When I saw this headline today, I saw red. Since when is it the goal of a Mayor to arrest the Prime Minister of Israel? Not only is Mamdani a deranged, brazen Jew-hater and anti-Israel proponent, but he's now openly "desperate" to get more publicity and admiration from his fellow antisemites. He probably considers arresting Bibi an achievement in comparison with the damage he's already done to NYC. There should be a recall effort to remove him from office.
The only war criminals are terrorists and murderers like Hamas, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Iran, who seek to exterminate the Jews and destroy Israel.
With this dangerous and false rhetoric against Netanyahu, I fear for his life.
The Pro-Palestine, Israel-hating, socialist pol said in an interview published Saturday that it’s unclear whether he has the authority to order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu during the prime minister’s expected trip to the Big Apple for the U.N. General Assembly – but is in an “active conversation” with the city’s Law Department about the matter.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani bluntly told The New York Times, referring to the United Nation’s International Court of Justice.
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that it is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
Mamdani – who has made accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza a focal point of a far-left ideology that his helped propel him into the national spotlight – vowed during last year’s campaign that, if elected mayoral, he’d have Netanyahu arrested if he ever set foot in NYC.
He cited the International Criminal Court’s 2024 arrest warrant for Netanyahu — which the U.S. doesn’t recognize.
However, Mamdani insisted during The Times interview that the city “won’t be writing our own laws” to lock up the prime minister, who is seeking re-election.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said.
During the interview, Mamdani also complained about media coverage of his wife Rama Duwaji, who has come under fire for her long history of bashing the United States and Israel.
This includes since-deleted social media posts praising Palestinian terror groups and others attacking US service members for assisting the Jewish State.
The Syrian-American artist also once liked a social media post claiming Hamas’ rapes of Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2003 terror attack were a “mass hoax.”
“She is her own person,” Mamdani said. “She is an incredible artist, and yet so much of how she engages with the world is framed through her being my wife.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said.
Netanyahu, however, remains unfazed by Mamdani’s threats.
In a recent radio appearance, he accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas.
“I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising. He’s condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values,” the prime ministersaidduring an interview this week with Sid Rosenberg on 77 WABC.
“Who does he champion? Hamas, that calls openly to massacre every Jew on earth, that conducted that horrible massacre [on Oct. 7, 2023], the worst massacre on Jews since the Holocaust.”
He also said Mamdani “doesn’t care” that “those who hate the Jews and Israel ultimately hate America.”
“And in fact, I think secretly, he hates America,” the prime minister said.
“And if anyone should be arrested, it is @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani,” he said in a post on X.
Netanyahu is also expected to visit DC later this month to meet with President Trump.
He was initially scheduled to arrive this weekend but postponed the visit after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral was pushed back to accommodate the flood of national and international dignitaries seeking to attend.
It would mark Netanyahu’s first trip to Washington since the Iran war began in February.
This is a great refresher about the best masks to protect yourself from the oppressive Canadian wildfire smoke. If you wore these at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, you already know how well these work.
"As smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires
continues to degrade air quality across parts of the Midwest, Great
Lakes and Northeast, many Americans may be reaching for the disposable
or cloth face masks left over from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"However, health experts say not every mask offers meaningful protection against wildfire smoke.
"Over 830 wildfires
are burning across Canada, with more than 100 considered out of
control. Smoke from fires in Ontario and other regions has spread into
the United States, prompting air quality alerts for millions of people
and creating hazy skies from Chicago and Detroit to Cleveland, New York
City and Boston. While conditions in some areas are expected to improve
gradually through the weekend, officials warn that smoky air may linger
as long as the fires continue burning.
"The tiny
particles carried in wildfire smoke are small enough to travel deep
into the lungs, meaning the type of mask you wear, and how well it fits,
can make a significant difference.
"These
masks are designed to filter at least 95% of airborne particles as
small as 0.3 microns when fitted properly. That includes fine
particulate matter known as PM2.5, the primary pollutant found in
wildfire smoke that can penetrate deep into the respiratory system.
"Experts say a tight seal around the nose and chin
is just as important as the filter itself. Air leaking around the edges
of a mask reduces its effectiveness because unfiltered air can be
inhaled through the gaps.
"The EPA also advises
choosing a mask with two straps that go around the head, rather than ear
loops, because they're designed to create a tighter seal against the
face.
Why cloth and surgical masks aren't enough
"Basic
cloth face coverings, scarves and many disposable surgical masks are
not designed to filter the tiny particles found in wildfire smoke,
according to IQAir.
"While those masks can help
reduce the spread of large respiratory droplets during illnesses such as
COVID-19, they generally do not create a tight seal around the face and
allow smoke particles to leak through the sides.
The best way to protect yourself
"The EPA says wearing a respirator should not be the first line of defense against wildfire smoke.
"Instead,
the agency recommends staying indoors, limiting outdoor activity,
reducing physical exertion and using HEPA air cleaners when smoke levels
are elevated. People who must spend extended time outside in smoky
conditions may benefit from wearing a properly fitted N95 or P100
respirator.
"Respirators can make breathing more difficult, particularly for people
with heart or lung conditions. The EPA advises anyone with those
conditions to talk with a doctor before using one. Anyone who becomes
dizzy or has trouble breathing while wearing a respirator should move to
cleaner air and remove the mask.
"The agency also notes that respirators are not sized for children and
generally cannot provide the tight seal needed to reduce smoke exposure
Why wildfire smoke is a health concern
"Wildfire
smoke contains fine particulate matter that can irritate the eyes,
nose, throat and lungs, causing coughing, wheezing and shortness of
breath. Prolonged exposure has also been linked to inflammation,
cardiovascular problems and worsening symptoms for people with asthma or
other respiratory conditions.
"People considered most vulnerable include older adults, young children, pregnant people and those with heart or lung disease.
"With
wildfire smoke expected to continue impacting parts of the United
States as Canadian fires burn, health officials say choosing the right
mask, if one is needed, is more important than simply wearing any face covering."
Yes,
I know it’s a summer Friday afternoon, but I wanted to pop in with two
important health updates that might be useful as you head into the
weekend. If you’re in the Midwest or Northeast, you’ve probably already
noticed it just by looking out the window: air pollution is at extremely
high levels right now. We also just got an update on the source of the
cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Here’s what it all means for your health. I’ll keep it quick.
Air pollution is at extremely high, dangerous levels
Air pollution levels in Chicago, Detroit, New York, and DC are the worst in
the world right now. We are starting to see it on the West Coast too.
All from wildfire smoke. I called my friend, Dr. Joseph Allen—a
professor of exposure assessment science—to help break this down for
you.
This is very dangerous for everyone’s health — not just people with high-risk conditions. Wildfire smoke contains tiny particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5)
that can enter the lungs and irritate our respiratory linings, as well
as toxic gases. Once wildfire particles hit your lungs, your body reacts
like it’s under attack: it triggers inflammation and puts stress on
blood vessels that spreads beyond the lungs into the bloodstream. That
inflammation makes blood clot more easily and can destabilize plaque in
your arteries, which is why breathing bad air can trigger a heart
attack, not just breathing problems.
The more smoke
inhaled, the higher the risk to your health. For every 10 micrograms per
meter (μg/m3) increase, the heart attack risk increases by 2.5%. So if
baseline air pollution in DC is 10 and it’s currently 160, the increased
risk of heart attacks is close to 40%. In some places, air quality
ranges from 300 to 900. You can do the math, but this is not good.
Here's
another way to think about risk, though the comparison isn’t perfect:
spending an hour in "purple" air quality is roughly equivalent to smoking half a pack of cigarettes.
Some
people are at higher risk than others (like pregnant women, older
adults, children, and people with pre-existing respiratory or heart
conditions), but once it reaches “unhealthy” levels (over 151 on the air
quality index), everyone should take action:
Keep checking air quality; it will ebb and flow over the next few days. My go-to is Purple Air, but you can alsodownload the EPA’s AirNow mobile app. Dr. Matt Willis had a great look at air quality apps in our California newsletter last week—check it out here.
Yes, an N95 mask works if you need to go outside during unhealthy levels. The “95” means at least 95% removal efficiency of particles like those in wildfire smoke. Research found
that N95s reduced hospitalizations from wildfire smoke by 30%. In other
words, it offers some protection, at least in the short term, while
running to the grocery store. Cloth, paper, and tissue masks will not filter out the smoke.
Air pollution can get inside our buildings;
in fact, we breathe more outdoor air pollution indoors because we spend
so much time indoors. There are several things we can do:
Have good filtration for the particles and gases.
HEPA filter units are good for cleaning the air in individual rooms,
while MERV 13 or higher filters are good for entire HVAC systems. You
can also create a low-cost air cleaner for inside your house (see
picture below). There are portable air cleaners that can capture both
particles and gases (but these get expensive).
Source: Yale School of Public Health
b. Run your system 24/7, even if it’s on “fan only” mode, if you have a central system. If not, the air isn’t passing through filters.
c. Get an indoor air quality monitor that measures PM2.5. Then you can compare your indoor levels to what’s outside to be sure your filtration is working properly.
d. When this mess is all done, make sure you change your AC filter. Many
filters rely on electrostatic charge, and because wildfire smoke is
charged, it can reduce the filter’s effectiveness significantly because
it ‘depletes’ the charge.
Finally, some clues for an explosive diarrhea outbreak
The
number of people getting sick continues to rise in the Midwest, and we
are finally starting to get clarity on the likely culprit: shredded iceberg lettuce. The federal government named Taco Bell. The FDA reports
that in epidemiological investigations (i.e., patient interviews),
Michigan found that roughly 90% of people who got sick reported eating
at Taco Bell in the prior 10 days.
Source: Health Security Operations Center
However, I find it very hard to believe it’s just Taco Bell, and I am hearing
from the public and investigations that this isn’t the case. Produce
distributors don’t just supply one fast-food chain; they typically
supply many retail grocery and food service bulk. It’s incredibly
unusual that the federal government didn’t name the supplier. However,
the Washington Post reported
yesterday that the culprit is Taylor Farms. Taylor Farms feeds up to
160 million servings of produce to stores and restaurants each week.
What does this mean to you?Avoid shredded iceberg lettuce in these hotspot states, and I am personally avoiding it beyond Taco Bell.
I’m
hopeful the circulation of these products is close to (or possibly even
out) of circulation, given lettuce’s shelf life, but we don’t have data
showing that yet. We also don’t know whether there’s
cross-contamination, so if I were at high risk (like a pregnant woman) in this area, I would remain cautious about certain other produce. Hopefully, we see this outbreak finally calm down soon.
Bottom line
The world of public health never gets boring. Stay healthy out there.
Love, YLE
Your Local Epidemiologist
(YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to
immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with
one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that
people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite
of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132
countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous
support of fellow YLE community members.
You've heard of Spell Check? I call this new feature Woke Check, and I would disable it immediately. Sorry, but I don't need you to "correct" the everyday words I've always used that you somehow find offensive.
"Microsoft Word introduced a new “inclusiveness” feature to look for
supposed bias in documents — including language it deems not
representative of “all genders.”
"Clarity, formality, conciseness
and now inclusiveness are all categories of “refinements” Microsoft
offers under the editing tool on Word. The woke tool suggests changes to
make word choice “inclusive of all genders,” like changing “chairman”
to “chairperson” and “mankind” to “humankind” or “humanity,” among many
others, as a Consumers’ Research video shows.
“It’s hardly surprising that Microsoft has an ‘inclusiveness editor’ for
Word documents so that users are forced to comply with woke madness.
Suggesting users change common words like ‘mankind’ and ‘firemen’ to be
more gender-neutral is not a true grammatical error; it is a targeted
ideological tactic to remove the very notion of gender from society,”
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research said in a statement
to the DCNF."
I saw them on the Capitol Steps this morning. The usual Jew-haters were there including Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were announcing a cure for cancer rather than announcing another anti-Israel measure. If AOC runs for President, she can boast about her "achievement".
See the last paragraph and note how this anti-Israel representative, Casar, attacks Netanyahu and of course fails to mention October 7.
"More than 100 House Democrats voted to block billions of
dollars in military aid to Israel — an ultimately unsuccessful effort
that highlighted the growing division in their party on the issue.
"On Wednesday 103 Democrats voted in support of an amendment
to block aid that had been proposed by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a
persistent critic of President Donald Trump who has been skeptical of US
support for Israel. One Republican also signed on. But the measure
ultimately failed 104-314. 98 Democrats voted against it and 10 voted
present, meaning they did not weigh in on the issue.
"Even the top three lawmakers in House Democratic leadership
split on the issue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House
Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar voted against it, while House
Minority Whip Katherine Clark voted for it.
"Progressive Democrats celebrated the seismic shift in their
party where, for the first time, the majority of House Democrats voted
to block billions in military aid to Israel. Two years ago, only 37 Democrats voted to block aid to Israel when presented with a similar vote.
“Think about this just for a moment. Starting today, a
majority of Democrats in this building refused to vote to send billions
of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military,” Democratic Rep. Greg
Casar, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said
following the vote. “That sends a strong message to Netanyahu that the
days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war
crimes, at least from the Democratic Party”.
I saw their platform shown on the news earlier, and if this doesn't make you show up to vote in droves and vote for the Republicans, then you get what you deserve.
Here's the link to the discussion on today's Fox News show, "Outnumbered".
I refuse to click on the DSA website, but here are a few items from their platform as shown on the news:
*Eliminate the Presidency *Eliminate the Senate *Medicare for All *No Bills *No Debt *Defund the Department of War *Eliminate Cash Bail *Amnesty for All Illegal Aliens *No Aid To Israel
This is Obama's radical transformation of the United States plus his redistribution of wealth -- on steroids.
The GOP had better put up a good fight, and so should any normal Democrats who might be out there.
The
cyclosporiasis foodborne outbreak continues to grow, and individuals
are left to figure out how to weather this storm until government
systems catch up. So we are getting flooded with questions! The YLE team
compiled answers to the top 10 to bring the nuance you may be looking
for.
Note: This post builds on a previous YLE post that explained what’s going on. If you missed that, start here.
1. Can you just tell me what not to eat?
Unfortunately,
it’s not that easy, because a source hasn’t been confirmed. So risk
falls on a spectrum and risk tolerance varies.
This is how I’m thinking about it:
Skip
bagged salads, salad kits, and boxed salads from the grocery store, and
avoid them at restaurants and fast food places, too. Michigan’s warning on Monday
(unusual to go public before the FDA) is a strong signal of what
they’re seeing. Whole heads of lettuce are fine if you strip the outer
2-3 layers, since that’s where contamination is most likely to sit.
Michigan’s
investigation has yet to pinpoint a company or rule out other foods.
Two dozen other states are still under active investigation. So avoiding
other foods is reasonable. In previous outbreaks, the culprits were
raspberries, fresh herbs (basil, cilantro), onions, and snap/snow peas. I
would still avoid these, especially if you’re high risk (pregnant,
older, or immunocompromised).
Stick to produce you can
peel or cook. (If you have frozen berries from January, you should be in
the clear as this outbreak likely started in May.)
2. How long do I need to cook produce for? Does freezing work?
Cooking food to an internal temperature of 158°F is the only thing known to kill Cyclospora. This means sautéing raw spinach for about 1.5 minutes. (Turn your salad into a stir fry!)
Microwaving doesn’t work as well because heat spreads unevenly; research shows 45 seconds wasn’t enough to kill Cyclospora, so go longer and check that every part, not just the surface, is steaming hot.
Freezing
isn’t reliable because a typical home freezer isn’t cold enough to kill
the parasite. Research shows you’d need -20°C (-4°F) for at least 2
days, or a commercial deep freeze at -70°C for an hour, well below what
most kitchen freezers hit.
Washing helps a little,
but not entirely, because these microscopic parasites love to hide in
the grooves and crevices. They also hide from home remedies people
suggest, like lemon juice.
3. Is local produce better than big distributors?
The risk is much lower. In fact, there has never been a documented cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to a local farm.
That said, Cyclospora
lives in soil and contaminated water, so a local farm could be affected
if it shares a water source with a large commercial farm. Cyclospora
can also enter the food supply at a packing, processing, or
distribution facility, where outbreaks get amplified—a local farm would
be safer on this front, too. My hunch is that the real culprit here
isn't the farm itself, but distribution, but we don't yet know yet.
Figure by Your Local Epidemiologist, adapted from Dr. Kristen Panthagani at You Can Know Things
4. How much precaution should we be taking in California (or other states), where very few cases have been reported?
Distribution
networks are complex, but all states are now actively looking for
cases. That makes me more confident that states with low case counts
(that stay low) aren’t linked to whatever is driving the outbreaks in
Michigan, Ohio, New York, and elsewhere.
All states have some
cyclosporiasis cases, but that’s expected: it reflects multiple
outbreaks happening at once. California, for example, has cases, but not
more than in past years—actually fewer. About 95% of California’s cases
have involved people who picked up the parasite while traveling outside
the U.S.
For what it’s worth, I live in California, and I’m not
eating lettuce but being liberal with the other foods. I don’t have time
for weeks of exploding diarrhea, but my guard is a little more down
than it would be if I lived in Michigan or New York.
Many
bugs can cause diarrhea. Norovirus is a common virus that spreads
year-round and causes similar symptoms, but is highly contagious, while Cyclospora is a parasite that is not contagious from person to person.
To
differentiate between the two at home, it really comes down to symptoms
and timing. If symptoms show up within a day or two and pass quickly,
think norovirus. If it lasts more than a week and then it comes and goes
for weeks, that’s likely cyclosporiasis. Antibiotics help with
cyclosporiasis, so it’s worth getting tested (although I hear the test
is expensive).
Table by Your Local Epidemiologist.
6. How does this end?
Once
the product is out of circulation. That can happen naturally (e.g.,
clean salad gradually replaces infected salad), through intervention
(stores pull it), or as the season shifts toward fall, since cooler,
drier conditions make it harder for the parasite to mature.
I don’t know how long it will take to end. No one does. But the Cyclo season typically ends in September when the parasites can no longer mature as efficiently.
7. There is no federal guidance for us physicians. When am I supposed to test and how?
It’s absolutely insane how long the federal Health Alert Network (HAN) notice was delayed, but it finally came out yesterday. Michigan’s provider bulletin is absolutely fantastic. If you’re a clinician, read that.
8. Can our animals get this?
No. Cyclospora
only infects humans and spreads solely through the fecal-oral route.
Researchers have tried to infect chickens, dogs, mice, rabbits, monkeys,
and several other species in lab studies, and it hasn’t taken. So
feeding your salad to your chickens is fine.
9.
How easily is it transferred within a restaurant kitchen, like if a
cook has unknowingly handled contaminated lettuce or something for
someone else’s order and then touches your food? Or via cooking
utensils/equipment/shared prep surfaces?
If
the produce arrives at a restaurant already contaminated and is
infectious (which takes about 2 weeks on a head of lettuce, for
example), and then that lettuce touches a cutting board, knife, or bin
used for other food, the parasite can be transferred. It was great news
to see Taco Bell move quickly last week.
10.
Is there any hope of CDC or any of our government agencies tracking
down the source of this outbreak? Does the EIS have the resources to
find the source?
I’m confident that the federal scientists are doing the best job they can do with what they have. Cyclo
is difficult to investigate because it takes so long to cause symptoms
(do you remember what you ate 10 days ago), it takes an enormous amount
of resources to pinpoint; some foods, like at Mexican restaurants, have
many ingredients; making it challenging to pinpoint a single ingredient;
and testing options are limited. There were definitely outbreaks in the past where no source was found.
Local
and state public health departments are also working their tails off.
But public health, and specifically parasitic teams, have been
chronically underfunded. They are holding on by scotch tape, and now,
with the largest cyclosporiasis outbreak in history, they are
overwhelmed. While resources can be pulled from elsewhere, public health
departments are also dealing with record cases of measles and whooping
cough on top of travel-related Ebola and the World Cup, and everything
else. It’s a lot.
Communication, guidance,
timeliness, and transparency are what the federal government is falling
short on. There has been very little communication, and what has been said is that these outbreaks happen all the time. This is not normal,and saying so without communicating what the public should actually do is unhelpful to the point of gaslighting.
Bottom line
There
are steps you can take to reduce your risk during this big foodborne
outbreak while the systems around us catch up. I will be back when we
know more. Keep your questions coming!
Cyclospora keeps climbing, a bad West Nile season, truck spraying, and good news The Dose (July 14)
Katelyn Jetelina and Marisa Donnelly, PhD, Jul 14, 2026
The YLE team is back from summer break, tanned (some of us),
rested (debatable with small kids), and ready to jump right back in.
I know a lot
of you have questions about the Cyclospora outbreak. The YLE team is
collecting them all, and tomorrow I’ll pick the top 10 for a deep dive. As of this morning, there is still very, very little communication from HHS, which is pretty insane.
In
the meantime, here’s what’s going on with health this week, including
other bugs like ticks and mosquitoes. Expect trucks to be spraying
insecticide soon, and let’s celebrate an enormous public response to a
new proposed federal rule.
Disease weather report
Cyclospora keeps climbing
Cyclospora
cases continue to climb. Some of this is expected, since more people
are now aware of it and testing for it, but it is still an undercount,
given that many people wait out the sickness at home.
The total
number of cases is hard to pin down. This is because data in the U.S. is
decentralized (local health departments report to states, states report
to the CDC), so you will likely see numbers all over the place. If we
scrape for state-level data, the most cases (2,640) are in Michigan,
followed by New York (470). A local health department in Northwest Ohio
is reporting 661 cases.
Figure from the Health Security Operations Center
While
there are cases in over 30 states, the U.S. sees cases every year,
often from different outbreaks. A key question is whether the number
exceeds expectations and, if so, why. In some states, this is certainly
the case. For example, the number of infections in Michigan is 31 times
higher than in previous years, and in New York, it’s three times higher.
In some states, like California, rates are not higher than normal.
Michigan’s health official announced yesterday that preliminary findings indicate lettuce or packaged salad greens as
a likely source. The investigation has yet to pinpoint a company or
rule out other foods. Two dozen other states are still under active
investigation. Zero word from FDA.
What this means for you: Continue
to avoid bagged and boxed salads at grocery stores and restaurants. I’m
still sticking to produce that can be peeled or vegetables with smooth
surfaces, like cucumbers, until more data comes in.
Ticks are backing off
We’re well on our way down for tick season. Activity tends to drop off as we move deeper into the heat of summer.
Source: CDC; Annotated by Hannah Totte at Your Local Epidemiologist
Why? Ticks
are prone to drying out, so in peak summer heat they retreat into
moist, shaded leaf litter rather than questing (climbing grass to grab a
host), which reduces host-seeking activity even if the tick population
hasn’t shrunk. This dip also lines up with the tick life cycle: nymphs,
responsible for most Lyme transmission, peak in late spring/early
summer, then quiet down in the hottest weather before adults pick back
up in fall.
Mosquitoes taking over
As
ticks recede, mosquitoes take over and with them, the rare diseases
they can carry. The most common one in the U.S. is West Nile.
Peak
mosquito season is still about a month out, but the CDC is already
flagging an unusually early surge in West Nile virus (WNV) activity this
year. They have flagged 48 cases across 23 states detecting the virus,
which is more than five times the historical average for this point in
the season.
Source: CDC. Annotated by Hannah Totte at Your Local Epidemiologist
What this means for you: Most
people infected with WNV never even know it because ~80% have no
symptoms. But older adults and those who are immunocompromised can
develop serious neurological illness. Start being consistent with using
an EPA-registered repellent (with DEET or picaridin), dumping standing
water around your home, and using screens at dusk and dawn. You may also
start seeing mosquito spraying trucks. (See more below.)
Heat blanketing the North
This
week, a large swath of the northern U.S. is facing the most extreme
heat risk category. If you’re in the purple or red areas, everyone is at
risk and needs to take action. Heat kills more people in the U.S. than
any other weather event.
Source: NOAA; Annotated by Hannah Totte at Your Local Epidemiologist
What this means for you:
Check on elderly neighbors and relatives, hydrate before you’re
thirsty, and move strenuous outdoor activity to early morning or evening
if you can. Here are 6 things to know about heat-related illness from the YLE team.
World Cup Health Security Center Update
We’re
nearing the end of the World Cup tournament (the final is on July 19!),
and there have been no major outbreaks tied to the games, aside from
heat-related illness. A few teams reported minor illnesses among
players.
Measles remains the primary focus of
monitoring. There are a number of cases passing through major airports
(far more than in any other year), particularly near the World Cup
games. While it will be very hard to track, we could very well see
outbreaks across the world following the World Cup.
Spotlight: Why is that truck spraying my street?
With
mosquito activity picking up and the U.S. having a particularly bad
start to the season, you may start noticing spraying trucks in your
neighborhood. Where they go is driven entirely by your local public
health or vector control department’s surveillance data. Departments set
traps to collect mosquitoes, send batches to a lab, and test them.
When
lab tests consistently yield positive results, insecticide is then
sprayed in the affected area. The spraying itself does two things:
Kill flying adult mosquitoes by spraying very small amounts of adulticides into the air. This spray is a fine mist that acts as a fogger.
Kill larvae
by applying larvicides directly to the water where mosquito larvae have
been detected. This helps kill more hard-to-reach areas.
People
rightfully have many questions about whether these insecticides are
safe for humans. They are safe because the dose and where they are
applied are very purposeful. These insecticides work by overstimulating
insect nerve cells until they’re paralyzed, but insect nerves are far
more sensitive to the chemical than ours, and mosquitoes are tiny,
cold-blooded, and can’t break the chemical down the way we can. So the
same dose that’s fatal to them is far too small to hurt a person. How
these insecticides are used also matters. Adulticide sprays are released
as low-volume mist, and the droplets disperse and degrade quickly,
resulting in very low human exposure. Larvicides are placed directly in
standing water and target larvae through mosquito-specific biological
mechanisms.
A 2025 review of
community mosquito-control spraying found no causal relationship
between adult mosquito-control applications and adverse human health
impacts when applied appropriately, with estimated exposure levels far
below regulatory concern.
People with asthma and other respiratory conditions are particularly concerned. But an older study in New York City found no increase in asthma visits, including among children, after West Nile spraying.
What this means for you: Reducing WNV is important, and spraying is safe. I’ll
stay indoors during spraying when I can but won’t lose sleep over it.
Check with your local public health or mosquito control department for
the schedule—they’re supposed to publish one.
Good news
More than 341,000 comments were submitted on the OMB’s proposed rule that could, quite literally, break science in the U.S. This is an enormous public response
by any standard; public comment on federal rules almost never gets
anywhere close to that volume. Way to show up for science discovery in
the U.S.! Comments are now closed, and it’s time to see how the federal
government responds.
Bottom line
From salad choices to mosquito bites to heat safety, this world just never gets boring. Stay healthy out there.
Love, YLE
Your Local Epidemiologist
(YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to
immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with
one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that
people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite
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Dr. Ruth Report 7/12/26 OMB, Explosive diarrhea, COVID, and more
Ruth Ann Crystal MD, Jul 13, 2026
Last week, I told you about a proposed change to an OMB rule
that could affect federal funding for Meals on Wheels for seniors,
community health programs, scientific research and much more. I made a
free online tool to make it easy to write your comment on the proposed
changes to OMB rule in less than 5 minutes at https://ombcomment.netlify.app/.
The
tool was made to get you to a strong, personal first draft fast, so
that you can submit your comment before the July 13 deadline tomorrow.
You may have heard about an outbreak of Cyclospora which causes watery, and sometimes explosive, diarrhea
for days to weeks. Symptoms typically start about a week after eating
contaminated produce such as raspberries, fresh basil, or lettuce, but
unfortunately the source has not yet been determined. The CDC has not
given guidance on this outbreak, but we do know that there have been
more than 3,000 confirmed cases in 31 states, with Michigan being hit
the hardest. The case count is probably much higher, as most people do
not need to seek medical care for Cyclospora. Until we know the source,
it may be best to avoid raspberries and bagged lettuce as the parasite
hides in tiny crevices of produce. In general, most cases of diarrhea
are self limited and are often caused by something else like Norovirus,
but if you get watery diarrhea that lasts longer than a few days, an
antibiotic called Bactrim can be used to treat Cyclospora.
“The
fruits and vegetables most frequently related to Cyclospora infections
were: raspberries (34%), basil (31%), cilantro (10%) and salad mixes
(10%). Sugar snap peas, lettuce, blueberries, blackberries, carrots,
mangos, mint, scallions, mixed vegetable trays, and fruit salads were
also associated with cyclosporiasis outbreaks (in some investigations, a
single food vehicle was not identified).”
COVID levels are low through most places across America, but we are starting to see an uptick in Southern Florida, Central Texas, and Palo Alto, California. The Palo Alto finding may just be a blip, but you can follow it here on WastewaterSCAN.
It
is wise to wear a mask indoors when the level of SARS-CoV-2 is above
100 PPMoV in wastewater. Here are the hot spots above 100 PPMoV
according to WastewaterSCAN (omits 12 states, but is up to date):
Key Biscayne, FL 370 PPMoV
St Petersburg, FL 204 PPMoV
Woodlands, TX 173 PPMoV
Palo Alto, CA 140 PPMoV
Atlanta, GA 119 PPMoV
Tallahassee, FL 111 PPMoV
These
numbers are high, but they are nowhere near what we have seen during
COVID waves where levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater can easily
reach over 1,000 PPMoV.
Using the CDC and Biobot data, Mike Hoerger estimates that as of July 4, every 1 in 250 Americans was actively infectious with COVID. Here is his COVID map with data from 7/4/26.
Researchers in Spain analyzed outcomes among 2,524 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, finding that remdesivir and tocilizumab (Actemra) were each independently associated with reduced thrombotic events
beyond what standard anticoagulation alone provided. Corticosteroids,
by contrast, showed no similar protective association against blood clot
formation in this population.
University of Minnesota scientists studied 173 hospitalized COVID patients and found elevated levels of lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and soluble CD14 in the blood, indicating that bacterial products were crossing the gut barrier
(“leaky gut”) and entering systemic circulation. These two biomarkers
tracked closely with levels of inflammation and were predictive of how
severely ill patients became during hospitalization.
Researchers
at the Mexican Social Security Institute studied 349 pediatric patients
and found that 11.8% developed Long COVID after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Among children older than 8 years, reinfection was associated with greater odds of Long COVID, though only 9 reinfection cases were documented in the cohort.
A Chinese study of 209 pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms after COVID and found that impulse oscillometry detected airway abnormalities in 74.6% of them, with small airway disease representing the predominant pattern.
Long COVID
Dr. Michal Tal posted on Twitter that her lab is making a website where people can upload capillaroscopy selfie images to get key features quantified. She shared these images of capillaroscopy findings.
Italian researchers studied stomach biopsies from 12 Long COVID patients and 8 controls and found direct evidence that Long COVID causes measurable loss of cholinergic nerve fibers
within the stomach lining. In Long COVID patients, nerve fiber density
was half of normal in the fundus and the antrum, with cholinergic fibers
affected most. Lower nerve density tracked with worse heart rate
variability, higher NT-proBNP, and higher D-dimer. Structural damage to vagus nerve pathways as shown in the gastric mucosa may account for persistent autonomic dysfunction observed in many Long COVID patients.
Harshi Peiris PhD posted a Twitter thread with emerging evidence on butyrate-producing bacteria F. prausnitzii
and how it is low in COVID, Long COVID, and other diseases. Low F.
Prausnitzii leads to low butyrate which can lead to a weakened gut
barrier, increased inflammatory signals in the blood, and eventually
brain fog symptoms from microglial activation. I chose to use organic kiwi in our LC-02 synbiotic in order to boost F. Prausnitzii and Roseburia species which produce anti-inflammatory butyrate.
Mild
COVID can lead to long-term hidden eye problems. Swedish scientists
from Linköping University found that people who experienced persistent
eye problems (ocular pain, light sensitivity, reduced/blurred vision,
and difficulties in reading) after mild COVID infection showed
measurable corneal nerve fiber loss, diminished pupil reflex responses,
and activated immune cells present in their tears. The findings suggest
that prolonged eye symptoms in post-COVID patients may be driven by T cell mediated neuroinflammation affecting both the peripheral nervous system and autonomic function.
Yale University researchers examined 595 individuals living with Long COVID and found that 57%
reported developing new vision related symptoms. “Ocular symptoms were
defined as self-reported new-onset blurring or loss of vision, dry eyes,
or floaters/flashes of light attributed to Long COVID.”
The RECOVER initiative examined 74 autopsy cases and detected actively replicating SARS-CoV-2 within heart muscle cells
in 11 of those cases, with 82% of that group showing cardiac symptoms
consistent with Long COVID. Researchers also identified accompanying
immune and structural changes in the cardiac tissue, supporting SARS-CoV-2 viral persistence in tissues.
A new review in Nature Immunology shows that many RNA viruses
(RSV, coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2, influenza and parainfluenza
viruses, measles, chikungunya, and lethal viruses like Ebola virus and
the henipaviruses) are capable of leaving residual RNA or proteins
in body tissues and within circulating immune cells after the acute
phase of infection has resolved. When the immune system fails to fully
eliminate this lingering viral material, it may drive chronic
inflammation that contributes to post-acute conditions such as Long
COVID.
A review of the recent article from Yale published in Cell shows a causal link between Long COVID autoantibodies and the neurological symptoms.
“Passive transfer of IgG from patients with long COVID to healthy mice
produced signs of fatigue, pain and heat sensitivity, resembling the
symptoms reported by patients… The recipient mice [also] showed evidence
of intraepidermal nerve fibre damage in the skin.”
Twenty-four weeks of treatment with Temelimab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the HERV-W ENV protein, showed no measurable advantage over placebo in Long COVID patients.
University of Pittsburgh researchers discovered that lung macrophages from Long COVID patients showed elevated levels of histone demethylase enzymes,
pointing to an epigenetic mechanism underlying persistent inflammation.
In a mouse model, small molecule inhibitors reprogrammed inflammatory
gene activity in macrophages and reduced expression of IL1b and iNOS
following immune stimulation.
A
cohort study of 937,077 Medicare patients found that healthcare
utilization and spending spiked immediately following a COVID diagnosis,
but declined in subsequent months. However, patient-reported symptom
scores remained high, indicating that billing claims data substantially undercount the ongoing burden of Long COVID.
In
mice, chronic stress prolonged TLR3 immune activation which led to a
prolonged fatigue illness resembling post-viral fatigue syndrome with
elevated IL-6 and CXCL10. Treatment with minocycline
(an antibiotic and microglial activation inhibitor) reduced both
fatigue behaviors and inflammatory markers, implicating
neuroinflammation as a central mechanism.
Researchers at Aix-Marseille University tested music instruments
and found that SARS-CoV-2 remained infectious on metals and ABS plastic
for up to 3 days, while porous materials such as reeds and printed
scores retained viable virus for 6 to 7 days.
The
STIMULATE ICP trial randomized 778 UK Long COVID patients across 12
clinics to colchicine, rivaroxaban, famotidine plus loratadine, or no
drug for 12 weeks. Colchicine and antihistamines added a small benefit
which went away after stopping the medications. Rivaroxaban showed no
added benefit.
Columbia University researchers assessed symptoms in 116 ME/CFS patients vs 80 controls. Gastrointestinal symptoms tracked with fatigue, cognitive trouble, pain, and sensory sensitivity, and correlated with higher CRP. Patients with more flu-like symptoms had stronger antibody responses to gliadin and bacterial lipopolysaccharide indicating a leaky gut barrier.
1,830 confirmed Ebola cases, including 780 patients currently under care, 284 recoveries, and 648 deaths. The contact tracing rate stands at 78% which means that contacts are unknown for at least 400 confirmed Ebola patients.
Unfortunately,
some doctors and nurses treating Ebola patients haven’t been paid in
months and are striking. This will certainly not help the situation.
The first patients have been enrolled in a trial of Remdesivir and MBP134
(a monoclonal antibody) to treat the Ebola Bundibugyo virus in DRC.
Both drugs have been shown to be effective in animal models and now will
be tested in a randomized trial to see whether they reduce mortality
for Bundibugyo.
Montana
became the second state to enforce Medicaid work requirements starting
July 1, ahead of the federal 2027 deadline. “New Medicaid guidelines in
Montana leave cancer patients vulnerable, with requirements that they
must work, attend school or volunteer for 80 hours a month to maintain
coverage, unless they qualify for an exemption.” Paperwork burdens and
unclear medical frailty rules have been confusing for patients.
A
new MASH (fatty liver) mouse model study shows that semaglutide reduced
liver fat accumulation, inflammation, and fibrosis through GLP-1
receptors located specifically on intrahepatic blood vessel cells, independent of the drug’s weight loss effects.
McMaster University scientists identified Phage HER259,
which disarms adherent invasive E. coli linked to Crohn’s disease by
switching off its FimH adhesin. In mouse models this reduced colitis and
boosted low dose budesonide’s effect.
Belgium
recorded 1,222 excess deaths, a 39% rise, between June 18 and 29 during
a severe heatwave. More than half of those who died were 85 or older. France saw a 29% jump in deaths the same week, with 2,025 additional deaths nationwide.
The
University of Hong Kong analyzed 708,020 mother child pairs and built
sibling matched cohorts of 124,333 children assessed for autism and
97,285 for ADHD. Prenatal paracetamol (acetaminophen) exposure showed no added risk for either condition across dose, timing, and usage pattern.
Connor
Gibson, a 22 year old engineer at Remote Area Medical, taught himself
dentistry and 3D printing to build the first mobile denture lab in the
United States. What once took three months now is completed in a single
clinic weekend and patients are smiling with their new free custom
dentures.
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