Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
U.S. Justice Dept launches probe of Oklahoma’s mental health services
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a probe into whether Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and the city’s police department discriminate against people who have mental health disabilities in the provision of behavioral care services. The investigation will examine if Oklahoma violates federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by relying on psychiatric institutions to serve adults with behavioral health issues rather than relying on community-based services offered to others, Assistant Attorney General Clarke said at a news conference.
COVID pandemic led to surge in superbug infections, EU agency says
Infections from some antibiotic-resistant pathogens known as superbugs have more than doubled in health care facilities in Europe, an EU agency said on Thursday, providing further evidence of the wider impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report said reported cases of two highly drug-resistant pathogens increased in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, then sharply jumped in 2021.
Ugandan doctors face fear and shortages in Ebola outbreak
When Ebola broke out in Uganda in September, 10 doctors immediately stepped forward to work in an isolation unit at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, but now only three are left. Staff are reluctant to work in the unit for fear of catching the deadly hemorrhagic fever, and also because of exhaustion and delayed wages, said one of the remaining doctors, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to media.
Nutrition benefits for families could increase under U.S. agency proposal
Mothers and children who receive benefits from a U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition program would be able to spend more money on a wider range of groceries under proposed changes the USDA introduced on Thursday. The USDA proposed expanding the list of groceries participants in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program can buy to include grains like quinoa and teff, a range of non-dairy milks and cheeses as well as canned fish and beans.
Nearly half of world population suffers from oral diseases – WHO
Nearly half of the world’s population, or 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral diseases, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The most common oral illnesses are tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers, with untreated tooth decay affecting nearly 2.5 billion people, the United Nations agency said.
Britain’s Hunt announces 8 billion pound package for health and social care
British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Thursday said the country’s health and social care system would receive a 8 billion pound package within two years, which he said health chiefs had indicated would help fulfil key priorities. Hunt said he would increase the state-run National Health Service budget in each of the next two years by an extra 3.3 billion pounds.
German panel recommends COVID shot only for at-risk youngsters
Germany’s vaccine advisory panel on Thursday recommended that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children from six months to four years should only be given routinely to those at risk of severe disease from the infection. The head of the panel of 18 appointees, known as STIKO, said there was no clear case for broad use, citing a lack of data to rule out any rare side effects and no signs of the infection causing severe illness in otherwise healthy children.
Explainer-How the World Health Organization might fight future pandemics
Negotiations on new rules for dealing with pandemics are underway at the World Health Organization (WHO), with a target date of May 2024 for a legally binding agreement to be adopted by the U.N. health agency’s 194 member countries. A new pact is a priority for WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as his second five-year term at the head of the global health agency gets underway. It seeks to shore up the world’s defences against new pathogens following the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.5 million people, according to the WHO.
Big Pharma may have to reveal government deals in WHO’s draft pandemic rules
Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future pandemics, under new rules being drawn up by the World Health Organization and reviewed by Reuters. A draft version of the WHO’s pandemic accord, which it hopes will be adopted by the U.N. health agency’s 194 member countries, calls for it to be compulsory for companies to reveal the terms of any public procurement contracts.
Cancer diagnoses lag after screenings fall during pandemic, U.S. study finds
Screenings for a variety of common cancers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, potentially leading to diagnoses later in the course of the disease when it may be more difficult to treat successfully, U.S. data published on Thursday suggest. In 2020 – the first year of the pandemic – average rates of screening for breast cancer fell by 40%, for cervical cancer by 36%, and for colorectal cancer by 45%, compared to the three previous years, according to an analysis of medical claims data from 306 million adults.
(With inputs from agencies.)
