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good morning. Earlier this week, STAT’s Anil Oza went to his usual sandwich shop for lunch and the workers asked him where his friends were. That’s me! I used to pack my own lunch, but now that I know I’m known, I might never do that again.
FTC sues Hims & Hers
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday sued Hims & Hers, alleging that the direct-to-consumer telemedicine company misled consumers purchasing clinical care and medications through its site. The lawsuit echoes previous federal lawsuits alleging failures to protect patient privacy in digital health and online care. (In 2022, STAT’s Katie Palmer partnered with The Markup to investigate how dozens of telehealth companies shared personal health data with third parties by tracking pixels.)
“This is not enforcement based on consumer protection,” Himes said in a statement posted online. “This is an effort to generate headlines at our expense.” Get the details and the context you need from Katie.
6,707
That’s the number of laboratory-confirmed cysticercosis cases the CDC has counted since May 1, according to the CDC’s latest update. But there are even bigger numbers. The CDC is aware of at least 11,500 more reported cases that are not yet confirmed and require further analysis. Most of them are in Michigan and Ohio, the agency said.
The outbreak has stoked fear across the country, with chains such as Taco Bell, Chopt and Chipotle seeing lower-than-usual foot traffic, according to Reuters. But Your Local epidemiologist Caitlin Jetelina gives hope that the outbreak could end soon. “The biggest outbreaks are caused by lettuce, and lettuce is only good for a limited time,” she wrote on Tuesday. “However, it is difficult to know where we are in the epidemic because the data is incomplete.”
Ice cream sales are the cause of shark attacks
That was the argument Dutch researchers made at a public hearing on Long Island in 2011 to local policymakers who wanted to ban the sale of energy drinks to minors. Although alcohol and energy drinks are often consumed together, Joris Foerster of Utrecht University argues that drinks like Red Bull are not the cause of binge drinking or alcohol-related injuries.
“Shark attacks are not caused by ice cream sales,” he said. However, the academic had a conflict of interest due to payments from Red Bull. A multi-newsroom investigation led by The Exam and co-published with STAT found that over a decade, Red Bull paid university professors hundreds of thousands of dollars to conduct research favorable to the energy drink industry. Read more about how this research has influenced efforts to override public health proposals like age limits and warning labels in the U.S. and Canada.
Confusion over Medicaid work rules begins in Nebraska
STAT reporters have written extensively about upcoming job requirements for Medicaid enrollment. For most parts of the country, this is a concern heading into 2027. But in Nebraska, a requirement to prove that the person works 80 hours a month, volunteers or attends school will go into effect next week. There are some exceptions to this rule, including those with young children and those deemed “medically frail.”
This category of “medical frailty” is particularly troublesome for many people. Just because your diagnosis is on the list doesn’t mean you’re automatically exempt. Instead, people must prove to the state that they are unable to work due to illness. Crystal Schroer (above) is a Nebraskan who is very concerned about future job requirements. People like them want to work, but finding jobs that allow them to safely manage their illness is easier said than done, Schroer said. STAT’s Isabella Cueto reads more about the confusion and fear around the requirements.
Ebola outbreak nears milestone, but vaccine is on the way
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to become the second-largest on record within a day or two. (As of July 27, the latest update, the number of confirmed cases was 3,360.) What is surprising about this unresolved development is that it has reached this scale just two and a half months after Ituri’s outbreak was confirmed to be underway. The second largest outbreak currently occurs in DRC’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces (which overlap), with a total of 3,470 cases two years later.
There is no licensed vaccine for Bundibugyo, the Ebola strain causing the current outbreak, but on Thursday the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced $8.5 million to help Singapore-based Hillman Institute generate doses of the Bundibugyo vaccine. The vaccine will use the same platform used in Merck’s Ebola-Zaire vaccine. Doses are expected to take about six and a half months to create, but the doses needed to start clinical trials should be available sooner. — Helen Branswell
Mycetoma, one of the world’s most neglected diseases
Ten years ago, the World Health Organization added mycetoma to its official list of neglected tropical diseases. This disease, caused by bacteria or fungi, enters the body through small openings in the skin (even through thorns) and slowly eats away surrounding tissue and bone. It is endemic in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
A new first opinion essay argues that despite some progress made by researchers, our understanding of the disease remains fragile and fraught with challenges. “The next 10 years of mycetoma treatment will determine whether it remains a story of neglect or one of collective action,” wrote Borna Nyaoke Anok, who leads research into the disease. Read more about what she saw.
what we are reading
- NSF examines new Ph.D. model to give trainees academic and industry experience, STAT
- Study finds high blood pressure rates among pregnant women, New York Times
- Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment by refusing to answer questions in Senate committee, STAT
- Is this the end of the endless frontier? time
- FDA expert panel recommends against approval of Capricor’s Duchenne treatment STAT
