Public Health
- Farmers must kill 4.2 million chickens after bird flu hits Iowa egg farm | AP Newsapnews.com Farmers must kill 4.2 million chickens after bird flu hits Iowa egg farm
More than 4 million chickens in Iowa will have to be killed after a case of the highly pathogenic bird flu was detected at a large egg farm.
- Automated cooling tower detection through deep learning for Legionnaires’ disease outbreak investigations: a model development and validation study
Link to full text study:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(24)00094-3/fulltext
> Background > Cooling towers containing Legionella spp are a high-risk source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks. Manually locating cooling towers from aerial imagery during outbreak investigations requires expertise, is labour intensive, and can be prone to errors. We aimed to train a deep learning computer vision model to automatically detect cooling towers that are aerially visible.
> Methods > Between Jan 1 and 31, 2021, we extracted satellite view images of Philadelphia (PN, USA) and New York state (NY, USA) from Google Maps and annotated cooling towers to create training datasets. We augmented training data with synthetic data and model-assisted labelling of additional cities. Using 2051 images containing 7292 cooling towers, we trained a two-stage model using YOLOv5, a model that detects objects in images, and EfficientNet-b5, a model that classifies images. We assessed the primary outcomes of sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of the model against manual labelling on test datasets of 548 images, including from two cities not seen in training (Boston [MA, USA] and Athens [GA, USA]). We compared the search speed of the model with that of manual searching by four epidemiologists.
- Warnings over lethal and contagious strain of mpox as children in DRC diewww.theguardian.com Warnings over lethal and contagious strain of mpox as children in DRC die
Alarm over high mortality and miscarriage rates as mutated virus spreads in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23881373
> A dangerous strain of mpox that is killing children and causing miscarriages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most transmissible yet and could spread internationally, scientists have warned. > > The virus appears to be spreading from person to person via both sexual and non-sexual contact, in places ranging from brothels to schools. > > Hundreds of people with the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, have attended hospital in the mining town of Kamituga, South Kivu province, in what is likely to be the “tip of the iceberg” of a larger outbreak, doctors say. > > The new DRC outbreak is a mutated form of clade I mpox. Doctors report a fatality rate of about 5% in adults and 10% in children, as well as high rates of miscarriages among pregnant women.
- Texas abortion ban linked to rise in infant and newborn deaths. Is it a 'foreshadow' for other states?www.nbcnews.com Texas abortion ban linked to rise in infant and newborn deaths. Is it a 'foreshadow' for other states?
“This might foreshadow what is happening in other states,” said Johns Hopkins public health researcher Alison Gemmill. “Texas is basically a year ahead.”
- E. Coli surged in False Creek after Vancouver sewage spill, data shows - BC | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca E. Coli surged in False Creek after Vancouver sewage spill, data shows - BC | Globalnews.ca
Vancouver Coastal Health water quality testing found E. coli levels in parts of False Creek surged to 55 times the level that would normally trigger an investigation.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23814659
- Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shiftapnews.com Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift
The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy.
- Watchdog: EPA's lead pipe fix sent about $3 billion to states based on unverified dataapnews.com Watchdog: EPA's lead pipe fix sent about $3 billion to states based on unverified data
The Environmental Protection Agency watchdog says the agency distributed about $3 billion to states last year to replace harmful lead pipes based on unverified data.
- A new pill cures preschoolers of a parasitic worm. Delivering it could be a challenge
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15628341
- Parents of boy whose heart stopped for 19 hours were stunned when it started beating againwww.nbcnews.com Parents of boy whose heart stopped for 19 hours were stunned when it started beating again
Four-year-old Cartier McDaniel was on life support at a Colorado hospital, and doctors told his family he was unlikely to survive.
- Gut bacteria sometimes get people drunk, leading to DUIs and liver diseasewww.livescience.com Gut bacteria sometimes get people drunk, leading to DUIs and liver disease
Sometimes bacteria lurking in people's guts can get them drunk, even if they don't consume any alcohol.
- Frequent teen vaping might boost risk of toxic lead and uranium exposuremedicalxpress.com Frequent teen vaping might boost risk of toxic lead and uranium exposure
Frequent teen vaping might boost the risk of exposure to lead and uranium, potentially harming brain and organ development, suggests research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.
- A Dutch man with lymphoma and other blood disorders was infected with the COVID-causing virus for nearly two years, during which time the pathogen evolved numerous mutationswww.scientificamerican.com A Dutch man with lymphoma and other blood disorders was infected with the COVID-causing virus for nearly two years, during which time the pathogen evolved numerous mutations
A Dutch man with lymphoma and other blood disorders was infected with the COVID-causing virus for nearly two years, during which time the pathogen evolved numerous mutations
- Human papillomavirus vaccination in Ethiopia protects over 6.3 million girls from cervical cancerwww.afro.who.int Human papillomavirus vaccination in Ethiopia protects over 6.3 million girls from cervical cancer
Addis Ababa ‒ Fourteen-year-old girl Saba. D. (name changed), from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has just received her first and final dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer. This cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Ethiopia after...
- The inexplicable rise of kidney disease in Sri Lanka’s farming communitieswww.aljazeera.com The inexplicable rise of kidney disease in Sri Lanka’s farming communities
Residents of several ‘hotspots’ have been afflicted by kidney failure in the past few decades – and no one knows why.
- Bowel cancer rises among under-50s in Spain as Mediterranean diet fades, oncology expert warnswww.telegraph.co.uk Bowel cancer rises among under-50s in Spain as Mediterranean diet fades, oncology expert warns
Scientists study factors such as obesity, antibiotic abuse, high alcohol consumption and changes to the microbiome to explain the trend
- Concern grows as bird flu spreads further in US cows: 32 herds in 8 statesarstechnica.com Concern grows as bird flu spreads further in US cows: 32 herds in 8 states
Experts say the US is not sharing as much data on the outbreak as it should.
- UN approves an updated cholera vaccine that could help fight a surge in casesapnews.com UN approves an updated cholera vaccine that could help fight a surge in cases
The World Health Organization has approved a new version of a widely used cholera vaccine that could help address a surge in cases that has depleted the global vaccine stockpile.
- Nestlé Adds Sugar to Baby Milk and Cereal in Poorer Nationstime.com Nestlé Adds Sugar to Baby Milk and Cereal in Poorer Nations
The report calls out Nestlé's “double standard" for adding sugar to baby food products in developing countries.
- How your vision can predict dementia 12 years before it is diagnosed – new studytheconversation.com How your vision can predict dementia 12 years before it is diagnosed – new study
A loss of visual sensitivity could be an early predictor of dementia.
- Houston hospital halts liver and kidney transplants after learning a doctor manipulated recordswww.nbcnews.com Houston hospital halts liver and kidney transplants after learning a doctor manipulated records
Patients were not able to receive organ donations because the altered records "effectively inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant waiting list," Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center said in a statement.
- Opinion | Many Patients Don’t Survive End-Stage Povertywww.nytimes.com Opinion | Many Patients Don’t Survive End-Stage Poverty
If health care is interpreted in the truest sense of caring for people’s health, it must extend well beyond the boundaries of hospitals and clinics.
- Heat wave causes havoc in Mali, kills 100 peopleafricanperceptions.org Heat wave causes havoc in Mali, kills 100 people
Mali is among the countries currently suffering extreme heat with some areas hit by a temperature of 48,5°C, has recorded more than 100 deaths, victims of the heat wave. Malian meteorologists say the city Southwestern di Kayes recorded the hottest day in African history on April 4, 2024. The country...
cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/17755593
- Toxic formaldehyde in hair-straightening products to be banned — but experts say it's 'not enough'www.livescience.com Toxic formaldehyde in hair-straightening products to be banned — but experts say it's 'not enough'
Experts explain what the expected FDA ban on formaldehyde in hair-straightening products really means for everyday Americans.
- There may be an existing solution to the chronic disease crisis, but a disabled patient seems to be the only person motivated enough to try to obtain it. And they've been failing going at it alone.www.humanmicrobes.org The FDA and FMT regulation. — Human Microbes
Response to FDA warning letter, proposal for FMT regulation, and some background of this project.
- Health workers suffering ‘burnout’ amid NHS staffing crisiswww.independent.co.uk Health workers suffering ‘burnout’ amid NHS staffing crisis
Half of mental health hubs for staff have been forced to close following funding cuts
- Growing demand for stronger marijuana highlights the risk of cannabis-induced psychiatric disorderswww.nbcnews.com Growing demand for stronger marijuana highlights the risk of cannabis-induced psychiatric disorders
As more states legalize recreational cannabis products, there’s been greater consumer demand for more powerful weed, raising the possible of risk of psychiatric disorders.
- First Images of Human Brain From World's Most Powerful MRI Revealedwww.sciencealert.com First Images of Human Brain From World's Most Powerful MRI Revealed
The world's most powerful MRI scanner has delivered its first images of human brains, reaching a new level of precision that is hoped will shed more light on our mysterious minds – and the illnesses that haunt them.
- Man in critical condition after catching deadly 'B virus' from wild monkeys in Hong Kongwww.livescience.com Man in critical condition after catching deadly 'B virus' from wild monkeys in Hong Kong
As of April 3, the man infected with B virus was still being treated in the ICU, health officials said.
A man caught a rare but potentially lethal infection after being wounded by wild monkeys in a Hong Kong park and is currently in critical condition, health officials report.
- FDA faces backlash over approval of genetic test for opioid addiction riskwww.nbcnews.com FDA faces backlash over approval of genetic test for opioid addiction risk
In a letter to the agency, a group of experts called on the commissioner to revoke its approval, saying the test doesn't work.
- ‘Headaches, organ damage and even death’: how salty water is putting Bangladesh’s pregnant women at riskwww.theguardian.com ‘Headaches, organ damage and even death’: how salty water is putting Bangladesh’s pregnant women at risk
As rising sea levels and extreme weather contaminate drinking water sources, doctors are seeing alarming numbers of women with serious health problems including pre-eclampsia
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13858015
> As rising sea levels and extreme weather contaminate drinking water sources, doctors are seeing alarming numbers of women with serious health problems including pre-eclampsia
- Lawsuit seeks to force ban on menthol cigarettes after months of delays by Biden administrationapnews.com Lawsuit seeks to force ban on menthol cigarettes after months of delays by Biden administration
The lawsuit is the latest effort to force the government to ban menthols, which are disproportionately used by Black smokers and young people.
- Person in Texas infected with bird flu through dairy cattlewww.france24.com Person in Texas infected with bird flu through dairy cattle
A person in the US state of Texas is recovering from bird flu after being exposed to dairy cattle, officials said Monday amid growing concern over the current global strain of the virus as it spreads…
- The hunt for the Australian 'cowboy' pharmacist behind a replica Ozempic and Mounjaro scamwww.abc.net.au We suspected an illegal replica Ozempic scheme was being run out of Australia. So we put in an order to find out
Vials of replica weight loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro are being illegally shipped across the world from a house on the outskirts of Sydney.
- Obese children twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis, study suggestswww.theguardian.com Obese children twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis, study suggests
Swedish researchers say inflammation caused by obesity is likely to increase risk of developing conditions such as MS
- Iowa Fertilizer Spill Kills Nearly All Fish Across 60-Mile Stretch of Riverswww.nytimes.com Iowa Fertilizer Spill Kills Nearly All Fish Across 60-Mile Stretch of Rivers
Officials in Iowa and Missouri estimated that nearly 800,000 fish had died in waters that flow into the Missouri River.
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/8133369
> > “I refer to this one as ‘the big one,’” said the official, Matt Combes, an ecological health unit science supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. He added: “Calling something a near-total fish kill for 60 miles of a river is astounding and disheartening.” >