Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.
KFF As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered most, an investigation from KFF Health News shows. The outbreak soon became the worst the United States has […]
Aug 27, 2025
What to Know About Plague After a New Case in California
NYT It is not just a scourge of the Middle Ages. Plague still exists, though it is rare. Here’s what to look for and how to protect yourself. Health officials in the Sierra Nevada region of California announced this week that a local resident tested positive for plague, an extremely rare bacterial infection usually transmitted […]
Aug 27, 2025
The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses
NBC As of July 1, a critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight. A federal-state partnership that monitors for foodborne illnesses quietly scaled back its operations nearly two months ago. As of July 1, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) program has reduced surveillance to just two pathogens: salmonella […]
Aug 27, 2025
Why COVID keeps roaring back every summer, even as pandemic fades
Los Angeles Times The summer season continues to see spikes in COVID-19 activity. The latest jump is being fueled by the subvariant XFG, nicknamed ‘Stratus.’ Masks have been stored away. Social distancing is just a vague memory. Interest in vaccines is waning. COVID, for many, feels like an inevitable annoyance, like the flu. Then, each […]
Aug 27, 2025
What Americans Need to Know About Covid Shots This Season
Bloomberg Covid confusion Between conflicting opinions, leadership upheavals and a lot of misinformation, you can be forgiven for not knowing what’s going on with Covid vaccines this year in the US. Here’s the need-to-know ahead of the impending fall season. Covid confusion Between conflicting opinions, leadership upheavals and a lot of misinformation, you can be forgiven for not knowing what’s going on with Covid vaccines […]
Aug 27, 2025
In a Lab, the Hunt for a Killer: The Legionella Germ Causing an Outbreak
NYT Six people in New York City have died this summer from Legionnaires’ disease, and more than 100 others have been sickened. The hunt was on. An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease had erupted in Harlem, killing six people and sickening more than 100 others. Officials said the bacteria that cause the illness had been spread […]
Aug 27, 2025
A New Mexico man has been diagnosed with plague, marking the state’s first human case this year, according to local health officials.
Local 12 The patient, a 43-year-old man from Valencia County — located just southwest of Albuquerque — was hospitalized with the condition but has since been discharged, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said on Monday. Recently, the patient had been camping in Rio Arriba County, which borders Colorado, where health officials believe he […]
Aug 27, 2025
New Mexico man diagnosed with plague
ABC A New Mexico man has been diagnosed with plague, marking the state’s first human case this year, according to local health officials. The patient, a 43-year-old man from Valencia County — located just southwest of Albuquerque — was hospitalized with the condition but has since been discharged, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said […]
Aug 27, 2025
How a Réunion Island outbreak sparked France’s record chikungunya season
Medical News In a recent rapid communication in the journal Eurosurveillance, researchers from France’s public health agency detail the current scenario of the chikungunya disease within the country. Specifically, the aftermath of a large 2025 chikungunya outbreak on Réunion Island led to a surge of imported cases in mainland France, triggering an unusually early and widespread […]
Aug 20, 2025
A Debilitating Virus Surges Globally as Mosquitoes Move With Warming Climate
NYT Chikungunya, which can disable victims for years, is spreading rapidly, including in China, France and other places that have not seen major outbreaks before. A mosquito-borne virus that can leave infected people debilitated for years is spreading to more regions of the world, as climate change creates new habitats for the insects that carry […]
Aug 20, 2025