苹果淫院

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as syphilis are on the rise in most regions of the world, UN health agency WHO said in a new report on Tuesday. 

96 Global Health NOW: Ambulances Targeted in S. Africa; Pain Relief Out of Reach; and Seeking Justice After Sterilization Armed thieves are hindering Cape Town paramedics' emergency response. May 20, 2024 Ambulances Targeted in South Africa 
Armed thieves are robbing paramedics in Cape Town of medical equipment, drugs, wallets, and cellphones.

• The persistent attacks are adding to the stress of working in one of the world鈥檚 鈥渕ost crime-prone cities.鈥�

Mandatory police escort for ambulances have been required for certain areas of Cape Town since 2016. While paramedics say the escorts have lessened the number of attacks, the policy limits their response to emergencies鈥攚ith sometimes hours-long delays that result in patients鈥� deterioration or deaths.

• 44 ambulance attacks were documented in Western Cape province in 2023鈥攖hough officials say many minor cases are going unreported.


• Attacks are down from 2016, when officials recorded 100+. 

The Quote: "They don't care if you're there to help an old lady who's having a heart attack. There's no respect anymore. And it impacts how we can treat our patients," says Victor Labuschagne, a paramedic who has been both shot and stabbed. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners

A 鈥済round-breaking package of amendments鈥� to the WHO鈥檚 International Health Regulations have been agreed to by member states ahead of next week鈥檚 World Health Assembly鈥攚ith many changes formulated in the wake of COVID-19.

~3,000 HIV or hepatitis C deaths and ~30,000 infections traced to contaminated blood in the U.K. from the 1970s to the 90s could have been avoided, according to a five-year inquiry published today; it concluded that a government and NHS cover-up put financial and reputational concerns over patient safety.

People with HIV can breastfeed their babies, as long as they are taking antiretroviral medications, ; the guidance reverses recommendations in place since the 1980s.

Waiting to withdrawing life support until at least 72 hours after a patient鈥檚 admission to the ICU could lead to better-informed decisions about the patient鈥檚 long-term prognosis, ; researchers looked at a 鈥渓imited鈥� database of 1,392 traumatic brain injury patients and found 42% who continued life support recovered some degree of independence.

PAIN Relief Out of Reach
Every year, millions of people die 鈥渘eedlessly in pain鈥� due to a lack of palliative care and access to painkillers. 

Worst-affected: Africa. Only 11 of the continent鈥檚 54 countries have basic palliative care plans or policies, and even fewer include palliative care in medical school curricula. 

Deep disparities: Just six high-income countries consume 79% of all global morphine production. 

• In many African countries, morphine . 

A growing need: Cancer cases in Africa are predicted to over the next few years. 

Taking steps: While countries like Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa have begun integrating hospice care into public health services, access is still limited鈥攅specially in rural areas. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS Seeking Justice After Sterilization
Between 1996 and 2001, more than 272,000 women and 22,000 men in Peru were sterilized in a nationwide campaign鈥攚ith estimates suggesting <10% gave their consent.

• 鈥淭he forced sterilizations perpetrated in the 1990s represent a grave violation of the human rights of thousands of people,鈥� said Marina Navarro, director of Amnesty International in Peru.  

Indigenous people were primarily targeted, with thousands reporting that they were tricked, harassed, and physically forced to undergo the procedures. 

Despite growing revelations of the scope of the abuse, the vast majority of victims have never received justice in a decades-long legal battle. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS U.S. doctor who refused to leave Gaza says he 鈥榗annot abandon my team鈥� 鈥�

ECDC warns of invasive meningococcal infections in travelers from Saudi Arabia 鈥�

Bad Blood? The Uncertainty Around Microclots and Long Covid 鈥�

Scientists make potential breast cancer breakthrough after preserving tissue in gel 鈥�

Inside the Global Burden of Disease Study 鈥�

Keto diet may cause organ damage, mouse study finds 鈥�

Why babies in South Korea are suing the government 鈥�

The known unknowns about Ozempic, explained 鈥�

Like to bike? Your knees will thank you and you may live longer, too 鈥嬧�嬧�� Issue No. 2541
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Failure to invest in the health of the Syrian people will only deepen instability in the war-ravaged country and pose threats to regional and global security, a senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

96 Global Health NOW: Psychiatry in Sierra Leone: Changing the Narrative; Growing 鈥楪lobal Threat鈥� of Mpox; and 鈥嬧�婣 Poodle With a 鈥楯e Ne Sage Quoi鈥� May 17, 2024 View of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Blessed Sheriff Psychiatry in Sierra Leone: Changing the Narrative  
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone鈥擨n the past, many patients with mental illness were chained in hospital wards or abandoned at Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital鈥攖he country鈥檚 only hospital for people with mental health conditions, colloquially known as the Kissy Crase Yard (the Kissy Crazy Yard).
 
Today, thanks to the efforts of the country鈥檚 first psychiatry residency program at SLPH and the efforts of mental health advocacy groups, the narrative around mental health is changing鈥攁nd some of the societal stigma associated with receiving treatment is falling away.
 
But the needs are still vast:

• SLPH employs less than 1 psychiatrist per 100,000 persons, well below average for the African region.


• Sierra Leone has no primary-level mental health care, preventing SLPH from focusing solely on severely ill patients.

Next steps: More funding, more secondary training opportunities, and new treatment centers across the country鈥攂ut it鈥檚 not clear the political will exists.
 
Still, one of the youngest psychiatry residents in SLPH鈥檚 program, Sao Fatorma, is excited about the possibility of a growing mental health workforce, and hopes that residents will not limit themselves to SLPH post-training: 鈥淭he rest of the country is waiting for our services.鈥� 



Ed note: This is the second story in a 2-part series. , was published yesterday. Sheriff traveled to Sierra Leone with support from the Johns Hopkins-Pulitzer Global Health Reporting Fellowship in 2023 to report on efforts to transform mental health care in the country, including a psychiatric hospital鈥檚 innovative treatment methods and the first class of psychiatry residents trained there. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The death of a Palestinian doctor in Israeli custody has been condemned as 鈥渉orrifying鈥� by a UN human rights expert, who called for an independent inquiry 鈥媔nto the matter.

Global life expectancy is forecasted to increase by nearly 5 years by 2050, finds a new global published today in The Lancet鈥攁 trend largely driven by public health measures.

A Seoul court has rejected a bid made by doctors and medical students to stop the government鈥檚 plan to drastically increase medical school quotas鈥攁s a monthslong strike by the country鈥檚 junior doctors continues.

A list of drug-resistant bacteria deemed 鈥渕ost threatening to human health鈥� has been updated by the WHO, with the identification of helping to guide a global response. 鈥� INFECTIOUS DISEASES Growing 鈥楪lobal Threat鈥� of Mpox 
The U.S. CDC is that the escalating mpox epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 鈥減oses a global threat鈥� for further spread鈥攊ntensifying response efforts in the DRC, and leading to increased surveillance and vaccination efforts worldwide, . 

The outbreak in the DRC is being fueled by a newer version of the virus called Clade Ib. It is a deadlier and more easily transmissible version than Clade IIb, which caused the 2022 epidemic.

• Between January and April, the Clade Ib virus has led to ~20,000 cases and ~1,000 deaths in the DRC. 


• While no cases of Clade Ib have been identified outside Africa so far, growing numbers make surveillance critical, 鈥攁nd "underscores the importance of coordinated, urgent global action," to support the DRC, CDC officials said.

In the U.S. the CDC is focusing on encouraging Americans at highest risk to get vaccinated. So far, the available vaccines are expected to be effective against all forms of the virus. 

Meanwhile, a new report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that asymptomatic mpox patients contributed to the 2022 mpox outbreak in New York City, . GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HAITI 鈥楬eroic鈥� Work Persists Amid Violence
As gang violence continues to threaten medical infrastructure in Haiti, an indefatigable group of doctors and researchers refuse to stop working, even in the country鈥檚 鈥渄arkest hour.鈥�

• 鈥淭here is this heroic network of physicians and scientists that have figured out ways to keep aspects of science and medicine happening,鈥� said Eric Nelson, a cholera researcher who partners with a research facility in Haiti. 

Among ongoing initiatives:

• A mobile pediatric service called MotoMeds, in which nurses field calls from parents and dispatch motorcycle drivers with medicines. 


• Disease surveillance, including tracking the spread of cholera and identifying other viruses. 

FRIDAY DIVERSION 鈥嬧�婣 Poodle With a 鈥楯e Ne Sage Quoi鈥�
A few times a year we get the chance to remember that the absurd dog show mockumentary is barely a sniff removed from reality.
 
Handed 鈥渢he best assignment in journalism,鈥� the was invited to pet all 200 breeds at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this week鈥攕ome only with the back of her hand, lest she contaminate their coifs with her palm oils. She described the experience as 鈥渋nstant serotonin, better than therapy.鈥�
 
The went absolutely bonkers for the trotting topiary that is Sage, a miniature poodle who 鈥渃ame up big when it mattered most鈥濃�攁t her handler鈥檚 very last dog show. 
 
What鈥檚 so special about Sage? 鈥淚t鈥檚 face. It鈥檚 hair. It鈥檚 walk. It鈥檚 carriage. It was perfection last night,鈥� while Sage looked on, stone-faced.  
 
In moments like these, it鈥檚 a shame that we can鈥檛 read canine minds 鈥� but at least tries. Wait for the Newfoundland. QUICK HITS Richard Horton: Indifference鈥攖he biggest threat to global health 鈥�

Thailand increasingly unsafe for foreign activists fleeing persecution, warns report 鈥�

Vaccinations crucial in curbing spike in measles cases among children 鈥�

They survived Maui's deadly wildfires. Now many are suffering from food insecurity and deteriorating health. 鈥�

Properly cooked hamburgers pose no bird flu risk, US study finds 鈥�

Could bird flu in cows lead to a human outbreak? Slow response worries scientists 鈥�

What's worse for disease spread: animal loss, climate change or urbanization? 鈥�

Could 鈥楽cience Courts鈥� Help Build Public Trust? 鈥�

Singing repairs the language network of the brain after a cerebrovascular accident 鈥� Issue No. 2540
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: The Movement to Transform Mental Health in Sierra Leone; U.S. Drowning Deaths Rise; and the Politics in Iran鈥檚 Drug Distribution Addiction to kush, a synthetic cannabis blend, is spurring a crisis among youth in Sierra Leone May 16, 2024 The pediatric ward of the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone. September 2023. Blessed Sheriff Inside the Movement to Transform Mental Health in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone鈥斺�淗olding his mother鈥檚 shaking hand,鈥� Ishmael 鈥渋s led to a small scale 鈥� where his cuffed jeans reveal bloated feet, covered from the shin down in mottled skin and scars,鈥� looking 鈥渘othing like the feet of a young man in his 20s, more closely resembling the swollen limbs of a heart failure patient,鈥� writes Blessed Sheriff.
 
Ishmael moves on to see Abdul Jalloh, MD, one of a handful of psychiatrists at the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital helping to battle an unprecedented crisis enveloping the country鈥檚 youth: addiction to kush, a synthetic cannabis blend, purportedly adulterated with such toxic substances as formalin, insecticides, and even human bones.
 
Several years ago, Jalloh was one of only three psychiatrists in the country, but now he has a team of seven young trainees, who make up Sierra Leone鈥檚 first psychiatry residency program.

It鈥檚 an important first step. But as the only psychiatric hospital in the country, SLPH鈥攚ith just 10 psychiatrists鈥攂ears the daunting burden of mental health care for a country of 8 million people. And kush isn鈥檛 the only mental health crisis the country faces: SLPH commonly treats patients with epilepsy, psychotic disorders, developmental disabilities, dementia, and other conditions historically neglected by the medical system, writes Sheriff. 



Ed note: Sheriff traveled to Sierra Leone with support from the Johns Hopkins-Pulitzer Global Health Reporting Fellowship in 2023 to report on efforts to transform mental health care in the country, including a psychiatric hospital鈥檚 innovative treatment methods and the first class of psychiatry residents trained there. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Taiwan urged the WHO yesterday to stand by its 鈥淗ealth for All鈥� goal and allow it to attend the World Health Assembly later this month; Taiwan is often excluded from such meetings because China claims the island is part of China.
 
The WHO authorized yesterday a second dengue vaccine鈥擰denga from Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda; the agency recommended its use among 6- to 16-year-olds in areas with high dengue rates.
 
The European Commission is investigating Meta over concerns that Facebook and Instagram are causing addictive behavior in kids and harming their mental health; the investigation centers on possible violations of the , which holds digital companies liable for child abuse, scams, disinformation, and other harms.
 
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the U.S. had a 35% greater risk of dying than flu patients from October 2023 to March 2024, ; researchers based the estimate on examination of veterans鈥� health records from all 50 states. INJURY PREVENTION Drowning Deaths Increase in the U.S.
For the first time in more than two decades, accidental drowning rates in the U.S. have significantly increased. 

• Compared to 2019, when the drowning rate was 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people, there was an increase of 10.5% in 2020, 13.7% in 2021, and 9.1% in 2022, .

• For preschool-aged children, for whom drowning is a leading cause of death, the increase is almost 30%, .

By the numbers:

• On average, 4,000 Americans die each year from accidental drowning.

• More than half of adults have never taken a swimming lesson.

• 1 in 3 Black adults don鈥檛 know how to swim compared to 1 in 7 in the general population.

• American Indian and Alaskan Native people have the highest drowning rate, with three deaths per 100,000 people.

A COVID impact: Limited access and closed pools during the pandemic may have contributed to this increase, with people unable to obtain swimming lessons. 

Related:

The Increase in Drowning Deaths Should Be a National Priority 鈥�

Bloomberg Philanthropies Invests Additional $60 Million to Help Prevent Drowning Deaths Globally 鈥� CONFLICT 80-year-old Munitions Still Maim and Kill in Solomon Islands
Hundreds of thousands of unexploded World War II grenades and other munitions discarded by U.S. and Japanese troops remain buried below major population areas in the Solomon Islands. 

Bullets, cannon rounds, and assorted ordnance are regularly discovered by curious children and explode when people dig or cook over open fires.

• 42,000 calls were made to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from 2011 to 2022.

A lack of records and resources has inhibited previous clean-up efforts, but with new U.S. State Department funding, the charity Halo Trust has begun mapping the highest-impact areas to prioritize clearance operations.

鈥淗ere you are 80 years later and people have literally got stuff in their gardens that is dangerous,鈥� says program manager Simon Conway.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES POLICY The Politics in Iran鈥檚 Drug Distribution 
Allocating fewer drugs to Iranian pharmacies that fail to enforce the country鈥檚 hijab law is the government鈥檚 latest strategy to make businesses comply. 

• The measure ensuring compliance among female workers and customers has been widely criticized.

Backstory: Chronic drug shortages have forced the authorities to distribute medicine to thousands of pharmacies. 

Political response: Enforcement of the hijab policy has escalated since the 2022 demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody. She was accused of improperly wearing her hijab. 

The head of Iran鈥檚 FDA stated that if the medication deterrent measures fail, violators will be prosecuted. 

QUICK HITS California鈥檚 鈥榳ellness鈥� devotees think raw milk infected with bird flu will 鈥榖oost immunity鈥� 鈥�

Report calls for 'urgent action' to boost antibiotic pipeline 鈥�

New task force prescribes mental health support to curb maternal deaths 鈥�

Unsung No More, Cambodia鈥檚 Malaria Hero 鈥�

Fighting malaria with math? How one U of T researcher is studying the evolution of a parasite 鈥� Issue No. 2539
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Heat鈥檚 鈥楩ar-Reaching鈥� Harm to Global Health; Helping Haitian Parents Help Kids; and Keeping Sight of Outdoor Time May 15, 2024 A firefighter works to extinguish a forest fire that erupted in the mountainous area of Castelammare del Golfo, in western Sicily, on May 7. Alberto Lo Bianco/Anadolu via Getty Heat鈥檚 鈥楩ar-Reaching鈥� Harm to Global Health
Warming temperatures are already taking a severe toll鈥攁nd are having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, a trio of separate studies published this week find. 

In Europe, heat-related dangers are having 鈥渇ar-reaching鈥� health impacts, especially in the southern regions, per a new published in The Lancet Public Health. Among those, per :

• Heat-related deaths have increased by 30.8%.


• Disease risks have increased as the climate becomes more suitable to various pathogens and vectors. 


• Women and low-income communities are disproportionately affected, reports 鈥攚ith heat-related mortality 2X as high in women.

Heatwaves across Asia have become more 鈥渇requent and extreme,鈥� per a new from Imperial College London鈥攚ith millions of vulnerable people, including children and outdoor laborers, at 鈥渧ery high risk,鈥� reports the . 

Seniors at risk: 200 million+ older adults will face extreme heat risks in coming years, as the global population ages and the effects of climate change worsen, per a new study published in .

• By 2050, more than 20% of Earth's population will be 60+, and the number of people at risk from chronic extreme heat is set to at least double, . 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Discriminatory marriage, divorce, and inheritance laws stunt progress on women鈥檚 rights in some African countries, of 20 countries that marked some successes鈥攊ncluding bans on child marriage by DRC, Kenya, and Mozambique; however, Cameroon, Senegal, and Tanzania still permit the practice.
 
U.S. abortions increased slightly from 82,000 per month in 2022鈥攖he year the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade鈥攖o 86,000 in 2023, that also marked an uptick in medication abortions by people in states with abortion bans鈥�40,000+ between July and December 2023.

In sub-Saharan African countries where homosexuality is legal, gay and bisexual men were 2X as likely to have ever tested for HIV compared to countries where it鈥檚 illegal, according to a that also found countries with targeted HIV policies for this key population saw a more than twofold testing increase.

TB and COVID-19 co-infections are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, increasing patients鈥� risk for hospitalization and death, per a new of 17 studies published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

鈥嬧�婾.S. government officials temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on the handling, storage, and transport of H5N1 bird flu samples by public health laboratories and health care facilities, a move requested by the Association of Public Health Laboratories in response to the virus鈥檚 recent spread to dairy cows. MENTAL HEALTH Helping Haitian Parents Help Kids
As gangs have taken over Haiti鈥檚 key infrastructure, children have suffered disproportionately:

• 80+ children were killed or wounded from January to March, per Save the Children.


• 360,000 people have been displaced鈥攖he majority women and children.


• 900 schools have closed, affecting ~200,000 children.


• Of the 10,000 victims of sexual violence last year in Haiti, at least one-third were children.

And yet, parents are so traumatized themselves that many have been unable to care for their children, aid workers say.

• 鈥淐hildren are left to fend for themselves, without assistance, without enough protection,鈥� said UNICEF鈥檚 Bruno Maes. 

Equipping parents: Nonprofits like G猫rye Jwa Playmakers are helping to train parents to nurture their children鈥檚 mental health鈥攖eaching them games, coping skills, and conversation techniques. 

DATA POINT VISION Keeping Sight of Outdoor Time
Spending at least two hours outside is one of the best ways to prevent children from developing near-sightedness, or myopia, according to ophthalmologists. 

• 42% of people are myopic in the U.S.鈥攗p from 25% in the 1970s. 


• Up to 90% are myopic in East Asia by young adulthood. 

Cause: Myopia occurs when the eyeball stretches, making faraway objects look blurry. But light stimulates the eye and releases dopamine, which can prevent stretching. 

Policy in practice: Pei-Chang Wu, a Taiwanese ophthalmologist, convinced Taiwan鈥檚 Ministry of Education to send elementary school students outdoors for at least two hours daily. 

• Since the program鈥檚 implementation, myopia cases in primary school students have fallen for the first time in decades, from 50% in 2011 to 45.1% by 2015.

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS EU resolution on pandemic adopted at WHO assembly: official 鈥�

Risks of handcuffing someone facedown long known; people die when police training fails to keep up 鈥�

COVID-19 survivors show lasting brain function alterations, fMRI study finds 鈥�

Scientists demystify why subsequent bouts of dengue are worse than a first-time infection 鈥�

鈥楴o safe amount of exposure鈥� to gas stove pollution 鈥�

Medscape Cuts Million Dollar Deal With Tobacco Giant After Outcry 鈥�

San Francisco Set to Ban "Forever Chemicals" in Firefighter Gear 鈥�

My rendezvous with the raw milk black market: quick, easy, and unchecked by the FDA 鈥� Issue No. 2538
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: U.S. State Moves to Outlaw Abortion Meds; 鈥楢larming鈥� Insights into Autism and Suicide; and Insulin Injustice May 14, 2024 A medical resident gives a 25-year-old woman medication to terminate her pregnancy at a clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. June 23, 2022. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty U.S. State Moves to Outlaw Abortion Meds 
Louisiana may become the first U.S. state to criminalize possession of mifepristone and misoprostol without a prescription,

• A conviction for possessing the drugs, which induce abortion, includes prison time.


• But: It鈥檚 not illegal for a pregnant woman to possess either drug 鈥渇or her own consumption,鈥� . (Health care practitioners would not be prosecuted, but a person helping a woman get the medications could be, .

If approved: The bill would add mifepristone and misoprostol to the category of controlled dangerous substances, which includes cocaine and heroin.

• The effort to criminalize the two drugs is an amendment to a bill that would make it illegal to give an abortion medication to someone without their consent.

Response: 240+ Louisiana doctors signed a letter to the bill鈥檚 sponsor, saying the amendment was 鈥渘ot scientifically based,鈥� the Post reports.
 
Timing: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule within weeks on access to medication abortion.
 
Meanwhile in technology: Apps that monitor women鈥檚 health, medical, and fertility data are collecting sensitive information, including about previous abortions鈥攑utting them at risk, . 

• The analysis of 20 such apps used by hundreds of millions of people found that for most apps 鈥渦ser data could be subject to access from law enforcement or security authorities,鈥� .

Related: 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans want abortion access: Pew poll 鈥�

Arizona Supreme Court delays enforcement of 1864 abortion ban 鈥�

Attacking birth control pills, US influencers push misinformation 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Yemen鈥檚 cholera outbreak is rapidly escalating鈥攚ith 40,000+ suspected cases, hundreds of new infections reported daily, and a rising death toll鈥攃ompounding the suffering of Yemeni civilians coping with the impacts of the country鈥檚 long-running conflict, UN officials warned.
 
Sex work in bars is likely driving rapid mpox transmission in DRC hot spots, according to a preprint observational study of patients hospitalized with suspected infections from September 2023 to April 2024; 88.4% of the 371 patients had recently visited bars for professional sexual interactions, the researchers said.
 
12 new breast cancer genes of 40,000 women of African ancestry in the U.S., Africa, and Barbados鈥攊ncluding 18,034 with breast cancer鈥攃ould help improve efforts to predict the risk of women of African descent; most prior studies on genetic mutations linked to breast cancer focused on women of European ancestry.
 
Wildlife trafficking persists worldwide, affecting more than 4,000 species鈥攊nflicting 鈥渦ntold harm upon nature鈥� and jeopardizing livelihoods, public health, and efforts against climate change, that calls for better enforcement, anti-corruption laws, and stronger monitoring and research. GHN EXCLUSIVE Q&A Zhou Pengcheng provides music therapy for a child with autism in Tianjin, north China, March 23, 2021. Zhao Zishuo/Xinhua via Getty 鈥楢larming鈥� Insights into Autism and Suicide
The rate of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among young people with autism has long been unclear to researchers, as traditional suicide risk-screening tools are typically not designed with autism-related communication needs in mind. 

So when researchers at Baltimore鈥檚 Kennedy Krieger Institute surveyed over 950 caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder, they did not anticipate the startlingly high rates鈥攅specially among very young children:

• Of the nearly 400 autistic children who reported wanting to die over their lifetime, 35% experienced onset at 8 years old and younger, . 

鈥淭hat was the part that blew us away鈥攂ecause it turned out that the common age of onset of those suicidal thoughts was 8 years old or younger. I don鈥檛 think any of us really expected that,鈥� said the study鈥檚 lead author Benjamin Schindel.

Next steps: The findings are now spurring the institute to widen research to understand what鈥檚 driving the trend鈥攁nd equip caregivers to better intervene.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES Insulin Injustice
The 鈥渁stonishing鈥� price markups on insulin are a key reason only half the people who need the critical drug have access to it, per a new M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res . 

• The report, released ahead of the in Athens, illustrates an 鈥渦rgent need鈥� for policymakers to intervene in the market globally, dominated by Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi, . 

Injection pen inaccessibility: While insulin pens have become the safer and more practical standard of care in high-income countries, the fact that they are 鈥済rossly overpriced鈥� means they remain out of reach for patients in low- and middle-income countries, . 

Meanwhile, in South Africa, diabetes is the second-leading cause of death鈥攜et the country鈥檚 health infrastructure provides little insight into the number of diabetes cases or how many people are receiving diabetes care. The gaps 鈥渓eave our health system ill-equipped to handle the growing diabetes crisis,鈥� . 

Related: Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Trapped in Rafah, U.S. medical volunteers say they can't save lives and can't evacuate 鈥�

Course Correcting the U.S. Response to Bird Flu 鈥�

鈥業 poured gasoline then set fire to my clothes 鈥� the flames shot up my body鈥� 鈥嬧�嬧��

What to Know About the COVID FLiRT Variants 鈥�

The surge of mpox in Africa: a call for action 鈥�

鈥楩ailure to Thrive,鈥� or a Failure to Investigate?: An outdated medical term often masks treatable illnesses, health experts contend. 鈥嬧�嬧��

More than a third of children鈥檚 restaurant meals still exceed salt target 鈥�

Speed limits are too darn high 鈥�

Have the new weight-loss drugs changed what it means to be body positive? 鈥� Issue No. 2537
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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96 Global Health NOW: MERS Outbreak in Saudi Arabia; Sickle Cell Disease鈥檚 Costly Cure; and Greener Inhalers Are mild MERS-CoV cases are spreading undetected? May 13, 2024 A worker wears a mask as he touches a camel on a farm outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 12, 2014. Faye Nureldine/AFP via Getty A Troubling MERS Outbreak in Saudi Arabia 
Health agencies are racing to identify the source of a Middle East respiratory syndrome cluster in Saudi Arabia, which has killed one person and sickened two others, . 

Special concern: The people who contracted the virus in Riyadh had no direct contact with camels鈥攖he typical MERS-CoV host鈥攔aising fears that milder cases could be spreading undetected, .

Details:

• The first case: A 56-year-old school teacher was admitted to a Riyadh hospital in early April, and later died from the disease.


• The other two patients were sickened after being treated at the same hospital for different maladies鈥攎aking them 鈥渆pidemiologically linked鈥� to exposure at the facility.


• Meanwhile, in Taif, a 32-year-old man died of the virus鈥攂ut officials say he had contact with camels, so they do not connect his case to the Riyadh cluster.  

Background: MERS-CoV is a close relative of SARS-CoV-2, but it has a far higher fatality rate at ~35%.

• Since it was first detected in 2012, there have been 2,204 cases and 860 MERS-CoV deaths鈥攚ith the 鈥渧ast majority鈥� reported in Saudi Arabia, . 

Risk assessment: The outbreak does not change WHO鈥檚 overall risk assessment, which remains moderate at both global and regional levels. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Pandemic treaty talks are ongoing after negotiators missed their expected deadline last week; but WHO officials say progress has been made and expect a final draft agreement will be ready by the World Health Assembly later this month.

Law enforcement seizures of illicit fentanyl pills have skyrocketed in the U.S.鈥� increasing by +1,700% in the last 6 years; nearly half of illicit fentanyl seized is now in pill form, often resembling common prescription pills that people may consume unknowingly, .
 
Assistance for U.S. farmers affected by the H5N1 outbreak has been announced by federal officials, with the dual goal of helping with financial losses and incentivizing biosecurity interventions like PPE for farm workers and greater testing.

Internet use might improve some markers of well-being, such as life satisfaction and sense of purpose, of 2.4 million people across 168 countries that challenges a common narrative that the Internet has largely negative effects on well-being; previously, most data sets examining the issue had come from global north countries. NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES A Start for a Sickle Cell Disease Cure
Kendric Cromer, 12, is the first person in the world to begin a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure sickle cell disease.

• An estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. have the genetic disorder that affects red blood cells and can cause agonizing pain, organ damage, and strokes. 

A time-consuming process: The treatment involves gathering stem cells from the patient鈥檚 bone marrow and introducing a healthy hemoglobin gene to correct the mutation that causes sickle cell disease. The cells are then returned to the patient, three months later. 

$3.1 million: It is one of the most expensive treatments ever.

• The treatment is so involved that centers can currently handle only a limited number of patients each year. 

Related: A rural Ugandan community is a hot spot for sickle cell disease. But one patient gives hope 鈥� DATA POINT CLIMATE CHANGE Greener Inhalers Could Have Us All Breathing Easier
Boot-shaped respiratory inhalers, which represent of the U.S. asthma medication market, save lives鈥攂ut they also contribute to climate change.

• Each inhaler puff contains a hydrofluorocarbon gas as carbon dioxide.


• In the U.S., of these inhalers are prescribed annually, and the amount of gas released equates to driving 500,000 gas-powered cars for a year.

An eco-friendlier option: a hockey-puck-shaped inhaler containing powdered medicine.

• A noted that dry powder inhalers found provide better asthma control while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.


• In Sweden, where most , are lower

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS Families still looking for missing loved ones after devastating Afghanistan floods killed scores 鈥�

Rise of drug-resistant superbugs could make Covid pandemic look 鈥榤inor鈥�, expert warns 鈥�

Data suggest SARS-CoV-2 could jump from raccoon dogs to people, but species barrier may interfere 鈥�

Decolonising global health: why the new Pandemic Agreement should have included the principle of subsidiarity 鈥�

Interview: Uncertainty, Science, and Public Health Communication 鈥�

Hip breaks more deadly than some cancers in elderly, study finds 鈥�

Barcelona is parched 鈥� and angry at quenched tourists 鈥�

Ryan Gosling has the correct answer to Colbert's question about the scariest animal 鈥� Issue No. 2536
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Nurses: Health Care鈥檚 Unsung Heroes; Pandemic Treaty Sticking Points; and Sight Unseen May 10, 2024 Belinda Karimi Mbaabu at work with a maxillofacial surgeon, performing a cleft lip surgery in Mogadishu. Photo courtesy of Belinda Karimi Mbaabu. Health Care鈥檚 鈥楤ackbone鈥� Needs More Backing
Nurses are the 鈥渂ackbone of health care,鈥� yet they are often undervalued and underpaid鈥攁nd world governments must invest in nursing and universal health instead of relying on 鈥渟hort-term fixes,鈥� in a message marking International Nurses Day this Sunday.

• A new that burnout is taking a toll on what a Gallup poll calls the most trusted profession, . 

What nurses need:

• Better pay, improved nurse-to-patient ratios, better hours, and clear professional development pathways鈥攁nd respect, .


• Classification as a STEM field鈥攗nlocking millions in federal funding for recruitment programs and expanding opportunities for international students, .

Theatre Nurses: The 鈥楿nsung Heroes鈥� in Surgical Safety
Despite their critical role, nurses in low-resource settings, in particular, often lack access to high-quality training and leadership roles, writes Belinda Karimi Mbaabu, a registered nurse from Kenya, in an exclusive commentary for GHN.
  
As an operating room nurse, Karimi Mbaabu has witnessed the critical role nurses play at every step of the surgical process. Nurses, she writes, are the 鈥渦nsung heroes鈥濃�攅nsuring sterile instruments, adherence to protocols, and a patient-centric focus.
 
Putting nurses in the lead: Investment in nurses鈥� professional growth is a key need, says Karimi Mbaabu. She鈥檚 working with groups like safer surgery nonprofit , which offers perioperative nursing fellowships that focus on leadership, research, communication, and advocacy鈥攈elping to redefine nurses as critical decision-makers on surgical teams.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   Stoning and flogging adulterers鈥攅specially women鈥攚as endorsed as a punishment by the Taliban鈥檚 supreme leader in a broadcast message, further alarming human rights groups who say women have no means to defend themselves.

Devastating floods in Kenya have killed 228 people and displaced 23,000 households, with Nairobi riverbank slums especially affected.

A mad cow disease case in Scotland has led to an investigation and quarantine restrictions imposed on the farm where the 鈥渓ikely isolated鈥� case was identified.

A cluster of antibiotic-resistant infections in three U.S. residents has been traced to clinics in Mexico where those infected sought stem-cell injections in their knees, per a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly . HEALTH SECURITY Pandemic Treaty Sticking Points
Negotiations over the global pandemic treaty are coming down to the wire today, with officials saying they will likely miss today鈥檚 deadline as ongoing divisions derail talks, .

Background: Negotiators from the WHO鈥檚 194 member states aimed to have a final draft agreement today in order to ratify the pact at the World Health Assembly later this month.

Areas of disaccord: The main points of disagreement revolve around equity, .

• Rich countries have paused over requirements to share data and pharmaceutical products鈥攊ncluding the requirement that 20% of vaccines and treatments be reserved for the WHO to distribute in poorer countries.


• Meanwhile, low- and middle-income countries say that sharing virus surveillance and samples amounts to an unfunded mandate鈥攅specially if they are priced out of resulting vaccines. 

Bird flu hovers: The U.S. H5N1 outbreak is already putting the principles of the pact to the test鈥攁nd showing how original ambitions have become diluted to a 鈥渟ymbolic commitment,鈥� .

• 鈥淪uch a disappointing resolution, even as concerns about bird flu grow, is symptomatic of the world鈥檚 struggles to apply the lessons of Covid-19,鈥� writes Scott.

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES RESEARCH Friendship as a Public Health Force
Public health initiatives could gain significant traction if practitioners did more to tap into a powerful force: friendship. 

Having people target friends for public health interventions 鈥渟ignificantly improves鈥� a community鈥檚 adoption of such interventions, per a new published in Science. 

For the study, researchers provided people in 176 isolated villages in Honduras with an education package promoting maternal, child, and neonatal health. But they did so using different models:

• Some were randomly selected to receive the intervention, while others were randomly chosen to nominate their friends. 


• The friend-targeting tactic was 鈥渟ubstantially鈥� more efficient, researchers found鈥攍eading to 鈥渃ascades of beneficial health practices to people who didn鈥檛 receive the intervention,鈥� said study co-author Nicholas A. Christakis. 

FRIDAY DIVERSION Sight Unseen  
Ah, tourists. Depending on whether you鈥檙e home or away, chances are you鈥檝e been one, and been annoyed by many.
 
Throngs of sightseers can feel like an incurable scourge on the world鈥檚 wonders, but one Japanese town has a fresh approach: If you can鈥檛 beat 鈥檈m, block 鈥檈m 鈥� with 65 feet of black mesh.
 
Fujikawaguchiko is taking the 鈥渟ight鈥� out of sightseeing at its 鈥渘ear-perfect鈥� vista point for Mount Fuji,
 
Why? Because tourists are tedious. Amid Japan鈥檚 , conventional measures like signs and security did little to quell their rampant littering, dangerous selfie setups, and disregard for road etiquette, . One shop owner even 鈥渟truggles to get his car in and out of the garage.鈥�
 
Unfortunately for its residents, we can鈥檛 wait to visit Fujikawaguchiko and check out this giant net! QUICK HITS Sudan war鈥檚 rape survivors flout taboos to help each other recover 鈥�

COVID-related US-Mexico border closure may have fueled HIV spread 鈥�

Potential cancer-causing chemicals detected inside cars, study finds 鈥�

Merck's endometrial cancer therapy fails trial 鈥�

Guns are being stolen from cars at triple the rate they were 10 years ago, firearm safety group Everytown says 鈥�

States with abortion bans saw greater drops in medical school graduates applying for residencies 鈥�

RFK Jr. is not alone. More than a billion people have parasitic worms 鈥�

There鈥檚 a renewed push in Congress for Medicaid to cover doulas and midwives 鈥�

Baby's hearing fully restored in gene therapy first 鈥嬧�嬧�� Issue No. 2535
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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96 Global Health NOW: Amsterdam鈥檚 Struggle to Improve Sex Worker Health; Global Health Targets Off Track; and U.S. Change Makes Marijuana Research Easier Health care for sex workers has become more accessible since the Netherlands legalized prostitution鈥攂ut the approach is far from seamless May 9, 2024 A sex worker waits for clients behind her window in the red light district of Amsterdam, on December 8, 2008. Anoek De Groot/AFP via Getty Amsterdam鈥檚 Struggle to Improve Sex Worker Health  
AMSTERDAM 鈥� Any given weekday, a dozen or so patients shuffle through a small clinic retrofitted in one of Amsterdam鈥檚 iconic rowhouses.

The Amsterdam Center for Sex Workers is a government-funded clinic that caters to the region鈥檚 5,000 to 7,000 sex workers.

• The clinic offers free or low-cost testing for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), hepatitis A/B vaccinations, and mental health counseling.

Access issues: While such care has become more accessible since the Netherlands legalized prostitution in 2000, the Dutch approach is far from seamless.

• Some sex workers who lack the right work permit can鈥檛 access health care because of immigration and labor policies, logistical hurdles, and social stigma.

• Barriers to HIV testing for non-EU sex workers in Amsterdam, for example, include mistrust of health and social services and language issues,.

Violet鈥檚 story: Violet*, a sex worker from the U.K., lives and works in the Netherlands legally, but bureaucratic barriers caused her to wait nine months to get insurance to cover contraceptives and medication for immune disorders.

• She ultimately got insurance, but only after enduring what she described as a 鈥渃risis situation.鈥�

* Violet uses a pseudonym to protect her privacy.

Ed. Note: Gabriela Galvin is a freelance journalist based in Aarhus and Amsterdam. This article is part of Global Health NOW鈥檚 , made possible through the generous support of GHN readers. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
The U.K. will not sign on to the proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement because of a requirement that countries give away 20% of pandemic-related health products, including treatments and vaccines; the government argues that such stipulations infringe on the country鈥檚 sovereignty.
 
The U.S. CDC has updated rules for dogs entering the country to prevent the import of canine rabies; as of August 1, dogs will have to be at least 6 months old, have a microchip, and travel with a completed 鈥淐DC Dog Import Form鈥� receipt.

A group of COVID variants known as FLiRT have appeared in wastewater sampling, according to the U.S. CDC; one variant in the group, KP.2, is now the dominant strain in the U.S., making up about a quarter of new COVID cases.
 
A 30-year study has linked ultraprocessed foods with increased risk of early death, but some are worse than others: that processed meats and sugary drinks were among the worst offenders, while cereals and whole grain breads are less harmful and contain some nutritional benefits. SDGs Global Health Targets Off Track
Key health outcomes remain out of reach for too many people across the globe鈥攎eaning the world is off track to meet its health-related sustainable development goals and 鈥渢riple billion targets,鈥� the WHO announced in its . 

Triple billion trajectories: Despite progress toward the goals to have 1 billion more people with universal health coverage and 1 billion better protected from health emergencies, overall numbers still lag behind the 2025 target. 

• The good news: 1 billion people will achieve better health and well-being by next year thanks to improvements in air quality and water, sanitation, and hygiene access. 

Other highlights: 

• Tobacco use is declining in 150 countries.

• 45 countries reduced road traffic deaths by 30% or more.

• The world鈥檚 first malaria vaccine was administered to 2 million+ children. 

Other low points:  

• Childhood vaccination rates have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

• Adult obesity continues to rise. 

• Financial hardship has worsened, with 13.5% of households spending 10% or more of income on health services. 

Related: WHO releases progress report on neglected tropical diseases 鈥� 鈥嬧�� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES DRUGS U.S. Change Makes Marijuana Research Easier  
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration plans to recategorize marijuana from Schedule I鈥攊ts highly controlled status since the 1970s鈥攖o Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, the .
 
Widely used but minimally understood: 40% of American adults . But due to strict federal rules, most research into the drug鈥檚 effects has had to rely on 鈥渘otoriously inaccurate鈥� self-reported survey data.
 
Why this change is important: Recategorization makes it easier for researchers to obtain licensing and federal funding to study cannabis鈥檚 effects on the human body鈥攁nd society at large.
 
QUICK HITS Only three days of fuel for health services in south of Gaza, says WHO 鈥�

UK announces new national action plan on antimicrobial resistance 鈥�

Health Canada eases barriers for sperm and egg donors 鈥�

Landmark study of cancer in Black women launches in 20 states, aiming to be largest ever 鈥�

Global effort aims to protect health and safety of human 鈥榞uinea pigs鈥� in drug trials 鈥�

RFK Jr. had a brain worm. How do you get one and what are the symptoms? 鈥� Issue No. 2534
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Few enjoy having injections and if you have children, you probably like them even less when it鈥檚 time for their mandated vaccine shots.

To deal with misinformation and lack of trust in science, scientists, especially those in public health, need to acquire skills in communication and advocacy

96 Global Health NOW: A 鈥榃ake-Up Call鈥� for the Polio Fight; Targeting TB in the Canadian Arctic; and Texas Anti-Abortion Tactics May 8, 2024 Health workers make house calls during a polio vaccination campaign in Hotoro-Kudu, northwest Nigeria. April 22, 2017. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty A 鈥榃ake-Up Call鈥� for the Polio Fight
A 鈥渕omentous鈥� 2016 decision which led 155 countries and territories to begin using a new version of the oral polio vaccine is now being called 鈥渁n unqualified failure鈥濃�攃ontributing to the paralysis of 3,300 children.

That is the conclusion of a new draft report commissioned by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which the authors describe as a 鈥渨ake-up call.鈥�

Behind the decision: Originally, the goal of the modified vaccine was to 鈥渇inish the job鈥� in wiping out Type 2 of the poliovirus. The wild version had been eradicated by then, and only vaccine-derived cases circulated.

• The thinking was that eliminating the Type 2 strain from the oral vaccine would end those cases, too.

Best intentions backfired: In Africa, the 鈥渨orst-case scenario鈥� emerged, as older vaccine-derived Type 2 cases continued to circulate鈥攁nd children who had gotten the modified vaccine were now susceptible.

• The number of Type 2 cases has spiked ~10X since 2015.

What鈥檚 next? The report calls for: quashing ongoing Type 2 outbreaks with safer vaccines; delaying further switches; and providing more resources to the thousands of paralyzed children.

DATA POINT The Latest One-Liners
Hundreds of leading climate scientists surveyed expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) this century, bringing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet.

A whooping cough epidemic has hit Europe, with ~60,000 cases reported in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024鈥�10X as many cases identified compared with the previous two years.  
 
Tighter rules for high-risk research in the U.S. have been released by the White House, with the long-awaited broadening oversight for biological experiments by federal agencies and research institutions.

Belize, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received WHO certification for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis鈥攁 feat now shared by 19 countries and territories, including 11 in the Americas. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Targeting TB in the Canadian Arctic
The Canadian territory of Nunavut may be sparsely populated鈥攂ut it is home to a tuberculosis outbreak that government officials have long struggled to contain. 

About 1 in 500 people had active TB in 2021 in Nunavut, which is home to ~40,000 mostly Inuit people. 

Driving factors:

• Inadequate housing, which has led to chronic overcrowding. 


• Stigma against TB testing and treatment campaigns鈥攄ue to lingering trauma from previous campaigns that separated families and communities. 


• Poverty and food insecurity. 

Potential solutions:

• Wastewater testing, which can provide a more accurate picture of the disease spread despite lack of individual testing.


• Pop-up clinics that allow people to be treated in their communities.

Related: Long Beach health officials declare tuberculosis outbreak a public health emergency 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Texas Anti-Abortion Tactics
A Texas man is petitioning a state court for the power to investigate his ex-partner鈥檚 out-of-state abortion鈥攁 new tactic abortion rights advocates are describing as 鈥渧igilante justice鈥� designed to stop women from traveling out of state to end pregnancies. 

Background: Abortion has been banned in Texas, but it is legal in the U.S. to travel across state borders for the procedure.

• After the man鈥檚 partner obtained an abortion in Colorado, he hired a well known anti-abortion attorney鈥攚ho then filed a motion seeking an investigation to 鈥減ursue wrongful-death claims against anyone involved in the killing of his unborn child.鈥�

Bigger picture: Abortion rights groups say the tactic has no legal grounds, and that it is outright intimidation and 鈥渇earmongering.鈥�

)

Related: 

Louisiana lawmakers reject adding exceptions of rape and incest to abortion ban 鈥�

Millions of Latinas stand to be impacted by abortion bans in Florida and Arizona 鈥� OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS AstraZeneca to withdraw COVID vaccine globally  鈥�

Paraguayan health authorities warn of another disease transmitted by mosquitoes 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner! 

Pfizer pauses phase 3 dosing in gene therapy trial after young boy's death 鈥�

The FDA misses its own deadline to propose a ban on formaldehyde from hair products 鈥�

A mother鈥檚 loss launches a global effort to fight antibiotic resistance 鈥�

Hypochondria Never Dies 鈥�

Are we talking too much about mental health 鈥�

New research confirms that Beethoven had lead poisoning鈥攂ut it didn't kill him 鈥� Issue No. 2533
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The H5N1 avian influenza virus has so far shown no signs of adapting to allow human-to-human transmission, the UN health agency said on Wednesday, urging continued surveillance.

96 Global Health NOW: Gene Variant Named a Cause of Some Alzheimer鈥檚; LGBTQ+ Clinics at Risk in Uganda; and Back to the Drawing Board on Golden Rice May 7, 2024 Gene Variant Named a Cause of Some Alzheimer鈥檚 Cases  
Scientists, for the first time, say a gene variant doesn鈥檛 just increase the risk for Alzheimer鈥檚 but actually causes the disease, .

• The gene variant ApoE4 is believed to cause more than 15% of Alzheimer鈥檚 cases, .


• People with two copies of ApoE4 had Alzheimer鈥檚 symptoms 7 to 10 years sooner (at about age 65) than those without ApoE4.

Study details:

• Spanish and U.S. scientists did a post-mortem examination of 3,297 brains and found almost all the 273 brain donors with two copies of ApoE4 had signs of Alzheimer鈥檚 in the brain.


• Scientists also examined the cerebrospinal fluid of more than 10,000 people and found that nearly all of the 519 people with two copies of ApoE4 had abnormal levels of amyloid beta protein that plays a role in Alzheimer鈥檚.

Implications for the future?

• The findings could open up new opportunities for treatments, including gene therapy, .


• Counseling of patients about 鈥渢heir ancestry-informed genetic risk for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease鈥� will have to be changed, said Stanford neurologist Michael Greicius.


• More people may want to be tested for the ApoE4 variant, though Greicius advises people without symptoms avoid that test: 鈥淚t will only cause grief at this point.鈥�

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The WFP says northern Gaza is in a 鈥渇ull-blown famine,鈥� with one of three benchmarks for a famine declaration already met (extreme lack of food in 20% of households); another nearly met (at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting); and a third (two adults or four children per every 10,000 people dying daily of hunger)鈥攍ikely.
 
The Khartoum Bahri Emergency Room reported a significant rise in suspected dengue fever cases鈥攏earing 1,000 on Sunday鈥攁mid reports of a critical shortage of intravenous fluids key to treatment and a lack of transparency from the Khartoum State Ministry of Health.
 
Children diagnosed with hypertension may have twice the risk of major cardiac events鈥�4.6 per 1,000 person-years in children with hypertension compared with 2.2 per 1,000 person-years in controls鈥攑er a based in Canada.

 ~4.3 million hospital patients across 28 EU countries and three western Balkan countries (Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia) acquired at least one health care-associated infection per year in 2022 and 2023, ; ~30% involved respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia and health care-associated COVID-19. Avian Flu News Studies yield more clues about H5N1 avian flu susceptibility, spread in dairy cows 鈥�
Readout of CDC Call with State Public Health Partners Regarding Avian Influenza and Farmworker Protection -
As livestock move around the country, so does H5N1. The U.S. needs real-time tracking of livestock movements 鈥�

Charted: Where bird flu has been detected in wild mammals 鈥�

WHO鈥檚 top scientist learned a hard lesson about H5N1 two decades ago: Stopping it takes more than biology 鈥�

China lifts risk alert warning on bird flu in Serbia 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES HEALTH SYSTEMS LGBTQ+ Clinics at Risk in Uganda
Threats, assaults, misinformation, and community pressure are just some of the challenges faced by supporters of LGBTQ+ health in Uganda. 

Threatening legal environment: 

• Consensual same-sex relations can lead to penalties of up to life in prison. 


• 鈥淎ggravated homosexuality鈥� is punishable by death. 


• 鈥淧romoting homosexuality鈥� can lead to up to 20 years in jail. 

Growing dangers: The Ark Wellness Hub is a Ugandan health clinic that supports the LGBTQ+ community, but workers have been scared away by the anti-LGBTQ+ environment, and the clinic鈥檚 founder was run off the road by dissenters last year.

• The law has also limited the clinic鈥檚 services, with workers unable to offer leaflets or sexual health information for LGBTQ+ patients. 

FOOD Golden Rice: Going Back to the Drawing Board
For decades, scientists have been working on a genetically modified rice variety鈥攄ubbed 鈥淕olden Rice鈥濃�� that helps combat vitamin A deficiency. And for almost as long, activists opposed to GM crops have worked to keep it out of the food supply.

• Now a ruling by a Philippines court could have wider implications for genetically engineered rice and other other crops. 

Background: Farmers in the Philippines began growing the rice in 2022 after the government granted a permit for the grain鈥檚 commercial introduction.

• But in April, a court revoked the permit in a case brought by Greenpeace and other groups, which claimed that there was a lack of scientific consensus on the grain鈥檚 safety.

Implications: Both advocates for and opponents of GM rice say the decision will affect development of other fortified rices and inspire activists in other countries to pursue similar litigation. 

OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS COVID-19: What to know about the new variants; what are the symptoms of FLiRT? 鈥�

States鈥� Abortion Laws Associated With Intimate Partner Violence鈥揜elated Homicide Of Women And Girls In The US, 2014鈥�20 鈥�

A Fundamental Stage of Human Reproduction Is Shifting 鈥�

How the government is trying to stop rogue brokers from plaguing ACA enrollees 鈥�

Assisted dying debate terrifying for disabled people, says actress Liz Carr 鈥�

Why self-injectable family planning initiative is crucial 鈥�

Federal documents don鈥檛 provide enough checkboxes for all AAPI ethnicities. That may be about to change. 鈥�

Namibia reaches key milestone in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and hepatitis B 鈥� Issue No. 2532
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken 鈥渃rucial steps鈥� in the event of a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah, Dr. Ahmed Dahir, team lead of its office in Gaza, told UN News on Tuesday.

96 Global Health NOW: Vaccine Injuries Ignored?; and April鈥檚 Must Reads Thousands of Americans have reported Covid vax side effects. May 6, 2024 Vaccine Injuries Ignored?
Despite the well-established safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, thousands of Americans have reported serious side effects following their vaccination.

• 13,000+ vaccine-injury compensation claims have been filed with the federal government鈥攂ut just 19% have been reviewed and only 47 were deemed eligible for compensation. 

While federal health officials maintain that the four it has identified are 鈥渆xtremely rare,鈥� some scientists fear that patients with other ongoing problems鈥攊ncluding tinnitus, vertigo, and a racing heart鈥攁re being 鈥渃ompletely ignored and dismissed.鈥�

An unclear picture: Factors that have made it difficult for officials to track vaccine side effects include:

• The fragmented health system: Americans are treated at a variety of health facilities with incongruent record systems.


• An unreliable database: Reports to the largest federal database of vaccine-related adverse events can be made 鈥渂y anyone, about anything.鈥�


• The anti-vaccine movement: Growing belief in vaccine-related conspiracy theories has made it difficult for scientists to navigate the question of side effects. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   The dairy farm worker who contracted bird flu in Texas earlier this year may be the first detected case of H5N1 transmitting from a mammal to a person, .

Disparities are increasing in U.S. child death rates, with Black and Native American youths between 1鈥�19 years dying at significantly higher rates than white youths; firearms have played a 鈥渄ominant role鈥� in such premature deaths.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation, Wellcome, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new $300 million partnership today focused on finding affordable solutions to the linked impacts of climate change, malnutrition, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance鈥攑articularly for low- and middle-income countries.
 
Metformin, a common diabetes drug, decreases the amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the body and helps reduce the risk of rebound symptoms if given early in the course of non-severe illness, ; findings suggest metformin may also help prevent long COVID. APRIL鈥橲 BEST NEWS APRIL RECAP: MUST-READS The Aftermath in Flint
A decade after Flint, Michigan鈥檚 water crisis鈥攊n which more than 100,000 people were exposed to lead from aging pipes鈥攔esidents continue battling the physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

• 50% of children struggle with behavioral problems; 15% of kids have been diagnosed with anxiety, and 10% with depression.


• Beacons of hope: Community members, pastors, and doctors have advocated for those affected, and 95% of the work on replacing the pipes has been completed. 

Maternal Mortality Fail
It鈥檚 stunning and tragic: ~82,000 Nigerian women died from pregnancy-related complications鈥攕evere hemorrhage, high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), and unsafe abortion鈥攊n 2020.

• Why are so many Nigerian women dying? 鈥溾��A lack of trust in a broken public healthcare system and little political will to fix it,鈥� per doctors and activists鈥攁nd an underfunded health system with just one doctor for every 4,000鈥�5,000 people (far below WHO guidelines of one doctor per 600 people).

  Under-the-Radar Abortions in Africa
Across Africa, 20+ countries have expanded abortion rights in recent years. But many women still may not know they have a legal right to the procedure. Why?

• Lack of advertising: Many physicians choose to stay quiet about their ability to offer the service because they are worried about being targeted by anti-abortion groups.

• Lack of resources: Poorer countries like Benin and Ethiopia permit abortions in some instances鈥攂ut may not have the resources to make them available. 

  Desperate Dilemmas in Blood Deserts
Hospitals depend on blood as an essential medicine. But in 鈥渂lood deserts鈥濃�攆ound in nearly every country in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia鈥攖reatable conditions like postpartum bleeding and trauma can be fatal.

• That leaves doctors weighing desperate measures to save lives, including the most popular鈥攂ut controversial, and in many countries, illegal鈥攎ethod: Walking blood banks, in which blood is drawn from pre-identified community members鈥攕ometimes the patients鈥� own doctors. 

No Clear Answers on Nodding Syndrome 
Cases of the neurological disease known as nodding syndrome have been increasingly reported in the last five years throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

• As new cases are identified, doctors look for the cause in places like South Sudan; researchers have found a link between the disorder and exposure to black-fly bites and onchocerciasis infection, but the cause of nodding syndrome remains unknown. 

• Treatments: Epilepsy drugs are the most effective way of managing seizures鈥攂ut there is no cure. 

GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES QUICK HITS A common liver disease with an unfortunate name gets a rebrand 鈥�

Dairy worker bird flu case shows need for protective gear, US CDC study shows 鈥�

Rotavirus the Leading Cause of Diarrheal Deaths Among Children Under 5, New Analysis Finds 鈥�  
 
For Millions of Americans, Tap Water Has a High Dose of Fluoride 鈥�

Scientists create vaccine with potential to protect against future coronaviruses 鈥�

Chikungunya crisis in the Americas: a comprehensive call for research and innovation 鈥�

Uruguay launches app to involve people in fight against dengue-spreading mosquito 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!

Cow cuddling, the social media-fueled trend that's exactly what it sounds like, could soon find itself out of favor. 鈥� Issue No. 2531
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Millions of lives each year rely on the expertise and care of midwives and yet a global shortage is squeezing the profession like never before, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNPFA said on Sunday, marking the International Day of the Midwife. 

Some of the poorest women in an underdeveloped region south of Madagascar are 鈥渢oo ashamed鈥� to seek the maternal health services they need, according to a midwife working in a health centre supported by United Nations agencies, but that may be about to change.

96 Global Health NOW: H5N1: Uncharted Territory, Unanswered Questions; The Limitations of Egg Freezing; and Schr枚dinger鈥檚 Shipment May 3, 2024 Cows graze in a field at a dairy farm in Petaluma, California. April 26. Justin Sullivan/Getty H5N1: Uncharted Territory, Unanswered Questions
As concerns mount about H5N1鈥檚 spread among U.S. dairy cattle, federal health officials are acknowledging 鈥渟erious gaps鈥� in their ability to track the virus鈥檚 spread in its new host. 

Under-the-radar: Federal officials now say bird flu likely circulated in U.S. dairy cows for about four months before it was confirmed, .

Undetected: There has been only one documented case of H5N1 human spillover鈥攂ut epidemiologists suspect the number is higher, as local and state health departments have tested only ~25 people for the virus, . 

Uncharted: , Vivien Dugan, the director of CDC鈥檚 influenza division, said the pivot from tracking H5N1 from poultry to tracking it in cattle has been like 鈥渃rossing into a new country鈥濃�攁s dairy farms have no experience with the disease.

Underdeveloped: In the case of human spread, federal officials say they currently have two vaccine candidates on deck made from older strains of the virus鈥攂ut infectious disease experts are casting doubt on those shots鈥� effectiveness, .

Related: Bird flu outbreak in dairy cows fails to deter US raw milk sellers 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners   10,000 people are feared buried under the rubble in Gaza seven months into the conflict that has seen entire neighborhoods leveled, ; UN mine action experts also estimated that some 7,500 tons of unexploded ordnance could be 鈥渟cattered鈥� throughout Gaza.

Non-white pedestrians were treated for traffic-related injuries in U.S. emergency rooms at higher rates between 2021 and 2023, new show鈥攚ith multiracial people or people of another race treated 2.47X more than white people; Asian pedestrians treated 2.23X more; Black pedestrians 1.93X more; and Hispanic pedestrians 1.7X more.

Action steps for AMR were released by an international coalition of organizations yesterday鈥攚ith stakeholders hoping the will shape negotiations at the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance in September.

Benefits of hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms outweigh the risks for women under age 60, concludes鈥攁 shift that takes into account two decades of follow-up data from the , flaws in the original study, and safer hormone formulations available now. GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH The Limitations of Egg Freezing
About a decade after the practice of freezing eggs to prolong fertility took off, researchers and specialists are seeking a clearer picture of the benefits鈥攁nd failed promises鈥攐f the procedure. 

Questions of efficacy: While the procedure rapidly gained popularity, its long-term, large-scale effectiveness has long been unclear since not enough people had tried to use their frozen eggs to allow for reliable data collection.

An emerging picture: A conducted at NYU Langone Fertility Center found that the chance of a live birth from frozen eggs was 39%.

In other words: 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a guarantee of having a baby from egg freezing,鈥� says Sarah Druckenmiller Cascante, one of the study鈥檚 authors.



Related: America鈥檚 IVF Failure 鈥� FRIDAY DIVERSION Schr枚dinger鈥檚 Shipment  
Peas and carrots. Wine and cheese. Cat and cardboard box. These are some of the iconic duos of our time 鈥� except when the cat doesn鈥檛 meow and the box is an Amazon return about to be taped up.
 
A week after Galena, a box-loving American shorthair from Utah, went missing, her distraught human Carrie Clark received 鈥渢he text that changed my life,鈥� . Galena had been found 鈥� at an Amazon warehouse in California, comfortably nestled alongside six pairs of steel-toed boots. She was unharmed thanks to mild weather and an accidental breathing hole in the box.
 
At first, Amazon staff weren鈥檛 quite sure what to do, but like most groupings of intelligent humans, they had identified the self-described 鈥渃razy cat lady鈥� among them, . With the help of Amazon worker/feline hero Brandy and a microchip reader, Galena was soon homeward bound with her people, who are now considering when to 鈥渞eintroduce cardboard.鈥�
 
A Prime example of lost and found. QUICK HITS The 鈥�100-day cough鈥� can be lethal in babies 鈥� so what is behind its global rise? 鈥�

Pregnant women in Missouri can't get divorced. Critics say it fuels domestic violence 鈥�

Medscape severs ties with tobacco industry after backlash over $3M Philip Morris International deal 鈥�

High-risk patients with COVID symptoms should use PCR rather than rapid tests, study suggests 鈥�

鈥楿nethical鈥� junk food packaging manipulates children into craving sweets, report claims 鈥�

What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome? Here鈥檚 what to know, and why experts say it鈥檚 on the rise 鈥�

Cancer Supertests Are Here: But are they really such a good idea? 鈥�

'Orangutan, heal thyself': First wild animal seen using medicinal plant 鈥� Issue No. 2530
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:

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  Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.


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