Timely and relevant global health security news curated by GCHS
Note that some links may require registration or subscription.
Featured Headlines
- Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in YorkshireUK.gov Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been confirmed in a single sheep in Yorkshire. The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed a case of influenza of avian origin (H5N1) in a single sheep in Yorkshire following repeat positive milk testing. The case was identified following routine surveillance of co-located livestock on a premises… Read more: Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in Yorkshire
- DRC Outbreak Linked to Malaria, Officials ConfirmNews Central Africa Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that a mysterious illness responsible for over 50 deaths earlier this year was malaria. The National Public Health Institute announced late Monday that laboratory tests identified malaria as the cause of the outbreak, which killed 52 people and affected nearly 1,000 others in Equateur province. Continue reading
- We Need a Reminder of What the Pre-Vaccine Era Was LikeNYT Of the more than 200 Americans infected by the measles outbreak in Texas and beyond, nearly all were unvaccinated — including a 6-year-old child who died — or had an unknown immunization status. While a measles epidemic affecting hundreds of people across state lines is hard to imagine in 2025, the vaccine fears that… Read more: We Need a Reminder of What the Pre-Vaccine Era Was Like
Updates on ongoing disease outbreaks
- Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in YorkshireUK.gov Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been confirmed in a single sheep in Yorkshire. The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed a case of influenza of avian origin (H5N1) in a single sheep in Yorkshire following repeat positive milk testing. The case was identified following routine surveillance of co-located livestock on a premises… Read more: Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in Yorkshire
- A year later, cow flu origins are an unsettling puzzleScience It’s still unclear how H5N1 virus jumped into U.S. cattle—and why it keeps doing so. When U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials reported one year ago today that the H5N1 avian influenza virus had infected dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, it seemed a freak event—a rare confluence of factors that somehow allowed a… Read more: A year later, cow flu origins are an unsettling puzzle
- How vulnerable might humans be to bird flu? Scientists see hope in existing immunityNPR Bird flu has ripped through the animal kingdom for the past few years now, killing countless birds and crossing into an alarming number of mammals. Yet people remain largely untouched. Even though the official tally of human cases in the U.S. is most certainly an undercount, there’s still no evidence this strain of H5N1 has spread widely among… Read more: How vulnerable might humans be to bird flu? Scientists see hope in existing immunity
- What to know about the bird flu outbreak in wild birds and what it means for backyard bird feedersAP Bird flu has devastated poultry and dairy farms, and sent the price of eggs soaring in the United States since it was first detected in North America in late 2021. But what has been the toll on wild birds? More than 170 species of North American wild birds – including ducks, geese, gulls, owls, eagles and others – have been… Read more: What to know about the bird flu outbreak in wild birds and what it means for backyard bird feeders
- First US Outbreak of H7N9 Bird Flu Since 2017 Spurs Health WorryBloomberg The first outbreak in the US of deadly H7N9 bird flu strain since 2017 was detected in a Mississippi poultry farm, raising fresh health concerns. H7N9, which is separate from the H5N1 strain that has been sweeping through flocks across the US, was detected in a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Mississippi, the… Read more: First US Outbreak of H7N9 Bird Flu Since 2017 Spurs Health Worry
- CDC is pulling back $11B in Covid funding sent to health departments across the U.S.NBC News “Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary,” federal health authorities wrote to funding recipients this week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pulling back $11.4 billion in funds allocated in response to the pandemic… Read more: CDC is pulling back $11B in Covid funding sent to health departments across the U.S.
- What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolveNPR arly in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the coronavirus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves later, researchers now know why. Turns out, SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes the disease COVID-19 — was making evolutionary leaps… Read more: What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolve
- The COVID Mistake No One Talks Enough AboutThe Atlantic Deaths in isolation have been treated as a painful memory, not as a problem that hospitals need to address. He was one of the few ICU patients whose face I saw in early 2021, when COVID raged through Los Angeles. As a palliative-care physician,… Read more: The COVID Mistake No One Talks Enough About
- Texas measles outbreak grows to 327 cases with 18 confirmed infections over last 5 days: OfficialsABC News The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 18 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 327 cases, according to new data published Tuesday. Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department… Read more: Texas measles outbreak grows to 327 cases with 18 confirmed infections over last 5 days: Officials
- DC Health officials confirm measles case in the DistrictWTOP The D.C. Department of Health confirmed Tuesday a positive case of measles in a person who visited various locations in the District while contagious. The unidentified person traveled throughout the nation’s capital within the last week. Anyone not immune to measles who traveled to the potential exposure sites during the noted dates and times… Read more: DC Health officials confirm measles case in the District
- Health official warns of prolonged measles outbreak as cases rise in TX, NM, OKKOMO A measles outbreak has continued to spread across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, with 321 confirmed cases as of Tuesday — an increase of 25 cases from Friday. Texas is bearing the brunt of the outbreak, with the majority of the cases reported in the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday reported… Read more: Health official warns of prolonged measles outbreak as cases rise in TX, NM, OK
- Transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox epidemic in New York CityNature The 2022 global mpox epidemic was caused by transmission of MPXV clade IIb, lineage B.1 through sexual contact networks, with New York City (NYC) experiencing the first and largest outbreak in the United… Read more: Transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox epidemic in New York City
- Clade I Mpox Outbreak Originating in Central AfricaCDC Since January 1, 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Africa have confirmed through laboratory testing more than 21,000 mpox cases and more than 65… Read more: Clade I Mpox Outbreak Originating in Central Africa
- DRC faces setback in fight against mpox amid ongoing fighting in eastAfrica News Six weeks after Rwanda-backed rebels captured two major cities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the region is facing a setback in its fight against the mpox outbreak. The DRC has… Read more: DRC faces setback in fight against mpox amid ongoing fighting in east
Emerging Infectious Disease Headlines
- Zooming in on the structure of the lethal Ebola virusPhys.org Six years before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an Ebola outbreak in West Africa had people fearing the possibility of a global outbreak. This was the first time… Read more: Zooming in on the structure of the lethal Ebola virus
- DRC Outbreak Linked to Malaria, Officials ConfirmNews Central Africa Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that a mysterious illness responsible for over 50 deaths earlier this year was malaria. The National Public Health Institute announced late Monday that… Read more: DRC Outbreak Linked to Malaria, Officials Confirm
- Fungus labeled ‘urgent threat’ by CDC is spreading rapidly, hospital study findsThe Hill New cases of a dangerous, drug-resistant fungus have been identified in at least two states’ hospital systems. Candida auris, also called C. auris, was first identified in the… Read more: Fungus labeled ‘urgent threat’ by CDC is spreading rapidly, hospital study finds
- Tuberculosis was once a disease in decline, but a resurgence in cases has health officials puzzledPBS Newshour An outbreak of tuberculosis, or TB – a lung disease that is often accompanied by a hacking cough – began in January 2024 in Kansas City, Kansas, and… Read more: Tuberculosis was once a disease in decline, but a resurgence in cases has health officials puzzled
- UK draws up new disease-threat watch listBBC The UK has a new watch list of 24 infectious diseases that could pose the greatest future threat to public health. Some are viruses with global pandemic potential –… Read more: UK draws up new disease-threat watch list
- Close Relative of Highly Fatal Coronavirus Discovered in Brazil’s BatsScience Alert Brazil’s bats are harboring a vast and diverse pool of coronaviruses, a new study finds, including a newly identified strain that may pose a danger to human health… Read more: Close Relative of Highly Fatal Coronavirus Discovered in Brazil’s Bats
Read more Emerging Infectious Diseases
- What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolveNPR arly in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the coronavirus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves later, researchers now know why. Turns out, SARS-CoV-2 — the… Read more: What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolve
- Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all timeNature After 150,000 articles and 17 million genome sequences, what has science taught us about SARS-CoV-2? Kei Sato was looking for his next big challenge five years ago when it smacked him — and the… Read more: Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time
- America Is Sleeping on a Powerful Defense Against Airborne DiseaseThe Atlantic Treating clean indoor air as a public good would have protected Americans against more than COVID-19. In the early evening of March 7, 2020, I was on my cellphone in an airport terminal,… Read more: America Is Sleeping on a Powerful Defense Against Airborne Disease
- Antiviral drug ensitrelvir shows promise in preventing household COVID spreadCIDRAP People who started taking the antiviral drug ensitrelvir within 72 hours after a household member tested positive for COVID-19 were significantly less likely to be infected, according to results from an international phase 3… Read more: Antiviral drug ensitrelvir shows promise in preventing household COVID spread
- What We Know About Covid’s Impact on Your BrainBloomberg Scientists worry that persistent cognitive issues caused by Covid signal that a surge in dementia cases and other mental conditions is on the horizon. Five years after the pandemic began, researchers are increasingly recognizing the… Read more: What We Know About Covid’s Impact on Your Brain
- Women have a higher risk for long covid. Estrogen may play a role.Washington Post A new study shows non-menopausal women between the ages of 40 and 54 had a significantly higher risk of developing long covid than men. Women have a higher risk of developing long covid… Read more: Women have a higher risk for long covid. Estrogen may play a role.
- We Need a Reminder of What the Pre-Vaccine Era Was LikeNYT Of the more than 200 Americans infected by the measles outbreak in Texas and beyond, nearly all were unvaccinated — including a 6-year-old child who died — or had an unknown immunization status.… Read more: We Need a Reminder of What the Pre-Vaccine Era Was Like
- ‘It’s not a vaccine, it’s a shot’: uncovering a new trend in vaccine scepticismThe Conversation It has long been recognised that attitudes towards vaccines may be vaccine-specific, so that people may take up some, but not others. On July 26 2021, the following statement was posted on Twitter… Read more: ‘It’s not a vaccine, it’s a shot’: uncovering a new trend in vaccine scepticism
- NIH cuts funding for vaccine-hesitancy research. mRNA research may be nextNPR The Trump administration is slashing long-standing areas of research funded by the National Institutes of Health, claiming they no longer align with the agency’s priorities. The latest target? Millions of dollars in NIH… Read more: NIH cuts funding for vaccine-hesitancy research. mRNA research may be next
- Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autismWashington Post A long-discredited researcher and vaccine skeptic will conduct a government study on whether vaccines cause autism. A vaccine skeptic who has long promoted false claims about the connection between immunizations and autism has been tapped by the federal… Read more: Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism
- Kennedy Instructs Anti-Vaccine Group to Remove Fake C.D.C. PageNYT Children’s Health Defense, founded by the health secretary, had published online a vaccine-safety page that looked like the agency’s but that suggested links to autism. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, on Saturday instructed leaders of the… Read more: Kennedy Instructs Anti-Vaccine Group to Remove Fake C.D.C. Page
- Long-Term COVID-19 Is RealPsychology Today Several months after the COVID-19 pandemic started, I began seeing COVID-19 survivors who suffered from a variety of symptoms long after they were first infected. They mainly complained about debilitating fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, difficulty completing tasks, muscle… Read more: Long-Term COVID-19 Is Real
- Science Amid Chaos: What Worked During the Pandemic? What Failed?NYT As the coronavirus spread, researchers worldwide scrambled to find ways to keep people safe. Some efforts were misguided. Others saved millions of lives. Until 2020, few Americans needed to think about how viruses spread or how the human immune… Read more: Science Amid Chaos: What Worked During the Pandemic? What Failed?
Interesting and Sometimes Funny
- Man’s Two-Year Hiccups Triggered by Rare Allergy Condition
Gizmodo Talk about a bad hiccup attack. In a recent case report, doctors describe an elderly man who endured years of incurable hiccups ultimately caused by an allergic condition. Doctors in Lebanon detailed the strange medical tale in a paper published this month in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. The man’s hiccups got so bad that… Read more: Man’s Two-Year Hiccups Triggered by Rare Allergy Condition