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Tag: epidemic

  • Historic low HIV infection rates in New York

    Historic low HIV infection rates in New York

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    CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — June 27 is National HIV testing day, and the New York State Department of Health says New York is at an all-time low of new infection rates. NEWS10 speaking with a local group on their efforts here in the capital region to help eradicate the disease.

    New York has hit historic lows in HIV new infection rates since the pandemic’s height in the 1990s. However local HIV specialists say now is not the time to relax.

    “The battle is not over. There are places and populations that are increasing in rates of infection, and we need to get those individuals identified and we need to help them get into the care that they need. Because there are things that we can do now that’ll make life normal and long lived,” said Kim Atkins, Executive Director Alliance for Positive Health.

    New York’s new infection rates have plummeted 42% since 2011 from nearly 4000 new infections a year down to just over 2000 a year in 2022. 18% of new infections tested positive for AIDS and 69% of new infection rate diagnoses are people under the age of 40. 

    The Alliance for Positive Health has been providing free testing for nearly 40 years. “Testing needs to continue, and we need to identify people because people are still getting infected,” said Atkins.

    And now, the Alliance for Positive Health teams can get to more people in further away places with their new mobility fleet.  “This is the newer one we have a larger one that we could test two people at once. Recover 15 counties so we go all the way up to Plattsburgh and all the way down to Hudson and anywhere in between,” said Testing Supervisor Alliance for Positive Health, Niurka Diaz Gonzalez.

    Chris Francis has been with the Alliance team for over 10 years and is part of the Care Coordination. He tells NEWS10 Reporter James De La Fuente about the importance of testing.

    “I suggest people get tested every couple, of every two to three months. Especially if they’re sexually active.” Francis says testing is personal. “I care about my physical and mental health. It can take a toll on your mental health if you don’t get tested not knowing what you have or if you’re clean.”

    As black and brown communities are adversely affected Chandler Hickenbottom, co-founder of Saratoga BLM says her organization is taking focus on testing, as well.

    “As of right now we don’t have anything posted. But I think that is something that after having this conversation, I think it would be really great and important for us to start getting more involved in. So, joining the campaign to show the importance of not just getting tested in general, not just even for HIV, but for all sexually transmitted infections and STD’s. That is definitely very important,” said Hickenbottom.

    A spokesperson with NYDOH says, “HIV in New York State has fallen to historic lows. At its peak in the mid-1990s, New York diagnosed nearly 15,000 new cases per year; that number was down to 2,318 in 2022.”

    In addition to testing with Alliance for Positive Health, the New York State Department of Health Aids Institute has announced the launch of their free HIV self-test giveaway.

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    James De La Fuente

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  • Wake County school board approves Naloxone policy

    Wake County school board approves Naloxone policy

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    CARY, N.C. (WTVD) — On Tuesday, Wake County school officials took another step toward putting potentially life-saving medicine into public schools — countywide.

    Wake County School Board members approved a new policy Tuesday that would require all schools in the county to keep a supply of Naloxone — also known by its brand name Narcan — and train faculty members on how to use it. Families who have been touched by the fentanyl epidemic say that’s a big win.

    “The more we say fentanyl out loud without shame, the more people understand that anybody could die,” said Barb Walsh, a Cary mom and founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

    Someone’s going to die because Naloxone wasn’t in school. And is that a risk they want to take?

    – Barb Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

    Barb’s daughter, Sophia, died in August 2021 after drinking from a water bottle that had the dangerous opioid mixed into it. Since then, Barb’s made it her mission to not only support families like hers but also promote life-saving medicine however she can. She founded the Fentanyl Victims Network in August 2022, one year after Sophia died.

    “I have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen just in case I have a fire, that’s because I want one,” she said. “Naloxone is the same thing.”

    In December, Barb attended a Wake County school board meeting, urging officials to consider requiring Naloxone be put into schools. Now, that’s one step closer to becoming reality, after a new policy was approved — and just needs to be voted on to become official.

    “We don’t know where the threat is going to come from. But if we have a tool that can save a life, particularly one of our students’ lives, we want to do everything we can to take those steps,” said board chair Chris Heagarty.

    According to state health statistics, Naloxone was used for suspected overdoses 21 times on school grounds statewide last year. Walsh said it’s not worth waiting for more.

    “It may not have happened in North Carolina yet. But someone’s going to die because Naloxone wasn’t in school. And is that a risk they want to take?” she said.

    Though there’s work to be done — only about 20% of North Carolina’s public school districts have Naloxone policies — the significance of Tuesday’s decision isn’t lost on Walsh.

    “It doesn’t take an army. It doesn’t take a lobbyist. It takes a mom who’s lost a child to stand in front of the school board to make this happen. And that’s significant,” she said.

    Funding for the new policy is not yet clear. Heagarty said they’ll be targeting possible state and federal funds in addition to county funding out of the superintendent’s budget. The policy will be discussed at a full board meeting in May, and if passed could be in place by next school year.

    Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    Sean Coffey

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  • Can Cannabinoids Help People Wean Off Opioids? | High Times

    Can Cannabinoids Help People Wean Off Opioids? | High Times

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    Doctors desperately need tools to battle the opioid epidemic, and they’re turning to cannabinoids for new ways to approach the problem of opioid use disorder (OUD). Recently researchers aimed to create an open-access framework designed to help people wean off and eventually replace opioids with cannabinoids as an alternative. 

    Last August, a study provided a clinical framework for cannabinoids in the battle against the opioid epidemic. The study, entitled “An answered call for aid? Cannabinoid clinical framework for the opioid epidemic,” was published in Harm Reduction Journal.

    Researchers provided an evidence-based clinical framework for the utilization of cannabinoids to treat patients with chronic pain who are dependent on opioids, seeking alternatives, and tapering off of opioids.

    “Based on a comprehensive review of the literature and epidemiological evidence to date, cannabinoids stand to be one of the most interesting, safe, and accessible tools available to attenuate the devastation resulting from the misuse and abuse of opioid narcotics,” researchers wrote. “Considering the urgency of the opioid epidemic and broadening of cannabinoid accessibility amidst absent prescribing guidelines, the authors recommend use of this clinical framework in the contexts of both clinical research continuity and patient care.”

    Recent research has shown a role for CBD in treating cannabis use disorder, and likewise, the compound could be useful in treating OUD. Researchers are also exploring the potential of THC and acidic cannabinoids as well. Cannabis is known anecdotally for the treatment of low-to-moderate amounts of pain despite working in very different ways than opiates.

    The open-access framework includes opioid tapering recommendations that are in accordance with the CDC’s latest clinical practice guidelines for managing opioids for pain. 

    “As opioid deaths continue to be a global problem, patients are increasingly self-medicating with cannabis while researchers struggle to standardize protocols and providers feel uncomfortable recommending cannabinoids amidst absent prescribing guidelines,” researchers wrote. “If we consider cannabis as a harm reduction tool that patients are already using without medical guidance, we can realign our focus to supporting researchers and providers with a clinical framework for standardizing research and recommending cannabinoids more informatively as safe, effective, accessible tools for assisting in the management of chronic pain. To our knowledge, this is one of the first comprehensive evidence-based peer-reviewed clinical frameworks for the safe use of cannabinoid products for chronic pain and OUD.”

    The researchers acknowledged that many of their patients have already begun their own self-guided journey into pain management with cannabinoids.

    The Devastating Toll of Opioid Overdoses

    Opioids continue to wreak havoc on people in America, leading to confusion about who needs powerful opioids and who doesn’t, and overdose deaths continue a steady pace of devastation.

    According to The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2021 with over 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2021. Deaths involving synthetic opioids—primarily fentanyl and excluding methadone—continued its death march with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021. Fentanyl in particular kills 150 Americans per day.

    Over-prescription of opioids could be part of the problem. A 2018 longitudinal analysis showed that prescriptions for all opioids in the U.S. fell by 14.4% when medical cannabis dispensaries opened—particularly for hydrocodone and morphine, but also for benzodiazepines, stimulants, and many other medications known to be over-prescribed and addictive. 

    In some states, opioid use disorder is a qualifying condition for the use of medical cannabis. Researchers are still learning about the efficacy of cannabinoids in animal and human trials.

    Studies on Cannabis and Opioid Abuse Vary

    Opioid addiction is a complex phenomenon, and studies vary in their results of whether or not cannabinoids are effective. One study concluded that there is “no evidence that cannabis reduces opioid misuse.”

    According to research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers instead found “no evidence” showing that cannabis may not be an effective long-term strategy for reducing opioid abuse.

    “There are claims that cannabis may help decrease opioid use or help people with opioid use disorders keep up with treatment. But it’s crucial to note those studies examine short-term impact and focus on treatment of chronic pain and pain management, rather than levels of opioid use in other contexts,” Dr Jack Wilson, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a statement.

    “Our investigation shows that cannabis use remains common among this population, but it may not be an effective long-term strategy for reducing opioid use,” he added.

    Recent studies show the vast potential of cannabis in the fight against the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage the U.S.

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    Benjamin M. Adams

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  • Eye on America: Combatting cartel smuggling, addressing L.A.’s homelessness epidemic

    Eye on America: Combatting cartel smuggling, addressing L.A.’s homelessness epidemic

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    Eye on America: Combatting cartel smuggling, addressing L.A.’s homelessness epidemic – CBS News


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    In Arizona, we witness how smuggling at the border is leading to increasingly dangerous high-speed pursuits. Then in California, we speak with the mayor of Los Angeles to learn how her administration is addressing the city’s homelessness epidemic. Watch these stories and more on “Eye on America” with host Michelle Miller.

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  • World leaders are gathering to discuss Disease X. Here’s what to know about the hypothetical pandemic.

    World leaders are gathering to discuss Disease X. Here’s what to know about the hypothetical pandemic.

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    World leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday to discuss Disease X, a hypothetical virus 20 times deadlier than COVID-19.

    While such a virus isn’t known to currently exist, researchers, scientists and experts are hoping to proactively come up with a plan of action to combat such a virus and prepare the health system if it were to emerge as a pandemic — a possibility one expert told CBS News could happen sooner than we think.

    “There are strains of viruses that have very high mortality rates that could develop the ability to transmit efficiently from human to human,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

    What is Disease X?

    In 2022, the World Health Organization brought together 300 scientists to look into 25 virus families and bacteria to create a list of pathogens that they believe have the potential to wreak havoc and should be studied more. Included on that list is Disease X, which was first recognized by the organization in 2018.

    The WHO says the virus “represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by [an unknown] pathogen.” 

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday in Davos that COVID-19 may have been our first “Disease X,” and that scientists and experts are actively learning from that experience.

    From where could a pathogen like Disease X originate?

    A deadly pathogen like Disease X, which would likely be a respiratory virus, according to Adalja, could already be circulating in animal species and is just not able to be transmitted to humans yet.

    “That could be bats like COVID-19, it could be in birds like bird flu, or it could be some other type of animal species, swine for example,” he said. “It’s really about that interface between humans and animals, where interactions are occurring, that these types of viruses get a foothold.”

    How are experts preparing for Disease X?

    If we are unprepared, it is likely a disease of that scale could cause even more damage than we experienced with COVID-19, which has killed more than 7 million people, according to the WHO.

    “If we did so poorly with something like COVID-19, you can imagine how poorly we would do with something like a 1918-level event,” Adalja said, referring to the influenza pandemic of 1918 that killed an estimated 50 million people around the world, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

    That’s why experts from around the world have been working on a robust and effective plan to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Ghebreyesus said an early-warning system and a plan for health infrastructure, which was overburdened during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to many deaths, could help in a future scenario. 

    “Whether it’s in health systems or even the private sector, by the way — research and development — you can prepare for it,” he said.

    Another major lesson from COVID-19 is the importance of transparency, Adalja said.

    “I think what we see now is this distrust between infectious disease physicians, public health practitioners and the general public, because what happened is politicians injected themselves into this,” he said. “People may not actually be receptive to the protective actions that are being recommended by public health officials.”

    Ghebreyesus said the WHO, in partnership with other global organizations, has already put initiatives in place in preparation for the next major pandemic or epidemic. These efforts include the pandemic fund to help nations with resources, the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub to ensure vaccine equity for low-income nations and the hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence to improve collaborative surveillance between countries.

    Simrin Singh

    Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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  • 3 sons of

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    3 sons of “El Chapo” among dozens charged in U.S. fentanyl investigation – CBS News


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    Three sons of former drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán were among 28 people charged in a federal fentanyl trafficking investigation Friday.

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  • Worst-ever cholera outbreak in Malawi kills more than 1,200, with

    Worst-ever cholera outbreak in Malawi kills more than 1,200, with

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    Malawi Cholera Deaths
    A cholera patient is seen inside an isolation ward at the Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe central Malawi, Jan. 11, 2023.

    Thoko Chikondi/AP


    Brazzaville — The deadliest cholera outbreak in Malawi‘s history has killed at least 1,210 people, while vaccines remain scarce and several other African nations report outbreaks, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The southern African nation has been battling its worst cholera outbreak on record, with nearly 37,000 cases reported since March 2022.

    Confirmed cases have already been reported across the border in Mozambique, while the WHO said it assessed the current risk of spread inside Malawi and to other neighboring countries as “very high.”

    The WHO said in a statement that active transmission was now ongoing in 27 out of Malawi’s 29 districts, with the country seeing a 143-percent increase in the number of cases last month compared to December.

    “With a sharp increase of cases seen over the last month, fears are that the outbreak will continue to worsen without strong interventions,” WHO warned in a statement.

    But the UN health agency pointed out that the crisis in Malawi is occurring against a backdrop of surging cholera outbreaks worldwide, which have “constrained the availability of vaccines, tests and treatments.”

    Malawi Cholera
    Health workers treat cholera patients at the Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe central Malawi on Jan. 11, 2023. 

    Thoko Chikondi / AP


    Some 80,000 cases were recorded on the African continent over the whole of 2022.

    “If the current fast-rising trend continues, it could surpass the number of cases recorded in 2021, the worst year for cholera in Africa in nearly a decade,” the WHO said.

    Since the outbreak began, Malawi has carried out two large vaccination campaigns, but due to limited supplies, has offered just one of the usually recommended two oral cholera vaccine doses.

    In November, it received the second batch of almost three million doses from the UN, and last month a health ministry spokesman told AFP all the doses had been used.

    The WHO said Thursday that 96.8 percent of the population “residing in communities with high risk and burden of cholera” had been reached.

    Beyond vaccination, the WHO said efforts were under way to improve sanitation and access to clean water, with house-to-house chlorination ongoing in affected communities and districts, among other interventions.

    Cholera, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, is contracted from a bacterium that is generally transmitted through contaminated food or water.

    WHO said there was a continued risk of further increases in the number of cases in the Malawi outbreak, and said there could also be more international spread.

    Malawi’s neighbor Zambia has also reported cases, according to the WHO. As have Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia.

    The WHO said the current cholera outbreaks in Africa are occurring as the continent faces extreme weather events, conflicts, and as well as overstretched health services.

    Late last month, the UN health agency also warned that the risk from the global cholera outbreak was “very high” due to ongoing multiple outbreaks in many WHO regions.

    WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Wednesday that there were currently 23 countries in the world experiencing cholera outbreaks, with a further 20 countries that share land borders with them at risk.

    “In total, more than one billion people around the world are directly at risk of cholera,” he warned.

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  • China reports 2 new COVID deaths as some restrictions eased

    China reports 2 new COVID deaths as some restrictions eased

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    Hong Kong — China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations.

    The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated.

    China, where the virus first was detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the last major country trying to stop transmission completely through quarantines, lockdowns and mass testing. Concerns over vaccination rates are believed to figure prominently in the ruling Communist Party’s determination to stick to its hard-line strategy.

    While nine in 10 Chinese have been vaccinated, only 66% of people over 80 have gotten one shot while 40% have received a booster, according to the commission. It said 86% of people over 60 are vaccinated.

    Given those figures and the fact that relatively few Chinese have been built up antibodies by being exposed to the virus, some fear millions could die if restrictions were lifted entirely.

    Yet, an outpouring of public anger appears to have prompted authorities to lift some of the more onerous restrictions, even as they say the “zero-COVID” strategy — which aims to isolate every infected person — is still in place.

    The demonstrations, the largest and most widely spread in decades, erupted Nov. 25 after a fire in an apartment building in the northwestern city of Urumqi killed at least 10 people. That set off angry questions online about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other anti-virus controls. Authorities denied that, but the deaths became a focus of public frustration.

    TOPSHOT-CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS-PROTEST
    This frame grab from eyewitness video footage made available via AFPTV on Nov. 27, 2022, shows demonstrators shouting slogans in Shanghai. 

    AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images


    The country saw several days of protests across cities including Shanghai and Beijing, with protesters demanding an easing of COVID-19 curbs. Some demanded Chinese President Xi Jinping step down, an extraordinary show of public dissent in a society over which the ruling Communist Party exercises near total control.

    Beijing and some other Chinese cities announced that riders can board buses and subways without a virus test for the first time in months. The requirement has led to complaints from some Beijing residents that even though the city has shut many testing stations, most public venues still require COVID-19 tests.

    On Sunday, China announced another 35,775 cases from the past 24 hours, 31,607 of which were asymptomatic, bringing its total to 336,165 with 5,235 deaths.

    While many have questioned the accuracy of the Chinese figures, they remain relatively low compared to the U.S. and other nations which are now relaxing controls and trying to live with the virus that has killed at least 6.6 million people worldwide and sickened almost 650 million.

    China still imposes mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers even as its infection numbers are low compared to its 1.4 billion population.

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  • “Unprecedented rise in cholera outbreaks” forces “last-resort decision” on vaccine policy

    “Unprecedented rise in cholera outbreaks” forces “last-resort decision” on vaccine policy

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    Geneva — A shortage of cholera vaccines has forced a temporary shift to a one-dose strategy, from the usual two, in campaigns to fight a swelling number of outbreaks, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The United Nations health agency said the “strained global supply of cholera vaccines” had pushed the International Coordinating Group (ICG), which manages emergency supplies of vaccines, to suspend the two-dose regimen.

    “The pivot in strategy will allow for the doses to be used in more countries, at a time of unprecedented rise in cholera outbreaks worldwide,” WHO said in a statement.

    Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection in the small intestine causing sometimes fatal dehydration. It is generally contracted from food or water contaminated with vibrio cholera bacteria.

    Cholera is spreading fast

    WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out to reporters that “29 countries have reported outbreaks this year, including 13 countries that did not have outbreaks last year.”

    That compares with the fewer than 20 nations that reported such outbreaks in total over the previous five years.

    “The global trend is moving towards more numerous, more widespread and more severe outbreaks, due to floods, droughts, conflict, population movements and other factors that limit access to clean water and raise the risk of cholera outbreaks,” Wednesday’s statement said.

    Kenya has become the latest nation to declare a cholera outbreak, with officials there saying there were at least 61 confirmed cases as of Thursday.

    Haiti Cholera
    A child suffering cholera symptoms is treated at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 7, 2022.

    Odelyn Joseph/AP


    In Haiti, where a political and security crisis has allowed one of the world’s most dangerous cholera outbreaks to flourish, health ministry figures obtained by AFP on Tuesday confirmed there were at least 606 suspected and 66 confirmed cases.

    That constitutes an increase of 222 new suspected cases between October 13 and 17 in an outbreak already blamed for at least 22 deaths. Suspected cases have also been recorded in new regions of the impoverished Caribbean nation.

    A “last-resort decision”

    WHO and other members of the ICG — the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and the Red Cross — highlighted that a one-dose strategy for cholera vaccines had been proven to be effective in response to outbreaks. But they warned that there was only limited evidence on the exact duration of protection, which appeared to be much lower, especially in children.

    With two doses, when the second dose is given within six months of the first, immunity against infection lasts for three years.

    “The benefit of supplying one dose still outweighs no doses,” the statement said, warning that the current supply of cholera vaccines was “extremely limited.”

    A student receives an oral cholera vaccine from a health
    A student receives an oral cholera vaccine dose from a health worker during a vaccination campaign in Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 6, 2022. 

    Sazzad Hossain/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty


    ICG manages a global stockpile of oral cholera vaccines, but of the 36 million doses forecast to be produced this year, 24 million have already been shipped for preventive and reactive campaigns.

    And an additional eight million doses have been approved by ICG for a second round of emergency vaccination in four countries.

    Tedros said the strategy shift was “clearly less than ideal and rationing must only be a temporary solution.”

    Oral cholera vaccine is seen during the vaccination campaign
    Oral cholera vaccine doses are seen during a vaccination campaign in Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 8, 2022.

    Sazzad Hossain/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty


    One reason for the growing concern about the situation is that the maker of one of only two cholera vaccines approved for use in humanitarian emergencies, Shanchol, an Indian subsidiary of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, has said it will halt production by the end of the year. But a Sanofi spokesman stressed that the vaccine shortage was due to an upsurge in cases, “and not to a halt in vaccine production by Sanofi, because we are continuing to deliver doses of Shanchol.”

    The spokesman pointed out that the company had announced its decision to halt production in 2020, due to the low number of doses it was producing, and because other actors had announced plans to increase capacity.

    MSF said the critical global shortage of cholera vaccines had left it and other ICG members with no choice but to support the “very difficult decision of reducing the doses people will receive from two to one.”

    “It is incredibly frustrating to face this situation as cholera surges in more than 20 countries, including in places already devastated by crisis like Haiti, Nigeria, and Syria,” MSF international medical coordinator Daniela Garone said. “This last-resort decision is the way to avoid making the impossible choice of sending doses to one country over another.”

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