Public Health

The UN human rights chief has called on leaders and international stakeholders to radically rethink global drug policy, stating that the decades-long “War on Drugs” approach has “destroyed countless lives and damaged entire communities”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.nz/post/17029892

Public health officials in Africa urged caution Thursday as Congo's health minister said the government was on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people.

It may be difficult or impossible to control food quality well enough that every container be mealworm-free. But I expect metrics to be kept so someone can monitor whether or not a supply chain is doing something notably reckless.

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When I tried to return the rooibos, the CSR asked for a receipt. I did not have one, so he refused. I said: look, it’s brand of the store, so of course it came from here. He argued that it may not have come from /this/ precise store.

I don’t give a shit about getting a 2 euro refund. My whole point was to get the incident recorded so they can look into QA issues. So then I reported this to the food safety authority in Belgium. It’s possible they acted on it, but they sent no acknowledgement. Which effectively signals to consumers they are wasting their time by reporting quality issues.

Is this all normal? I would expect a public health agency to be keen to encourage reports of worms packaged in food.

I think the norm is (sadly enough) to use Twitter. Someone tweets “worm in my food” with a good photo, it gets some attention, then the supplier is forced to try to remedy their embarrassment. This hack doesn’t work for non-Twitter non-Facebook users.

(edit) attached a pic

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/25102568

Efforts to eradicate the disfiguring mosquito-borne infection lymphatic filariasis are advancing, but it is still rife in 51 countries

Archived version: https://archive.li/q2b8x

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2024%2Foct%2F25%2Fgenital-swelling-disease-mosquito-borne-infection-lymphatic-filariasis-hydrocele

cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/33029459

cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/33029458

“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Woah.. ho.. Gotta love that clickbait title. I’ll cut to the chase though- more research is needed before you can get roach milk on the shelf. From the article:

“But today we have no evidence that it is actually safe for human consumption.”

“Plus roaches aren't the easiest creatures to milk.”

Four additional healthcare workers in Missouri who came in contact with a hospitalized bird flu patient developed mild respiratory symptoms but the virus was not confirmed in any of them, U.S. health officials said on Friday.

The report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brings to six the number of healthcare workers who cared for the Missouri patient and developed respiratory symptoms.

Unlike previous U.S. bird flu cases this year, the Missouri patient, who was hospitalized on Aug. 22, had no known contact with infected animals. Scientists are watching closely for signs that the virus has begun to spread more easily in people.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/17030076

This is why I will confront anti-vaxxers in public.

Nearly 200 children died from influenza-related complications in the 2023-24 season, according to the CDC. Most of these children were eligible for a vaccine but did not receive one. The CDC reported that only 53% of children aged 6 months to 17 years were vaccinated this season, down from 56% the previous season. Vaccination rates were notably lower among Black children and those in rural areas.

TL;DW: There are potential risks and potential benefits, and strategies to mitigate the risks. More research is needed, YMMV.