Raw milk in possible case of bird flu

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Eagle-eyed readers noticed that in yesterday’s newsletter I wrote “east” when I meant “west” and “work” when I meant “worm.” Let’s just say for the record that I included these typos on purpose, just to make sure you all read carefully! This is what we have today:

How RFK Jr.’s views could herald a new era in addiction policy

Many of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views health care issues such as chronic diseases and vaccines are already known. But you may be less familiar with the MAHA leader’s stance on addiction treatment. As President Donald Trump is chosen to lead HHS, his beliefs suddenly have enormous implications for the U.S. response to the overdose crisis. When he was a presidential candidate, RFK Jr. the issue as a symbol of the nation’s broader ills, and he himself has struggled with heroin use and alcohol. What does he think should be done about the crisis?

His main message is that whatever America is doing hasn’t worked. He has created a nationwide system of “healing farms,” ​​espoused the virtues of 12-step programs and even advocated “tough love” for people battling addiction. But he has also indicated that he may be open to the controversial practice of controlled consumption. Read more from Lev about how RFK Jr. could usher in a new era for US drug policy.

Child in possible H5N1 case drank raw milk

There’s an interesting twist in a possible case of H5N1 bird flu in humans in Marin County, California: The child suspected of being infected drank raw milk. In a statement, Marin Health and Human Services said the child went to a local emergency department with a fever and vomiting. A flu test confirmed an influenza A infection, but whether it is seasonal flu or H5N1 has yet to be determined. The child has since recovered, but it is still being investigated whether this disease was caused by H5N1.

Flu researchers worry about what could happen to people if they drink H5N1 milk that has not undergone pasteurization. Milk from infected cows contains extremely high levels of the virus, although pasteurization has been shown to kill the virus. Cats on farms infected cows have died from drinking raw milk, and laboratory mice fed infected raw milk became so ill that they had to be euthanized. But it is not known whether consuming the virus in raw milk would pose the same risk to humans. The California Department of Health recently announced two recalls of raw milk after a commercially available product from a major supplier, Raw Farm LLC, tested positive for the virus. CDPH announced last week that it had quarantined Raw Farm and blocked the release of its products while they continued to test positive for the virus. –Helen Branswell

1 in 5

That’s about the number of people under 50 (and over 15) worldwide with genital herpes infections, according to estimates published yesterday in the journal. Sexually transmitted infections. Many people living with the infection are asymptomatic, but they are at increased risk for HIV, and flare-ups can be painful. For years, people with herpes in the U.S. have pushed the government to do more about the disease. The study authors emphasized the need for more prophylactic and therapeutic treatments, such as vaccines.

The FDA may be running out of time to ban electric shocks

It was the early 2000s when then-14-year-old Eagle was first shocked with a graduated electronic decelerator – a device used to send shocks to a person’s legs, arms or stomach to treat self-harming or aggressive behavior. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to endure and witness,” Eagle told STAT’s Timmy Broderick of her four years in a residential facility for people with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The center where Eagle received this treatment – ​​what United Nations officials call torture – is the only place in the US where the device is still in use, experts say. But technically it’s still legal. Scientists and disability rights advocates have long condemned the device, and ultimately the FDA appears poised to ban the device. But with the Trump administration poised to take over next month, advocates worry the plan will fail. Read more from Timmy.

Does this hospital gown make me look dehumanized?

People who were admitted to hospital and had to wear a clinical gown felt significantly more dehumanized than those who were allowed to wear their own clothes, according to a small study published yesterday in JAMA network opened. A group of 74 patients in New Zealand were randomized so that half wore a gown and the other half wore their own clothes while being interviewed by an intern for a standard hospital admission. Researchers analyzed patients’ speech patterns and administered a “dehumanization questionnaire” after the consultation.

There was no statistically significant difference in the number of words spoken by the participants, or in their blood pressure. But the difference in study results shows that the dresses are associated with increased feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness, the authors wrote.

The research reminded me of a New York Times column from October, in which a reader asked a fashion writer why hospital gowns are so ugly. Vanessa Friedman of The Times wrote that the dress was designed as “a kind of democratizing uniform,” but she too noticed a dehumanizing effect. The dress can serve as “basically an advertisement that you have gone from a unique individual to a sick person,” she wrote.

Cockroach as medicine (if the disease is elitism)

Cockroaches are indeed annoying, but they are also cheap, take up little space and pose no real danger to humans. That makes them perfect for neuroscience — at least according to a group of researchers working to create cheaper science programs and tools to get high school students interested in the field.

For example, using a cockroach, plexiglass and a simple laptop, students can measure and analyze how cockroaches move when exposed to different gases. “There is only a very small handful of the population that has access to a real laboratory,” one scientist told Anil. “Neurophysiology is, in a sense, a secret handshake community.” Read more.

What we read

• US health panel adds self-test option for cervical cancer screening, AP

• Will Democrats Let the Republican Party Undermine Trans Healthcare? Rolling stone

• The following dietary guidelines should guide plant-based foods, say scientific advisors, STAT
• Trump’s choice for AI czar indicates support for scientific advisory panel Science
• Jamie Foxx Calls on the Senate to Pass a Bill to Fund Down Syndrome Research, STAT