Measles News:
- Colorado announced a seventh measles case linked to the Turkish Airlines flight. Four were passengers on the plane, and three were exposed at the airport. (Denver Gov)
- A premature baby died in Ontario, Canada after contracting the virus before birth from their mother. (Guardian)
- Measles cases continue to rise in Canada, with 2,755 cases so far this year. (Canada.ca)
Health News:
- The ongoing tomato recall from William Farms Repack was updated to Class I, the most severe. Products were shipped to GA, NC, and SC. (CBS)
- Organic Rancher brand ground beef sold at Whole Foods may be tainted with E. coli. There’s no recall since they’re not available to buy, but may still be in fridges or freezers. (AP)
- Norovirus GII.17 has become the dominant strain this year, likely part of what fueled the longer and much more intense noro season. (CDC)
- U.S. Valley Fever cases may be a whopping 18 times higher than reported, with up to 28,000 people hospitalized and 1,100 dead in 2019 alone. (CIDRAP)
- New parasites found in California freshwater fish pose a potential risk to people who eat raw or undercooked catches, though no human cases have been reported yet. (CIDRAP)
- More than 1 in 4 Americans don’t have dental insurance, nearly triple the number that don’t have health insurance. But real medical issues can come from poor dental health. (TIME)
- The texture of many packaged foods plays a big role in driving people to eat more of them, new research shows. (WSJ)
- Bangladesh notified the WHO of two recent human H5N1 cases. (WHO)
- “Neglected tropical diseases” now face even more neglect with the dissolution of USAID; they affect more than a billion people worldwide. (NPR)
- ER visits for nitrous oxide (laughing gas) misuse surged 75% over four years in Michigan. (CBS)
Best Questions:
What can I do to protect my family from measles when traveling this summer?
More measles exposures are happening at airports and tourist destinations, and the CDC just updated its travel warning to say that all international travelers should be fully vaccinated, not just those who are traveling to areas where there’s a current measles outbreak. A recent outbreak is garnering attention after at least four different passengers got measles after being exposed on an international flight from Istanbul to Denver. Not to mention exposures at a Shakira concert in New Jersey, a Buc-ee’s travel stop in Texas, a mall in Minnesota, and many more.
If you have summer travel coming up, the best thing to do to protect yourself and your family is to make sure everyone is vaccinated. If you’re travelling with an infant 6-11 months old, they should get an early dose of the MMR vaccine to protect them, though they’ll still need the usual two doses after they turn one. For everyone else, a total of two doses of MMR provides strong protection (97% effective), and it’s still far and away the best method to avoid getting the measles. If you don’t know whether you’re vaccinated, there’s no harm in getting another dose even if you may already be immune.
As our world gets more interconnected and global vaccination rates decline, the new reality means that you’re at risk any time you travel, even domestically. Taking some precautions, especially if you have vulnerable babies at home, is key.
Sources: CNN, CDC
Do heat waves lead to more infectious diseases?
Heat waves are dangerous in and of themselves. In 2023, at least 2,300 Americans died from heat, more than from any other natural disaster. That number is likely a vast undercount, since heat is rarely listed as a factor if someone had a heat-related heart attack, for example.
But the ripple effects of extreme heat go well beyond heat stroke. Rising temperatures are accelerating the spread of infectious diseases in ways that most people—and employers—don’t see coming.
The list is enormous, but includes:
- Hotter weather breeds more ticks and mosquitoes carrying malaria, Zika, dengue, West Nile, Lyme, and so many more.
- COVID cases increase in summer during heat waves, as people move to closer quarters indoors.
- Warmer winters and less snow mean more rodents sneaking into human houses, leading to more hantavirus.
- Higher water temperatures lead to more Vibrio, which can infect raw oysters.
There are things that employers can do to help mitigate the effects:
- Protect workers from insects with insecticide, screens, protective clothing, and by eliminating standing water.
- Ensure indoor areas have proper ventilation and airflow.
- Enact strong sick call policies that encourage employees to stay home when they’re sick with respiratory or GI symptoms.
- Build relationships with suppliers who have good harvesting and refrigeration practices.
Sources: Bloomberg, Scientific American, NIH, Nature
Best Listen:
If you have a bit more time this week, we really enjoyed listening to this conversation with the CEO and Director of NEHA, who really drives home that environmental health is local.