Sometimes you just want to throw your hands in the air

U.S. kids are getting parechovirus infections

The CDC is warning that reports of human parechovirus (PeV) are spreading in the U.S., “causing fevers, seizures, confusion and other ‘sepsis-like’ issues that can be life-threatening for young infants.” One infant has already died.

Symptoms to watch for: unexplained fever, “sepsis-like syndrome,” seizures, or those of meningitis — irritability, loss of appetite, and sleepiness. If those are present, it says, test for PeV.

Nothing to worry about

The Marburg virus has emerged in Ghana. There is no vaccine and few treatments for the relative of Ebola, which has an 88% fatality rate. Of course, the chances of a deadly virus from halfway around the world affecting the U.S. is obviously slim.

Vaccine, boost thyself

Time-release meds aren’t new, but we (that is, medical engineers) are getting better at controlling them. So what if, rather than thinking in terms of hours, we thought it terms of weeks?

MIT scientists went down that very route, and they’ve created microparticles that can be injected under the skin and act as “self-boosting vaccines.” Their breakthrough is the manufacturing technique, which uses an existing polymer called PLGA.

The particles look like microscopic coffee cups, filled with a drug and sealed with a lid:

[T]he PLGA polymers that make up the particles are gradually cleaved by water, and when enough of these polymers have broken down, the lid becomes very porous. Very soon after these pores appear, the lid breaks apart, spilling out the contents.

By adjusting the specifics of that PLGA polymer, they can change when each “cup” releases its payload.

PoxWatch™

More monkeypox is coming

So warns CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. The virus is spreading, and testing is ramping up — combined, that’s going to show a big uptick in cases.

Georgia is currently aware of 93 cases, all in metro Atlanta.

Close skin-to-skin contact, fact-to-face contact via kissing, and sharing contaminated objects are all likely the main ways the virus is spreading, she said.

Downside: “[T]esting currently requires the presence of lesions on a person.”

The vaccines are rolling out

Technically true, but in reality demand is far outstripping supply. We’ve got 7 million doses on the way … but ”on the way” means it’s still months out.

(Georgia’s DPH reports that it’s received about 3,000 doses — enough for 1,500 individuals because it’s a two-dose series.)

All this has happened before, all this will happen again

Nearly two months after the first case of monkeypox was identified in the United States, the pace of the nation’s response continues to echo mistakes made in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. Physicians still encounter lengthy delays for test results, meaning some undiagnosed patients are unwittingly exposing others to the virus….

At least there’s treatment

Well, sort of. First, there’s paperwork.

[D]octors simply don’t have enough hours in the day to complete dozens of pages of paperwork every time they need to pry medicine out of the Strategic National Stockpile. And that’s just what has been required for a single patient.

Here’s drug in your eye

If you want to get medication in someone’s eye, you have two choices: drops (which don’t penetrate enough) or a needle (which you have to explain to the patient, wait for the screaming to end, and deal with post-injection pain).

But now a team of U.S. and Korean researchers has a better option: contact lenses with nanoneedles that deliver drugs right into the eye. It’s pain-free like drops, but still gives patients the conversation starter, “Did I tell you that I had meds injected into my eyes?”

So far they’ve only tested them on rabbits, but grad students and further human studies are in the pipeline.

Gee, thanks

The headline: “UnitedHealthcare to eliminate out-of-pocket costs on insulin and other critical drugs.”

Quietly mumbled: “…but only for group fully insured plans,” which is about a quarter of its membership. And other, smaller insurers already do this; so do some Medicare plans.

More importantly, UnitedHealth reported record profits for Q2, up 13.6% from the previous year.

Captain Obvious has it on his business card

“Experts Don’t Always Give Better Advice—They Just Give More”