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An already record-setting summer heat wave will continue through August and will put more than 51 million Americans at risk of health impacts, according to new data from federal health officials. Most of those vulnerable people live in 26 states and are expected to have at least five extreme heat days this month. Among the highest-risk counties, roughly 45% have high levels of uninsured adults and children and 18% have high senior populations, according to a relatively new monthly report drafted by the Health and Human Services Department’s two-year-old climate change office. (Owermohle, 8/3)

After a brief reprieve, a persistent “heat dome” that has broiled the Southwest since early July will return to Southern California this weekend, bringing another round of sweltering temperatures. Highs are expected to peak Sunday in most of Los Angeles County, reaching triple digits in the valleys and deserts, and into the 90s downtown and the upper 80s along the coast. (Toohey, 8/3)

The best way to build up your body’s tolerance is by exposing yourself safely to short bouts of heat and humidity and gradually increasing the length of exposure, a process known as heat acclimatization, said W. Larry Kenney, a professor of physiology and kinesiology at Penn State. Allowing your body to experience heat through these repeated and controlled exposures, especially if you’re doing physical activity, can trigger physiological adaptations that improve your ability to withstand hotter temperatures and can help lower the risk of heat-related illness and death, he said. (Chiu, 7/29)

Flea-borne typhus was tied to three deaths in Los Angeles County last year amid a rise in reported cases of the illness, according to a report released Thursday. The deaths marked the first time in almost three decades that anyone was reported to have died of illness associated with flea-borne typhus in L.A. County, public health researchers found. The report tallied 171 cases of flea-borne typhus reported in L.A. County in 2022 — a significant increase from the 31 cases reported in 2010. (Alpert Reyes, 8/3)

Another human case of the West Nile virus has shown up as Colorado's rain soaked Front Range plays host to a banner year for mosquitoes. This time the West Nile case is in Boulder County. "The resident, in their 40s, was believed to be infected while in Lafayette and has not been hospitalized," said Boulder County Health in a statement. (Gionet, 8/3)

Santa Clara County public health officials announced on Thursday the county’s first human case of West Nile virus for the season, confirmed in a person who was reported to be resting at home after a hospitalization. (Turner, 8/3)

Doctors in San Francisco are at the forefront of a movement to replace the drugs used for general anesthesia, which have been determined to be contributing to our climate change crisis. From hip replacements to C-sections and brain surgeries, modern medicine is simply not possible without anesthesia. More than 300 million major surgeries are performed every year around the world, with about 50 million in the U.S. alone. (Donchey and McCrea, 8/3)