Women who traveled to Mexico primarily for cosmetic procedures are at the center of the CDC’s investigation into a multinational fungal meningitis outbreak, the agency reported June 8. So far there have been three deaths, and the agency is monitor…
Category: Public Health
Viewpoint: Hospital-based programs key to reducing gun violence
Medicaid should cover hospital-based community violence prevention programs for gunshot patients and other violently injured victims enrolled in Medicaid, according to an op-ed published on amNY.
Massage Therapists Ease the Pain of Hospice Patients — But Aren’t Easy to Find
The pandemic disrupted the massage industry. Now those who specialize in hospice massage therapy are in demand and redefining their roles.
How the Mixed Messaging of Vaccine Skeptics Sows Seeds of Doubt
Some GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have two-stepped around vaccine skepticism, proclaiming themselves to be pro-vaccine while also validating the beliefs of people who oppose vaccine mandates. The result could have serious public health consequences.
Woman who refused TB treatment detained, will be quarantined for up to 45 days
A woman in Washington has been detained after more than a year of refusing treatment for an active case of tuberculosis and repeatedly failing to appear in court, NPR reported June 3.
Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact
The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.
Healthgrades creates LGBTQ+ care designation
Healthgrades has partnered with a nonprofit organization to create a new LGBTQ+ Affirming Care Designation on its website.
5 viruses experts are keeping watch on this summer
COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a record low at the end of May — this, after a hectic winter and spring that brought a surge in respiratory syncytial virus, flu and invasive strep.
7 updates on brain-eating amoeba cases in the US
Cases of the bacteria that causes brain-eating amoeba infections, Naegleria fowleri, are continuing to increase in several U.S. states. Now, Indiana is the most recent place to report new infections, WBIW radio reported June 6.
California Confronts the Threat of ‘Tranq’ as Overdose Crisis Rages
California officials are stepping up efforts to combat the spread of xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that’s increasingly being used by people, often with devastating results. It’s mostly been an East Coast phenomenon, but ‘tranq,’ as it is known, is beginning to appear in the Golden State.
