good morning. Yesterday, author Yiyun Li won the Pulitzer Prize for his heartbreaking memoir, Things in Nature Only Grow. I’ve been reading her short stories lately. This is an article for you after reading news about certain types of healthcare workers. “Protected Woman”.
Latest information on abortion pills
A Supreme Court order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Monday temporarily restored widespread access to mifepristone after a federal appeals court ruling on Friday jeopardized access to the abortion pill at pharmacies and by mail. The Supreme Court’s order will remain in effect until the end of next Monday, giving both sides time to respond while the court considers the issue. AP has more details.
“Even if this ruling temporarily restores access, this case should concern all leaders in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, regardless of their position on reproductive health,” biotech executive Grace E. Colon writes in a new first opinion essay. Read her story about how this incident could impact drug development of all kinds.
What you need to know about hantavirus (don’t panic)
Infectious disease experts are baffled by what appears to be an outbreak of hantavirus on a ship docked near the small mid-Atlantic nation of Cape Verde. While we are confused and concerned for the passengers and crew of the M/V Hondius, there is no alarm for the general public at this time.
Hantaviruses are spread by rodents when they shed the virus in their feces and urine. Many people who are confirmed to be infected are people who were cleaning their huts after winter. The disease is not associated with cruise ships and is rarely transmitted from person to person.
Seven cases of infection have been confirmed so far, three of which have resulted in death. So far, only two people have tested positive for hantavirus. The WHO announced on Monday that plans were underway to medically evacuate three sick people from the ship in the Netherlands, where the cruise ship is based. About 150 passengers, 17 of them Americans, and crew remain on board the ship, confined to their rooms while public health officials try to identify the source of the infection. Because hantaviruses have an incubation period of several weeks, it can be difficult to determine when and where a person was infected and whether person-to-person transmission has occurred. We will continue to pay attention to this issue. — Helen Branswell
Should I track my father’s death?
There has been a longstanding crisis regarding maternal mortality in the United States. Both federal and state agencies monitor the health of mothers and children, and a new study argues that premature deaths of fathers should also be systematically tracked. But in the first localized trial, the findings show the opposite of a public health crisis: fatherhood is associated with reduced mortality.
“The authors advance groundbreaking work by framing preventable paternal death as a family health problem,” said internist Neil Shah. Still, he and other maternal and child health experts pushed back on the idea that fathers’ deaths should be monitored alongside those of mothers. Read more about how to frame paternal mortality from STAT’s Annalisa Merelli.
“To many people, we are like aliens.”
A medical professional who studied abroad described what it was like when he returned to Uzbekistan. Bringing new medical expertise back to your home country can present significant challenges. In a new First Opinion essay, international education expert Maia Ciancuselliani describes what she calls the other half of the brain drain story, based on her own interviews with internationally educated professionals who have returned to their home countries.
“Brain drain is a powerful metaphor,” Chanccelliani writes. “But as a governance framework, it obscures as much as it reveals.” Read more.
The number of people hospitalized for cold-related illnesses has tripled in 25 years, according to a study published yesterday in Health Affairs. Researchers analyzed patient data and found that hospitalizations for hypothermia, frostbite and other complications from exposure to excessive cold rose from 42 per 100,000 overall hospitalizations in 1998 to nearly 123 per 100,000 in 2022.
People with autism, substance use disorders, other mental health disorders and housing insecurity are more likely than others to experience hospitalization for a cold, a study has found. They were also much more likely to die in hospital than other patients. Researchers recommend expanding programs that provide home energy assistance and emergency shelter.
what we are reading
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A long, strange journey: How the Republican Party came to embrace psychedelics, The New York Times
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The Internet is obsessed with ovulation, The Atlantic
- Top lawmaker takes aim at doctor lobby, links AMA billing code to fight fraud, STAT
- RFK Jr.’s new podcast is predictably weird, Wired
- Johnson & Johnson advances IBD treatment despite trial failure, STAT
