WASHINGTON POST - Travelers headed to Brazil should make an appointment for a yellow fever vaccination. “If you are going for tourism, you should definitely get the vaccine,” said EPI’s ERNESTO MARQUES. The CDC recently raised the level of concern in response to a yellow fever outbreak. The agency expanded its warning to travelers unvaccinated tourists contracted the mosquito-borne virus in newly identified hot spots.
SIERRA - Ten facilities are responsible for more than 70 percent of all the industrial air pollution in Allegheny County. County-wide reports have found that air throughout the region can be dangerous to breath, with one study from Pitt Public Health finding that the county was in the top 2 percent in the U.S. for cancer risk from air pollution.
HEALTH AFFAIRS - "Identifying Gender Minority Patients' Health and Health Care Needs in Administrative Claims Data" is the title of a recent article by ANA PROGOVAC (HPM '15) appearing in the top-tier health policy journal. Progovac was also invited to speak on her work as part of a press briefing panel focused on advancing health equity.
TRIB LIVE - Public health leaders, including DEAN DONALD BURKE, urged Gov. Tom Wolf to decriminalize syringe and needle exchanges. Evidence has shown that needle exchanges staunched the rapid rise of HIV cases in Pittsburgh. Burke said Wolf has the power to prevent widespread outbreaks of viruses by making clean needles readily available. "If he doesn't, I can guarantee an HIV epidemic in the state of Pennsylvania," Burke said.
HEALIO - In 1998, researchers submitted the initial NIH grant for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study, designed to examine bone loss and fracture risk factors in older men. Much less is known about fractures and osteoporosis in men than in women. Although osteoporosis is still considered a woman’s disease, a man aged 60 years has a 25% chance of experiencing a fracture in his lifetime, says EPI’s JANE CAULEY.
BIOPHARMA DRIVE - Nearly one in four patients picking up their prescription drugs from the pharmacy counter paid a copay which exceeded the price the insurer paid the pharmacy, according to an analysis of sampled reimbursement and insurance claim data published in JAMA. The disconnect between what patients pay out of pocket and the true cost of the drug (including rebates) is the real problem, says HPM’s WALID GELLAD.
LA TIMES - The FDA announcement is great news, said BCHS’ ERIC DONNY. He and other researchers found that reducing nicotine substantially leads smokers to be less dependent on cigarettes and smoke fewer of them was found in a study by and other researchers. "If you just reduce it a little, people might smoke more to make up the difference. They need to reduce it a lot." Regulators should consider a 95% to 97% reduction.
As an international student, LYCIA NEUMANN always had the intention to take the skills she has learned at Pitt Public Health back to her home in Brazil. Because of the scholarship, she was able to study the profile and unmet needs of cancer patients' family caregivers in Brazil. Her experience has taught her important lessons, such as, " Go with a good plan and a contact. Don't wait to develop your project until you get there."
“Pittsburgh is a great city,“ said BRENDAN DECENSO. “But take opportunities to go work elsewhere – it will change you for the better.” After seeing frustrating inequalities among countries related to HIV, he was inspired to practice medicine internationally. He organized a project for himself in Lima, Peru and says that h would not have been able to have the experience he had without the aid from the scholarship.
IDM's GIOVANNA RAPPOCCIOLO presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections on biomarkers and genetics of cell cholesterol dysregulation in HIV non-progressors. Co-authors include IDM faculty J MARTINSON and C RINALDO and recent doctoral graduate DIANA DELUCIA.
Pitt's Office of Diversity and Inclusion now has a web page up listing review committee, information on how to submit comments, and a link to the letter from Dean Burke requesting that the formation of a review committee to consider the name of Parran Hall.
Pitt Public Health marks 70 years with a two-day celebration of the history and future of public health education, practice, and research. Giving the keynote address is David Satcher, MD, PhD, former U.S. Surgeon General, and founding director and senior advisor of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Satcher has an extensive track record of leadership, research, and community engagement.
University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston has offered KEVIN MELODY (IDM '17) a postdoctoral fellowship in a BSL-4 research group headed by Thomas Geisbert. Due to the security and proficiency needed to perform the work, Kevin will undergo extensive training before beginning high-containment pathogen-related research.
"A great company in a great industry," says ZACHARY SWAN (IDM '16) who has recently secured a position as a Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Strategy Scientist at a CRO in the Research Triangle Park named Cato Research.
ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - Pennsylvania leaders of ASPPH member schools issued a joint letter to Governor Tom Wolf, urging him to remove barriers to syringe service programs in the Commonwealth. DEAN DONALD BURKE was among the signers. Syringe service programs are among responses the opioid crisis recommended by the National Academy of Sciences.
Helping out with The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Country Operational Plan submission, EMERSON EVANS (IDM '12) is currently working in South Africa on detail with the CDC.
DAILY PRESS – In Del. Mike Mullin’s op/ed on gun violence he quotes EPI’S ANTHONY FABIO. Fabio worked with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police on a study that found that in more than 80% of gun crimes, the person committing the crime was not in legal possession of the weapon. The problem isn’t legal gun ownership, it is illegal gun ownership. “All guns start out as legal guns,” says Fabio.
The San-Pin Wang Award for the best graduate student oral presentation at the Chlamydia Basic Research Society 2017 conference was given to TAYLOR POSTON (IDM '17). This award was established in honor of the memory of Dr. San-Pin Wang and a cash prize was generously donated by the San-Pin Wang Endowment Fund.
CNN – A new study has found that after the expansion of access to naloxone, arrests for possession and sales of opioids increased by 17% and 27%, respectively. However, BCHS's MARY HAWK, JAMES EGAN, and CHRIS KEANE had some cautions. Just because both expanded during the same time period does not mean that one caused the other. Even if that was true, they would not propose removing access to a lifesaving drug, they said.
In "Virgil Cantini: The Artist in Public," Will Zavala, associate professor at Pittsburgh Filmmakers/PCA, examines the public art of famed Pittsburgh muralist and sculptor Virgil Cantini. Highlights include footage from a charming 1968 interview of the artist on one of the first episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, where Cantini shares a maquette for his scientific “Man” which for decades has proudly adorned the Fifth Avenue façade of the Pit...