Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Officials Link 23 Listeria Cases, 1 Death To Florida
At least 23 people from across the U.S. have been sickened in a listeria outbreak which may have originated in Florida, federal health officials reported Thursday. One person has died, and another suffered a pregnancy loss. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that cases have been reported in 10 states. All of the patients either live in Florida, or traveled there about a month before getting sick. The exact source of the outbreak is unknown. (6/30)
In updates on the children's hepatitis outbreak —
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday said the number of pediatric unexplained hepatitis cases in the United States has risen to 320, up from the 296 it reported earlier this week in an interim finding report. The number of affected states or jurisdictions remained at 42. (6/30)
In news about West Nile virus —
The first West Nile virus case of 2022 was detected in a Lake County resident, the Indiana Department of Health announced in a news release Thursday. To protect their privacy, no other information was released about the person infected in the northwest part of the state. (Rafford, 6/30)
Insecticide spraying will occur in parts of Milpitas on Thursday night after public health officials discovered mosquitos with West Nile virus. The affected areas include the central and western regions of Milpitas, according to a map provided by the health department. (Greschler, 6/30)
In other health and wellness news —
Uber received 3,824 sexual assault reports from its U.S. rides in 2019-20, a decline of 38 percent from the previous two years, according to a safety report the company released Thursday. The company said the decline could be in part related to the impacts of the pandemic, citing a drop from 2.3 billion rides in 2017-18 to 2.1 billion rides in 2019-20, but also hailed its recent safety investments and strengthened background check requirements. (Schonfeld, 6/30)
Heat-related deaths nearly doubled in 2021, totaling 245 people, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. Annual deaths among residents and visitors also surged in the last decade, increasing more than fivefold, a Review-Journal analysis found. The situation is alarming, experts say, as summers grow hotter. (Simonton and Scott Davidson, 6/30)
According to some health experts, one of the most critical health inequities among L.G.B.T.Q. adults often goes overlooked. A mounting body of research shows that L.G.B.T.Q. adults are more likely to have worse heart health than their heterosexual peers. (Blum, 6/29)
About a quarter of Americans live with a disability, but nearly a third of the most popular federal websites are difficult for disabled people to access. It has been 10 years since the Department of Justice filed a biennial report on the federal government's compliance with accessibility standards for information technology, a bipartisan group of concerned senators say. The reports are required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. (Rajkumar, 6/30)
