"CLEVELAND, Ohio. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -
When COVID-19 swept across the globe, isolation, social distancing and
wearing masks became the norm. Since then, more than 20 million people
have lost their lives to the virus. And now, a new risk for anyone who
has ever tested positive.
“What was surprising to find is just having a COVID-19-positive test was associated with a twofold increased risk in heart attack,
stroke, and death risk,” said Stanley Hazen, MD, cardiologist for
Preventative Cardiology & Rehabilitation at Cleveland Clinic.
"In a study of more than 250,000 people, Dr. Hazen found that the risk wasn’t just immediately after the virus runs its course.
“The risk extends for as long as follow-up information was available. So as far out to three years,” he told Ivanhoe.
"And the worse the infection, the higher the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death.
“People
who had severe COVID were at an even substantial increased risk, not
twofold, but like three to sevenfold increased risk. If they had severe
COVID, meaning they were hospitalized for their COVID, the risk was
equivalent as if they had one heart attack,” stated Dr. Hazen.
"And
the long-term risk for heart disease following a COVID infection was
true for anyone, even if you don’t have any other risk factors of heart
disease.
“COVID doesn’t care if you’re a man or a woman, young or old, have disease or not,” explained Dr. Hazen.
"What can you do?
“So
preventive efforts such as vaccines and boosters we anticipate will
reduce your long-term risk for post-COVID cardiovascular disease,” said
Dr. Hazen.
"He hopes physicians will now ask their patients about their COVID history and help protect their hearts, as well.
"Previous
research found that people who have A, B or AB blood types are more
susceptible to contracting COVID-19. And now this new study found people
who got COVID and have a blood type other than O had a 65% risk of
experiencing a heart attack or stroke, compared to people who are type
O."
Influenza-like
illness continues to ease. During the week ending March 15, 3.9% of
visits to the doctor were for fever and cough or sore throat (also known
as outpatient ILI), down from 4.3% the week prior.
Regular
readers may recall that we had two peaks this season, one at 6.8% and
the other at 7.8%. So, we have come a long way, but we are still working
towards the 3% threshold that marks the end of flu season.
All
age groups are enjoying improvements, with outpatient ILI in the 0-4
year olds declining to 10.4%, down from this season's high of 18.1%.
Outpatient ILI in school age kids is at 6.2%, and all of the older age
groups are 3.5% and under. More severe illness, as measured by the
percentage of emergency department visits that are for influenza, has
also declined substantially across all age groups. However, emergency
department visits for influenza remain elevated compared to the
off-season.
The
proportion of activity that is flu B is increasing, now at 6%. I can
attest—it hit my house this week. We diagnosed through an at-home
antigen test that looks for SARS-CoV-2, flu A, and flu B. I found the
test to be pretty handy, though a little expensive. Flu B activity
generally increases in the spring, which is exactly what we are seeing.
It tends to be milder than flu A.
There's no question that this
was a remarkable flu season. Deaths from pneumonia and influenza far
exceeded the last few seasons (as shown below). Hospitalizations for
influenza were high as well. In some ways, we are fortunate that we had a
quiet Covid-19 winter season, because the combined burden on the
healthcare system could have been even more substantial.
Covid-19
is hitting a lull in many places in the country, with low and declining
wastewater and low rates of severe illness. Nevertheless, activity is
still high in more than a dozen states.
Nationally,
wastewater activity held roughly steady at a moderate rate this past
week. Activity remains moderate, but is increasing in the Midwest and South. Activity is low and stable in the Northeast and declining in the West.
Emergency
department visits are low at 0.7%, with no significant change in the
past week. Since January, national ED visits for Covid-19 have declined
by half.
Hospitalizations are low and continue to slowly decline, falling to 2.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.
Other Bugs
Several other causes of cold and flu-like symptoms are circulating:
Human metapneumovirus has sharply increased and is now at its highest point this season.
Human coronaviruses appear to have peaked a few weeks ago, and while rates are still high, they are on the way down.
Adenovirus is picking up a bit again, after peaking near the end of the year.
Rhinoviruses/enteroviruses remain low, but have increased a bit this fast few weeks.
Norovirus
Some
slightly good news - norovirus activity dipped a bit in the past couple
weeks, down to 17% test positivity. This is still very high, but it is
lower than it has been December. Rates are lowest in the West, and the South and Midwest are roughly tied for first place.
The
following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated.
Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items:
New:
Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s frozen meals (more info)
Savage
Pet Cat Food Chicken [for cats]. Due to potential contamination with
H5N1 - this poses a health risk for cats as well as potentially to
humans as well. (more info)
SeaBear Smoked Clam Chowder and Alehouse Clam Chowder (more info)
Previously reported:
Enoki mushrooms sold under Daily Veggies brand (more info)
Hot pot sauce sold under Wangshihe brand (more info)
Prepared vegetables sold at Tokyo Central/Marukai stores in California (more info)
If you have food allergies, you may wish to review these FDA safety alerts and USDA alerts for foods with undeclared allergens.
In other news
There
is just one more edition left for this season. The last free national
edition will be published next week. Paid subscribers will continue to
receive the national edition through the spring and summer months. The
winter publication schedule will resume in October. As a reminder, I am
also offering twice-weekly measles updates to paid subscribers.
Shady CDC page, measles, Americans are unhappy, egg prices down, and infant formula
Here’s your national health check-up—including infectious diseases,
why parents shouldn’t panic about infant formula, and the state of our
collective sanity.
Something shady is going on
"Over the weekend, a shadow CDC page on vaccines and autism (called the realcdc[.]org) was revealed.
It looks exactly like an official CDC page—the same branding, fonts,
and style. The difference was that it had false information about MMR
vaccines causing autism, including videos of parent testimonials.
Side-by-side comparison of the CDC webpage. Originally reported by InfoEpi
"Here’s
the kicker: This shadow site was hosted by Children’s Health Defense
(CHD)— a non-profit, anti-vaxx organization started by Secretary
Kennedy.
"What they were going to do with this page is
unclear, but we can imagine a number of scenarios, including directing
Americans toward false information. As the New York Times found, RFK Jr. quickly asked
them to take it down. Regardless, this confirms that CHD is backhanded,
dishonest, and deceitful. The site is now inactive, but I bet it’s not
the last we see of it.
"What does this mean to you? It’s clear now more than ever that we are in an information storm with people’s health at stake. There are a lot of legitimate-looking news websites that are actually just organizations masking as something else. Here are 9 tips from YLE on spotting falsehoods.
Flu: We’re on the way out (mostly)
"Influenza-like illnesses—cough,
fever, runny nose—are packing their bags. While it’s still high in the
Northeast and Northwest (probably because it’s still a bit cold), levels
are moderate to low across the U.S. overall.
"One
strain of flu—Influenza A—showed its teeth this winter but continues
its steep decline. We sometimes see an increase this time of year of
another flu strain—Influenza B. This year it has increased slightly but
not enough to disrupt the overall downward trend.
"What it means to you: The end of flu season is just around the corner.
Measles: The comeback tour no one asked for
"Measles
continues to be a problem. As of Saturday, the U.S. had 407 measles
cases across 19 states, 355 of which are associated with the outbreak in
Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
Source: YLE
"Lubbock’s Public Health Director warned that the panhandle outbreak could take a year to
contain. She’s probably right, but boots on the ground will do
everything possible to prevent that. If this outbreak takes more than 12
months to contain, the U.S. will lose its measles elimination status—a title we’ve held for 25 years.
"Another outbreak popped up in Kansas—up to 10 cases in two counties. This may be connected to the Texas outbreak, but there is no confirmation yet.
"In the past week, we’ve also seen sporadic measles cases in the following places from international travel:
"What does this mean to you?
You are very well protected if you’re up to date on your MMR vaccine.
If you’re in a hot zone, especially with a child under 12 months old,
remain vigilant by following updates from your local health department.
"Students
at the Yale School of Public Health (where I am an adjunct professor)
continue to put together a fantastic SITREP. Below is the latest if
you’re looking for more details!
Yale Vmoc Special Report Measles Outbreak Southwest Us 3 22 2025 Ver2
"In a finding that I don’t think surprises anyone, the U.S. hit its lowest-ever ranking—24th place—in the latest World Happiness Report. The U.K. also hit rock bottom at 23rd. Happiest country? Finland (again). Costa Rica and Mexico made the top 10 for the first time.
"Factors that are foundational to people’s happiness, according to the report:
GDP per capita
Perceptions of corruption
Personal connections and having people to count on
Eating with others
Trust
Believing in others’ kindness
"This
report is based on data from last summer—right after Biden dropped out
of the presidential race. Given everything that’s unfolded since, a
fresh ranking today would likely be fascinating. I know I’m not feeling
very happy lately.
Egg prices: Finally, some good news
"The price of an egg dropped significantly last week for an average of $3.27 per dozen.
"Why? Two simultaneous factors:
We’re seeing a slowdown in bird flu outbreaks. This is great for the birds and us since it means the virus has less of a chance to mutate.
Demand dropped since people didn’t want to pay exorbitant prices for eggs.
"What does it mean to you?
Don’t run to the store yet. These are wholesale prices. Prices of eggs
on store shelves haven’t changed everywhere yet. Easter could shake
things up, though.
Infant formula report and Operation Stork Speed
"Megan Maisano, the YLE nutrition expert and mom to 5-week-old twins, will take this away…
"Last week, Consumer Reports released their investigation on 41 types of powdered infant formula. Results were mixed:
Good news:
More than half contained low to no levels of contaminants, and none had
detectable or harmful levels of cadmium and mercury. This includes the
most popular brands, like Enfamil, Similac Advance, and Kirkland
ProCare.
Bad news: Half contained at least one substance with concerning levels (including arsenic, lead, and PFAS).
"This
sounds scary, and parents are rightfully concerned if their formula was
one of the 10 that landed in the “worst choices” category. So what’s going on?
Despite being one of the most tightly regulated products in the U.S., infant formula can become contaminated.
Contaminants
can come naturally from heavy metals in soil and water or man-made
pollutants like industrial and agricultural byproducts.
We are exposed to these contaminants daily, as they are found throughout the entire food system (and monitored by the FDA’s Total Diet Study).
However, exposure can be harmful
to growing young children (it is linked to brain development and immune
function). The report identifies considerable variation in
contamination among formula products, raising questions regarding safety
regulations.
"One day after this report was released, the FDA announced Operation Stork Speed, an initiative
to enhance the quality, safety, and nutrition of infant formulas,
including increased testing for contaminants. While the Biden
administration’s similar Closer to Zero effort aims to reduce contaminant exposure in the entire food system, this plan offers a unique focus on infant formula.
"Some thoughts:
I welcome this as a health expert and a parent. The last FDA review of infant formula was over 25 years ago.
However, I’ll be curious how the FDA properly tackles this operation, given recent cuts to health agencies and considerable deregulatory actions at the EPA.
If you’re using infant formula, this isn’t a reason to panic. None
of the samples exceeded E.U. limits for formula, except for the
presence of BPA in one product. (The U.S. does not have established
limits specific to infant formula.) Nevertheless, the report shows
there’s room for improvement.
"Dr. Jessica Knurick has a fantastic and detailed article on this topic here.
Question grab bag
"YLE
received many comments and questions after the autism post. (I swear,
the comments section of YLE is the best. I learn from it every. single.
post.) One common reaction to the CDC autism study was: “Couldn’t this
be a good thing? I can imagine a sizable impact for a vaccine-autism
study conducted under the aegis of such a noted vaccine skeptic (to say
the least) that nonetheless found no evidence of a link.”
"I
think this is an interesting point. However, it assumes that yet
another study on vaccines and autism is a good faith effort. It is
incredibly easy to lie using statistics, and RFK Jr. has a track record
of sowing doubt in vaccines. Evidence has mounted up over the past 25
years against a link but still people are unconvinced. This also may
have an indirect effect—people assuming there is an open-ended question
when there is not.
Like so many others who just can't believe that Hamas is as evil as they really are, Witkoff actually implied that Hamas could remain in Gaza! Despite what they did on October 7! And he himself is Jewish! If this is true, then he should be replaced ASAP as the envoy, because we don't need more excuse-makers.
"Steven Witkoff, the Trump administration’s
official envoy who had past business ties to Qatar, sat down with Tucker
Carlson, the former FOX News talking head turned Qatari apologist who had recently featured Qatar’s leader, to talk about how wonderful Qatar is.
“Sheikh Mohammed… is a good man,” Witkoff gushed.
“He certainly is,” Tucker Carlson agreed.
“He’s a special guy. He really is,” Witkoff said.
“In
the case of the Qataris, they’re criticized for not being well
motivated. It’s preposterous. They are well motivated. They’re good,
decent people. What they want is a mediation that’s effective, that gets
to a peace goal. And why? Because they’re a small nation and they want
to be acknowledged as a peacemaker.”
"Witkoff said of a country that serves as a
state sponsor of every Islamic terrorist group from the Taliban to
Hamas, and which harbored the mastermind of 9/11.
"Tucker
complained that Witkoff was being attacked for working for Qatar by the
“news media and social media.” The truth is that the news media praises
Witkoff, he’s being condemned on social media.
"Witkoff replied by
defending Qatar. “I’ve had a couple of experiences where first I was
attacked as being pro-Qatari sympathizer. By the way, Qatar is a
mediator here. They’re not a party to the conflict, they’re a mediator.
So I am—how could I not collaborate with the mediator? And if I’m not
collaborating with the mediator, I’m bound to be ineffective. It’s not
even possible that I could do the job. I had to know everything that
they knew. So that means collaboration.”
"Qatar
is not a mediator. It’s a state sponsor of Hamas and other Islamic
terrorist groups. By collaborating with Qatar, Witkoff is by definition
collaborating with Hamas.
"Witkoff praised Biden envoy Brett McGurk. According to Witkoff, McGurk told him, “this is where I want to get to, Steve.”
"And that’s what led to the first disastrous deal with Hamas.
"Tucker
Carlson then lied that this approach of appeasing Islamic terrorists
was “so different from the posture that the last couple of generations
of diplomats have taken, which is like, here’s what we want. Shut up and
do it. And I just don’t think, leaving aside moral considerations, I
don’t think it’s been very effective.”
"In reality, trying to win over terrorists is exactly what Bush, Obama and Biden did. And it never worked.
"Tucker knows it. He’s talked about it back when he wasn’t acting like an employee for the Gulf Muslim oil states.
"Tucker Carlson then lied that Qatar are “often accused, almost universally accused in the US Media of being agents of Iran.”
"In fact the media bends over backward and promotes anything that Qatar and its Al Jazeera media outlet say. There’s virtually no criticism of Qatar in the media here. Tucker knows it.
"He’s propagandizing for Qatar to his conservative audience by making it seem like it’s at odds with the media.
"In reality, the media is in Qatar’s pocket.
“They’re
a Muslim nation. In the past, they’ve had some views that are a little
bit more radical,” Witkoff claimed. “From an Islamist standpoint than
they are today, but it’s moderated quite a bit. There’s no doubt that
they’re an ally of the United States. There’s no doubt about that.”
"Tucker agreed with Witkoff at every turn about how wonderfully moderate Qatar is.
"Witkoff
told Tucker that he had never spoken to Hamas, but “I think you have to
trust the Qataris. If I didn’t trust the Qataris, then that would be
really problematic, not meeting with Hamas.”
"After the Qatari propaganda, Witkoff and Tucker turned to Hamas.
"Witkoff then made an argument for the UN’s 15-20 year reconstruction plan for Gaza.
“What’s
acceptable to us is they need to demilitarize. Then maybe they could
stay there a little bit. Be involved politically. But they can’t be
involved militarily. We can’t have a terrorist organization running Gaza
because that won’t be acceptable to Israel,” Witkoff said.
"So from a starting point of expelling Hamas
and Gazans, we’re now down to Hamas getting to be “politically
involved” in running Gaza as long as it goes through some show of
disarming.
“You know, what we heard in the beginning of this
conflict is Hamas is ideological. They’re prepared to die for a whole
variety of reasons,” Witkoff told Tucker. “I don’t think that they are
as ideologically locked in. They’re not ideologically intractable. I
don’t. I never believe that.”
"The contention that Hamas is not
really ideological and is willing to make a deal was a feature of both
the Bush and Obama administrations.
“Smart. Smart. That is total. That is smart. But it’s. How hard was it to come to that conclusion?” Tucker cheered.
"The
rest of the conversation essentially had Tucker Carlson channeling the
Saudi line, claiming that “looming over all of these countries and their
remarkable success both economically and socially, there’s like great
countries, in my opinion is the conflict in Gaza. And not just Gaza, but
the idea that, wow, this could all blow up tomorrow because we don’t
know what the Israeli plan is.”
"During
the conversation, Tucker repeatedly demonstrated that he knew nothing
about the region except whatever the Saudis and whoever else in the Gulf
oil states was feeding him, leading him to say at one point that,
Turkey’s “Erdogan is seen by some in his country as a tool of Israel.”
"In reality, Erdogan recently threatened war against Israel and praised Hamas.
"Tucker
claimed “that the conflict in Gaza, which is of course streamed in
everyone’s iPhone, a lot of people killed in Gaza, a lot of kids. And
that’s inflaming the populations of some of these countries again,
specifically Egypt and Jordan.”
"Tucker complained to Witkoff that the ‘two-state solution’ has become controversial.
"Witkoff
said that “the Israelis going in is in some respects unfortunate and in
some respects falls into the “had to be” bucket. It kind of had to be.
Hamas was not responding. And their responses were unreasonable.”
"Then Witkoff recycled most of the Bush/Obama calls for “real elections in Gaza”.
"That’s how Hamas took over Gaza in the first place.
"One of Tucker’s parting remarks to Witkoff was, “I hope for our sake you wind up in Tehran.”
"As the weather gets warmer and people are starting to spend more time
outdoors, respiratory illnesses like COVID and the Flu are decreasing.
Respiratory Viruses
"Overall, respiratory illness activity has decreased to LOW
levels across the United States. Emergency department visits for COVID,
Flu and RSV are decreasing, but wastewater levels for Influenza are
still MODERATE nationally and Influenza B remains very high in the Northeast. Of note, the Northeast and Midwest continue to have high levels of Norovirus which causes the stomach flu.
"Regarding COVID, 1 in 128 people
is actively infectious now with SARS-CoV-2 nationally. According to
Mike Hoerger, there are higher rates of COVID in the South including Oklahoma and in Washington DC. He expects that we will have between 300,000 to 500,000 daily COVID infections in America over the next few weeks. Variant data will update next Friday, but last week LP.8.1 was 47% and XEC 26% of COVID cases in the U.S.
"Friday, the CDC reported SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels as MODERATE nationally because the South is in the HIGH range again. SARS-CoV-2 levels are LOW for most of the Bay Area now. In Santa Clara County, COVID levels and Flu A have decreased, but Influenza B levels are still high.
California and the Pandemic
"The Mercury News came out with some interesting statistics regarding the long term effects of the pandemic on California. Monthly deaths in California from all causes remains higher
than pre-pandemic averages. UC Berkeley Professor John Swartzberg
commented that “COVID caused a lot of premature deaths from heart
attacks. Also the disruption had effects on the populace that were
deleterious to its health: increased alcohol consumption, decreased
activity, depression.”
"The California unemployment rate spiked to 16% in 2020 and then returned to pre-pandemic levels around 4% after two years. BART ridership is about 40% of what it was pre-pandemic as more people work from home. Bay Bridge use, however, is back to about 90% of pre-pandemic numbers.
"Testing for school achievement in California
went from 51% of the expected standard for the English language
pre-pandemic which was already low, to an even lower 47% of expected
standards now. Math scores which were at 40% of expected standard
pre-pandemic are now at only 35.5% of expected standards for math in
California schools overall.
"A group from the University of Michigan presented a case of SARS-CoV-2 placentitis
with a review of the literature. Placentitis happens when SARS-CoV-2
infects the placenta's syncytiotrophoblasts, disrupting placental
function and leading to fetal complications including stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, and preterm delivery,
even in asymptomatic COVID infections. Diagnosis relies on identifying a
specific pattern of placental damage—chronic histiocytic
intervillositis, perivillous fibrin deposition, and trophoblast
necrosis—while immunohistochemistry and RNA in situ hybridization
confirm the presence of the virus.
Pediatrics
"A newsletter written by children and young adults with Long COVID called The Long Covid Chronic-ill just posted its first issue.
"Families in Britain are struggling financially and emotionally as they try to support their children suffering from Long COVID,
which has left many children bedridden and unable to attend school.
With limited public healthcare options, parents are forced to quit jobs,
go into debt, and seek costly private treatments. "My savings have long
gone. I'm maxed out on my overdraft and have debts," said mother
Louise.
Long COVID
"A study from January 2025 shows that "Long COVID could be costing the U.S. between $2 billion and $6.5 billion annually.
The authors concluded "The current health and economic burden of long
COVID may already exceed that of a number of other chronic diseases and
will continue to grow each year as COVID-19 cases increase. This could
be a significant drain on businesses, third-party payers, the healthcare
system, and society."
"Research
suggests that Long COVID may affect the brain's auditory processing,
leading to slower nerve signal transmission in the midbrain, similar to
what is seen in aging. People with Long COVID also experience more
tinnitus, anxiety, depression, and cognitive fatigue than healthy
individuals. A new study from Dartmouth shows that auditory tests, like
the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) that measure the brain’s response to sound, could serve as objective measures to help assess cognitive fatigue in Long COVID patients.
"Visuoconstructive deficit (VCD) is a cognitive impairment
that affects a person's ability to perceive, organize, and accurately
reproduce visual information. It impacts tasks requiring spatial
processing and motor coordination, such as drawing, copying geometric
figures, assembling objects, or navigating spaces. VCD is often
associated with neurological conditions like stroke, traumatic brain
injury, dementia, and, as recent studies suggest, Long COVID, where it
may be linked to neuroinflammation and structural brain changes.
"A
new study explores Vitamin B12 as an epidrug to regulate inflammatory
biomarkers in Long COVID patients with persistent visuoconstructive
deficit (VCD). Researchers found that individuals with VCD had elevated
CCL11, a chemokine linked to neurodegeneration, but supplementation with
Vitamin B12 normalized its expression and increased neuroprotective HGF
levels. These findings suggest that Vitamin B12 may help mitigate neuroinflammation in Long COVID by modulating gene expression through methylation, offering a potential therapeutic approach for cognitive impairment.
"An excellent review of 29 studies (through January 2024) explores the omics-based landscape of Long COVID, analyzing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and metagenomics
to understand the underlying pathophysiology and identify biomarkers
and treatment targets. The review shows that Long COVID affects multiple
organ systems, with key findings including mitochondrial dysfunction,
immune dysregulation, blood–brain barrier disruption, coagulopathy, and
microbiome disturbances. Despite the heterogeneity of studies, the
review highlights the need for integrated, longitudinal research to
develop precision medicine approaches for diagnosing and treating Long
COVID.
Figure 2:
Omics layers included in this systematic review include the totality of biomolecules that they measure in a biological sample.
"A study from Italy found that women with endometriosis or adenomyosis are significantly more likely to experience Long COVID
compared to those without these conditions. Patients with endometriosis
or adenomyosis had higher rates of persistent symptoms like chest pain
and loss of taste beyond 12 weeks. The findings suggest that
pre-existing immune dysregulation and inflammation in endometriosis and
adenomyosis may contribute to prolonged symptoms after acute COVID
infection. Further research is needed to explore the connection between
chronic inflammatory diseases and Long COVID.
"Another study examined the prevalence and impact of Long COVID nearly two years after initial infection in a Michigan-based cohort. Among 1,547 respondents, 24% reported ongoing Long COVID
symptoms, which were strongly associated with increased disability in
cognition, mobility, independent living, self-care, vision, and hearing.
The findings highlight the significant and lasting burden of Long
COVID.
“Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) was initially
developed to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but
clinicians around the world have used it to help patients who experience
persistent respiratory symptoms after COVID-19 infections, including
shortness of breath and exercise intolerance.” A meta-analysis of 37
randomized controlled trials, including 22 trials of patients
hospitalized with COVID, shows that pulmonary rehabilitation can improve lung function in Long COVID after 4 to 8 weeks of therapy.
H5N1
"H5N1
and H7N9 are both highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses.
This week it was reported that chickens on a Mississippi farm became
sick with the H7N9 strain of bird flu.
People who get H7N9 Avian flu can become very sick, although mortality
from H7N9 may be lower than for the H5N1 Bird flu strain. H7N9 can spread
from human-to-human and tends to spread quickly which increases the
risk of it mutating. For now, the affected birds were culled and the
situation is being monitored.
"A study from Cornell University found that the H5N1 bird flu virus can remain infectious in raw milk cheese for months,
raising public health concerns. While pasteurization effectively
inactivates the virus, the traditional 60-day aging process for raw milk
cheese does not eliminate the risk, highlighting the need for stricter
surveillance and caution when consuming unpasteurized dairy products.
"The CDC confirmed the first known human case of H5N1 avian flu in the U.S. involving the D1.3 genotype in an Ohio poultry worker,
though genetic analysis did not reveal markers for increased mammalian
adaptation or antiviral resistance. Meanwhile, serology testing ruled
out human-to-human transmission in a San Francisco child’s H5N1 case,
reinforcing that no such spread has been detected in the United States.
In response to ongoing outbreaks, the USDA announced up to $100 million
in funding for avian flu research, including vaccine development, while
confirming new poultry infections in four states.
“The
child’s grieving parents have given just one on-camera interview, to
Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit group founded and
led until recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health and human
services secretary. In a video that aired online Monday, the young
parents stifled sobs, recalling how their unvaccinated daughter got sick
from measles, then pneumonia, how she was hospitalized and put on a
ventilator, and how she died.
“Don’t do the shots,” the girl’s
mother said. Measles, she added, is “not as bad as they’re making it out
to be.” She noted that her four other children all recovered after
having received alternative treatments from an anti-vaccine doctor,
including cod liver oil, a source of vitamin A, and budesonide, an
inhaled steroid usually used for asthma.
“Also, the measles are good for the body,” the girl’s father said.”
"Less than two years ago, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize for mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. This week, “NIH acting Director Matthew Memoli sent an email across the NIH instructing that any grants, contracts, or collaborations involving mRNA vaccines be reported
up the chain to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
Jr.’s office and the White House. Memoli sent a similar message ahead of
the agency canceling other research, including studies on vaccine
hesitancy.” As Eric Topol posted,
this is a threat to “one of the most important advances in
biotechnology of our time [mRNA vaccines], already being used to
successfully treat refractory cancers, enable genome editing, develop
vaccines for infectious diseases for which there are none, treat
autoimmune diseases, and more.”
"Katelyn Jetelina and Andrea Tamayo wrote an excellent article this week entitled, “Vaccines don’t cause Autism. So what does?”
They reviewed "over 25 epidemiological studies, including a fantastic
2019 analysis of more than 600,000 children in Denmark" proving that
vaccines do not cause autism. They said that the autism community is
unhappy about being used as a reason to avoid vaccination and that
wasting money on another vaccine study takes away research money that
could be used to discover the true causes of autism.
"In
a placebo controlled trial in JAMA, children between 28 days and 4
years of age with a fever (≥38.5 °C) and Upper Respiratory Tract
Infection (URTI) were given daily single dose of 0.5 mL probiotic
mixture containing Bifidobacterium breve M-16V, Bifidobacterium lactis
HN019, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 for 14 days. Young children who received the probiotics had 2 days less of fever than those on placebo.
"Lean Cuisine and Stouffer's
recalled the following meals with expiration dates between September
2025 and April 2026 for 'wood-like material' linked to choking:
Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli,
Lean Cuisine Spinach Artichoke Ravioli,
Lean Cuisine Lemon Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry
Stouffer’s Party Size Chicken Lasagna.
"A group from France used hybridoma technology to improve the process of making monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).
By using a method called fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to
select the best ASCs from immunized mice, researchers increased the
success rate of cell fusion to 100% and produced more effective
antibodies, making the process faster and more efficient for medical
treatments and research.
"96 year old Bill Tallyn
rides his bike every day around his RV park delivering treats to over
50 dogs and cats. His human neighbors and his canine and feline
neighbors all love Bill.
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