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good morning. Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who loves bagged salads. In news, don’t miss Sarah Todd’s great article on THC beverages. This article was inspired by a colleague’s outburst during a regular team meeting.
Revealing the latest information on Cyclospora
Despite reports of false-positive tests for the diarrhea-causing parasite, federal officials said yesterday they were still focusing on the Taylor farm as the source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened at least 1,644 people. The samples in question were not included in the company’s large-scale recall of shredded lettuce and salad products, meaning there is still a possibility that those products were contaminated. Consumer Reports said the outbreak was initially linked to Taco Bell, but the recalled products were also sent to major food service distributors including Walmart, Jack in the Box and Cisco.
“FDA’s tracking and outbreak data continue to focus on shredded iceberg lettuce from the Taylor Farms site in central Mexico,” Donald Prater, acting FDA commissioner for food, said at a press conference. Although the recalled products have been leaked to 28 states, it is notable that cases are currently highly concentrated in a handful of states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and to a lesser extent Kentucky and West Virginia.
New right-wing push against abortion pills
At a hearing last week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche promised to stop shipping abortion pills by mail. Two days later, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) sent a letter to Blanche asking for a criminal investigation into the nonprofit Plan C and the manufacturer, Danko Laboratories.
“This coordinated effort by Plan C and abortion pill manufacturers to violate state law at the expense of women’s health deserves the most intense scrutiny,” Hawley wrote. As Autonomy News reporter Garnet Henderson pointed out, this framework reflects the Justice Department’s claims that gender-affirming health care providers are colluding with drug companies.
The move comes as the FDA continues to conduct safety studies of mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortions. Anti-abortion activists pushed for this study even though the drug is FDA-approved and has been used safely for decades. Polls show that most Americans believe abortion should be legal in most cases. This fall, voters in four states will put that statistic to the test with ballot questions about abortion.
The fugitive was hiding in biotechnology
In 2005, anesthesiologist Ronald Fisher disappeared while on trial in Rhode Island on charges of first-degree sexual assault. Last week, he was arrested aboard a 56-foot sailboat off the coast of New Jersey. How did he evade authorities for more than 20 years? The Boston Globe reported some of the details (Fisher’s farewell email to his lawyer promised a check to cover legal costs and ended with a suggestion that he eat less chocolate and “watch his diet”). But yesterday, STAT’s Adam Feuerstein revealed that Fisher also appears to have been living a secret life as a biotech executive.
Read more about the aliases Fisher used and the successful career in biotechnology he seems to have fabricated for himself.
THC soda is everywhere
See for yourself: The next time you go to a grocery store, mall, corner store, or deli, take a close look at the average refrigerated section. Along with soda, iced tea, and even chocolate milk, you can often find canned beverages containing THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. (A loophole created by the federal government in 2018 is scheduled to close this fall, making hemp-derived products legal, but state regulations vary widely.)
Some clinicians say more young people are ending up in emergency rooms after accidentally or intentionally ingesting these drinks. STAT’s Sarah Todd today tells a story related to the Secret Shopper, with photos from colleagues across the country who have scouted local markets for THC beverages. Read more about how stores are selling these drinks, their health risks, and how likely it is that these products will actually be banned in the fall.
Antibiotic resistance in children is worsening
Antibiotic resistance in children has increased significantly worldwide over the past two decades, largely due to Gram-negative bacteria that cause infections such as sepsis and pneumonia, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers also predict that two of these bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella, are projected to reach 82% and 35% resistance to last-resort antibiotics by 2035.
The analysis was based on more than 106,000 samples from minors in 82 countries. Infants, people in ICUs, and areas with fewer health care resources were particularly affected by increased resistance. The results are consistent with existing WHO estimates, the study authors wrote. To make pediatric-specific data more accessible to clinicians, we created an interactive dashboard based on the data.
what we are reading
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What’s behind the rise in mild autism?Atlantic
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C&EN’s trial difficulties reduce access to potentially long-term coronavirus treatment drug
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At least 930 people killed in Congo’s Ebola outbreak, NPR
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Idaho has long promoted anti-trans legislation. Teen then dies, NBC News
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Opinion: How controversial rules could impact NIH’s risk management ability, STAT
