Author: Claudinne Miller
New viruses identified in bats in China
Live Science Bats found near orchards harbor pathogens that could be passed to livestock or humans. Scientists in China have discovered a host of never-before-seen viruses in bats that live near humans. These viruses include two that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses, which can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in […]
Jul 2, 2025
Meet the Oropouche virus. It may be visiting your city soon.
Vox Oropouche virus disease was a relatively rare illness for decades, lurking on the margins of tropical rainforests in the Caribbean and South America. Sporadic reports of an infection causing fevers, coughs, chills, and body aches emerged among people living near or moving into the jungle. A tiny insect called a midge spreads the disease, […]
Jul 2, 2025
Mapping global risk of bat and rodent borne disease outbreaks to anticipate emerging threats
Nature Future epidemics and/or pandemics may likely arise from zoonotic viruses with bat- and rodent-borne pathogens being among the prime candidates. To improve preparedness and prevention strategies, we predicted the global distribution of bat- and rodent-borne viral infectious disease outbreaks using geospatial modeling. We developed species distribution models based on published outbreak occurrence data, applying […]
Jul 2, 2025
What to Know About the Vaccine Preservative Thimerosal
NYT A C.D.C. advisory committee on Thursday voted against flu shots that contain the ingredient. An expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines voted Thursday to no longer recommend annual flu shots that contain the preservative thimerosal. The move gives credence to the long debunked theory that the ingredient […]
Jul 2, 2025
As Mosquito Season Peaks, Officials Brace for New Normal of Dengue Cases
KFF Dengue Case Rates Rise in California, Florida, and Texas The number of dengue cases per million residents nearly doubled in the contiguous United States from 2023 to 2024 — and almost tripled in California. Florida’s big jump came earlier. Most cases were contracted abroad. As summer ushers in peak mosquito season, health and vector control […]
Jul 2, 2025
What to Know About Measles When Traveling
NYT Summer travel raises fears that the highly infectious virus will spread. Here’s how to protect yourself and your family. Measles, most unfortunately, is back in the news and in the air. In the United States, more than a thousand cases have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2025, the […]
Jul 1, 2025
A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400.
KFF In the early days of the West Texas measles outbreak, Thang Nguyen eyed the rising number of cases and worried. His 4-year-old son was at risk because he had received only the first of the vaccine’s two doses. So, in mid-March, he took his family to a primary care clinic at the University of […]
Jul 1, 2025
CDC vaccine panel holds meeting after RFK Jr. ousts and replaces expert former members
PBS Newshour U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers alarmed pediatricians Wednesday by announcing inquiries into some long-settled questions about children’s shots. Opening the first meeting of Kennedy’s handpicked seven-member panel, committee chairman Martin Kulldorff said he was appointing a work group to evaluate the “cumulative effect” of the children’s vaccine schedule […]
Jun 25, 2025
US CDC vaccine presentation cites study that does not exist, author says
Reuters A review on the use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines slated to be presented on Thursday to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s outside vaccine committee cites a study that does not exist, the scientist listed as the study’s author said. The report, called “Thimerosal as a Vaccine Preservative” published on […]
Jun 25, 2025
Kennedy and vaccines loom over Senate confirmation hearing for CDC director
MSNBC Senators pressed nominee Susan Monarez on vaccines, fired CDC workers and whether she would stand up to the health secretary. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines loomed over Susan Monarez’s Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monarez, […]
Jun 25, 2025