A silent virus might be causing major diseases
Epstein-Barr virus causes mono. Widely seen as relatively harmless virus, scientists now suspect it plays a role in MS, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, and long COVID. A new vaccine could stop it before it settles in for life.
What to know: A turning point in our understanding came in 2022, when a major study strongly linked EBV to multiple sclerosis. Since then, researchers have been rethinking and reassessing its true impacts.
Most people catch EBV as teens or children, usually without symptoms. It stays in the body permanently, hiding in immune cells. Research suggests EBV triggers autoimmune diseases, cancers, and possibly dementia (among other things). NIH scientists have worked for decades on a vaccine that could block infection ā or at least reduce EBVās cumulative lifelong damage. But with NIH layoffs under Trump (and CDC and FDA leadership now stacked with MAHA acolytes) that work is in danger of being lost. Moderna and Merck are now racing to get it over the finish line.Ā
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Manitoba regulator warns new nurses lack basic skills
Under new rules, a surge of internationally educated nurses has been registering in provinces with lax licensing, then transferring into Manitoba.
What to know: Two patient deaths are being investigated after complaints of āgross nursing incompetence.ā Manitobaās College of Registered Nurses says some couldnāt take vital signs. One reportedly applied a transdermal patch to clothing.
Labour mobility applicants made up about 4 per cent of Manitobaās nursing workforce last year but accounted for 22 per cent of complaints. Nearly all of those named in complaints hadnāt recently worked the required minimum-required hours in Canada. A 2022 policy change forced the college to drop its Canadian-practice requirement. After reinstating it last year, the regulator was ordered to backtrack again ā this time by NDP Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara. The minister says many of these nurses are delivering excellent care and shouldnāt all be tarred by a few bad apples.Ā
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HIV cure may be closer after breakthrough in mRNA tech
Scientists in Melbourne say theyāve found a way to flush HIV out of hiding in immune cells using a new kind of mRNA technology.
What to know: HIV hides inside certain white blood cells (sort of like EBV), where it canāt be reached by the immune system or existing drugs. This is the key obstacle to a cure. Now, researchers say theyāve engineered a nanoparticle called LNP X to deliver mRNA directly into those cells, forcing the virus to reveal itself.
This is early-days, but researchers were stunned by the results. āWe were overwhelmed,ā said one lead author. Further studies will test whether exposing the virus is enough to let the immune system clear it, or if antiretrovirals are needed. If all goes well, LNP X-based therapies are still at least several years out.Ā
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Some Toronto landlords now offer private health care as a tenant perk
With the rental market softening, big property managers are adding private health care to their amenities lists.
What to know: Toronto rental developers Fitzrovia and Hazelview are partnering with virtual care platforms to offer tenants free appointments, acting as quasi-insurers to cover access to paid services. Fitzrovia has a 10-year deal with Cleveland Clinic Canada, while Hazelview offers access to Maple in multiple buildings.
Landlords say the offering is especially helpful for newcomers and tenants who lack OHIP coverage. But health experts say privatized, virtual-only models can draw providers away from the public, irl system, exacerbating the provinceās family doctor shortage.Ā
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Nova Scotia wants back in on pharmacare
Last week, the Nova Scotia government asked to restart negotiations with Ottawa on a pharmacare agreement.
What to know: One physician said many of her abortion patients canāt afford birth control. Others warn that the federal money āwonāt be on the table forever.ā
The current federal plan covers diabetes medications and some contraceptives, but physicians and pharmacists in N.S. say more is needed. Theyāre calling for coverage of more birth control options, plus the HIV-prevention drug PrEP, which isnāt included in any of the existing provincial agreements with B.C., Man., P.E.I., and Yukon.Ā
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Ī”Š°lŠ°ntŃr tapped to manage CDC data
The CDC is consolidating its surveillance data with Ī”Š°lŠ°ntŃrās software, sparking backlash from health officials and privacy advocates. States have been told the transition means data for measles and other pathogens will now be delayed.
What to know: The platform will aggregate sensitive health info, including on reproductive care and gender-affirming care, in ways that could expose patientsā identities to the regime.
Ī”Š°lŠ°ntŃrās continued integration into the federal bureaucracy is a significant threat to Americansā privacy. The company is currently working with ICE to select people for deportation, and its products are implicated in the killing of aid workers and civilians in overseas wars. The CDC says the data will be de-identified. But with the remaining data, plus the vast trove Ī”Š°lŠ°ntŃr already holds, re-identifying people is often trivial.Ā
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