Blastomycosis, a fungus found in soil and decaying wood, is believed to have infected more than 90 employees at a paper mill in Escanaba, Mich., according to an April 8 report from the Detroit Free Press.
Category: Public Health
XBB subvariants to crowd out dominant US strain: 3 COVID-19 updates
Omicron subvariant XBB.1.15 has remained dominant since January, but several other XBB offshoots may crowd out the strain over the next few weeks.
4 ways avian flu must evolve to become a human pandemic
An outbreak of avian flu at a Spanish mink farm in October 2022 and several other reported cases of the virus’s spread to mammals sparked concern of its transmission to humans. But experts say it will take a lot for avian flu to become a full-fledged h…
11 notes on the new omicron subvariant
A new SARS-CoV-2 omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16, is spreading throughout several countries, including parts of the U.S. Health officials at the World Health Organization have said it is something they are closely monitoring.
CDC warns clinicians about risks of imported cases of Marburg
The CDC issued a health advisory April 6 alerting clinicians in the U.S. to be aware of two Marburg virus disease outbreaks currently happening overseas — though at this time no cases have been confirmed in the U.S.
8 things WHO should add to its to-do list, per health experts
The World Health Organization turns 75 on April 7. While it finalizes its updated list of pandemic pathogens — which is set to be released any day — here are a few things health experts told NPR it should add to its agenda in 2023.
The ‘Unwinding’ of Medicaid
As of April 1, states were allowed to begin reevaluating Medicaid eligibility for millions of Americans who qualified for the program during the covid-19 pandemic but may no longer meet the income or other requirements. As many as 15 million people could lose health coverage as a result. Meanwhile, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is projected to stay solvent until 2031, its trustees reported, taking some pressure off of lawmakers to finally fix that program’s underlying financial weaknesses. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Daniel Chang, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a child not yet old enough for kindergarten whose medical bill landed him in collections.
COVID-19 hospitalizations up in 16 states 1 month out from end of PHE
Nearly one month out from the end of the public health emergency in the U.S., hospitalizations are on the rise in 16 different states, and a new omicron subvariant has been spotted in 18 states.
Gov. Newsom Wanted California to Cut Ties With Walgreens. Then Federal Law Got in the Way.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California would cut ties with Walgreens after the company said it would not distribute abortion pills in some states. But federal rules make it difficult for the state to unwind its Medicaid prescription drug agreement, which paid Walgreens $1.5 billion last year.
Solidifying long COVID-19's definition is key, researchers say
While some aspects of long COVID-19 — sometimes referred to as post-COVID-19 condition, or PCC — are much better understood than before, researchers have yet to land on a unified definition for the condition.
