America Feels The Itch Of Record STD Infection Levels
In other news, a study suggests kids who eat more ultra-processed food are more likely to be overweight as adults; another study says blood sugar control among Americans has dropped; and New Orleans and Baton Rouge are hit by warnings of excessive ozone.
USA Today:
STD Rates Reach All-Time High In US. Which States Have The Most Cases?
In 2019 alone, there were more than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks the sixth consecutive year of record-breaking cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. The CDC’s data looked at states with the highest cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and congenital syphilis. The following numbers were collected from cases in 2019, the most recent data on file, and show a large increase from the reported 1.4 million cases in 2014. (Miranda, 6/15)
In other public health news —
CNN:
Children Who Eat More Ultra-Processed Food Gain Weight More Quickly, Study Suggests
Children who eat more ultra-processed food are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults, a new 17-year study of more than 9,000 British children born in the 1990s suggests. The researchers also found that ultra-processed foods — including frozen pizzas, fizzy drinks, mass-produced bread and some ready-to-eat meals — accounted for a very high proportion of children’s diets — more than 60% of calories on average. (Hunt, 6/15)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Study Finds American Blood Sugar Control Has Dropped Significantly
A major diabetes study has found that in the last 10 years, control of blood sugar among U.S. adults has drastically declined. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted a national study. Their findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers evaluated blood sugar control trends. They also reviewed how adults with diabetes controlled blood pressure and cholesterol. The study sample included 6,653 participants in the surveys from 1999 to 2018. Participants were at least 20 years old and not pregnant. They reported a doctor diagnosing them with diabetes outside of pregnancy. (Willis, 6/15)
WMFE:
Health Alerts For Blue-Green Algae Toxin Issued In Lake, Seminole Counties
Local health departments are alerting people to harmful toxins from blue-green algae blooms on Seminole County’s Lake Howell and Lake County’s Dead River south of U.S. 441. The Dead River is a canal between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis. People are advised not to swallow the water or swim, wade or go boating in areas with algae. The water isn’t safe for pets, either. (Byrnes, 6/15)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Ozone Health Warnings Issued For New Orleans, Baton Rouge On Wednesday
Expected high levels of ground level ozone on Wednesday in New Orleans and Baton Rouge have prompted the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to alert individuals most sensitive to the air pollutant in both cities. The agency blamed a ridge of upper atmosphere high pressure that will reduce atmospheric mixing and is producing extremely hot temperatures under sunny skies – the perfect conditions for ozone formation. Lingering smoke from western wildfires is adding to the conditions ripe for ozone formation, as are light winds during most of Tuesday. (Schleifstein, 6/15)
Salt Lake Tribune:
Heat Wave Breaks Salt Lake City’s Record June High At 107 Degrees, Causes Health Concerns
It isn’t even summer yet, but Salt Lake City hit 107 degrees on Tuesday, tying the record temperature for the city and breaking the record for June. The National Weather Service tweeted that it was 107 degrees at Salt Lake City International Airport at 5:43 p.m. The previous recorded hottest temperature for Salt Lake City was 107 degrees in July in 2002 and 1960. The previous record for June was 105 degrees in 2013. “We just [officially] hit a temperature NEVER before seen in the month of June at Salt Lake City [in] all 147 years of records,” said the NWS earlier in the day, when the temperature hit 106. (Tabin, 6/16)
WUSF 89.7:
AAA Adds New Sanitization Standard To Hotel Inspections
AAA regularly evaluates hotels on their comfort, service and cleanliness. Part of that evaluation will now include the sanitation levels of high-touch surfaces. The move was inspired by the wave of hotels adjusting their operations, including cleaning procedures, during the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to make people comfortable. (Manna-Rea, 6/15)
KHN:
For Toddlers, Pandemic Shapes Development During Formative Years
Lucretia Wilks, who runs a small day care out of her home in north St. Louis County, is used to watching young children embrace, hold hands and play together in close quarters. But the covid-19 pandemic made such normal toddler behavior potentially unsafe. “It’s weird that they now live in a time where they’re expected to not hug and touch,” said Wilks, founder of Their Future’s Bright Child Development Center, which cares for about a dozen children ranging from infants to 7 years old. “They’re making bonds, friendships, and that’s how they show affection.” (Gullet, 6/16)
In updates on the drug epidemic and the opioid trial in West Virginia —
Charleston Gazette-Mail:
Expert Notes Red Flags In Top 1% Of Cabell Prescribers With Data Distributors Could Have Accessed
There were 24 doctors who were among the top 1% of opioid prescribers in Cabell County over two decades, but it is the outliers of those outliers who set a dreadful foundation that led to the current opioid crisis, experts say. From 1997 to 2017, Cabell County had about 1,100 prescribers. Three of those doctors — Delano Webb, Philip Fisher and Gregory Chaney — were in the top 0.02%, 0.03% and .5% of the highest opioid prescribers in the country. While those three doctors eventually had their licenses revoked by their regulator, the impact they made on Cabell County has left and will leave lasting negative effects within the county for years, plaintiffs argue. (Hessler, 6/15)
The Marshall Project:
Biden Could Have Taken The War On Drugs Down A Notch. He Didn’t.
Last month, President Biden quietly extended a policy that critics call a betrayal of his campaign promise to end mandatory minimum sentences. The new law concerns “class-wide scheduling of fentanyl analogues.” It may sound like a wonky snooze-fest, but the measure could land more low-level drug dealers in prison for longer and with less proof than is usually required — while kingpins and chemists who manufacture and distribute these new drugs don’t tend to get caught. (Schwartzapfel, 6/16)
