140 High School Students Sickened in Mass.
Approximately 140 students at Pentucket Regional High School caught a stomach bug that spread through the school, leading to massive lines at the nurses office, and causing the school to be shut down. Team busses carrying student-athletes to after-school games were stopped and turned around. It sounds straight out of a movie, or an epic senior prank. Officials are not sure if it was the norovirus, but custodial staff cleaned with masks on throughout the night. [NECN]
The FDA approved the U.S.’s first bionic eye yesterday. Medical device company Second Sight spent fifteen years developing the Argus II, a retinal prosthesis that restores partial sight to people with a degenerative eye disease called Retinitis pigmentosa. [Popular Science]
The Esplanade running paths are cleared of snow. New Balance and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) teamed up once again to clear the pathways. This Saturday (Feb 16th) from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., New Balance associates will be handing out gear, energy food, hydrating drinks, and hot chocolate, donated by Crema Café in Brattle Square, along the Charles River. [Release]
Whooping cough is becoming resistant to vaccines, according to a new report published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Last year, the U.S. suffered the largest whooping cough (also known as pertussis) outbreak since 1955, with nearly 42,000 reported cases and 18 fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [USA Today]
The meat industry consumes four-fifths of all antibiotics. The Pew Charitable Trusts says that in 2011, 7.7 million pounds of antibiotics were sold to treat sick people. That same year, 29.9 million pounds of antibiotics were sold for meat and poultry production. [Mother Jones]
