Mosquitoes are at three times their normal number in Maryland this summer (Washington Post)

First came the rains. Now come the mosquitoes.

Populations of the itch-inducing insects have multiplied across Maryland — in many areas up to three times their normal early summer numbers — because of recent storms and flooding that have given them an abundance of water to breed in.

Health officials regularly test the region’s mosquitoes for signs of West Nile virus, Zika and other illnesses that can be carried from person to person through the pest’s bite.

These viruses can cause vomiting, rashes, nausea and, in the worst cases, death. The Zika virus can be transferred from pregnant women to their babies and cause severe birth defects. There are no vaccines for these diseases.

“The mosquito-borne illnesses can cause a range of health issues, including infection that can spread to the brain,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana S. Wen.

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The number of Baltimore children with lead poisoning fell 19 percent in 2017, even as more children were tested for exposure to the powerful neurotoxin.

Statewide, the number of Maryland children found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood held steady even as the number of children tested increased by 10 percent, according to a Maryland Department of the Environment report released Tuesday.

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Trump declared an emergency over opioids. A new report finds it led to very little. (Vox)

To much fanfare last year, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to declare a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. “As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue,” Trump said at the time. “It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction.”

When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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