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When Patricia Teklu’s daughter started coughing uncontrollably, her pediatrician said it was a routine asthma flare up. But that didn’t explain the eight nosebleeds she endured in just one day. “She was coughing so much that she literally could not breathe,” said Teklu, a 36-year-old software sales executive from Boston. The spasms were so severe that the 8-year-old was vomiting mucus and blood, causing a hemorrhage in both eyes that were swollen and black-and-blue. “I had no idea what was going on.” (Suvarna, 9/30)

Last year was the first time the United States had two approved methods for combating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants, a maternal vaccine administered in the final weeks of pregnancy and the antibody nirsevimab given to infants under the age of 8 months during RSV season. But In Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, authors describe the results of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey which shows only 55.8% of infants were protected by maternal RSV vaccine, nirsevimab, or both. (Soucheray, 9/30)

In other health and wellness news —

Rates of breast cancer — the second leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. women — climbed by 1 percent a year from 2012 to 2021, and even more sharply among women under age 50 and among Asian American/Pacific Islander women of all ages, according to an American Cancer Society report published on Tuesday. The biennial report is among the most comprehensive and detailed studies of breast cancer occurrence over recent years. One in 50 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer by the age of 50, the authors said, based on National Cancer Institute calculations. (Rabin, 10/1)

In its annual report of yearly procedures for 2023, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons dubbed the new popular look the “ballet body.” Fueled by the rise of the blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, thinness appears to be making a comeback in the trend cycle. The reigning surgeries in the United States last year were liposuction, breast augmentation and the tummy tuck. And women displayed an increased preference for a smaller size of surgically sculpted breasts and buttocks, ASPS president Steven Williams said in an interview. The desired body of last decade — when the popularity of the Brazilian butt lift (BBL), which adds fat to the posterior, more than doubled — looked quite different. “There really has been almost a decade of ‘more curves are better,’ and really glorifying those,” Williams said. “And now it seems like we’re taking a bit of an abrupt turn to something a little bit more slim.” (Vinall, 10/1)

While the United States has made considerable progress fighting the HIV/AIDS crisis since its peak in the 1980s, headway has not been equal among racial/ethnic groups. Overall, HIV rates have declined in the U.S. and the number of new infections over the last five years has dropped among Black Americans and white Americans. However, Hispanic and Latino Americans have not seen the same gains. (Kekatos, 9/29)

Former President Jimmy Carter is marking his 100th birthday — the first former president in United States history to do so. It's a major milestone for Carter, who has been in hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, since February 2023. Carter lost his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in November, after 77 years of marriage. The former president attended his late wife's memorial service in a wheelchair. (Watson, 10/1)

���ϳԹ��� News: Get Your BOO On! Submit Your Scariest Halloween Health Care Haikus
Boo! We scared you. Now it’s your turn to give our newsroom a scare. Submissions are now open for ���ϳԹ��� News’ sixth annual Halloween haiku competition. ���ϳԹ��� News has been publishing reader-submitted health care haikus for years and is on pins and needles to read how this spooky season inspires you. We want your best scary health care or health policy haiku. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and members of our staff will pick the winners, announced on Thursday, Oct. 31. (10/1)