations from the disease this winter. The U.S. has renewed the Covid public health emergency every 90 days since the Trump administration first issued the declaration in January 2020.watch nowThe emergency declaration has had a vast impact on the U.S. health-care system over the past three years. It has protected public health insurance coverage for millions, provided hospitals with greater flexibility to respond to patient surges and expanded telehealth. Once U.S. officials decide to end the public health emergency, hospitals will lose flexibility in how they deploy staff, add beds and care for patients when there's a surge in admissions. Congress banned states from kicking people off the program for the duration of the public health emergency.

Commotio cordis occurs less than a few dozen times a year in the U.S. Could chest protectors prevent the problem? It wasn't until 2019 that the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, developed standards for chest protectors. In 2022, USA Lacrosse mandated that all youth lacrosse players wear chest protection. Though doctors have not said whether Hamlin's injury was indeed commotio cordis, Acompora is glad to see the condition getting national attention. Chest protectors such as this one from Unequal Technologies have been in demand since Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest Monday.

☆ Alfalfa sprouts recalled in 3 states due to potential salmonella contamination
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A Nebraska company is recalling alfalfa sprouts sold in three states due to potential salmonella contamination as state health officials investigate a “cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses” caused by the bacteria. SunSprout Enterprises, based in Fremont, Nebraska, announced Thursday that it is voluntarily recalling four lots of raw alfalfa sprouts. SunSprout Enterprises alfalfa sprouts. "This voluntary recall is a result of a preliminary investigation by the State of Nebraska in connection with CDC of an outbreak of illness likely associated with alfalfa sprouts," the company said. State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue praised local and state health officials for quickly narrowing down the cause of the illnesses.

☆ U.K. Braces for Biggest Strikes in Years Over the Holiday Period
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Unions in the U.K. argue that workers can’t afford to see their inflation-adjusted wages fall. LONDON—The U.K. is set to face some of the worst strikes in at least a decade, raising fears that a “winter of discontent” will hit the country as workers push for bigger pay raises amid double-digit inflation and a gloomy economic outlook. University professors, teachers, railway staff and even security guards at the luxury department store Harrods have held strikes recently. Nurses for Britain’s state health service are threatening their first-ever strike on selected days near Christmas and ambulance drivers have also voted to walk out, for the first time in 30 years. Passport-control officials also announced a strike in December at several U.K. airports.

But agency veterans, outside public health officials, and workplace organization experts said the current workplace structure could be a major barrier to that goal. As of early 2020, much of the workforce of the FDA and the National Institutes of Health was working remotely. Today, the NIH is mostly back in the office, but the FDA said many of its employees continue to work remotely when possible. Many people have fled the U.S. public health workforce in recent years, burned out from the covid-19 response. Benjamin said the CDC would likely have made its pandemic stumbles even if staffers hadn’t been working remotely.

☆ Feds want a manager to oversee the troubled water system in Jackson, Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

— The federal government filed a proposal Tuesday to appoint a manager for the troubled water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which nearly collapsed in late summer and continues to struggle. The goal is to achieve long-term sustainability of the system and the city’s compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and other laws. According to the agreement, that litigation will be put on hold for six months while all parties try to improve the water system. Edward “Ted” Henifin was appointed as interim third-party manager of the Jackson water system and Water Sewer Business Administration, the city’s water billing department. While there is much more work ahead, the Justice Department’s action marks a critical moment on the path to securing clean, safe water for Jackson residents.″Jackson has had water problems for decades.

☆ Community health groups that played crucial role during Covid-19 pandemic say they’re being left out of government funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

“A lot of times, the funding streams have names that say ‘community,’ ‘community-based organizations’ or ‘community health workers,’ but the funding often goes to states and doesn’t end up helping at a grass-roots level,” said Denise Smith, executive director of the National Association of Community Health Workers. “HRSA strongly values the critical role that community health workers play – and can increasingly play – in supporting the health and well-being of communities. “Community health workers are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the community they serve. The group’s promotores de salud, or community health workers, encouraged vaccination and set up a hotline to distribute accurate information about the virus. “Grantees will be able to hire community health workers, as needed and appropriate,” said Nordlund, the CDC spokesperson.

☆ FDA lays out plan to combat bacterial illnesses in baby formula
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is charting a plan to enhance its surveillance of infant formula for Cronobacter bacteria. Cronobacter infections are rare, but they can be serious and even fatal, especially in newborns. Cronobacter lives in the environment, but when these infections are diagnosed in infants, they are often linked to powdered formula. Only one state, Minnesota, now requires doctors to report Cronobacter infections to the state health department. The infants had all consumed powdered formula manufactured at an Abbott Nutrition production facility in Sturgis, Michigan.

☆ As Ebola outbreak grows in Uganda, US ramps up preparedness plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“All primary and secondary schools in Uganda are directed to close by November 25th, 2022 for third term holidays as a measure to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country,” Museveni said in a statement. Major US cities get Ebola plans in placeThe CDC estimates that 20% of travelers from Uganda will arrive without a cell phone or US-based phone number. “CDPH continues to work with our hospitals to screen patients for travel history and be alert for symptoms of Ebola virus disease or, more likely, malaria or circulating respiratory viruses. ‘We need to be prepared’The Ebola virus is transmissible – but not as transmissible as some other infectious diseases, like Covid-19. “If we do see any cases in the United States, the hope is that they will be identified quickly before there is further spread,” Barouch said.

Private insurance and Medicare cover eight at-home tests a monthSince January, the Biden administration has required private insurers and Medicare to cover up to eight at-home tests per month. Free at-home tests from the government are no longer availableThe federal program that distributed up to 16 free at-home tests to households through the mail ended Sept. 2 because of a lack of congressional funding. At-home tests (also known as antigen tests), meanwhile, rarely give false positives but can give false negatives, even if someone is symptomatic. For other people, Covid tests never come back positive even though they feel sick and were exposed to the virus. In a study of college athletes with Covid, meanwhile, 27% still tested positive one week after their first positive tests.

☆ Australia seeks to reassure citizens on COVID after cruise ship outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Australia's Home Affairs Minister on Saturday sought to reassure the public that COVID-19 protocols were adequate after a cruise ship with hundreds of infected passengers docked in Sydney. The incident has sparked comparisons with a notorious 2020 outbreak onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. That outbreak, also in New South Wales, led to 914 infections and 28 deaths, an inquiry found. Carnival Australia, part of global leisure company Carnival Corporation & plc, said COVID-positive passengers were isolating onboard and being cared for by medical staff, according to New South Wales Health. The agency said it was working with cruise ship staff to monitor the health of passengers and crew members.

Oregon voters will determine Tuesday whether to pass stricter gun laws — the only ballot measure nationwide that addresses gun violence. Supporters, including shooting survivors in the state and across the country, say Oregon Measure 114 is necessary to reduce gun injuries and deaths. Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit group that advocates gun control, said 55% of mass shootings since 2009 have involved firearms with high-capacity magazines. During a recent virtual news conference, a handful of people who have experienced mass shootings in Oregon voiced their support for the ballot proposition. Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, who is also president of the nonprofit Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association, said it would cost local agencies over $49 million annually.

The rise comes as other respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are also spreading early and rapidly. Common winter viruses tend to peak in December and January — not October and November — though it's unclear how the early and intense spread of respiratory viruses will ultimately play out this season. It's the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic that run-of-the-mill respiratory viruses are again circulating widely. Other respiratory viruses, including rhinoviruses and enteroviruses, are also circulating widely, and could account for some of those illnesses. "We'll probably start seeing cases rise on the West Coast in the coming weeks," said Dr. Meredith McMorrow, a pediatrician and team lead for Enhanced Surveillance Platforms at the CDC.

☆ Missouri investigating hospital's denial of an emergency abortion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Missouri’s health department is investigating whether a hospital violated federal health care rules in denying a woman an emergency abortion, an agency spokeswoman confirmed Monday. But because her fetus still had a heartbeat and her condition wasn’t considered a life-threatening medical emergency at that moment, they couldn’t terminate the pregnancy in Missouri, they told her. Farmer criticized Missouri’s abortion ban in a campaign ad for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine, who is running against Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Missouri’s abortion ban includes exceptions for medical emergencies, although doctors and hospitals have said they’re unsure exactly what that covers. Additionally, physicians may also be subject to exclusion from the Medicare and State health care programs.”

☆ Father of Harmony Montgomery, girl who disappeared in 2019, is charged with murder in her death
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

CONCORD, N.H. — The father of Harmony Montgomery, a New Hampshire girl who disappeared in 2019 at age 5 but was not reported missing until late last year, has been arrested on a charge of second-degree murder, authorities said Monday. Other counts against Adam Montgomery, 32, include falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse between December 2019 and March 2020. An attorney for Adam Montgomery did not immediately comment. Police said they contacted Adam Montgomery, who had custody of Harmony, and other family members by the end of December. Bail for Kayla Montgomery was recently revoked after she didn’t show up at a hearing on charges against her, including that she lied to state health officials about having Harmony Montgomery in her care.

☆ Monkeypox emergency orders are set to expire, but eradication isn't likely
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

San Francisco will not renew its monkeypox public health emergency declaration when it expires at the end of the month. Many experts are optimistic that, eventually, the U.S. could sometimes see no new monkeypox cases within a limited time frame. That’s unfortunately the reality of public health in the U.S., and it needs to change," Roess said. Racial inequities also persist in vaccine distribution, so Black and Hispanic people consequently make up a disproportionate share of monkeypox cases. Despite the delays and failings in the U.S., Morse said, the monkeypox outbreak "could have been a lot worse."

☆ CDC is discussing using oral polio vaccine for first time in 20 years to stop New York outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"There will be lots of thought and discussion about the reintroduction of an oral polio vaccine into the United States," she said. The oral polio vaccine is much more effective at stopping transmission of the virus and is normally used to quash outbreaks. The novel oral polio vaccine was developed to stop poliovirus outbreaks caused by the less stable older version of the vaccine, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Any decision to use the novel oral polio vaccine would require either an approval or emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The World Health Organization recommends that countries using the inactivated vaccine, such as the U.S., consider deploying the novel oral polio vaccine if the inactivated shots don't stop the outbreak.

☆ Nevada boy dies from rare brain-eating amoeba he may have been exposed to at Lake Mead, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Nevada boy has died after he was infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba that he may have been exposed to at Lake Mead, state health officials announced Wednesday. The boy, described as a Clark county resident under the age of 18, died from Naegleria fowleri, the Southern Nevada Health District said in a news release. CDCThe CDC notified the Health District that Naegleria fowleri was confirmed as the cause of the patient’s illness. The amoeba infects people by “entering the body through the nose and traveling to the brain,” the Southern Nevada Health District said. “My condolences go out to the family of this young man,” District Health Officer Dr. Fermin Leguen said in a statement.

☆ Fact Check-Monkeypox, polio and new COVID variants are not ‘planned’ as ‘scare tactics’ to affect the U.S. midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Monkeypox and polio outbreaks, or new COVID-19 variants, have not been “planned” or orchestrated as “scare tactics” to manipulate the Nov. 8 midterm elections in the United States. As laid out in a Reuters explainer (here), experts agree that the major driver behind both vaccine-derived and wild polio outbreaks remains an under-vaccinated population. “Monkeypox is nothing more than a scare tactic to make you stay home and not vote in the November elections. Experts contacted by Reuters dismissed claims that these disease outbreaks are connected to election cycles and said they would not disrupt the upcoming electoral process. There is no evidence that monkeypox and polio outbreaks or new COVID-19 variants have been orchestrated as “scare tactics” to manipulate the U.S. midterm elections.

The breakdown occurred after Jackson was pummeled by days of heavy rain and the city’s main water treatment plant failed. In an interview on Monday, he said that withholding the funds Jackson needs to ensure safe drinking water puts lives at risk. “Mississippi is one of several states that absolutely rely on the generosity of the federal government,” Thompson said. More than 200 Jackson residents and supporters hold signs as they march to the governor's mansion to protest water issues in the city. Service was restored by the next week, and most Jackson residents no longer have to boil their water, but there are lingering concerns about water quality.

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