January 17 News: Deadly virus spreads from China, fitbits help predict flu outbreaks, Locust outbreak hits East Africa

CNN – 170 people sickened at Yosemite National Park after likely norovirus outbreak

About 170 people who've gone to Yosemite National Park this month are suffering from gastrointestinal illness, including visitors and employees. Two of the cases are confirmed as norovirus, and the majority of the others are consistent with the virus, the park said in a statement Thursday.

Gizmodo - Deadly mysterious virus spreads outside China to new countries

Health officials in Thailand and Japan have announced that a strange new virus, which has killed two people and sickened dozens of others in China, has appeared inside their borders this week. The virus, known as 2019-nCoV, was first identified in Wuhan, China in late December and questions remain about how it spreads, according to the World Health Organization.

Reuters – Health warning: How Fitbits can help predict flue outbreaks

A study in the United States has found that heart rate and sleep data from wearable fitness tracker watches can predict and alert public health officials to real-time outbreaks of flu more accurately than current surveillance methods.

NPR – Stealth disease likely to blame for 20% of worldwide deaths

One prominent study estimates 1.7 million cases a year and 270,000 deaths. Sepsis in the U.S. can strike otherwise healthy people who get an infection that runs amok. Many other cases arise in the hospital. That occurs frequently in people who are already in poor health.

Vox – Trump claiming to be a defender of preexisting conditions is pretty shameless

Trump claimed in a tweet attacking Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Monday that “I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now.” Alluding to the aforementioned lawsuit, Trump went on to write that “if Republicans win in court and take back the House of Represenatives [sic], your healthcare, that I have now brought to the best place in many years, will become the best ever, by far. I will always protect your Pre-Existing Conditions, the Dems will not!”

Associated Press – Locust outbreak, most serious in 25 years, hits East Africa

The most serious outbreak of locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, authorities say. Unusual climate conditions are partly to blame.

The Hill – Health insurers urge Supreme Court to take Obamacare case, uphold health law

The health insurance lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) on Wednesday filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up a case challenging ObamaCare and to rule to uphold the health law.