First case of polio detected in the U.S. since 2013

Public health officials in New York State have detected a case of polio derived from an oral vaccine, the first such case since 2013. Details on the case were scant, and it was unclear if the person had traveled outside of the country. But the oral polio vaccine is no longer used in the U.S.

The news didn’t surprise polio expert Kimberly Thompson, who noted that there has been a surge in type 2 poliovirus transmission. “There’s just a lot more polio going around than there should be," she said.

Mary Bassett, New York State’s health commissioner, said people who are vaccinated against polio do not face a risk from the newly discovered case. But children who are not immunized against the virus should receive the vaccine.

In the Netherlands, a child got monkeypox, puzzling health officials

A boy in the Netherlands contracted monkeypox in June, despite having no discernible contact with a known case. Dutch officials worked hard to try to figure out how the unidentified child, under the age of 10, became infected. They even tested him for a range of sexually transmitted infections and conducted a careful interview to rule out the possibility that he might have been sexually abused. “Extensive source and contact tracing did not identify a potential source,” the investigators who worked on the case wrote in a report to the online journal Eurosurveillance that was published yesterday.

Health authorities who hope the expanding monkeypox outbreak can be stopped have pointed to the fact that the vast majority of known cases have occurred in gay and bisexual men who have multiple or anonymous partners. But others have warned it is only a matter of time before the virus moves beyond that demographic group.

New study finds that AI could help address a leading cause of deaths in hospitals

Sepsis accounts for 35% of all hospital deaths in the United States. It’s highly preventable and treatable, but the systemic infection can be difficult for physicians to diagnose early. A new artificial intelligence platform developed by Bayesian Health and Johns Hopkins University could help reduce deaths, STAT intern Akila Muthukumar reports.

The software, dubbed the Targeted Real-time Early Warning System, was integrated into hospitals’ electronic health records to monitor patient data and alert clinicians of early signs of potential sepsis. When compared to the standard of care, the technology was able to detect sepsis 5.7 hours earlier, on average, according to research published yesterday in Nature Medicine and npj Digital Medicine. It was also well-received by physicians, who can find it difficult to integrate new digital tools into their work.

Closer look: Evusheld can help immunocompromised people. Why can't they get it?

(TED S. WARREN/AP)

Evusheld is one of the few proven treatments against Covid, and a crucially important one for people whose immune system are impaired by disease, by transplant, or by medications to combat their disease. But eight months after the FDA first authorized the treatment, only a tiny fraction of the roughly 7 million patients who might be eligible have received it. Doses are sitting unused on hospital and infusion center shelves and doctors are sometimes unaware of the monoclonal antibody combination until patients prompt them, STAT’s Jason Mast reports.

And it matters. Although vaccines and prior infections have reduced severe Covid risk for most Americans, the picture is more muddled for immunocompromised people. A CDC analysis of 10 states published this month found that immunocompromised people accounted for 12% of all Covid-related hospitalizations, despite accounting for only around 3% of the U.S. population.

Biden taps Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Cancer Institute

The Biden administration has picked a top cancer surgeon, Monica Bertagnolli, to lead the country’s largest biomedical research institute, the National Cancer Institute, Lev Facher reports. The institute is a $7 billion agency that funds the lion’s share of U.S. cancer research and is central to the White House’s “Cancer Moonshot.” Bertagnolli will take over for Ned Sharpless, who stepped down in April.

Bertagnolli has been described as a “surgical superstar.” She currently serves as the chief of surgical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston — the first woman to ever hold the position. Bertagnolli, who will also be the first woman to lead NCI, is also a longtime advocate of increasing diversity across the world of cancer research — not only in terms of the doctors treating patients and conducting research, but in terms of the racial and geographic makeup of patients enrolled in clinical trials.

Efforts to boost contraceptive use falling apart

The use of birth control and other contraceptives has been increasing across the globe since 1970. But a major initiative to boost the use of modern contraceptives — like oral contraceptive pills, IUDs, and male and female sterilization — is on track to fall far short of its goals.

The Family Planning 2020 Initiative launched in 2012 with a goal of boosting the number of women using contraceptives worldwide by 120 million. But as of 2019, birth control use has increased by just 69 million, according to a study published yesterday in The Lancet. Women and adolescents between the ages of 15 and 24 were the least likely to have their birth control needs met, globally.

What to read around the web today

Medicare offers financial perks for rural hospitals that convert to its new provider type. Will they bite?, STAT
Plagiarism and data falsification found at prominent cancer lab, Nature
Pregnant, homeless and living in a tent, Los Angeles Times
The politics of passing a major FDA funding bill just got complicated, STAT

Thanks for reading! More Monday,