Health News:

• Zimbabwe started an emergency polio vaccination drive after detecting cases caused by a rare mutation. (AP)
• Young adults have higher rates of long COVID than older Americans. (USA Today)
• More than half of the world’s countries will face dangerous measles risk by the end of the year if urgent preventative measures aren’t taken. (Reuters)
• A sixth measles case was reported in the south Florida outbreak. (WUSF)
• Two measles cases were reported in New Orleans, and two more in Arizona. Meanwhile the cluster in the UK has grown to 169. (CIDRAP)
• Switching to electric vehicles could save hundreds of infants’ lives through reducing air pollution, a new American Lung Association report found. (CNN)
• Medical examiners and coroners are increasingly blaming deaths on kratom, an herbal product believed to help with pain or anxiety. (Washington Post)
• Rhode Island’s Department of Health said it’s seeing norovirus outbreaks statewide. (WJAR)
• The FDA has warned against smart watches and rings that claim to read blood sugar without needles. (AP)
• Kids whose birthdays - and therefore their annual pediatrician’s check up - fell during flu season were more likely to get their annual flu shots. (BMJ)
• Four nonprofits that capitalized on medical misinformation gained a collective $118 million from 2020-2022, far more than they were making before the pandemic. (Washington Post)

Mental Health & Substance Use News:

• Meth is playing an increasing role in the US addiction crisis. (USA Today)
• Vending machines with naloxone and fentanyl test strips are helping states battle the opioid crisis. (CNN)
• 42% of Americans know someone who died of a drug overdose. (AJPH)

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. 

Best Questions:

What’s going on with measles in Florida? 

There’s an outbreak of measles among children in a South Florida elementary school, and it’s causing a stir because of an unusual reaction from the Florida State Department of Health. The CDC recommends that unvaccinated children must be excluded from school through 21 days after their most recent exposure. Again, this is because a whopping 90% of them will likely become infected after exposure.  In his official letter to parents, the State Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, said that parents can make a choice about school attendance. Many public health officials are very concerned, and point out that Florida has only a 90% vaccination rate for school aged kids, which is well below the 95% threshold for community spread among unvaccinated kids. Ladapo notably also didn’t call for parents to vaccinate their children - particularly surprising because, if vaccinated prophylactically within 72 hours of their exposure, kids are well-protected and generally allowed to end isolation. We’ll continue to keep an eye on Florida’s Surgeon General as a hotspot for deviation from standards of practice and, as we’ve previously mentioned, for vaccine misinformation. 

Sources: NBC, YLE, FL DoH, NY Times

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What are the symptoms of measles?

Measles doesn’t actually start with the telltale rash. Instead, it starts with a runny nose, red and watery eyes, cough, and a high fever. Two or three days after symptoms begin, small white spots may appear inside the mouth. Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out, often starting at the face or head and spreading downward. Measles can be very dangerous, especially for young kids, so call your doctor immediately if you think you or your child may have measles. 

Source: CDC

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I’m sick and think it might be COVID. When should I test? 

If you test on the first day of symptom onset, you’re much more likely to get a false negative result. With the currently circulating variants, we’re seeing most people test positive on at-home rapid tests on Day 3 or Day 4 of symptoms. Especially now that COVID tests are a bit harder to get for free, it might make sense to wait until at least the second day of your symptoms to take that first COVID test, if you can. Remember, if you’re sick, you should probably still be staying home from work even if that test comes back negative during the first few days of symptoms. Especially if you know you were exposed and you feel sick, you should assume you’re infectious until you’ve tested negative multiple times through your fourth day of symptoms. 

Source: CID

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Best Read:

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‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic Crashes Ashore, Propelled by Fentanyl and Meth - KFF Health News

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