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Health Care Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 06, 2016 8 Comments
Some intriguing news has been reported that gives me hope that our bureaucrats are taking the public health threat related to the Zika virus seriously. As you may recall, the last time I reported on the Zika epidemic, 4 Floridians had developed locally-acquired infections (probably from mosquito bites). Now, there are 16 cases and stores in the impacted area of Miami are closing due to the viral spread.
Cafes and art galleries in Miami’s Wynwood Art District would normally be bustling this week, even during some of the hottest days of the year, but with Zika virus spreading in the area, businesses like Wynwood Yard and Gallery 212 are keeping their doors shut. There were 16 cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika reported in the mainland U.S. as of Friday, and health officials have traced most to a square-mile area north of downtown Miami. Empty streets there reminded Gallery 212 owner Michael Perez of when he had to temporarily close a store in New York in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. “I’m just like living my life all over again, with this Zika thing,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s crazy, the streets are bare right now.”
Florida is not only an important beacon of tourism for this nation; it is a critical swing state in this election. Therefore, it should surprise nobody that the normally slow-moving Food and Drug Administration just approved the releasing of mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Sunshine State.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 30, 2016 10 Comments
I predicted earlier this year that our country would start seeing cases of "home-grown" Zika sometime this summer. Sure enough, Florida is reporting four cases of locally-contracted Zika.
Four individuals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes, Florida health officials said Friday. These are the first known cases of the virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the continental United States. "While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area," according to a statement from the Florida Department of Health. ...Officials believe the local transmission is confined to a small area north of downtown Miami within a single ZIP code. However, local, state and federal health officials are continuing their investigation, which includes going door-to-door to ask residents for urine samples and other information in an effort to determine how many people may be infected. Additional cases are anticipated.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 24, 2016 7 Comments
As expected, the number of Zika cases in steadily rising in the United States, and now it appears that hundreds of pregnant women in this country have been infected with the virus that has been traced to severe birth defects.
More than 400 pregnant women now have Zika in the US - up from 364 last week. Another three babies have also been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of infected infants to seven, according to new data from the CDC. It comes amid fears that American mosquitoes may now be infected with Zika after a woman in Miami contracted the virus without traveling abroad.

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 17, 2016 32 Comments
Now that Obamacare co-ops are collapsing and Bernie Sanders has spent months revving up Democratic Primary voters on the idea of "free" healthcare, Obama is suddenly open to the idea of a public option in Obamacare. Some might think this was the goal all along. The Wall Street Journal reports:
President Obama Pushes for ‘Public Option’ in Affordable Care Act President Barack Obama, reviewing his signature health law six years into its implementation, is suggesting Congress and his White House successor add a government-run, or public, insurance option to the Affordable Care Act and increase federal financial assistance for people to buy coverage.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on July 14, 2016 3 Comments
An upcoming startup event promises to bring hundreds of Israeli and Indian entrepreneurs to collaborate in creating healthcare solutions for India. India's largest startup incubator T-Hub has tied up with Pears Foundation to organise the first ‘India-Israel Med4Dev Hackathon’ from July 22nd to 24th, 2016. The organisers expect more than 150 binational teams to participate in the startup event that takes place simultaneously in Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Pegged presently at $100 billion, healthcare is one of the biggest and the fastest growing sectors in India. The two-trillion Asian economy is growing at a rate of 8 percent per annum. India's growing middle has created a huge market for modern and efficient healthcare. The healthcare sector in India is projected to reach $280 billion by 2020.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 06, 2016 6 Comments
The 2016 Summer Olympics begin in Rio next month and everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. The police have told tourists they cannot protect them, scientists found a superbug in the water, and no one can find a missing Gitmo prisoner in Brazil. The police put out a "Welcome to Hell" sign outside of Rio's main airport. https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/750392561836097537

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 22, 2016 2 Comments
World #4 golfer Rory McIlroy has announced he will not play at the Rio Olympics due to the Zika outbreak. He released this statement:
"After much thought and deliberation, I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "After speaking with those closest to me, I've come to realise that my health and my family's health comes before anything else. "Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a risk I am unwilling to take. "I trust the Irish people will understand my decision. The unwavering support I receive every time I compete in a golf tournament at home or abroad means the world to me. "I will continue to endeavour to make my fans and fans of golf proud with my play on the course and my actions off it."
Scientists have connected Zika to birth defects, including microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Numerous athletes have withdrawn from the Olympics because of Zika while some have expressed doubt they will play, but have not made up their mind yet.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 12, 2016 12 Comments
California is now beginning to implement its new right-to-die law, so terminally ill patients with six months or less to live can ask their doctor for life-ending medication.
The law requires terminally ill patients to submit three requests to their doctor for life-ending drugs. Two of them are verbal requests and must be at least 15 days apart. Patients must submit the third request in writing. Doctors and pharmacists can refuse to issue lethal medications without any fear of consequences. Patients can also opt out at any time. California will become the fifth state to allow medical aid in dying, and it's estimated that some 1,500 lethal prescriptions will be written in the state each year.
When Californians passed a medical marijuana measure, marijuana dispensaries began opening. In the wake of the new physician assisted suicide law, the first "right to die" clinic has been created.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 05, 2016 5 Comments
U.S. cyclist Tejay van Garderen has decided not to attend the 2016 Rio Olympics this summer due to the Zika virus. Van Garderen has concerns he could contract the disease and give it to his pregnant wife and unborn daughter:
“If Jessica were not pregnant right now, assuming I was selected, I would go,” van Garderen told CyclingTips. “But the fact is, she is pregnant. If we were just going to start trying, I’d say we could start trying six months after the Olympics. But when she has a baby in her belly, I don’t want to take any chances.”
His statement comes a week after 150 of the world's top doctors demanded the Olympic Committee either move or postpone the games.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 15, 2016 3 Comments
An expert's report in the Harvard Public Health Review asserts that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro could cause a "full-blown public health disaster” because of the Zika virus unless the event is postponed, relocated or canceled. The author of this analysis is Amir Attaran, Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa. His education includes a D.Phil in immunology from the University of Oxford. Interestingly, Attran has been a fighter for for renewed use of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa to combat malaria. His full piece in the Harvard publication makes 5 key points, which are as follows:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 26, 2016 9 Comments
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have done neither, lacking the power to stem the flow of essentially unimpeded immigration into the U.S. by unaccompanied minors. Judicial Watch recently reviewed the records generated by that agency during the past few years, and the findings were truly sickening.
A government official warned employees deploying for the influx of illegal immigrant minors about health and safety risks because the new arrivals would have tuberculosis and some were young adults—not children—like the Obama administration proclaimed, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch. “We might as well plan on many of the kids having [Tuberculosis] TB,” states a June 26, 2014 guidance e-mail from a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) environmental health scientist, Alaric C. Denton, as the agency prepared to handle the crisis.

Posted by New Neo on April 18, 2016 12 Comments
You know those hot air hand dryers found in almost all public restrooms? Time-consuming, don't really dry your hands thoroughly --- and now we discover that they throw a bunch of viruses into the air, particularly the newer design called the Dyson:
Researchers have long known that warm hand dryers can launch bacteria into the air—compared to dabbing with paper towels, which unleashes virtually none. But new jet air dryers, made by Dyson, are significantly more problematic—they launch far more viruses into the air, which linger for longer periods of time and reach much farther distances, researchers recently reported in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. This is particularly concerning because viruses, unlike many infectious bacteria, can easily maintain their infectiousness in the air and on surfaces, and just a few viral particles can spark an infection.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 15, 2016 0 Comments
A new a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the Zika virus can cause a rare birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other brain and neurological effcts.
Health officials across the globe have suspected for months a link between the virus and the birth defect, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain. Officials said today the evidence is overwhelming that exposure to virus in utero causes the birth defect. CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden called the news a "turning point" in a fight against the virus that has continued to spread throughout the Americas.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 10, 2016 2 Comments
I attended two fascinating lectures at a local biosafety conference this week. The first talk addressed "The Zika Virus Invasion" and the second revealed a potential new weapon to control the spread of the pathogen that has been linked to birth defects and neurological disorders. The Scripps Research Institute's Biosafety Officer, Dr. Laurence Cagnon, focused on entirely on the Zika Virus in her intriguing talk. The expert on virology and microbiology discussed the history of Zika research and reviewed recommendations for working with infected samples and mosquitoes safely. "We are still limited about what we actually know about Zika," said Cagnon. "The recommendations are to treat Zika as guilty until proven innocent". Cagnon noted that before the outbreak in Brazil was widely reported, along with the associated microcephaly birth defects, only 171 professional articles mentioned the Zika Virus. In comparison, thousands were available on other well-known mosquito-borne diseases (including several I have covered here, including dengue fever, chikungunya, and Ebola).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 30, 2016 1 Comment
As the primary battle in Wisconsin heats up with the endorsement of Senator Ted Cruz by Governor Scott Walker, an different kind of fight is occurring among the state's citizens. As of this report, nearly 60 Wisconsin residents have been stricken with bloodstream infection from a bacteria called Elizabethkingia, and 18 have died. Additionally, one Michigan resident has also died from an infection.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 23, 2016 13 Comments
It doesn't sound quite as good as "on the cover of The Rolling Stone." A reader emailed me a photo of a NY Times front page story today in which I am quoted. Thing is, the Times article suggests I opposed the proposal:
Ever since Mr. Myrick, 29, unveiled a plan last month for what he called a “supervised injection facility,” critics have pounced on it as a harebrained idea that would just enable more drug abuse. A Republican state legislator, Tom O’Mara, called it “preposterous” and “asinine,” and a Cornell law professor, William A. Jacobson, said it would be a “government-run heroin shooting gallery.”
In fact, in my blog post from which the quote was taken, to which The Times links in the online version, I was ambivalent:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 13, 2016 7 Comments
As of our last report on the Zika virus, the number of confirmed cases of infection among those living in the United States was steadily rising and several woman had pregnancies that were likely impacted by the mosquito-borne pathogen. While President Obama says "not to panic", the normally glacially responsive Food and Drug Administration took the initial steps to pave the way for the use of genetically modified mosquitoes in the fight to eradicate the virus. The agency has just published a draft of its environmental impact study of OX513A, a male Aedes aegypti mosquito genetically modified to pass on a lethal gene to his offspring.
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