The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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More frozen waffles and pancakes recalled over possible listeria contamination

A recall of hundreds of frozen waffle products and other toaster foods sold in many U.S. grocery stores has expanded because they may be contaminated with dangerous listeria bacteria, the manufacturer said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/treehouse-foods-frozen-waffle-pancake-recall-cfc077da78cb6c46ba58a06894c2c158?

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Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders sickens 49 people in 10 states

E. coli food poisoning linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, including one person who died and 10 who were hospitalized, federal health officials said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-e-coli-outbreak-422c4687cc9218efda03cae73b01f473?

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McDonald's

McDonald’s will resume selling Quarter Pounders in all its restaurants this week after considering new data regarding an E. coli outbreak linked to the burgers, the company said Sunday. The CDC issued a food safety alert last Tuesday warning that dozens of people reported becoming sick after eating Quarter Pounders. The E. coli outbreak has led to 75 illnesses across 13 states, including 22 hospitalizations and one death, according to the latest information from the CDC. Most of the related illnesses occurred in Colorado. A specific ingredient has not been confirmed as the source of the outbreak, federal agencies said Friday, but the FDA previously said slivered onions or beef patties were the likely source of contamination.

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Bird flu

A new study shows that bird flu has spread to dairy farm workers more often than previously known, prompting the CDC to expand its recommendations for testing and treatment of workers on farms where animals have tested positive. Previously, the CDC recommended testing only those workers who had symptoms after exposure to infected cows. Now, officials say all workers on farms with infected cows should be tested, even if they don't have symptoms. The CDC is also recommending that workers without symptoms receive the antiviral medication Tamiflu if they've had a high-risk exposure to infected animals — like a splash of raw cow's milk to the face. There have been 46 human cases of H5N1 reported in the US this year, the CDC says, but the current risk to the public remains low.

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CDC survey: Florida among states with low influenza, COVID-19 vaccination rates

Only 22.7% and 12.9% of Floridians, respectively, are up to date with influenza and COVID-19 vaccines this respiratory virus season, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease and Prevention.

https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/florida-among-states-with-low-influenza-covid-19-vaccination-rates/?

ps:Maybe that's why Florida also has one of the highest rates of these preventable viruses!!!!!

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Bird flu: Louisiana patient is first severe case and California declares emergency

Health officials on Wednesday confirmed the first known severe illness in the U.S. caused by bird flu, and California’s governor declared a state of emergency as the virus rampages through dairy cattle in that state.

https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-severe-louisiana-2b4a5f55a05cf8be9b169c15e8b9582d?

Bird flu

A patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 bird flu, the first such case in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the person was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the spread of the disease there.

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California declared an emergency. How serious is bird flu?

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S.

https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-h5n1-spread-people-e5edab844b409b8ba21feaecb10156d0?

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Sick season is in full force. What the latest CDC figures show

The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data.

https://apnews.com/article/flu-season-holidays-cdc-d6abb791c7a2a8541170aa60555c5de1?

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Florida ranks second in nation for norovirus outbreaks, CDC Reports

MIAMI - Florida ranks second in the nation for confirmed norovirus outbreaks , according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .

https://local.newsbreak.com/florida-state/3745788851085-florida-ranks-second-in-nation-for-norovirus-outbreaks-cdc-reports?

ps:Of course they do!!!

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Bird flu

The first human death from H5N1 bird flu in the US was reported in Louisiana. The patient, who was over 65 and reportedly had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized with severe bird flu after exposure to a backyard flock and to wild birds. Louisiana health officials said their investigation found no other human cases linked to this patient's infection. A recent CDC study on the first 46 human cases of H5N1 in the US last year found that they were nearly all mild. While most people continue to have a low risk from bird flu, people who keep chickens and other birds in their backyards need to be cautious, as do workers on dairy and poultry farms, health officials said.

 

First US bird flu death is announced in Louisiana The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported — a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it was the nation’s first due to bird flu. Read more.

Key points: Since March, 66 confirmed bird flu infections have been reported in the U.S., but previous illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. Researchers are still trying to gauge the dangers of the current version of the virus and determine what causes it to hit some people harder than others, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.   The H5N1 bird flu has been spreading widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Its growing presence in the environment increases the chances that people will be exposed, and potentially catch it, officials have said. Officials continue to urge people who have contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Fewer than 1 in 1,000 US adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, researchers find   FDA limits toxic lead in some baby foods   Doctors worry that iodine deficiency — a dietary problem from the past — is coming back

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CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.

https://apnews.com/article/cdc-who-trump-548cf18b1c409c7d22e17311ccdfe1f6?

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CDC tracks another norovirus outbreak on Florida-based cruise ship

Nearly 120 people on board a cruise ship that departed from Florida this month have become ill with norovirus, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/02/11/cdc-tracks-another-norovirus-outbreak-on-florida-based-cruise-ship/?

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Measles outbreak

At least 58 measles cases were reported in an outbreak in West Texas, including some people who said they were vaccinated. The cases are mostly in children ages 5 to 17, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Given how contagious measles is, health officials warn that cases may continue to rise in the area. Measles is an airborne illness that can cause rash, fever, red eyes and cough. Severe cases can result in blindness, pneumonia or encephalitis — which is swelling of the brain. In some cases, the illness can be fatal. There were 285 measles cases reported in the US last year, the most since 2019, CDC data shows.

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Measles cases continue to rise in rural parts of West Texas, with 124 confirmed

BROWNFIELD, Texas (AP) — The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday, and 18 people are hospitalized.

https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549?

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A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015.

https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9?

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Measles outbreak

The CDC is on the ground in Texas responding to a measles outbreak that has grown to 159 cases. At least 22 people are hospitalized, according to state health officials. Most of the cases are in Gaines County, in eastern Texas, which is home to a large unvaccinated Mennonite population. Previously, the CDC had provided lab support and measles-mumps-rubella vaccines to Texas to help the outbreak response. The state announced last week the first death in the outbreak — a school-age child who was not vaccinated and had no underlying health conditions. It was the first measles death in the US since 2015 and the first in a child in the US since 2003.

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CDC rescinds termination notice, calls about 180 fired employees back The nation’s top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work. Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees. Read more.

What to know: A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, “Read this e-mail immediately.” It said that “after further review and consideration,” a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. “You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it said.   Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged “radical transparency” at the department, but HHS officials have not provided details about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday.   It’s not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it’s also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies.

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5 high-level CDC officials are leaving in the latest turmoil for the public health agency

Of the CDC's two dozen centers and offices, the heads of five of them are stepping down. That follows three other departures in recent weeks and means close to a third of the agency’s top management is leaving or left recently. Read More.

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Autism rates in US rise again to 1 in 31 kids, CDC says

ATLANTA (AP) — An estimated 1 in 31 U.S. children have autism, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday, marking another jump in a long string of increases.

https://apnews.com/article/autism-rates-us-rfk-diagnosis-cdc-cb3abd799edd591dc1ea6b63c69a2279?

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RFK Jr. vs. CDC

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. conducts a news conference today to discuss the CDC's latest autism report. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc., via Getty Images HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the unusual step of publicly contradicting one of his own agencies today, suggesting that the CDC is wrong about the reasons autism diagnoses are rising, Axios' Tina Reed reports. Behind the scenes: Kennedy abruptly called his first Washington news conference shortly after the CDC released a study that said early detection and better diagnostic tools might explain the increase. 1 in 31 U.S. children is diagnosed with autism by their eighth birthday, the CDC said, up from 1 in 54 in 2016. ? What he's saying: Kennedy said the real reason for the jump isn't better diagnosis — it's environmental toxins that are causing more kids to develop autism. "Doctors and therapists in the past weren't stupid, they weren't missing all these cases. The epidemic is real," Kennedy said. "External factors, environmental exposures, that's where we're going to find the answer." He suggested those factors could include mold, food additives, pesticides, air, water and medicines. Go deeper.

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Firearm injuries

Every 30 minutes, an emergency department in the US treats a firearm injury, a new report shows. Researchers at the CDC learned this after analyzing over 93,000 emergency department visits for firearm injuries from 2018 through 2023 in nine states and Washington, DC. They also discovered that there were more firearm injury cases at night, on weekends and some holidays, like Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. “Knowing when firearm injury emergency department visits are higher can help inform decisions about physician staffing, resource allocation and trauma preparedness to reduce delays in care and use resources most effectively,” the CDC said in an email to CNN. Although firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the US, the future of gun research is now in jeopardy due to layoffs and massive budget cuts proposed for federal health agencies.

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Fertility rate

As the US fertility rate hovers near a record low, the Trump administration is keen for more women to have babies. A report from the CDC showed that about 3.6 million babies were born in the US last year. The fertility rate was highest among women in their early 30s while teen births and births among women in their early 20s declined to new lows. Many factors could be contributing to the decision not to have a child, including socioeconomic circumstances, a maternal health care crisis, less access to family planning services, climate change concerns and a shaky economy. Although Trump has called for “a baby boom” and described himself as the “father of IVF,” federal programs focused on reproductive health also have taken a heavy hit from the Department of Government Efficiency. Programs focused on abortion surveillance, contraception guidelines, IVF surveillance and pregnancy risk assessment were particularly affected by these changes.

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CDC reports 216 child deaths this flu season, the most in 15 years

More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. Read More.

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Navy jet

Another F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea. The incident is under investigation, but two people told CNN that there was some kind of failure as the aircraft was trying to land on the carrier. The pilot and weapons systems officer were able to eject and suffered minor injuries. The jet crashed into the water and has not been recovered. This is the second F/A-18 costing more than $60 million that has recently been lost from the carrier. Last week, a jet fell overboard when the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire. One sailor sustained a minor injury in that incident, the Navy said.

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All international travelers should get measles vaccinations, CDC says U.S. health officials have changed their advice to international travelers about measles, saying that Americans should be vaccinated against the virus no matter where they’re going. Read more.

Why this matters: U.S. residents are recommended to get measles-mumps-rubella shots, anyway. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously emphasized the importance of vaccination for travelers going to countries with outbreaks.   Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, a researcher at George Washington University’s nursing school, called the update significant. A Colorado outbreak last month stemmed from an international flight that landed in Denver, she noted. The CDC travel notice change reflects a recognition that people are not just being exposed to measles in countries where it’s spreading, but also in airplanes and during travel, she added.

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