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Drugs may be OK’d faster
Senate approves overhaul in FDA approval process
From Wire Reports
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In brief: County still seeing new pertussis cases
Whooping cough continues to sicken people in Spokane County. So far in May there have been 16 new cases of the disease, also called pertussis, diagnosed here. For the year, there have been 47 cases.
No one has died, though three infants, two children and one adult have been hospitalized in the county, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Pertussis has been declared an epidemic in Washington. Spread by coughing and sneezing, pertussis has infected 1,738 people across Washington since the start of the year. That compares with 148 cases during the same time period last year.
The disease may be prevented with vaccines.
State health officials recommend that children younger than 7 receive a series of five DTaP vaccines. Children ages 7 to 10 who have not received the full range of vaccines, and everyone 11 and older, should get a whooping cough booster shot called Tdap.
Mark Springer, an epidemiologist with the Spokane Regional Health District, said the cases are spread across Spokane County rather than clustered in certain schools, churches or other communities.
He said he expects the volume of new cases to be steady for the next several weeks as parents and others evaluate whether their children may be infected with pertussis or simply have a lingering, unrelated cough. With school poised to let out soon for the summer, the number of cases could drop.
Pertussis can be treated with antibiotics.
John Stucke
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Ecology study: Erosion from farms pollutes rivers
Agency wants owners to switch to direct seeding
John Stucke The Spokesman-Review
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Jim Kershner’s this day in history
Jim Kershner The Spokesman-Review
1961: President John F. Kennedy told Congress: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
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Crystal formations may help predict eruptions
Amina Khan Los Angeles Times
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