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More than 25,000 cases of whooping cough have been recorded in the U.S. so far this year, updated federal data shows. This marks the second year in a row with higher than usual cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the same time this year, around 33,000 cases reported. Cases are well above pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, about 18,600 whooping cough cases were recorded, CDC data shows. (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 11/24)

Other outbreaks and health threats —

The current US hot spots for measles activity both reported new confirmed cases over the weekend, including exposures at a high school and an international airport. Officials in Utah, which has been battling a simmering outbreak in the southwestern part of the state, confirmed five new measles patients in Wasatch County in the north, east of Provo. They are the first measles patients identified in that county this year. All five patients are students at Wasatch High School, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Two more possible cases are being investigated, the newspaper reported. (Soucheray, 11/24)

US COVID, seasonal influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity remains low but is growing in some parts of the country, according to the most recent respiratory illness update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC monitors respiratory illness activity by looking at a range of diagnoses from emergency department (ED) visits, including the common cold, flu, RSV, and COVID. Nationally, levels of acute respiratory illnesses are low or very low, with only three states—Alabama, Arkansas, and New Hampshire—reporting moderate levels. (Bergeson, 11/24)

A brief communication published last week in NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine outlines the substantial economic burden of long COVID worldwide, estimating that persistent symptoms after COVID infection cost the global economy roughly $1 trillion each year, or roughly 1% of global gross domestic product. The analysis looked at data across numerous studies and reports, analyzing long COVID’s impact on national economies, healthcare systems, labor markets, and quality of life. (Bergeson, 11/24)

Two white-tailed deer at a Texas breeding facility linked to a recently uncovered deer-smuggling operation have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), an illness wildlife laws aim to prevent, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) reported yesterday. The detections were the first for Tom Green County, in west-central Texas. The farm is owned by Ken Schlaudt, 64, of San Antonio. (Van Beusekom, 11/21)

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) yesterday announced first-time chronic wasting disease (CWD) detections in two more deer hunt areas: 106 and 150. In Deer Hunt Area 106, in the Cody Region, a hunter harvested a mule deer buck that was part of the Clark’s Fork mule deer herd, in which CWD was first detected in 2019. Cody is located in the northwestern part of Wyoming and serves as the eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park. (Van Beusekom, 11/21)

More health and wellness news —

Researchers have found a potential link between obstructive sleep apnea and the development of Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. Obstructive sleep apnea — a disorder in which a person experiences a fully or partially collapsed airway during sleep, causing a lack of oxygen and non-restorative rest — affects millions of Americans and often goes undiagnosed, according to the American Medical Association. Parkinson’s disease, an incurable progressive movement disorder, is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States and is thought to affect around 1.1 million people. (Kasulis Cho, 11/25)

Women with common pregnancy complications are at increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic health problems later in life. But many patients remain unaware of the connection. (Friedman, 11/24)

Dr. Smita Das often hears the same myth: You can’t get hooked on pot. And the misconception has become more widespread as a growing number of states legalize marijuana. Around half now allow recreational use for adults and 40 states allow medical use. But “cannabis is definitely something that someone can develop an addiction to,” said Das, an addiction psychiatrist at Stanford University. It’s called cannabis use disorder and it’s on the rise, affecting about 3 in 10 people who use pot, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Ungar, 11/22)

Scientists searching for novel ways to fight cancer think they may have uncovered a promising new lead tucked away inside the cells of the bowhead whale. The findings, published in the journal Nature, are part of a growing field examining the ways that long-lived animals like the bowhead manage to keep on trucking without being felled by malignant cells. (Daniel, 11/24)

Scientists have identified five major “epochs” of human brain development in one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how neural wiring changes from infancy to old age. The study, based on the brain scans of nearly 4,000 people aged under one to 90, mapped neural connections and how they evolve during our lives. This revealed five broad phases, split up by four pivotal “turning points” in which brain organisation moves on to a different trajectory, at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 years. (Devlin, 11/25)

On mental health —

Dialing down the use of social media for a week reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia in young adults, according to a study published on Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers followed 295 volunteers, ages 18 to 24, who opted to take a break from social media. Instructed to stay off social media as much as possible, the group on average reduced it to a half-hour per day from just under two hours. Before and after, the participants answered surveys measuring depression, anxiety, insomnia, loneliness and a number of problematic social media behaviors. (Barry, 11/24)

An OpenAI safety research leader who helped shape ChatGPT’s responses to users experiencing mental health crises announced her departure from the company internally last month, WIRED has learned. Andrea Vallone, the head of a safety research team known as model policy, is slated to leave OpenAI at the end of the year. (Zeff, 11/24)