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Vaccinating girls against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, has dramatically reduced the rates of cervical cancer in women, a study from the United Kingdom found. Cervical cancer rates were 87% lower in women who were vaccinated against HPV when they were between ages 12 and 13 compared to previous generations, the study published Wednesday reported. The rate of cervical cancer in women who were vaccinated between ages 14 and 16 was 62% lower. And in those vaccinated between 16 and 18, it was 34% lower. (Miller, 11/4)

Antiperspirant and deodorant body sprays have been found to contain elevated levels of the carcinogen benzene and should be recalled, an independent testing lab said in a petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late Wednesday. The sprays are the latest in a string of aerosol products found to contain the cancer-causing chemical, including sunscreens and antifungals. Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson recalled certain aerosol sunscreen sprays under the brands Neutrogena and Aveeno. Beiersdorf AG recalled some Coppertone sunscreen sprays in September. The next month, Bayer AG pulled certain Lotrimin and Tinactin sprays used for athlete’s foot and jock itch after tests showed some samples contained benzene. (Edney, 11/4)

A bat bite caused the first human rabies death since 1978 in Idaho, the state Department of Health and Welfare announced Thursday. The bat became caught in the male victim’s clothing in August. “He did not believe he had been bitten or scratched,” a press release said. He was hospitalized in October. It was not until after he took ill that officials determined he encountered the bat in Boise County. In 2020, 11% of 159 bats tested were positive for rabies in Idaho. So far in 2021, a total of 14 bats tested positive. (Del Giudice, 11/4)

The body of a Louisiana man who wanted it donated for science was dissected before paying viewers at an “Oddities and Curiosities Expo” in Oregon, news agencies report. His wife is aghast. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s horrible, unethical, and I just don’t have the words to describe it,” Elsie Saunders of Baker, a Baton Rouge suburb, told The Advocate. ... Saunders’ husband, World War II and Korean War veteran David Saunders, died of COVID-19 at age 98. She said she learned his dissection had been watched by people paying up to $500 a seat when she was called Tuesday by Seattle station KING-TV. (11/4)

An increased number and cats and dogs were diagnosed with myocarditis, or heart inflammation in the U.K., due to a coronavirus infection, according to a veterinary report. The condition, which has been reported in humans following the onset of a coronavirus infection, was seen in cats and dogs in the U.K., according to a report from veterinarian cardiologist Luca Ferasin in the journal Veterinary Record. (Breslin, 11/5)

KHN: ‘Covid Hit Us Over The Head With A Two-By-Four’: Addressing Ageism With Urgency

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization announced a global campaign to combat ageism — discrimination against older adults that is pervasive and harmful but often unrecognized. “We must change the narrative around age and ageing” and “adopt strategies to counter” ageist attitudes and behaviors, WHO concluded in a major report accompanying the campaign. Several strategies WHO endorsed — educating people about ageism, fostering intergenerational contacts, and changing policies and laws to promote age equity — are being tried in the United States. But a greater sense of urgency is needed in light of the coronavirus pandemic’s shocking death toll, including more than 500,000 older Americans, experts suggest. (Graham, 11/5)