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Good morning. I admit, I’m a little behind reading “The Odyssey.” I’ve gotten distracted by “East of Eden.” Send news tips and good reads: [email protected]
Uganda closes border as Ebola surges
Following the lead of the U.S. and Rwanda, Uganda has now closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The decision, made by a local Ebola task force, goes against WHO guidance, the AP reports.
“No country should close its borders or place any restrictions on travel and trade,” a recent WHO statement declared. “Such measures are usually implemented out of fear and have no basis in science.”
There are no specific medications or vaccines for the rare type of Ebola spreading in this outbreak, known as Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
1 in 6
That’s how many patients with Covid-19 go on to develop long Covid, according to a study of nearly 458,000 patients at 58 hospitals, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. It’s about twice the rate estimated by federal health officials.
Researchers used an algorithm that identified symptoms such as heart problems, fatigue, and chronic pain within electronic health records, while accounting for other potential diagnoses. My colleagues at the Boston Globe wrote more about the paper and how experts reacted.
A ‘functional cure’ for hepatitis B?
In two clinical trials, an experimental drug made by GSK helped about 20% of patients with hepatitis B achieve functional cures. (“Functional cure” defined here as six months with no detectable levels of the virus.) Hundreds of millions of people around the world have chronic hep B infections, which can lead to problems like cirrhosis and liver cancer.
While this cure rate “doesn’t seem to be substantial, it is actually a big advance in terms of treatment of chronic hepatitis B,” Seng Gee Lim, an investigator in the trials, told STAT’s Andrew Joseph. Read more on the results.
A heart patch to rev up weakened hearts
After a heart attack, the organ isn’t able to regenerate weakened muscles, impeding its ability to pump blood throughout the body. Ultimately, many people are faced with a choice: a heart transplant or device implant.
But a small study reports progress with a new method, STAT’s Elizabeth Cooney reports. For 20 patients, thin patches of heart muscle engineered from induced pluripotent stem cells were attached to the outside of damaged heart chambers.
Originally, scientists imagined the patch could serve as a bridge to either transplant or implantation of an LVAD. More research is needed, but depending on how it goes, the method could help some people avoid those next steps altogether. Read more from Liz on the science.
Christian substitute for insurance lowers costs
The nonprofit Liberty HealthShare — a Christian cooperative in which members pay monthly dues toward each other’s care as an alternative to traditional health insurance — is lowering its monthly costs, according to a recent press release. It’s the second year in a row that costs have declined for the health share, marking a stark contrast from the steady increases that have been seen across traditional workplace plans for the last decade.
The arrangement might sound enticing, but remember that health shares like these do not provide comprehensive coverage and aren’t regulated like insurance. And for faith-based groups, there are often lifestyle requirements or stipulations. Liberty, for example, requires members to maintain a “Christian” way of life, defined as refraining from any tobacco use, abstaining from most drug use or abuse, exercising regularly, and eating healthy foods that “do not harm the body.” I’d recommend reading this 2023 ProPublica investigation into Liberty’s financial practice and a 2022 KFF Health News piece on how health shares have been mistaken for ACA plans.
Meanwhile, U.S. health care still falls short
Relatedly: A new report from the Commonwealth Fund found that the U.S. health care system cannot match up to 19 peer nations, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Korea, and a number of European countries. The report is based on 2024 data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Some takeaways include:
- The U.S. has 0.3 primary care doctors per 1,000 people — the lowest in the group and less than half the average of 1.1 per 1,000 people. We’re also slower at producing more doctors, with 8.6 medical school graduates per 100,000 people each year. Denmark, with the highest rate, produces 21 graduates per 100,000.
- We spend the most on health care, which made up 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2024. That’s nearly twice the average of the other countries.
- Despite the costs, we have little to show for it. U.S. life expectancy is among the lowest, at 79 years. (In Spain, Japan, and Switzerland, it’s 84 years.) We also have the second-highest rate of avoidable deaths.
What we’re reading
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NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold, Nature
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The largest undocumented disparity in maternal health, The Atlantic
- MIT president: Why so many optimistic scientists are losing heart, STAT
- They started IVF, then split. Now who gets custody of the embryos? New York Times
- Trump’s deals set to be tested by new drug launches, STAT