June 4, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Infection toll for recalled eyedrops climbs to 81, including 4 deaths, CDC says  (NPR)
• Man with paralysis walks naturally after brain, spine implants (CNN)
• DEA moves to revoke major drug distributor's license over opioid crisis failures (NPR)
• A multivitamin supplement may slightly improve memory and slow decline (NPR)
• More women sue Texas saying the state's anti-abortion laws harmed them (KPBS)
• Doctors are reluctant to practice in states that banned abortion  (NPR)
• NIH study uses AI to study diet and tailor nutrition advice to improve health (NPR)

SCIENCE  AND TECH

• A lawyer used ChatGPT to prepare a court filing. It went horribly awry.(CBS)
• Revenge of the orcas? Killer whales have sunk 3 boats in unusual attacks.  (Washington Post)
• Fake viral images of an explosion at the Pentagon were probably created by AI (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

May 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF) will hold a webinar on May 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Vesicular Stomatis Virus (VSV), a contagious livestock disease that has spread to at least six different communities in San Diego County. Registration is required for the webinar, which will be held on Zoom. Register here.

Dr. Angela Pelzel McCluskey, USDA equine epidemiologist, will provide an overview of Vesicular Stomatitis and the current situation report also providing perspective based on her firsthand experience managing numerous VS outbreaks in her previous roles. Dr. Katie Flynn,USEF Equine Health and Biosecurity veterinarian, will cover prevention measures for horses and their premises, as well as the biosecurity requirements being implemented at those USEF events with horses competing from VS Affected States.

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 23 properties are quarantined due to VSV, including 18 sites in San Diego County—seven more than in the last report five days earlier.  All but one case in the outbreak have occurred in equine species such as horses, but there is one suspected case  in a “backyard beef steer” at a local property with three cattle. The remaining cases are in Riverside County. 

The USDA has not responded to our media inquiry for specific locations impacted in our region, but the Ramona  Sentinel reports that the first six confirmed cases since the outbreak began May 17 were in Ramona, Lakeside, Campo, Jamul, Del Sur, and Descanso, according to local veterinarians. San Diego and Riverside counties are the only places in the nation with current cases.

Disease can affect all hooved livestock and can also spread to humans

By Miriam Raftery

May 22, 2023 (San Diego) – Fifteen properties in San Diego County are under quarantine by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, after six cases of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) have been confirmed in San Diego County and testing is underway on another nine suspected local cases, according to the USDA website on the disease. There are also two confirmed cases and two suspected cases in Riverside County, where four properties are quarantined.  These are the only areas in the U.S. with current cases of VSV.

 The first local case in this outbreak occurred May 17 in Ramona, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. While all of the local cases so far are in horses, the disease can also afflict donkeys, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas or other hooved livestock.

The quarantines will  last at least 14 days after the last known case.  However blisters on mouths and hooves can take up to two months to resolve.The quarantines mean no transporting animals to or from the impacted properties will be allowed until a veterinarian has cleared animals for travel.  Some states and livestock events such as horse shows may prohibit animals from the impacted areas from participating even if there is no known exposure, so check with show organizers before traveling to any livestock even

May 20, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Marijuana harms development in first trimester of pregnancy, study finds (CNN)
• WHO declares end to Covid global health emergency (NBC)
• Putting radiation to the test to heal irregular heartbeat (AP)
• FDA advisers narrowly back first gene therapy for muscular dystrophy  (NPR)
• Gold Medal Flour Linked to Salmonella Outbreak Is Recalled: More than a dozen people have become ill, and most reported eating raw dough or batter (Consumer Reports)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• The Hidden iPhone Setting Thieves Use to Lock People Out of Apple Accounts  (Wall Street Journal)
• Twitter changes stoke, Russian, Chinese propaganda surges (AP)
• This company adopted AI. Here's what happened to its human workers (NPR) 
• SpaceX Starship launch under FAA investigation after raining potentially hazardous debris on homes and beaches (Space)
• People are arguing in court that real images are deepfakes (NPR)
• Supreme Court shields Twitter from liability for terror-related content and leaves Section 230 untouched (CNN)
• Can politicians catch up with AI? (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By County News Center, County of San Diego Communications Office

May 16, 2023 (San Diego) - Cases of Hepatitis A in San Diego County continue to grow, with 28 reported so far this year and 18 of them among people experiencing homelessness (PEH). The County typically reports about two cases of the virus each month with only one case reported in the PEH population last year.

East County News Service

April 30, 2023 (San Diego) - Would you know how to respond if your child stopped breathing?  What if someone you love had a heart attack?  Save-A-Heart in Alpine invites you to host a "CPR party" this summer.  As a thank-you, you will receive a free CPR certification.

By Daniela Torres

April 23, 2023 (San Diego) - Mifepristone, an abortion pill, will continue to remain available nationwide while a legal battle continues in court, after the Supreme Court issued a stay on a lower court ruling that would have banned the medication nationwide.  

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 19, 2023 (San Diego) - San Diego County is scheduled to conduct its first routine aerial larvicide drop of the year next week on up to 51 local waterways to help stop mosquitoes from potentially spreading diseases like West Nile virus.

Advocates describe "crisis," call for state, county and city of San Diego to take action

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview aired on KNSJ

April 16, 2023 (San Diego) – Last year, hospitals in San Diego County discharged over 500 vulnerable patients onto the streets late at night in violation of state law, according to Amnie Zamudio and Joanne Standlee, co-founders of Housing 4 The Homeless (H4H).  In an interview with ECM, they described dumping of homeless or indigent patients, many wearing only hospital gowns and booties. Those discharged after midnight included seniors with dementia,  people in wheelchairs,  patients with catheters, and an elderly man with a broken hip. 

April 12, 2023 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Supreme Court faces urgent test in abortion pill battle(The Hill)
• Mifepristone: US abortion pill access in doubt after rival rulings (BBC)
• The FDA approves the overdose-reversing drug Narcan for over-the-counter sales (NPR)
• 'Live free and die?' The sad state of U.S. life expectancy (NPR)
• Why the COVID-19 death rate varies dramatically across the U.S.  (NPR)
• STDs are on the rise. This morning-after-style pill may help (AP)

SCIENCE AND TECH   

• In his new cybersecurity strategy, Biden identifies cloud security as a major threat(NPR)
• ‘I’ve never seen anything like this:’ One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts (CNN)
• Perennial rice: Plant once, harvest again and again (NPR)
• It takes a few dollars and 8 minutes to create a deepfake. And that's only the start (NPR)
• Carbon dating reveals famed Baja cave paintings to be much older than previously thought (KPBS)
• What are the most popular Crypto scams to watch out for in 2023? (Time)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 10, 2023 (San Diego) - San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency honored 17 people and organizations Monday as Public Health Champions for their work in advancing public health and protecting and promoting the health and safety of San Diegans.

The Agency’s 2023 Live Well San Diego Annual Public Health Champion Awards Ceremony coincided with National Public Health Week. The annual observance is an initiative of the American Public Health Association and ran earlier this month.

Last week's gathering marked the first in-person celebration of the event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

By Chris Ernest Nelson 

April 7, 2023 (San Diego) -- It may not be your grandparent’s HIV. It may no longer be a death sentence, but it still poses a potent threat to public health.  The good news is, there has been significant progress in the past 40 years in the treatment and management of this one-time deadly virus. When HIV/AIDS first appeared in our communities, it was most often a death sentence to those infected. But today people with HIV have effective medications that offer them satisfying and productive lives.

The number of new cases of HIV infection have fallen to half in the past decade. Those who are infected have learned how not to spread the virus, and they have access to life-saving medications. When people know the dangers, preventative measures, and availability of treatment, they can be better prepared to avoid infection, or to deal with a HIV diagnosis, and how to guide themselves or loved ones toward getting the treatment they need.

Today, 90 percent of HIV infections are among young men. There are roughly 15,000 local residents living with HIV, and another estimated 1400 people living with an undiagnosed infection. That is why testing is so important in reducing the spread of the virus. HIV testing is easy, it is available without cost, and your identity will remain confidential.

With or without a diagnosis, prevention can be as simple as using a condom. In addition, the use of “PrEP” (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a daily pill, is even more effective at lowering the risk of getting and spreading HIV from sex, and also from intravenous drug use. PrEP is readily available from a professional healthcare provider.

By Daniela Torres

Jacob Pamus also contributed to this article

March 21, 2023 (San Diego) – A lawsuit has been filed seeking to block implementation of California’s CARE Courts program.  Disability Rights California, Western Center on Law and Poverty, and the Public Interest Law Project have filed a petition at the CA Supreme Court because they believe that the program is unconstitutional.

Gov. Gavin Newsom designed, championed and signed this into law last year to mandate care for people with severe mental illness, primarily those who are homeless and refusing care.

But the human rights groups believe the program could strip away people’s autonomy and that affordable housing should be what needs to be at the front and center.

Naloxone is next medication California aims to manufacture

East County News Service

March 21, 2023 (Sacramento) --  Governor Gavin Newsom announced on March 18 that CalRx has secured a contract with the manufacturer CIVICA to make $30 insulin available to all who need it.  The action will bring down the price of insulin by about 90%, saving cash-paying patients between $2,000 and $4,000 annually.

Right Care Alliance, a patients and providers coalition, has documented  deaths of at least 14 diabetic Americans who’ve died due to rationing insulin since 2017, when prices skyrocketed.

“People should not be forced to go into debt to get life saving prescriptions,” Governor Newsom said. “Through CalRx, Californians will have access to some of the most inexpensive insulin available, helping them save thousands each year. But we’re not stopping there – California will seek to make our own Naloxone as part of our plan to fight the fentanyl crisis.”