641: Tracking Avian Flu, Naloxone Doses Get Review

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, April 11, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

MARCUS PLESCIA: 

You know, in public health, we're on high alert about this. I mean, this is a serious infection if humans get it,

JOHNSON: 

Bird flu getting the attention of public health agencies. This is ASTHO's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia on the air with Los Angeles news radio station, KNX.

PLESCIA: 

You know, probably the most concerning thing right now is the risk for the occupational risks, the risk for poultry workers, the risk for dairy cattle workers, they can get it as you saw happen with this individual last week. And, you know, if they were to get a respiratory infection, it could be quite severe for them,.

JOHNSON: 

Plescia says the CDC wants public health agencies to be prepared to respond if necessary.

PLESCIA: 

That was really what the nature of the phone call we had with CDC was last week, to really you know, give everybody a situational update, but also talk about the steps we can be taking behind the scenes just in case this becomes more problematic than we anticipate it's going to be.

JOHNSON: 

You can read ASTHO's report about Friday's call with the CDC and listen to the full KNX interview using the links in the show notes.

A New York State study of the differences between four and eight milligram doses of naloxone offers a look into the effects on people who received the treatment. Emily Payne is an epidemiologist with the state's AIDS Institute. She says post Naloxone opioid withdrawal symptoms more than doubled with the larger eight milligram dose. Payne adds another concern was the severity of some symptoms among those patients.

EMILY PAYNE: 

When we looked at vomiting, specifically which we kind of consider a marker of more serious withdrawal. We saw that 21% of those who got the eight milligram product experienced this as did 14% of those who got the four milligram product.

JOHNSON: 

Pain says survival rates were high regardless of the size of the dose. But she says this work since published by the CDC will give agencies information needed to make decisions about their naloxone options.

PAYNE: 

We really want them to look at this study as the first available quantitative evidence looking at real world comparisons of these two products.

JOHNSON: 

What then does the research tell us about the higher naloxone dose,

PAYNE: 

We feel like it suggests there are not any benefits to people administered this product by community responders, including law enforcement,

JOHNSON: 

You can read the study and listen to a podcast about the research using the links in the show notes.

Also today, an advocate in Alaska tells us how public health can enhance preventive care and empower women to take charge of their health. Anne Remick is with the Alaska Department of Health. Her comments are covered in a new ASTHO blog article now online. The link is in the show notes.

Finally this morning, we have some news from The Pelican State. O'Keyla Cooper tells us about a new addition to the ASTHO member directory.

O'KEYLA COOPER: 

ASTHO has a new member and Dr. Pete Croughan, an expert in internal medicine, health policy and state level administration. Recently appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, he succeeds ASTHO's new CEO Dr. Joseph Kanter as the state's top medical official. Learn more about Deputy Secretary Crougan through the link in the show notes.

JOHNSON: 

Before we go a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player and connect with ASCO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

That will do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.