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ABOUT 35,000 AMERICANS DIE ANNUALLY OF DRUG-RESISTANT INFECTIONS: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause about 2.8 million infections per year and about 35,000 deaths in the U.S., according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report — twice as many deaths as estimated in 2013.
The CDC identified 18 of the most troublesome pathogens. One of the most urgently threatening is candida auris, a multi-drug resistant fungus that health professionals have kept an eye on for a few years, but didn’t appear in the U.S. until 2016. It can cause fatal infections if it enters the bloodstream, and there have been 587 cases confirmed in the U.S. since it was first diagnosed in 2009 in a patient in Japan.
On the bright side, efforts to stem the spread of bacterial and fungal infections in hospitals, where they are most likely to spread, have reduced deaths by 30%. CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield was pretty optimistic given the otherwise grim statistics: “Our collective efforts to stop the spread of germs and preventing infections is saving lives… Today’s report demonstrates notable progress, yet the threat is still real.”
Other “urgent” pathogens in the report include a bacteria that causes pneumonia and has already killed 700 people, a bacteria that causes life-threatening diarrhea that has killed 12,800 people, and a class of bacteria nicknamed “nightmare bacteria,” which is resistant to nearly all treatment options and has hospitalized 13,100 patients.
The CDC also added a watchlist for the first time to monitor three specific pathogens — including an antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea infection — that have a high risk of spreading.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
ERNST INTRODUCES UPDATED FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE BILL: Republican Joni Ernst unveiled a bill Thursday that would ensure married couples who work for the same employer can each take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for a new child or a sick relative. The Iowa senator calls it a “modernized” version of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which limits the amount of leave a married couple under the same boss can take. The bill already has bipartisan support from Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Tina Smith as well as Republican Mike Lee.
HOW ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ IS PLAYING IN MICHIGAN: Moderate Democratic voters in Michigan are leery of ‘Medicare for all’ proposals favored by liberal Democratic candidates, the Wall Street Journal reports in the battleground state. “If you start talking to them about Canadian-style health care in my district, people…start to get a little nervous,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a freshman lawmaker who beat a Republican incumbent in 2018, said after a town hall Friday in Rochester Hills, a Detroit suburb. “People start saying, ‘Well, can I keep my doctor? And am I going to be forced into something that I don’t want?’”
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS WILL BEGIN ADMINISTERING 23,000 DOSES OF NEW EBOLA VACCINE: Doctors Without Borders will begin administering a new Ebola vaccine Thursday in a northern province of Democratic Republic of Congo, home to 2 million people. Doctors without Borders is working with the DRC’s Ministry of Health to compile a study on the effectiveness of the vaccine, only the second to be introduced to the public. While the latest vaccine has been endorsed by the World Health Organization and lab studies show the vaccine creates an even better immune response than the first Ebola vaccine, which was approved in the European Union just last weekend, the only way to figure out if the vaccine truly works is to use in a real-world setting. The goal is to vaccinate 50,000 people in six sites throughout the province over a four-month period.
HHS TO LAUNCH NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGY: The Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to help create new technology that will distinguish between bacterial and viral infections and determine the severity of the infections within 20 minutes. BARDA will support the development of the new diagnostic tool, known as host-response testing, under a $6 million contract with California-based Inflammatix Inc. “Rapid diagnostics are a cornerstone of our strategy to protect Americans from many bacterial and viral infections; earlier diagnosis can empower patients to take action to reduce disease transmission,” said BARDA Director Dr. Rick Bright. “Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat to public health and the health security of the United States, and diagnostics that can provide rapid results to patients and doctors will support stewardship of antibiotics and save lives.”
The Rundown
Kaiser Health News A regulatory haze: vape marketers are online, creating new headaches for feds
Bloomberg Businessweek Mental health is still a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ subject at work
Stat Abundant research shows gender disparities in medicine, but too few know about it. #NeedHerScience
The New York Times Climate change poses threats to children’s health worldwide
The Philadelphia Inquirer A Philly woman’s broken back and $36,000 bill shows how some health insurance brokers trick consumers into skimpy plans
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Nov. 13
8 a.m. 1001 16th Street NW. Politico event “Fixing Kidney Care” to discuss challenges and developments emerging in U.S. kidney care. Details.
8 a.m. 1099 14th Street NW. Axios event on “Healthcare in 2020” including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Details.
10 a.m. Rayburn 2123 House Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee to markup legislation on tobacco, maternal mortality, and FDA citizen petitions. Details.
THURSDAY | Nov. 14
10 a.m. 1100 Longworth House Ways and Means Committee hosts hearing on caring for aging Americans. Details.
