2,500 Dead in Outbreak; $1 Trillion in Medicare Advantage Overpayments; MyChart Scam

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A UN official said Congo’s Ebola outbreak is growing “exponentially,” with deaths doubling to more than 2,500 in the past 3 weeks alone. (AFP via Yahoo!)

Research in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report suggests Clade IIb mpox is moving toward endemic circulation in the U.S.

Alcohol consumption in the U.S. remains at a record-low 54% for the second year in a row, a Gallup poll found.

Alfalfa sprouts have been linked to two hospitalizations and more than 40 food poisoning cases, including E. coli and Salmonella infections, in Minnesota and Wisconsin. (AP)

The FDA upgraded the Publix frozen blueberry and mixed berries recall to Class I, its most serious designation. (USA Today)

Medicare will pay Medicare Advantage plans $1 trillion more during the next 10 years than it would have paid for those same patients under traditional Medicare, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. (Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are not getting their medical needs met, according to an NPR review.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the White House’s changes to the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention program — changes that caused the program to lose tens of millions of dollars in federal grants. (The Hill)

And a federal appeals court said Planned Parenthood clinics in Indiana can offer referrals for out-of-state abortions. (Indiana Chronicle)

The 19th reported that anti-abortion groups now have a new target: surrogacy.

New York City sanitation workers are getting pricked by improperly thrown away injector pens for GLP-1 medications. (The Gothamist)

In North Carolina, a prison is dealing with scabies. (NC Health News)

Twenty health systems are warning patients of MyChart phishing scams advertising a “MyChart Medicare Kit” or “Senior Health Package” to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or handing over personal information. (Becker’s Health IT)

Teoxane and Revance said the FDA approved their hyaluronic acid dermal filler to treat undereye hollowing (RHA Redensity Eye).

Meanwhile, the agency declined to approve Xspray Pharma’s formulation of dasatinib for leukemia, the company said.

Optimal Balance Pharmacy recalled vials of its compounded glutathione due to elevated endotoxin levels, according to an FDA notice.

FDA also warned that some Medline convenience kits contain recalled bupivacaine hydrochloride products linked to nearly three dozen serious injuries.

A San Francisco doctor wants muscle dysmorphia reclassified as an eating disorder in order to help more boys and men. (STAT)