The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data reporting a record number of cases of tickborne diseases, increasing from 48,610 in 2016 to 59,349 cases in 2017.
Why it matters: All types of tickborne diseases rose, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Powassan virus disease. But, the U.S. is not preparedto control the growing threat posed by ticks, mosquitos and fleas because 84% of local vector control organizations lack at least one critical capacity, per an earlier CDC report.
The U.S. is facing a "significant impediment" to its overall plan to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo bring its deadly Ebola outbreak to an end, as inadequate security continues to plague the region near Beni, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Why it matters: The DRC is currently dealing with its worst-ever outbreak of Ebola, and the epicenter is in an area where there's been civil unrest for decades. There's also concern the outbreak could last for years, due to a deadly combination of the virus, pockets of community distrust of health and government workers, and periodic violent incidents that keep forcing the need for quarantines, vaccinations and treatment regimes.
Juul announced Tuesday a series of actions it's taking to prevent young people from smoking e-cigarettes, the company's response to tough new Food and Drug Administration regulations expected later this week.
Between the lines: It's unclear whether the actions — including halting some retail sales and new age verification measures for online sales — will have any impact on the regulations, but the company is sending a clear message that it wants to cooperate.
Association health plans — one of the options the Trump administration has expanded as an alternative to Affordable Care Act coverage — are a lot more comprehensive than some of their critics had feared, Modern Healthcare reports.
The big picture: So far, most of the plans taking advantage of the administration’s new rules at least claim to cover pre-existing conditions and comport with most of the ACA’s benefit requirements, even though they don’t always have to.
Tech companies are launching a new partnership today aimed at better coordinating their respective efforts to help fight the opioid crisis.
The big picture: Federal regulators had criticized tech platforms over a proliferation of ads for illegal pharmacies. But the companies have done a lot to rein in those ads and to redirect users toward information about treatment when, for example, they search Google or Facebook for opioid-related terms.
