Hacker News with Generative AI: Public Health

Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas (theautopian.com)
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is widely considered to be a dry and unemotional document.

Radiation Safety, Public Health, Traffic Control, Design

265 points by colinprince 3 days ago | 198 comments

The CDC, Palantir and the AI-Healthcare Revolution (unlimitedhangout.com)
The CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA) has partnered with the CIA-linked Palantir to cement the public-private model of invasive surveillance in “public health,” all while pushing the U.S. national security state and Silicon Valley even closer together.

Public Health, Surveillance, Artificial Intelligence, Government, Big Data

7 points by TheFreim 4 days ago | 0 comments

Bird Flu Risk Dashboard Using Prediction Markets (Current Risk "Low Chance") (birdflurisk.com)

Bird Flu, Public Health, Prediction Markets, Data Visualization

30 points by nathan_young 10 days ago | 4 comments

San Francisco Curbs Syphilis with Cheap 'Morning-After' Pill (bloomberg.com)
San Francisco reversed some of the highest rates of syphilis and chlamydia in the US after county health officials recommended a low-cost tablet taken like a “morning-after pill.”

Public Health, San Francisco, Health Policy

5 points by toomuchtodo 10 days ago | 1 comments

I'm the Governor of Hawaii. I've Seen What Vaccine Skepticism Can Do (nytimes.com)
In early December of 2019, I called Faimalotoa Kika Stowers, the health minister of Samoa. The measles outbreak that had begun earlier that fall on her small Pacific island nation had spread out of control and become an epidemic that threatened to overwhelm the country.

Health, Politics, Samoa, Measles, Public Health

9 points by ColinWright 11 days ago | 1 comments

Collection: More Doctors Smoke Camels (tobacco.stanford.edu)
One common technique used by the tobacco industry to reassure a worried public was to incorporate images of physicians in their ads.

Tobacco Industry, Advertising, History, Public Health, Medicine

98 points by t0bia_s 11 days ago | 142 comments

Gigantic SUVs are a public health threat. Why don't we treat them like one? (vox.com)
With an annual toll of 40,000 American lives, the deadliness of secondhand smoke is now common knowledge. But it was only a few decades ago that puffing on a cigarette was defended as an act that affected only the smoker.

Public Health, Automobiles, Safety, Environmental Issues

3 points by rntn 11 days ago | 0 comments

The world of 1930s public health posters (worldhistory.substack.com)
Happy new year and thanks for reading! I’m hoping to bring you even more interesting historical deep dives this year, with regular Sunday posts and a couple of midweek posts per month, as well.

Public Health, History, Posters, 1930s

78 points by crescit_eundo 12 days ago | 30 comments

TB rates plunge when families living in poverty get a monthly cash payout (npr.org)
What if the best medicine isn't a pill or vaccine — but it's cold cash?

Public Health, Poverty, Economics, Social Welfare

5 points by toomuchtodo 13 days ago | 0 comments

EPA Report Finds That Formaldehyde Presents "Unreasonable Risk" to Public Health (propublica.org)
A long-awaited report from the Environmental Protection Agency has found that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk to human health.

Environmental Health, Public Health, Government Regulations, Chemistry, Formaldehyde

7 points by Jimmc414 13 days ago | 5 comments

How the U.S. Lost Control of Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic (scientificamerican.com)
As the bird flu virus moved into cows and people, sluggish federal action, deference to industry and neglect for worker safety put the country at risk

Public Health, Pandemic, Animal Health, Government Regulation

6 points by Traces 14 days ago | 0 comments

Surgeon General Calls for Cancer Warnings on Alcohol (nytimes.com)
Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday.

Public Health, Cancer, Alcohol, Regulations

9 points by manmal 14 days ago | 1 comments

H5N1: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (astralcodexten.com)
What is the H5N1 bird flu? Will it cause the next big pandemic? If so, how bad would that pandemic be?

Science, Public Health, Pandemics, Viruses

96 points by feross 17 days ago | 112 comments

Milan prohibits all outdoor smoking as ban takes effect (rte.ie)
Smokers in Italian city of Milan risk being fined for lighting up on city streets or crowded public areas, after the country's toughest ban came into effect.

Smoking Bans, Public Health, Italy, Milan, Policy

47 points by austinallegro 17 days ago | 23 comments

WHO implores China to share Covid origins data, five years on (theguardian.com)
The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand the origins of Covid-19, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.

Public Health, China, COVID-19, Science, International Relations

18 points by c420 18 days ago | 5 comments

Jimmy Carter, Who Died at Age 100, Spared People from Guinea Worm (scientificamerican.com)
Former president Jimmy Carter was touring villages in Ghana during the late 1980s when he first encountered people with Guinea worm disease.

Health, Public Health, Jimmy Carter, Guinea Worm, History

20 points by sohkamyung 19 days ago | 0 comments

Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes (npr.org)
Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations.

Public Health, Environment, E-Cigarettes, Belgium, European Union

179 points by geox 19 days ago | 122 comments

Greeks Are Defying an Indoor Smoking Ban (nytimes.com)
Greeks smoke more than most other Europeans, and even 14 years after Greece banned smoking in indoor public places, it is not uncommon to see people light up in bars and clubs.

Greece, Public Health, Smoking, Culture

12 points by ivewonyoung 19 days ago | 0 comments

Genetics of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses ID'd in LA Person (cdc.gov)
CDC has sequenced the influenza viruses in specimens collected from the patient in Louisiana who was infected with, and became severely ill from HPAI A(H5N1) virus. The genomic sequences were compared to other HPAI A(H5N1) sequences from dairy cows, wild birds and poultry, as well as previous human cases and were identified as the D1.1 genotype.

Genetics, Avian Influenza, Public Health, Virology

4 points by rntn 20 days ago | 0 comments

CDC says H5N1 sample shows mutations that may help virus bind to upper airways (statnews.com)
Genetic sequences of H5N1 bird flu viruses collected from a person in Louisiana who became severely ill show signs of development of several mutations thought to affect the virus’ ability to attach to cells in the upper airways of humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday.

Health, Viruses, Public Health, Bird Flu, Mutations

5 points by ck2 21 days ago | 0 comments

Ask HN: What's the best site to track H5N1 progression? (ycombinator.com)
Is there a good wastewater tracker? I see that the CDC is tracking but they seem to be giving only yes/no, rather than quantitative.

Public Health, Data Visualization, H5N1, Wastewater Analysis

10 points by tikkun 22 days ago | 0 comments

Flu surges in Louisiana as health department barred from promoting flu shots (arstechnica.com)
Flu season is ramping up across the US, but Louisiana—the state that has reportedly barred its health department from promoting flu shots, as well as COVID-19 and mpox vaccines—is leading the country with an early and strong surge.

Health, Public Health, Louisiana, Flu, Vaccines

16 points by rntn 25 days ago | 5 comments

Boston installs vending machines for addicts with Narcan, fentanyl test kits (universalhub.com)
The city announced today it's installed four vending machines that dispense Narcan, clean syringes and fentanyl test kits - with room for possible later additions that could include pregnancy test kits and socks - and is working to install another eight machines that dispense Narcan across the city.

Public Health, Addiction, Harm Reduction, Boston

16 points by ilamont 25 days ago | 1 comments

America Lost Control of the Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic (kffhealthnews.org)
Nearly a year into the first outbreak of the bird flu among cattle, the virus shows no sign of slowing. The U.S. government failed to eliminate the virus on dairy farms when it was confined to a handful of states, by quickly identifying infected cows and taking measures to keep their infections from spreading. Now at least 875 herds across 16 states have tested positive.

Agriculture, Public Health, Pandemic, Avian Influenza

17 points by leotravis10 25 days ago | 1 comments

How the U.S. Lost Control of Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic (scientificamerican.com)
As the bird flu virus moved into cows and people, sluggish federal action, deference to industry and neglect for worker safety put the country at risk

Public Health, Avian Influenza, Pandemic Preparedness

13 points by bookofjoe 26 days ago | 6 comments

Communal Luxury: The Public Bathhouse (lowtechmagazine.com)
Throughout history, people have bathed in public rather than in private. Should we bring back the public bathhouse for the sake of sustainability?

Sustainability, Public Health, History, Architecture

27 points by harryday 27 days ago | 28 comments

Louisiana forbids public health workers from promoting Covid, flu and mpox shots (npr.org)
A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events.

Public Health, Politics, COVID-19, Louisiana

17 points by bikenaga 29 days ago | 6 comments

"Unprecedented" decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts (arstechnica.com)
Teen drug use continued to fall in 2024, extending a dramatic decline spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that experts expected would reverse now that the acute phase of the global crisis is well over.

Teenagers, Drug Use, Public Health, Social Trends

7 points by GeoAtreides 29 days ago | 6 comments

Newsom Declares Bird Flu Emergency in California as US Confirms First Case (kqed.org)
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in response to the bird flu outbreak, an action meant to allow the state and local agencies additional resources to increase virus surveillance and slow the spread.

Public Health, Emergency Declarations, Bird Flu, California

7 points by ctoth 30 days ago | 1 comments

Expert warns of public health emergency as India's Capital toxic air returns (bbc.com)
Delhi's pollution has once again soared to hazardous levels, with a top expert warning that India's toxic air will have a bigger impact on public health than the Covid-19 pandemic.

Public Health, Air Pollution, India, Climate Change

3 points by Brajeshwar 31 days ago | 0 comments