Teen vaping in U.S., Canada on the rise

Reuters (6/28, Rapaport) reported that more Canadian and American teens are vaping, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. Researchers found that the “proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who reported vaping in the past 30 days rose by almost 50% in the U.S. and nearly doubled in Canada, while remaining relatively constant in the UK.”

Most Americans have never been tested for HIV, CDC researchers say

CNN (6/28, Kim) reported, “Most Americans have never been tested for HIV,” research indicated. In a new report, the CDC “found that fewer than 40% of people in the United States have been screened for HIV. It recommends that all people 13 to 64 be tested at least once.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

CDC issues warning over fecal parasite found in swimming pools

CNN (6/30, McLaughlin) reported that health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are calling for U.S. citizens to take precautions against fecal parasite cryptosporidium, or “crypto,” which is frequently transmitted in swimming pools and causes “profuse, watery diarrhea.” According to a statement from the CDC, “The number of treated recreational water-associated outbreaks caused by cryptosporidium drives the summer seasonal peak in both waterborne cryptosporidiosis outbreaks and cryptosporidiosis outbreaks overall.” The agency recommended that people in contact with livestock “wash their hands thoroughly” before entering a pool, and advised that anyone suffering from diarrhea “avoid swimming until at least two weeks after their diarrhea subsides.”