It’s Becoming Harder To Treat Gonorrhea With Antibiotics As Bacteria Evolves

Today's other public health stories cover cancer death rates in rural areas, dementia, tobacco use in movies, mental health of the homeless and traveler stress.

CNN: This STD Is Becoming 'Smarter' And Harder To Treat

Gonorrhea is becoming harder and in some cases impossible to treat with antibiotics, the World Health Organization said. "The bacteria that cause gonorrhea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them," said Teodora Wi, a human reproduction specialist at the WHO, in a news release. (Chavez, 7/7)

The Washington Post: Deaths From Cancer Higher In Rural America, CDC Finds

Despite decreases in cancer death rates nationwide, a new report shows they are higher in rural America than in urban areas of the United States. The report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that rural areas had higher rates of new cases as well as of deaths from cancers related to tobacco use, such as lung and laryngeal cancers, and those that can be prevented by screening, such as colorectal and cervical cancers. (Sun, 7/6)

Philly.com: 'Mom, I Didn't Steal Your Dentures': Coping When Dementia Turns To Delusion

Many people think of dementia solely as a condition that causes memory loss. That’s one reason family caregivers may be so surprised and upset when older relatives start having major psychiatric symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions or paranoia, even though they are common features of dementia. (Burling, 7/6)

San Jose Mercury News: Tobacco Use In Youth-Rated Films Has Increased According To UCSF Study

The number of PG-13 films with actors smoking jumped from 564 in 2010 to 809 in 2016, according to the report. Nearly half of all films that depicted smoking were designed as kid-friendly or youth-rated, according to the report from the University of California, San Francisco and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prevention as well as other groups. (Brassil, 7/6)

Stat: This Writing Group Gives The Homeless An Outlet For Their Pain

In Justin Devlin’s stories, his pain is the villain. He is the superhero in a wheelchair, kicking his illness to the curb, sentencing his constant pain to a lifetime behind bars. Writing “takes me away from the physical pain and the emotional pain. It gives me an escape,” said Devlin, who has a progressive genetic condition that limits his mobility. (Thielking, 7/7)

Boston Globe: Something New Is About To Take Off At Airports: Full-Service Gyms

The first outpost of a company called Roam Fitness is the newest vestige of the hospitality industry’s response to growing demand from stressed-out travelers tired of sitting endlessly on airplanes, in cabs, and through business lunches, and of having little recourse to work out beyond the dusty treadmills in hotels’ tiny “fitness centers.” This includes a growing number of yoga rooms in airports, free day passes for hotel guests to neighboring full-service gyms — even hotel rooms equipped with private exercise bikes and weights. (Marcus, 7/7)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription