Note: We’re off next week for some summer vacation. We’ll be back on August 20th. As always, we’ll send news alerts if anything urgent comes up while we’re away!

‍
Bird Flu News:

• Colorado’s bulk testing has revealed more dairy herds infected with bird flu. (CIDRAP)
• CDC has advised vulnerable groups, including those under 5 and over 65, to limit exposure at state fairs to animals that could carry bird flu, including dairy cows and chickens. (WGME)

‍
Health News:

• There may be up to 900,000 new COVID infections each day right now. (JWeiland)
• A third person has died from listeria amid the ongoing outbreak tied to Boar’s Head products. (CDC)
• Millions of Americans became uninsured after Medicaid cut coverage. (STAT)
• 700+ hospitals are set to close as the gap widens between rich and poor hospitals. (Axios)
• Free COVID vaccines will soon be harder for some uninsured and underinsured people to find. (NY Times)
• A Dallas woman died of West Nile virus, the 7th U.S. death this year. (USA Today)
• A cattle farm in China was closed after an anthrax outbreak in cows that spread to five humans. (Reuters)
• Nassau County, NY passed a mask ban aimed to prevent protestors from hiding their identity, with exemptions for religious and health reasons. (USA Today)
• Antidepressants and some heart medication make extreme heat even riskier. (WSJ)
• Seattle officials are investigating a shiga toxin-producing E. coli outbreak associated with a coffee and sports bar. (King County)

‍

Mental Health & Substance Use News:

• California needs to do more to prevent suicide in Native Americans, tribal elders say. (San Bernardino Sun)
• Psychiatric problems may persist years after long COVID. (CIDRAP)
• Sadness among teen girls may finally be improving. (NY Times)

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call or text 988.‍

‍
Best Questions:

Would a bird flu vaccine work on cows?

There are a few companies working actively to develop a bird flu vaccine for cows, but some experts aren’t sure whether it would actually work. First, there’s relatively little research on how normal, intramuscular flu vaccines could work for this virus in cows, especially given that it works in both the respiratory and mammary systems. Researchers are studying it now, but there are still a lot of questions. Beyond the actual clinical research, many are wondering whether farmers, who have thus far been reluctant to cooperate with public health agencies, would even vaccinate their herds if a vaccine was available, especially if it cost them money. Either way, we’re glad that this research is being conducted, even if it’s just one part of a complete response to this threat.

Source: STAT

‍

Should mpox in Africa worry us here in the U.S.?

The WHO and African CDC are considering declaring a public health emergency over the increasing spread of the deadly Clade I mpox, which has been endemic for decades in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cases there are on the rise, with thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths, mostly in children. This is a different clade, or group of virus strains, than the mpox that made headlines in 2022 and is still spreading globally, primarily in men who have sex with men. Clade I mpox is much deadlier, and has recently started to spread beyond the DRC to neighboring countries, including some, like the Ivory Coast and Kenya, that have never had cases before. This week the CDC issued a new alert to U.S. doctors to be on the lookout for mpox symptoms in travelers who have recently been to the DRC and neighboring countries. The risk in the U.S. is still very low, the CDC says, in part because there aren’t many direct flights from the DRC or its border countries.

Sources: Washington Post, CIDRAP, CDC

‍

Best Read:

Paris Olympics 2024: Tokyo was meant to be the COVID Games. It’s far, far worse in Paris - Sydney Morning Herald

‍