Outbreak News:

• The number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to 515 in DRC. (Reuters)
  
  
• A new CDC report says that this Ebola outbreak could rival the worst on record, with up to 20,000 cases and 4,000 deaths in 3 months if the world doesn’t take swift action. (NPR)
  
  
• Health workers on the front lines of the Ebola crisis are working with little pay or rest in extremely challenging conditions. (AP)
  
  
• Two Texans were cleared of hantavirus risk after completing their 42-day isolation (they left the ship after the first passenger died but before the outbreak was identified). (KERA)

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Health News: 

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• The U.S. officially passed a grim milestone - 2,000 measles cases this year. It took until December to reach this number last year. (NBC)
  
  
• There’s been a sharp rise in norovirus in the South that’s unusual for this time of year. (YLE)
  
  
• 5 total cases of New World screwworm have been confirmed in the U.S., 4 in Texas and one in a dog in New Mexico that hadn’t traveled to TX, indicating wider spread. (AP)
  
  
• 48 million Americans will face “major” heat risk this week - don’t forget that heat “imbalance” (when you’re not used to it) is often riskier than the hottest days. (YLE)
  
  
• A rare type of Lyme disease previously found only in the Upper Midwest has been detected in New York state. (NBC)
  
  
• A new CDC report cautions hunters and international travelers who ate unpasteurized dairy or undercooked meat to get checked for brucellosis if they have fever, headache, or joint pain. (CIDRAP)
  
  
• One restaurant in North Carolina is linked to six cases of Salmonella - and some cases of Campylobacter. (WKYK)
  
  
• LA has started tracking weekly heat-related ER visits and deaths, in an effort to guide outreach and training. (LA Times)
  
  
• Legionella bacteria closed the St. Louis Public Schools headquarters after a worker tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. (STLPR)
  
  
• Some good news: South Africa, which has the world’s highest HIV burden, is rolling out a new drug that’s highly effective at preventing HIV entirely, and only requires 2 shots per year versus daily pills. (AP)

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Best Question:

How high risk is it to cater for a World Cup team or other major sports team? 

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For restaurants and hotels, it can be high-risk, high-reward to cater for a major national team before a big game. But the reputational risk if something goes wrong can be astronomically high. With the FIFA World Cup coming to 11 U.S. cities this week, it’s more important than ever that your team is prepared for these high stakes situations. 

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The most infamous example of this going wrong is Michael Jordan’s legendary “Flu Game.” In the 1997 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan named a major chain pizza restaurant that he suspected gave him food poisoning before what has become known as the“Flu Game.” He played through the pain to lead the Chicago Bulls to a comeback, where they’d go on to win it all, but his illness was all over the news. Needless to say, we imagine the pizza chain’s PR team was busy for a long while. 

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But other, smaller instances happen all the time. Complaints after a large group dine in or order out can be extra challenging, especially if multiple people are sick. It’s important to follow up and learn more - often the timelines don’t actually match up with what we know about how foodborne illness actually transmits, or we find out that a group left food unrefrigerated for hours and hours before they ate it. But even if it’s not true or not your fault, rumors have legs, and in a high-stakes situation like the World Cup, social media and news coverage could be hard to come back from. 

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You certainly don’t want to deny a team that loves your food - but be sure to take extra care with time, temperature, packaging, and transportation. Make sure you know which of your locations are near training facilities or team lodgings (check out this map from the Brown Pandemic Center that lists all the World Cup training sites, hotels that the teams are staying at, and upcoming matches). Then, make sure your managers there know to treat any large World Cup orders with VIP care, whether it’s for Lionel Messi or a group of excited fans. 

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Sources:  NBA.com, Food Safety

Best Read:

Normally, the CDC’s vaccine advisors weigh in on flu vaccines in June. This year, the panel is in chaos but the largest group of insurers confirmed this week that they’ll cover flu and COVID shots through 2027.

Flu Vaccines Should Not Be This Hard - The Atlantic (Gift Article)