Author: Claudinne Miller
RFK Jr.’s cuts to CDC eliminate labs tracking STIs, hepatitis outbreaks
Washington Post The only lab in the U.S. capable of testing for and tracking antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, or “super gonorrhea,” was effectively shut down by layoffs. Lab scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been analyzing blood samples for weeks to determine how dozens ofpatients across six states had become infected with viral hepatitis, a […]
Apr 23, 2025
Whooping cough cases surge as vaccine rates fall
Washington Post Whooping cough cases are soaring in the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the Trump administration’s cuts to federal health agencies and funding destabilize programs that monitor disease and promote vaccination. The U.S. has tallied 8,077 cases of whooping cough in 2025, compared with […]
Apr 23, 2025
Like measles, misinformation is spreading, poll finds
NPR The U.S. has now reported more than 800 measles cases in at least two dozen states. The vast majority of cases — more than 600 — are in Texas. In the midst of the outbreak, a new poll shows how much misinformation people are seeing about measles. The good news is the vast majority of people […]
Apr 23, 2025
Measles Surge in Southwest Is Now the Largest Single Outbreak Since 2000
NYT Growing case numbers suggest that the national total will surpass that seen during the last large outbreak in 2019. The spread of measles in the Southwest now constitutes the largest single outbreak since the United States declared the disease eliminated in 2000, federal scientists told state officials in a meeting on Monday. The New […]
Apr 23, 2025
US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts
Reuters The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The suspension is another disruption to the nation’s food safety programs after the termination and […]
Apr 23, 2025
Oregon health officials investigate rare brain disease blamed for two deaths
Los Angeles Times Health officials in Hood River County, Ore., are investigating three cases of a rare and fatal brain disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Two people have died and a third person is showing symptoms consistent with the disease. The disease has been confirmed in one of the deceased through an autopsy; the other […]
Apr 16, 2025
Ex-Foreign Minister Publishes Liberia’s First Insider Ebola Account
MSN In a powerful moment of national remembrance and literary pride, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf joined government officials, survivors, and dignitaries at the National Museum to launch “Stepping Up to the Plate: Liberia’s Untold Ebola Story,” a gripping new book by former Foreign Minister Olubanke King Akerele. The book chronicles the human spirit and […]
Apr 16, 2025
Could polio be poised for a comeback?
NPR The world is so close to wiping out polio. But in 2025, there are signs that the virus is not quite ready to go the way of smallpox — the only disease eradicated by humans. Two countries are seeing an increase in cases caused by the wild polio virus, which can cause paralysis and […]
Apr 16, 2025
RFK Jr. plans changes to vaccine injury reporting system
STAT Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he plans to roll out changes to the vaccine injury monitoring system that would automate and increase data collection as well as look for negative impacts of the shots. Reforming the current Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System has long been part of Kennedy’s agenda to raise […]
Apr 16, 2025
CDC says measles cases are most likely underreported as outbreak swells in Texas
NBC News The leader of the CDC’s measles team said the agency was “scraping” to find resources to address an outbreak in the Southwest. Measles cases are most likely being underreported in the United States as public health officials scramble to find resources to address a ballooning outbreak in the Southwest, according to a senior […]
Apr 16, 2025