Dengue cases growing in Puerto Rico; pandemic decrease in dental care; British health care – Morning Medical Update

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Public health emergency

Puerto Rico has declared the mosquito-borne dengue is a public health emergency. There was a spike in cases, many around the San Juan region, Brazil has seen a spike of more than a million cases this year, and all this is happening ahead of the wet seasons that usually happen later in the year. The Associated Press has details.

Cavities from COVID-19?

Did you go to the dentist during the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, you were among about 131 million people, or 40.8% of the U.S. population, who did. But that figure was down by 18 million from the 149 million patients who utilized dental care in 2019. The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has this report examining 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Health care across the pond

The U.S. health care system has issues, medical and financial. So does England’s National Health Service, which “has never been in a deeper crisis” and needs $32 billion to cover financial shortfalls over the next four years. The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS published a news release, an article, and website devoted to medicine in Great Britain.