Kim Sue, MD, PhD

The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses As of July 1, a critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight.

The CDC has discontinued its surveillance program or food borne dz caused by
As you friendly infectious disease physician, I regret to inform you that this decision is bad news for your food safety.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

“Everybody’s Liking It”—Intentional Use of Xylazine in Fentanyl Among People Who Use Drugs Background: Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer, is increasingly found in the unregulated fentanyl supply. Researchers and public health officials have generally characterized this substance as an ...

Check out our new article on why people who use fentanyl may be intentionally seeking out xylazine. Thanks Katie Hill for this important work! @yaleadm.bsky.social “Everybody’s Liking It”—Intentional Use of Xylazine in Fentanyl Among People Who Use Drugs www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I just.... can't express how disgusted and hopeless and exhausted I feel at the notion of my tax dollars going to criminalize and incarcerate my unhoused patients intead of
- supporting affordable housing
- services for people with mental illness and disabilities
- or even opening shelters

Safer Opioid Supply, Methadone Effective Treatment Options Patients who use opioids have better results but higher discontinuation rates with methadone than with safer opioid supply, according to a new study.

Per a recent study from Ontario, "prescribed safer opioid supply and methadone both lead to better health outcomes among patients who use opioids." Says @drkimsue.bsky.social in conversation with @medscape.com, "this is a very promising finding." Read more: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

I’ll be presenting with my @cocoalition.bsky.social colleagues at this year’s National Healthcare for the Homeless Conference in Baltimore!

If you’re attending the conference, come learn about no barrier buprenorphine dispensing on street medicine. 🔥

How overdose prevention centers can change the game in the fight against the opioid epidemic The Public Health Committee of the state legislature is advancing a bill proposal that could establish opioid overdose prevention centers by 2026.

yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/04...

A must-read. All of us in addiction medicine have seen the devastating consequences of staph aureus bacteremia. A reminder of the importance of educating our patients who use drugs on harm reduction (sterile equipment, not sharing works, cleaning skin every time w/alcohol swabs, washing hands).

Hedonic eating is controlled by dopamine neurons that oppose GLP-1R satiety Hedonic eating is defined as food consumption driven by palatability without physiological need. However, neural control of palatable food intake is poorly understood. We discovered that hedonic eatin...

New @science.org
Hedonic eating (eating for pleasure, not need) is mediated by dopamine neurons (in the brain ventral segmental area, VTA) and they are antagonized by GLP-1 drugs, such as semaglutide, leading to weight loss
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Exciting to see the overdose prevention center pilot bill move out of the Public Health Committee in Connecticut, much more work to be done (!) Read more about @amersa.org position statement on overdose prevention centers here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Cutting Medicaid could worsen overdose deaths — and erase recent progress in treating addiction Reducing funding to the largest payer for addiction services could pose major setbacks for those battling drug use

Medicaid is the largest source of insurance for addiction treatment.

Easily the single greatest policy change to actually make a difference in our overdose crisis has been Medicaid/Medicare guaranteeing coverage for medical treatment of addiction. Any reduction in coverage will lead to more deaths.

Today! Pls join us @yaleadm.bsky.social. Especially relevant to hear Dr. Lasco's comments on the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court for charges of murder as a crime against humanity.

Evidence of fentanyl cut with tranquilizer xylazine found near U.S.-Mexico border - UPI.com The presence of xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that is increasingly found mixed with fentanyl in supplies of illegal drugs, is spreading to the U.S.-Mexico border area, according to a study released T...

A new study suggests xylazine is spreading to the U.S.-Mexico border area. Says @drkimsue.bsky.social, harm reduction strategies to address xylazine exposure are urgently needed + research on prevalence, effects, use patterns, & characteristics of dependence + withdrawal.
www.upi.com/Health_News/...

If anyone is able to help out a leader of the National Survivors Union/national drug users union, please consider donating to assist our friend and leader in the harm reduction movement Robert. And pls share 🙏 www.gofundme.com/f/assist-rob...

Pregnancy Justice job posting for a senior staff attorney. Full-time, hybrid job based in NYC. Salary range $163,125 - $169,833. 12-15 years of experience in criminal or family defense.

We’re hiring an experienced attorney to help further our work fighting pregnancy-related prosecutions! pregnancyjustice.bamboohr.com/careers/44?s...

“Got polio? Me neither! I ❤️vaccines”

I love this photo that @melissabender.bsky.social captured of me at the #standupforscience rally yesterday in NYC. I wonder if I could make this my official faculty photo lol @jackiantonovich.bsky.social @kimberlywheiman.bsky.social @archaeoscape.bsky.social @sarahruncie.bsky.social

First-of-its kind court order halts sweep of California homeless camp This appears to be the first such injunction since the U.S. Supreme Court let cities crack down on homeless camps in California and beyond.

A serious challenge to Grants Pass, a potential huge win for unhoused people, and a great example of leveraging ADA protections so I'm sure conservatives will get their knickers in a twist over it.

Texas is experiencing a measles outbreak. Here’s why measles is a disease you don’t want to mess with ⬇️

🧵1/7

The community note 🤌😘

Follow @bronxmovil.bsky.social and check out their website at www.bronxmovil.org (en español).

#harmreduction saves lives
#drugsky
#lareducciòndedaños salva vidas

Got some time on your hands? Make this tipline useless. I used to work for CFPB. Do me a solid and make sure to give this man hell

Harm reduction is love in action. Shower love 💕 on your local harm reduction and syringe 💉 service programs. They’re out every day saving lives 😍

It’s going to be a long and dangerous four years ahead + massive long-standing consequences for public health and medicine. I will be organizing and fighting for all, prioritizing the most structurally vulnerable groups.

See How Many Lives Vaccines Have Saved around the World Vaccines are the first step toward health equity in many parts of the world

Since RFK Jr just got confirmed today, I am taking this chance to share this wonderful @sciam.bsky.social piece on

The Staggering Success of Vaccines

www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...

Potential Clinical and Economic Impacts of Cutbacks in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program in South Africa: A Modeling Analysis: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 0, No 0 Background: Future U.S. congressional funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the clinical and economic impacts of abruptly sca...

Abrupt PEPFAR cutbacks would have immediate and long-term detrimental effects on epidemiologic and clinical HIV outcomes in South Africa. www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

Egg prices in the U.S. will remain high so long as the #birdflu #H5N1 outbreak is not under control. Ignoring outbreaks does not magically make them disappear.
Pass it on.

Will Congress ever “liberate” methadone? Drug user activists are teaming up with doctors and legislators to upend a degrading clinic system.

Really important piece by @stahlidarity.bsky.social on the urgent and pressing need for more methadone access in the US featuring drug user health activists Nick Voyles and Caty Simon of @methadonelib.bsky.social - www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Maternal death rate isn't as bad if you don't count Black women, GOP senator says Louisiana's Bill Cassidy said the state's maternal death rate isn't so high if you "correct our population for race," Politico reported.

This is a rather telling statement. Nearly a third of women in Louisiana are Black. www.businessinsider.com/gop-senator-...

Bookshop.org enters the e-book arena, giving indie stores a new way to compete with Amazon "Everything Amazon can do, we want to do as well or better," says CEO Andy Hunter on boosting indie sales digitally.

This is VERY good news. Love bookshop.org and all the stuff they do!

www.salon.com/2025/01/28/b...

I voted to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination to HHS.

I cannot in good conscience support someone who denies and will dilute our public health protections, sow distrust in science, and oversee massive cuts to health care programs for vulnerable Americans.

Time to disobey hospital bureaucrats to protect our patients