Health News:

• At least 25 states will stop SNAP food aid benefits on Nov. 1 if the shutdown continues. (Politico)
  
  
• An alternative to CDC’s flagship journal, MMWR, will be hosted by U. of Minnesota's CIDRAP and the New England Journal of Medicine’s NEJM Evidence. (Medpage Today)
  
  
• One in every five UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections), previously not linked to foodborne illness, may stem from meat infected with E. coli, according to new research. (GWU Milliken Public Health)
  
  
• The US measles case count topped 1600 cases year to date. That total represents the most US infections since 1992. (CDC)
  
  
• Food allergies in kids dropped a whopping 36% and peanut allergies 43% since pediatricians began recommending babies’ exposure to peanuts in 2017. (NYT)
  
  
• Japan continues to see early flu activity with several new school closures. (CIDRAP)
  
  
• There are six flocks confirmed to be infected with bird flu in the US just the last few days. (USDA)

• And, there are new reports that bird flu is spreading rapidly across Europe, raising new fears about food prices. (Reuters)
  
  

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Mental Health & Substance Use:

• A 10-week brain-training program boosted acetylcholine levels in older adults, effectively reversing about a decade of age-related decline. (NPR)
  
  
• A new study showed widely varying side-effects for commonly prescribed anti-depressants but overall were much lower than we thought. (CBS)

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If you’re in crisis, having suicidal thoughts, or need support, call or text 988. 24/7, free, and confidential. 

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Best Questions:

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What’s going on with mpox in California? 

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California recently announced that there’s community spread of a new, more severe type of mpox called “clade 1” that has never spread within the U.S. before. It’s particularly concerning because there are three unrelated cases in Southern California in Long Beach and Los Angeles counties, all in people who haven’t had any recent international travel. There have only been 6 cases of this more severe strain in the U.S. so far, and all included travel to central or east Africa, where over 40,000 people have been infected with that strain. All three California patients needed to be hospitalized. 

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Thus far, it seems to be primarily impacting communities of gay and bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men, as well as their social networks. But there’s nothing about mpox that is inherently a sexually transmitted virus only - any close physical contact can cause the virus to spread. 

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Mpox is caused by a virus, and begins with flu-like symptoms followed by a rash that starts with small raised dots, then develops into bigger blisters. There is a vaccine available that works very well to reduce the risk of getting severe mpox, both clade 1 and 2. While it doesn’t protect completely against the possibility of getting infected, it means that if you do, you’re not likely to be hospitalized or die. 

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At the end of the day, this isn’t cause to panic just yet. While clade 1 is more severe, it doesn’t necessarily spread more easily, and there is an effective vaccine. For those at higher risk, including gay or bisexual men, it’s a good idea to go get vaccinated now, especially if you’re in Southern California. 

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Sources: CIDRAP, CDPH, Guardian

Where are you getting public health information during the government shutdown? 

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The shutdown of the federal government, combined with mass layoffs across HHS (including at FDA, USDA, and CDC), means that communications from CDC and other government agencies are delayed, or even stopped altogether. 

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There are many fewer MMWR publications than usual, missing norovirus data, and a lot less research going on right now than at this time last year, just to name a few. Things are moving slower, research funding has been cut, and data sources that we used to have access to are delayed or missing altogether. 

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In their absence, we are lucky that a number of people and organizations have stepped up with recommendations, data collection, analysis and communication. Here are a few that we’re turning to:

1. Professional medical organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA), American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), etc.
   
   
2. University-affiliated programs like University of Minnesota’s CIDRAP and Brown’s Pandemic Center.
   
   
3. Individual public health pros doing amazing work on their own, like Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) who translates public health and Dr. Caitlin Rivers, who has been pulling state by state flu, COVID, and RSV data during the government shutdown.
   
   
4. Private data sources like PopHIVE, Google analytics, and private wastewater analysis.
   
   
5. New alternatives like the Public Health Alerts MMWR-alternative from CIDRAP/NEJM Evidence, and state groups like the West Coast Health Alliance, the Big Cities Health Coalition, and the Northeast Public Health Collaborative

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If you’re looking for specific info, don’t hesitate to reach out to ZHH. We may know where to find something similar if it’s not currently available. 

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Sources: STAT, CA.gov, CNN, Medpage Today

Best Read:

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After a quiet summer, the virus is hitting poultry flocks hard in the run-up to the holidays – and in the midst of a federal government shutdown.

‍Bird Flu is Back - NY Times (Gift Article)