Health
A Federal Lab That Tracked Rising S.T.I.s Has Been Shuttered
Drug-resistant gonorrhea, a form of the widespread sexually transmitted infection, is considered an urgent health threat worldwide. The United States has just lost its ability to detect it.
Among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees fired on Tuesday were 77 scientists who, among other work, gathered samples of gonorrhea and other S.T.I.s from labs nationwide, analyzed the genetic information for signs of drug resistance, and readied the samples for storage at a secure facility.
No other researchers at the agency have the expertise, or the software, to continue this work. The abrupt halt has stranded about 1,000 samples of gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted pathogens that had not yet been processed, and perhaps dozens more headed to the agency.
There are as many as 30 freezers full of samples that now have no custodians, said one senior C.D.C. official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“We were just really shut down midair, like there was no warning,” the official said. “It was just completely unplanned and chaotic.”
The C.D.C.’s work on S.T.I.s had taken on greater urgency in the past few years as rates of new infections soared. More than 2.4 million new S.T.I.s were diagnosed in 2023, about one million more than 20 years ago.
Nearly 4,000 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2023. About 280 were stillborn or died soon after.
“Whoever got rid of the lab just doesn’t understand how important the lab is,” said another senior C.D.C. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
About 600,000 new gonorrhea cases were diagnosed in the United States in 2023. The bacteria that cause gonorrhea, called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, spread through sexual contact to the genitals, rectum and throat. Left untreated, it can cause infertility and sterility, blindness in infants or even death.
Gonorrhea has become resistant to nearly every available antibiotic, leaving a single class that still snuffs it out. The most powerful defense combines a shot of ceftriaxone with azithromycin, but some evidence hints that gonorrhea is evolving to sidestep even that treatment.
Over more than 25 years, the C.D.C. lab archived about 50,000 gonorrhea samples — the largest collection in the world — which allow scientists to track how the pathogen has changed over time. It’s not clear what will happen to the samples.
One new public health strategy makes it even more important for the nation to track gonorrhea, said Dr. Jenell Stewart, an infectious diseases physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
In a bid to combat resurgent syphilis and chlamydia, the C.D.C. recommended last year that gay and bisexual men and transgender women take doxycycline, a widely used antibiotic, within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Cities like San Francisco and Seattle that had earlier endorsed the practice, called doxy-PEP, have already seen drastic drops in the rates of those infections.
But researchers are worried that widespread use of doxycycline might increase resistance to the entire class of antibiotics, called tetracyclines. A few studies suggest there may be reason to worry.
Harvard University researchers last month analyzed more than 14,000 genetic sequences generated by C.D.C. researchers and found that the proportion of gonorrhea bacteria with antibiotic resistance increased to more than 35 percent last year, from less than 10 percent in 2020.
The federal scientists who produced that data and made it publicly available have all been fired. “Without public health money and infrastructure, I’m not sure who if anyone will take up the torch to monitor gonorrhea resistance,” Dr. Stewart said.
“This is a huge loss,” she added.
Dr. Stewart and a colleague spent two years preparing the protocol and an app to study doxy-PEP in cisgender women and monitor gonorrhea resistance.
The study was supported by the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network, whose funding was slashed last month.
At least five other grants to study doxy-PEP have been terminated, along with a variety of grants at the National Institutes of Health aimed at preventing S.T.I.s, including H.I.V.
Any lab can test for S.T.I.s, but commercial tests cannot determine whether gonorrhea will respond to available treatments. C.D.C. scientists developed the only such test, and provided funding and training to a few dozen labs on the sophisticated testing.
Samples were sent to the agency for confirmation. Without the agency scientists, testing for drug sensitivity will most likely cease, several experts said.
“We cannot have a national surveillance system without a national lab,” said one scientist who leads a C.D.C.-funded lab but did not wish to be identified without authorization to speak to the media.
C.D.C. scientists were also helping to develop alternatives to the nation’s outdated syphilis test. It cannot identify an active infection, only whether someone was ever infected. The agency has three large contracts to develop new rapid syphilis tests.
But without expertise and the samples from C.D.C. scientists, it’s unclear whether that work can continue, said a senior official with knowledge of the situation.
The fired scientists had about 1,400 years of field experience between them. The official said, “These were highly trained people that are not replaceable easily.”
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The simple act of noting how fast your heart is beating while you’re at rest may be the key to measuring your overall health.
Resting heart rate is defined by Mayo Clinic as the number of times your heart beats each minute while you’re awake, calm and not moving.
A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults. A slower resting heart rate means the heart does not have the work as heard to pump blood through the body — something typical of someone who is more fit.
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Athletes who are very fit may have a resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute, according to Mayo Clinic.
Your resting heart rate can vary due to a variety of factors, including age, physical activity levels, sleep health, smoking, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, stress, anxiety, hormones, body type and certain medications.
A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults, according to medical experts. (iStock)
But a resting heart rate that’s often too high or too low may signal a health issue.
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A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body, such as anemia, an infection or a thyroid problem, according to Cleveland Clinic.
A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body. (iStock)
If your heart rate is regularly above 100 beats per minute, this is a sign to talk with your heart care provider.
The same advice applies if you are not a trained athlete and your resting heart rate is frequently below 60 beats per minute.
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Talk to your doctor if other symptoms such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath occur.
How to measure your heart rate
You can check your own heart rate by tracking your pulse on your wrist or neck. The best time of day to measure resting heart rate is first thing in the morning, says Mayo Clinic.
Place your index and middle fingers inside the wrist below the thumb, to feel the radial artery; or, do so on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery.
Place your index and middle fingers on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery — and count how many beats per minute. (iStock)
Count the number of times your pulse beats in 15 seconds, then multiply this number by four to calculate beats per minute.
Wearable devices can also detect and track resting heart rate, although this may not always be accurate.
How to lower your heart rate
If your resting heart rate is higher than normal, there are a few ways to work toward lowering it.
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Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate and increase the heart’s aerobic capacity and max heart rate, according to Harvard.
For those who don’t exercise regularly, it’s important to work your way up in difficulty when following a new workout routine.
Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate, Harvard Health says. But it’s vital to work your way up carefully. (iStock)
Some medications, such as beta blockers, can also lower heart rate. In the same way, managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can also help.
Cleveland Clinic also recommends cutting back on harmful substances such as drugs and alcohol, which can dehydrate you and raise your heart rate.
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Adequate sleep can also help bring your heart rate down, in addition to maintaining a healthy weight.
Cardiologist Tamanna Singh, M.D., shared with Cleveland Clinic that lowering your heart rate takes time as various lifestyle changes kick in.
Managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can help lower your resting heart rate,
“Just like building your biceps and triceps, it takes time for your heart to become stronger,” the doctor said.
Singh recommended focusing on heart rate patterns rather than dialing in on just the number.
Take note of how your heart rate changes after eating certain foods, when you’re dehydrated or after you’ve begun a new exercise or stress management routine.
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“If you notice that your heart rate is consistently over 100, mention it to your doctor, especially if you’ve tried making lifestyle changes and they don’t seem to be working,” she said.
“Your resting heart rate isn’t the be-all, end-all of your health, but it’s definitely a marker that you should pay attention to.”
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The health benefits of morning coffee may go beyond a wake-up call, according to a massive new study linking the beverage to a significantly lower risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer and liver-related death.
Published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the research used data from 354,957 participants enrolled in the UK Biobank.
Researchers tracked individuals who had no history of cirrhosis or liver cancer at the start of the study for an average of 13 years, according to a press release.
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Participants who drank one to two cups of coffee daily showed a 20% lower risk of developing cirrhosis and a 31% lower risk of liver-related mortality compared to non-coffee drinkers.
The protective effects became even more noticeable at higher levels of consumption.
Data revealed that heavy coffee drinkers had significantly lower levels of liver fat and liver iron. (iStock)
Individuals who drank five or more cups of coffee per day experienced a 32% reduction in cirrhosis risk, a 42% lower risk of liver-related death and a 47% lower risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of primary liver cancer.
While previous studies have hinted at coffee’s positive relationship with liver health, this study provides biological evidence to support the statistical trends, the researchers said.
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To better understand why coffee may protect the liver, the researchers conducted additional analyses using imaging data from a subgroup of nearly 29,000 participants and blood samples from approximately 50,000 individuals.
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The data showed that heavy coffee drinkers had significantly lower levels of liver fat and liver iron, as well as lower odds of developing fibroinflammation, which is the scarring and inflammation that often precedes permanent liver damage.
Participants who drank one to two cups of coffee daily showed a 20% lower risk of developing cirrhosis. (iStock)
The blood analysis linked coffee consumption with lower levels of some proteins known to trigger inflammation and tissue scarring, along with higher levels of proteins essential for healthy liver function.
Notably, the study found that the liver-protective benefits were similar for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that these benefits are driven by naturally occurring compounds not related to caffeine.
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While the benefits persisted regardless of whether the coffee was consumed black or with sweeteners, the researchers observed that adding sugar or artificial sweeteners slightly weakened the beneficial effects, particularly concerning markers of liver inflammation.
Researchers observed that adding sugar or artificial sweeteners slightly weakened the positive effects. (iStock)
While these findings suggest that coffee consumption is an accessible dietary habit for supporting liver health, the authors noted that it should serve as a complement rather than a replacement for standard preventative health practices.
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Because the research relied on self-reported dietary questionnaires from the UK Biobank, the findings could be susceptible to changes in participants’ coffee-drinking habits over the 13-year follow-up period.
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Additionally, as an observational study, it can only establish a strong correlation and cannot prove cause and effect, as other factors may influence the outcomes.
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