Dex Mercer
Editorial personaThe Public Health Menace
The Public Health Menace is the byline for provocative, myth-busting commentary — the voice that says the uncomfortable thing and then shows the evidence behind it.
- Commentary
- Myth-busting
- Behavior
Dex Mercer is a recurring editorial pen-name persona used by the Today in Public Health newsroom for provocative, myth-busting opinion and commentary. It is not a real individual — no biography, credentials, employment history, or lived experience is implied or should be inferred. Every piece published under this byline is researched, written, and edited by real people who are accountable to our editorial standards.
Stories under this byline
- Genomic-surveillance explainerAntimicrobial Resistance · Surveillance
Europe’s Drug-Resistance Warning Is About More Than One Superbug
ECDC says carbapenem resistance, virulence and cross-border spread are converging in ways that make infections both harder to treat and harder to contain.
- Preparedness evidence explainerPreparedness · Infection Prevention
Seventy-Three Drills Tested Clinic Readiness. Only 44 Completed Both First-Line Protections.
Unannounced avian-flu simulations found that most facilities screened for symptoms, but full masking, isolation, protective equipment and notification performance was much less consistent.
- AnalysisFood Safety · Outbreaks
Seventy-Six Illnesses, One Seed Lot, and a Recall That Kept Expanding
FDA’s October 1 update links 76 illnesses in 16 states to recalled alfalfa seed lot SAL2-24JB. The count is real. It is not the same thing as a distribution map.
- AnalysisFood
Two Sprout Outbreaks, Three Pathogens, One Supply-Chain Problem
A broccoli-sprout Salmonella outbreak and a separate mixed alfalfa outbreak are not the same event. Both point upstream, to seed, and the numbers only make sense if you keep the units straight.
- ColumnFood
One Reported Illness Can Trigger a 45-State Seed Recall. That Is the System Working.
A single illness reported to a company, one lot of alfalfa sprouting seed, and a recall reaching dozens of states: the scale sounds alarming, but it is exactly how a traceback-driven food-safety system is supposed to behave.
- ColumnDental
Your Teeth Apparently Aren't Part of Your Body
A sharp, evidence-grounded look at why U.S. financing carves dental care away from the rest of health care — and what that split costs prevention, pain, nutrition, employability, pregnancy, and avoidable emergency care.