Author: Claudinne Miller
A cattle disease and the tick carrying it are confirmed in Iowa for the first time
OPR The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said the state’s first case of Theileria orientalis Ikeda was confirmed in a cattle herd in Van Buren County in the southeast corner of the state. The protozoan parasite infects the red and white blood cells of cattle, causing anemia and sometimes death. It’s carried by the Asian longhorned tick, […]
Jun 17, 2025
DC-area pediatrician on CDC urging summer camp operators to screen for measles immunity
WTOP As measles cases near record levels in isolated areas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging summer camps to check for documentation of immunity through vaccination or prior infection for all children. “I think there has been increased concerns about potential for additional outbreaks and spread, especially in the setting of waning or lowering […]
Jun 17, 2025
New ‘razor blade throat’ COVID subvariant quickly gains ground in California
SF Gate A new COVID-19 variant, nicknamed Nimbus, is rising around the world — including in California — and known for giving “razor blade throat” symptoms. Officially called NB.1.8.1, the variant was labeled a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization on May 23, according to a recent report. That means it’s not currently a major threat; […]
Jun 17, 2025
Former CDC director reacts to RFK Jr.’s firing of entire vaccine advisory panel
PBS Newshour The abrupt removal of all of the members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has sparked outrage and worry among many public health experts. That includes the American Medical Association, which called for a Senate investigation into Kennedy today. Geoff Bennett has reaction from Dr. Tom […]
Jun 11, 2025
Artificial intelligence reimagines infectious disease forecasting
Johns Hopkins The new tool is the first to use large language modeling to predict infectious disease risk. A new AI tool to predict the spread of infectious disease outperforms existing state-of-the-art forecasting methods. The tool, created with federal support by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Duke universities, could revolutionize how public health officials predict, […]
Jun 11, 2025
Cambodian human avian flu infection linked to poultry outbreak
WATT Poultry In the Asia-Pacific region, recent outbreaks of HPAI in poultry are reported in Cambodia, the Philippines and South Korea. During the latter half of May, two highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks affecting village poultry were confirmed by the animal health authority in Cambodia. Presence of the H5N1 virus serotype was confirmed in a […]
Jun 11, 2025
How to speak to a vaccine sceptic: research reveals what works
Nature Hesitancy about vaccinations is on the rise, but studies show there are specific ways to address people’s questions. In her professional life, Sophia Newcomer analyses vaccination trends and safety in the United States. The epidemiologist, at the University of Montana, Missoula, has investigated the factors that stop some people from completing their children’s recommended […]
Jun 11, 2025
Game theory explains why reasonable parents make vaccine choices that fuel outbreaks
The Conversation When outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles occur despite highly effective vaccines being available, it’s easy to conclude that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are misguided, selfish or have fallen prey to misinformation. As professors with expertise in vaccine policy and health economics, we argue that the decision not to vaccinate isn’t simply about misinformation or hesitancy. […]
Jun 11, 2025
Clothing—not agriculture—helped spread a tick disease 5000 years ago
Science New study of a pathogen’s Bronze Age spread challenges longstanding links between disease and early agriculture. A now-obscure cousin of Lyme disease called recurring fever was a scourge of early civilization. Caused by the bacterium Borrelia recurrentis, it results in crippling headaches and repeated bouts of high fever; if left untreated, it damages organs and […]
Jun 11, 2025
A rare tick-borne disease has started spreading into Virginia
WHRO The illness is caused by a parasite, which makes it different from many well-known tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme. A rare disease spread by ticks has slowly established a foothold in Virginia. Babesiosis, a parasitic infection similar to malaria, was traditionally limited to the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. But over the past decade, officials […]
Jun 11, 2025