Timely and relevant global health security news curated by GCHS
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Featured Headlines
- H9N2 avian influenza cases reported in ChinaOutbreak News Today According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region, from 9 to 15 January 2026, three new cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H9N2) virus were reported. All three cases were reported from China. The first case is a five-year-old male from Hubei Province, with an onset of symptoms on… Read more: H9N2 avian influenza cases reported in China
- RFK Jr. is moving to remake a little-known vaccine panel. It could have big consequencesSTAT Kennedy has indicated that he wants to revamp the system that compensates people who are injured by vaccines. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be reshaping another little-known piece of federal vaccine infrastructure, a move that could have big consequences for the availability of immunizations in the U.S. Kennedy has removed at least four… Read more: RFK Jr. is moving to remake a little-known vaccine panel. It could have big consequences
Updates on ongoing disease outbreaks
- What’s the prognosis for bird flu in 2026?LA Times As 2024 came to an end, bird flu dominated headlines. The virus, technically known as avian influenza, was being detected in raw milk, dairy farms and even children, my colleagues Susanne Rust and Melissa Gomez reported. After federal officials confirmed the severe case of a Louisiana patient, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California and pushed… Read more: What’s the prognosis for bird flu in 2026?
- Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among ScientistsNew York Times Researchers are not just worried about the virus popping up on American farms. Other types are causing trouble around the world. In the United States, the term bird flu has become synonymous with a particular virus that has devastated poultry and dairy farms over the past few years. But that virus, called… Read more: Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among Scientists
- Avian influenza confirmed in 3 Minnesota turkey flocksWatt Poultry The largest of the three affected flocks included 250,600 commercial meat turkeys. The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in three commercial meat turkey flocks in Minnesota. According to information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) two of the flock infections occurred… Read more: Avian influenza confirmed in 3 Minnesota turkey flocks
- Kansas bird flu outbreak is worst in nationHigh Plains News “H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with sporadic human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers,” according to CDC. TOPEKA — Kansas is suffering from the worst outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country, with nearly 414,000… Read more: Kansas bird flu outbreak is worst in nation
- We know how to prevent bird flu. So why aren’t we?STAT The virus is expected to kill millions of animals this winter. Cheaper egg prices have muted public discussion on one of the most serious threats to American agriculture this century: bird flu. But the problem has not disappeared. In fact, the data suggest that the virus will bring devastating animal and economic losses this winter. … Read more: We know how to prevent bird flu. So why aren’t we?
- Poultry farms need an avian flu emergency preparedness planWatt Poultry Commercial poultry operations should have an avian influenza emergency preparedness plan as a tool to protect the health and safety of workers, veterinarians and anyone else who comes into contact with poultry. Matthew Spencer, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association vice president of HR and safety programs, highlighted basic requirements of such an emergency preparedness plan during the… Read more: Poultry farms need an avian flu emergency preparedness plan
- Alzheimer’s Protein Detected in Long COVID PatientsRespiratory Therapy Patients with neurocognitive difficulties post COVID-19 infection displayed a significant increase in their blood plasma of a crucial protein linked to neurodegenerative diseases and found in many Alzheimer’s patients. A study of 227 individuals who experienced neurocognitive difficulties post COVID-19 infection – such as… Read more: Alzheimer’s Protein Detected in Long COVID Patients
- Heart Failure Deaths Have Accelerated in US Since Covid PandemicBloomberg The Covid pandemic didn’t just kill people directly. It appears to have accelerated a long-brewing reversal in US heart failure deaths, with mortality climbing faster since 2020 after years of decline, new research shows. The increases have been most pronounced among younger adults and Black Americans, pointing… Read more: Heart Failure Deaths Have Accelerated in US Since Covid Pandemic
INFLUENZA
- New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the US and CanadaThe Conversation After a sharp uptick in flu cases in mid-December 2025, flu activity across the U.S. and Canada remains high. Although cases are trending downward in Canada as of Jan. 9, 2026, the season has yet to peak in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As an emergency room pediatrician in central Massachusetts,… Read more: New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the US and Canada
- Why a flu transmission experiment didn’t spread the fluThe Conversation A group of volunteers spent days locked in a small hotel room with people actively infected with flu. They played games, shared objects and exercised together in conditions designed to help the virus spread. Yet not a single person caught influenza. The unexpected finding comes from a well-designed study that set out to… Read more: Why a flu transmission experiment didn’t spread the flu
- Got the flu? Here’s what to know about antivirals to fight it.Washington Post This flu season is shaping up to be particularly bad. Here are antiviral medications to consider if you test positive. If you are sniffling, coughing and feeling feverish, you may have the flu. And you are not alone. There have been at least 15 million cases of the flu in the United States… Read more: Got the flu? Here’s what to know about antivirals to fight it.
- More than half of mpox patients in 2022 outbreak experienced lasting physical effects: StudyABC News Many patients who contracted mpox during the 2022 outbreak experienced physical effects more than a year later, a new study published on Monday finds. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),… Read more: More than half of mpox patients in 2022 outbreak experienced lasting physical effects: Study
- Hidden mpox exposure detected in healthy Nigerian adults, revealing under-recognised transmissionUniversity of Cambridge The mpox virus appears to be circulating silently in parts of Nigeria, in many cases without the symptoms typically associated with the disease, according to new research led by scientists from… Read more: Hidden mpox exposure detected in healthy Nigerian adults, revealing under-recognised transmission
- Senior CDC official: Loss of measles elimination status in U.S. would be ‘cost of doing business’STAT With measles transmission in the United States at levels that haven’t been seen in decades, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that he would not view the loss of the country’s measles elimination status as a significant event. “Not really,” said Ralph Abraham, a physician who formerly… Read more: Senior CDC official: Loss of measles elimination status in U.S. would be ‘cost of doing business’
- South Carolina: At least 88 new measles cases confirmedABC News At least 88 new measles cases in South Carolina have been confirmed amid the state’s outbreak, bringing the total number of infections to 646, state health officials said Tuesday. The majority of cases have been found in the Upstate region and around Spartanburg County, which sits on the border with North Carolina. The South Carolina… Read more: South Carolina: At least 88 new measles cases confirmed
- South Carolina confirms 124 new measles cases as outbreak on the Arizona-Utah line growsAP Health officials in South Carolina confirmed 124 new measles cases since Friday, as the outbreak in the northwestern part of the state balloons following the holidays. There is a second, separate measles outbreak along the Arizona-Utah border, where 418 people have been infected since August. Last year was the nation’s worst year for measles spread since… Read more: South Carolina confirms 124 new measles cases as outbreak on the Arizona-Utah line grows
- US Sees Highest Measles Case Count in Decades as Outbreaks GrowPulmonology Advisor The U.S. recorded more than 2,000 measles cases in 2025, the nation’s highest yearly total in decades, health officials report. As of Dec. 30, 2,065 measles cases had been confirmed nationwide, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The last time the United States saw more cases in a… Read more: US Sees Highest Measles Case Count in Decades as Outbreaks Grow
Emerging Infectious Disease Headlines
- New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the US and CanadaThe Conversation After a sharp uptick in flu cases in mid-December 2025, flu activity across the U.S. and Canada remains high. Although cases are trending downward in Canada as of Jan. 9, 2026, the… Read more: New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the US and Canada
- Why a flu transmission experiment didn’t spread the fluThe Conversation A group of volunteers spent days locked in a small hotel room with people actively infected with flu. They played games, shared objects and exercised together in conditions… Read more: Why a flu transmission experiment didn’t spread the flu
- Got the flu? Here’s what to know about antivirals to fight it.Washington Post This flu season is shaping up to be particularly bad. Here are antiviral medications to consider if you test positive. If you are sniffling, coughing and feeling feverish,… Read more: Got the flu? Here’s what to know about antivirals to fight it.
- Tennessee: Fungal infection spreads in two counties; health officials sayWREG The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) reported a fungal infection outbreak spreading in parts of Middle Tennessee, and there are at least 18 known cases currently, according to a document… Read more: Tennessee: Fungal infection spreads in two counties; health officials say
- Screwworm worries and worseBeef Magazine eports keep coming in of increased New World Screwworm (NWS) cases in northern Mexico. And this too-close-for-comfort activity has U.S. cattle markets and cattlemen on edge. USDA’s APHIS… Read more: Screwworm worries and worse
- Why the same cold virus makes some people more miserable than othersWashington Post A new study shows the intricacies of the cold virus and how it interacts with nasal airway cells, revealing why some people are hit harder than others. When… Read more: Why the same cold virus makes some people more miserable than others
Read more Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Scientists are building viruses from scratch to fight superbugsScience Daily Researchers from New England Biolabs (NEB®) and Yale University describe the first fully synthetic bacteriophage engineering system for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium of global concern, in a new PNAS study. The system… Read more: Scientists are building viruses from scratch to fight superbugs
- Cat Disease Challenges What Scientists Thought About CoronavirusesUC Davis Study Finds Viruses May Hide and Persist in Immune Cells. esearchers at the University of California, Davis, have uncovered new details about how a once-deadly coronavirus disease in cats spreads through the immune… Read more: Cat Disease Challenges What Scientists Thought About Coronaviruses
- Long COVID Linked to Development of Cardiovascular DiseaseInfectious Disease Advisor The presence of long COVID symptoms after infection with SARS-CoV-2 is strongly associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in United States adults, according to study results presented at IDWeek 2025, held from… Read more: Long COVID Linked to Development of Cardiovascular Disease
- RFK Jr. is moving to remake a little-known vaccine panel. It could have big consequencesSTAT Kennedy has indicated that he wants to revamp the system that compensates people who are injured by vaccines. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be reshaping another little-known piece of federal… Read more: RFK Jr. is moving to remake a little-known vaccine panel. It could have big consequences
- Pfizer CEO lays blame for US vaccine woes on RFK Jr.’s ‘anti-science’ stance: WSJFierce Pharma While much of the biopharma industry has spent the past 12 months treading lightly around the Trump administration and the tumult it has wrought on U.S. medical research and regulation, Pfizer’s CEO… Read more: Pfizer CEO lays blame for US vaccine woes on RFK Jr.’s ‘anti-science’ stance: WSJ
- Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 1CIDRAP In consulting rooms across America, physicians face a challenge that no medical school prepared them for. A parent arrives with a list of concerns gathered from social media, podcasts, and well-meaning friends. The questions sound scientific. The language borrows… Read more: Vaccine myths that won’t die and how to counter them—part 1
- Vaccination in the Age of Memes: An Exploration of Digital HealthPubMed This study explores how internet memes serve as digital communication tools in public health discourse, influencing public perceptions by spreading both accurate and misleading health information. Utilizing a dual qualitative approach, Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) and Reflexive Thematic Analysis… Read more: Vaccination in the Age of Memes: An Exploration of Digital Health
- The United States Leaves the WHO. Three Reforms Could Motivate Its ReturnThink Global Health A former special advisor to the WHO director general outlines arenas that could strengthen global health regardless of a U.S. withdrawal. On Thursday, the required one-year notice period will pass since the United States declared its intention to leave the World… Read more: The United States Leaves the WHO. Three Reforms Could Motivate Its Return
- COVID-19 lockdowns in Nordic countries saved working-age men but not womenUC Berkeley Working-age men (15–64 years old) die more frequently than working-age women in nearly all societies that measure vital statistics. One reason for this disparity may be that men tend to behave in ways that are riskier. But during… Read more: COVID-19 lockdowns in Nordic countries saved working-age men but not women
Interesting and Sometimes Funny
- This Adorable Good Boy Just Got Rare, Life-Saving Brain Surgery
Gizmodo Six-year-old Woody has recovered well enough to take his daily walks again. A six-year-old dog named Woody has just earned a new lease on life, thanks to a rare type of brain surgery performed by veterinarians in Portland, Oregon. Surgeons at DoveLewis Animal Hospital conducted the surgery to remove a tumor in Woody’s skull.… Read more: This Adorable Good Boy Just Got Rare, Life-Saving Brain Surgery