HEALTH UPDATES

 

 

Shots - Health News

Under communications freeze, CDC updates some important health data but not others. 

January 24, 20253:05 PM ET.  With federal health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a temporary freeze on public communications, some data and publications have not been released on their normal schedule.  The agency published some regular weekly updates Friday but not others.

 

It updated one page on the agency's website, regarding the overall activity of respiratory viruses across the nation and how widely COVID-19, RSV and the flu are spreading.

 

Pub

lic Health

Federal health agencies told to halt all external communications.  Thursday, the CDC failed to release the agency's weekly publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, MMWR,  marking the first time in decades the agency has not published the highly regarded mainstay of public health communication.

 

The current freeze on communications for all agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, has sparked alarm among public health experts.  HHS includes the CDC as well as other major agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, NIH and the Food and Drug Administration, FDA.

 

"Americans depend on the MMWR publication to learn about the health of their communities and for advice on how best to protect themselves," indicated Jennifer Nuzzo, the Pandemic Center at Brown University. 

 

In response to a query from NPR, the CDC emailed a statement to all federal health agencies since the pause was imposed and referred additional questions to the HHS:

 

"HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health," the statement reads. "This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis."

 

The pause comes amidst widespread concern and among scientists around the country sparked 7by a cancelation of scientific meetings, a pause on travel by federal scientists and requests about diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.

 

"There's just a lot of confusion and misinformation about exactly what researchers should be doing right now," says David Gillum, the associate vice president of compliance and research administration at the University of Nevada, Reno.

 

 

The tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas is alarming. It's not the biggest in US history though, CDC says.  A yearlong outbreak of tuberculosis, TB, in the Kansas City, Kansas area has taken local experts aback, even if it does not appear to be the largest outbreak of the disease in U.S. history as a state health official claimed last week.

 

“We would expect to see a handful of cases every year,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Kansas Health System. But the high case counts in this outbreak were a “stark warning." he said.

 

The outbreak has killed two people since it started in January 2024.  Health officials in Kansas say there is no threat to the general public.

 

What is tuberculosis?  TB is caused by bacteria that lives in people’s lungs and spreads through the air when they talk, cough or sing.  It is very infectious, but only spreads when a person has symptoms or symptomatic.  Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have TB, but only about 5% to 10% develop symptoms.

 

Once it infects a person, TB can take two forms:

• “active” TB, the person has a long-standing cough and sometimes bloody phlegm, night sweats, fever, weight loss and swollen glands.
• “latent” TB, the bacteria hibernates in the lungs or elsewhere in the body.  It does not cause symptoms and does not spread to others.

How big is the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas?

• As of Jan. 24, 67 people are being treated for active TB, most in Wyandotte County.  Another 79 have latent TB.
• The state’s provisional 2024 count shows 79 active TB cases and 213 latent cases in the two counties where the outbreak is happening, Wyandotte and Johnson.

How is tuberculosis treated?  TB is treated with antibiotics over the course of several months.  A vaccine is available, but generally not recommended in the U.S. because the risk of infection is low and getting the vaccine can interfere with the test doctors use to diagnose the disease.

 

TB is a much bigger problem outside of the U.S.  TB is a leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide and has been on the rise.  In 2023, the bacteria killed 1.25 million people globally and infected 8 million, the highest count since the World Health Organization started keeping track.

 

While tuberculosis was a much bigger danger in the U.S. in earlier generations, it has been trending back up in recent years.  In 2023 there were more than 9,600 cases nationwide, the highest in a decade, according to the CDC.

 

 

2 dead, at least 146 infected as Kansas battles spreading tuberculosis outbreak.  Jan. 28 (UPI). 

A tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas has killed two people and caused at least 146 to become infected with the potentially deadly respiratory disease during one of the largest outbreaks in the nation's history.

 

As of Friday, at least 67 cases of active TB were reported in Kansas, including 60 in Wyandotte County and seven in Johnson County, the Kansas Department of Public Health announced.

Wyandotte County includes Kansas City, which is the county seat, and areas west of Kansas City, while Johnson County is located directly south of and adjacent to Wyandotte County.

 

TB is a bacterium that usually affects the lungs but can affect other parts of the body and has two types:  “active” and “inactive.”  “Active” TB makes people feel sick and can spread to others, while “inactive” TB does not.  TB generally spreads while airborne when an infected person coughs, speaks or sings, but it also can spread from one person to another through direct contact.

 

67 people in Kansas were undergoing treatment for “active” TB as of Friday, but those identified with “inactive” TB also are undergoing treatment.  Leaving “inactive” cases untreated could cause between 5% and 10% to develop “active” TB.

 

University of Kansas Health System director of prevention and control Dr. Dana Hawkinson indicated “it's common to see some TB cases every year but the current outbreak has greatly exceeded normal numbers.”  The World Health Organization announced more than 8 million people around the world were diagnosed with TB in 2023.  The disease killed 1.25 million, making it the world's deadliest disease after COVID-19. 

 

 

As bird flu ravages poultry industry, the damage spreads.  Sun, February 2, 2025 at 7:19 AM PST.

Crescent Duck Farm produced a million ducks a year, until two weeks ago, when bird flu shut the farm down.   Doug Corwin, a seventh generation of ownership stated, "I saw a flock one day that was great and the next day lethargic and wasn't eating.  It looked like something I'd never seen before." 

 

Dozens of state and local agricultural workers, dressed in biohazard suits, assisted in the euthanasia of the entire flock, 100,000 ducks.   Since the current strain of bird flu, H5N1, reached the United States in 2022, over 148 million birds have been ordered euthanized.

 

Until 2024, only one human case in the U.S. was reported.   In a few months, the number jumped to 67, with one death.  Most cases were workers at dairy operations and poultry farms.  They experienced mild symptoms.  So far, no reported human-to-human transmission risk is still very, very low.

 

Doug Corwin says, "A vaccine program is the only thing that's gonna get us out of this."

The proposal is controversial:  allow poultry farmers to vaccinate their birds against H5N1, something theoretically doable but currently forbidden, because it would cripple U.S. poultry exports to countries which ban vaccinated birds.  "The disease is becoming much bigger than the export situation, because the disease is so getting out of hand right now," Corwin said.

 

 

A new strain of bird flu is found on a California duck farm.  Tue, January 28, 2025 at 3:00 AM PST·  A new strain of bird flu — H5N9 — has been detected in California's Merced County at a commercial duck operation.  According to the World Organization for Animal Health, an international consortium of medical, veterinary and wildlife professionals that researches and reports on animal diseases,  testing of ducks at the farm showed the animals had been infected by both the H5N1 and H5N9 strains.

 

The new strain is a combination of the H5N1 strain that has been widely detected across the world and likely a "low-pathogenic" bird flu virus, a mild virus that moves through birds without killing them, said Henry Niman, an evolutionary molecular biologist with Recombinomics Inc., a virus and vaccine research company in Pittsburgh.  "This case is not unexpected or alarming," said Annette Jones, California state veterinarian, the California Department of Food and Agriculture is "always on alert for any H5 virus."

 

The World Health Organization's Richard Webby indicated, the combination that occurred in this population of commercial ducks is unlikely to increase the likelihood of a human pandemic.  Webby, director of the WHO's Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, said the virus was no bigger threat to human health than the current H5N1 strains circulating in dairy cows, commercial poultry and wild animals.

 

However, were there to be genetic reassortment between H5N1 and a human seasonal flu, that could be a problem.  Such a combination might provide the bird flu with the equipment it needs to pass more easily and efficiently between people.  So far, there has been no evidence that any of the strains of bird flu virus now circulating in North America have acquired that sort of ability.

 

There are four bird flu viruses in the H5 family circulating in North America. Two are part of the H5N1 strain.  

• H5N1 B3.13 version, has been found predominantly in dairy cows and dairy workers.
• H5N1, known as D1.1, has largely affected wild birds and commercial poultry.  It is the version of the virus that killed a person in Louisiana and severely sickened a teenager in British Columbia.
• H5N2, circulating in British Columbia, is a reassortment of the H5N1 virus with another bird flu virus, first discovered in November 2024, and detected in two commercial poultry operations.
• H5N9, which so far has been detected only in Merced County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which performed the testing and genetic sequencing.

The first confirmed case of HPAI (high pathogenic avian influenza), H5N9 in poultry in the United States,” the USDA said in a report to the World Organization for Animal Health.

 

The USDA animal and plant health inspection service, APHIS, in conjunction with state animal health and wildlife officials, are conducting comprehensive epidemiological investigations and enhanced surveillance in response to the HPAI related events.

 

 

1st bird flu death in the US reported in Louisiana.  The patient was over age 65 and had underlying medical conditions.  January 6, 2025, 4:17 PM.  The first person has died of bird flu in the United States, as reported by the Louisiana Department of Health.  The person was over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions and contracted the virus after being exposed through a flock of birds in a backyard the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed.

 

A spokesperson from the Louisiana Department of Health told ABC News the patient was experiencing severe respiratory illness related to bird flu infection and in critical condition. The patient remains the only human case of bird flu confirmed in Louisiana.

 

Signs and symptoms of infection in humans often include

• sore throat,
• cough,
• fever,
• runny or stuffy nose,
• headache,
• muscle or body aches,
• fatigue
• shortness of breath
• Less common symptoms include:  nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.

Infections can range from no symptoms or mild illness, such as flu-like symptoms, to more severe illness, such as pneumonia that could require hospitalizations, the CDC says.  Most confirmed cases have had direct contact with infected cattle or infected livestock.

 

Those who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk.  The CDC recommends:

• staying away from sick or dead wild birds, poultry and other animals
• if contact is unavoidable, use personal protective equipment
• not touching surfaces or materials contaminated with saliva, mucous or animal feces from wild or domestic birds and animals confirmed or suspected to have bird flu
• not consuming raw milk or raw milk products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new federal order last month that raw milk samples nationwide will be collected and shared with the department in order to test for bird flu.  A few weeks later, the Food and Drug Administration announced that federal health officials had begun collecting samples of aged raw cow's milk cheese across the U.S. to test for bird flu.

 

 

H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation.  Public Health.  Jan 8, 2025 

 

What to know

• H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
• While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures.
• CDC is using its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5 bird flu activity in people.

 

Current situation

H5 Bird Flu Detections in USA

• Dairy cattle: Ongoing multi-state outbreak

• Wild Birds: Widespread

• Poultry Flocks: Sporadic outbreaks

• Mammals: Sporadic infections

• Person-to-person spread: None

• Current public health risk: Low

 

 

 

VARIANT UPDATES

 

Depending on the variant, symptoms develop 2-14 days after exposure and can last from several days to weeks.

 

Predominant COVID Variants.  The most common COVID variants change regularly as the virus mutates.  In the fall of 2024, the most prevalent variant was KP.3.1.1, accounting for approximately 60% of infections.  The XEC variant is becoming more prevalent and is expected to overtake KP.3.1.1 during the 2024-2025 winter season.  November 2024, 20% of cases were the XEC variant, a hybrid of two JN.1 variants.  MC.1, another descendant of KP.3.1.1, is also on the rise.

 

Previous COVID Variants

• HV.1- of the Omicron strain, was the most dominant type in the U.S. until December

          2023 but has become very uncommon.  This variant is known to be highly  

          contagious and less severe in terms of hospitalizations and deaths.  Common

          symptoms are similar to those circulating in the 2024-2025 winter

          season.

• BA. 2.86 - "Pirola," a subvariant of BA. 2, the main Omicron variant. This variant only

         accounts for about 0.1% of all COVID cases, as of March 2024.  The World Health

         Organization, WHO, called BA. 2.86 a "variant of concern." There's evidence this

         variant is more transmissible and contagious than other variants, even if

         vaccinated.

• JG. 3 - a descendant of EG. 5, "Eris," another strain of the Omicron variant.  Early 2024,

         this variant represented 0.2% of COVID cases.  This subvariant isn't associated with

         a higher risk of severe cases or hospitalization.

• BA. 2 - March 2024, 0.2% of cases were due to BA. 2, an earlier Omicron     

          variant.  March 2022, the WHO reported this variant dominant worldwide.  BA. 2 is

          significantly more transmissible than earlier strains due to structural differences.  BA. 2,  

          was linked with a lower rate of hospitalization and severe outcomes when compared to            the Delta variant.  It also has a shorter incubation period, 3.5 days

• JD. 1. 1 – an Omicron subvariant, first emerged April 2023 and became one of the  

                         dominant strains globally, but has been on the decline.  JD. 1. 1 represented 5.1%

                         of COVID cases in November 2023.  In early 2024, it was 0.1% in the U.S.

• COVID Variant HK. 3 - November 2023, 5% of people who tested positive for COVID had

           the HK. 3 variant.  Since then, the prevalence has dropped to 0.1% or fewer of all

           cases.

Researchers haven’t found HK. 3 to lead to more severe disease but a higher risk of reinfection,

getting COVID again.

 

How To Protect Yourself.  COVID, an airborne virus, spreads if you inhale germs from other infected people suspended in the air through droplets when someone coughs or sneezes.  However, you can use some preventative strategies and developing symptoms. To reduce the risk of contracting the virus you could:

• Get vaccinated
• Improve airflow via keeping windows open, using an air purifier, or turning on your fan or air conditioning
• Keep your distance from people who tested positive or have symptoms
• Wash hands often, especially before touching your face, eating, and after using the bathroom
• Wear a mask if you're sick or when you're in a crowded setting

 

It's worth noting that if you're a caretaker of an older parent, young child, or other loved one, avoiding contact with someone positive for COVID isn't always possible.  Wearing a mask when caring for them and frequent hand washing can help minimize risk.

 

When To Contact a Healthcare Provider.  Seeking timely medical care can be critical for severe cases of COVID.   The risk of complications is higher if over 50, have a chronic condition (diabetes, asthma, heart or lung diseases), or immunocompromised.

 

 

Signs and Symptoms of COVID Variants.  Updated on December 22, 2024.   Medically reviewed by 

Anju Goel, MD

 

A Quick Review

COVID has evolved and changed since identified in 2019 with new mutated variants continuing to emerge.  November 2024, COVID KP.3.1.1, the predominant U.S. variant, accounting for 60% of infections.  The XEC variant is rapidly gaining prevalence and is expected to gain dominance over the next several months.

 

The major variants circulating over the 2024-2025 winter season share similar symptoms:  cough, runny nose, congestion, fever, headache and body aches. Vaccination, good hygiene practices and isolation from the infected are good ways to protect yourself from the virus.

 

 

VACCINE  UPDATES

 

 

COVID-19.  Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines. January 7, 2025

CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.

 

What to know

• Everyone ages 6 months and older should get a 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.  This includes people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, who have had COVID-19, or experiencing long COVID.
• The COVID-19 vaccine helps protect from severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
• The 2024–2025 vaccine if ages 65 and older, are at high risk for severe COVID-19, or have never received a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Vaccine protection decreases over time.  It is important to get your 2024–2025 vaccine.

Importance of staying up to date

• Getting the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is important because:
• Protection from the vaccine decreases with time.
• Immunity after a COVID infection decreases with time.
• Vaccines are updated to give the best protection from the currently circulating strains.
• Getting the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is especially important if you:
• Never received a vaccine
• Ages 65 years and older
• At high risk for severe COVID-19
• Living in a long-term care facility
• Pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or may become pregnant in the future.
• Want to lower the risk of getting Long COVID

 

When are you up to date?

• Children 6 months–4 years - when they have received all recommended doses, including at least 1 dose of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.

 

If your child previously had:	Your child should get:
0 doses (was never vaccinated)	2 doses of the 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine OR 3 doses of the 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
1 or more doses of Moderna vaccine	1 dose of the 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine
1 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine	2 doses of the 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
2 or more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine	1 dose of the 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

 

• Children 5–11 years - when they have received:
  • 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine OR
  • 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

 

• Ages 12–64 years - when you have received:
  • 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine OR
  • 1 dose of  2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine OR
  • 1 dose of  2024–2025 Novavax vaccine unless you are receiving a vaccine for the very first time.  If you have never received a vaccination and get Novavax, you need 2 doses of 2024–2025 of vaccine to be up to date.
• Ages 65 years and older - when you have received:
  • 2 doses of any 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine 6 months apart.  
  • The minimum time is 2 months apart, which allows flexibility to get the second dose prior to typical COVID-19 surges, travel, life events, and healthcare visits

 

Exceptions:

• If you are receiving a COVID-19 vaccine for the first time and getting Novavax, you need:
  • 2 doses of 2024–2025 Novavax COVID-19 vaccine 3–8 weeks apart
  • A 3rd dose of any vaccine 6 months later
• If you received 1 dose of Novavax vaccine before the 2024–2025 vaccine, you need:
  • A 2nd dose of 2024–2025 Novavax vaccine AND
  • A 3rd dose of any 2024–2025 vaccine 6 months later
• People who recently had COVID-19
  • may delay getting a vaccine for 3 months after symptoms started OR after receiving a positive test with no symptoms
  • The risk of getting COVID-19 is less likely in the weeks to months following a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

 

Recommended COVID-19 Vaccines.  Three vaccines are available for use in the United States. There is no preference for one vaccine over the other when more than one vaccine is recommended for an age group.

 

The 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines more closely target the JN.1 lineage of the Omicron variant.

2024–2025 vaccines are updated to give you the best protection from the currently circulating strains.

 

Vaccine	Recommended for:
2024–2025 Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine	Everyone ages 6 months and older
2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine	Everyone ages 6 months and older
2024–2025 Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine	Everyone ages 12 years and older

 

 

 

How to Protect Yourself?  Getting vaccinated is your best bet!

 

IT’S NOT OVER!

 

Stay safe.  Mask.  Social distance.  Frequent hand washing.  Avoid crowds

 

ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL

 

 

• https://www.health.com/covid-variant-symptoms-8605850
• https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
• https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/bird-flu-2025-first-h5n1-death-norovirus-outbreak-and-links-between-0
• https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/24/g-s1-44613/cdc-nih-hhs-health-data-mmwr
• https://abcnews.go.com/Health/1st-human-bird-flu-death-us-reported-louisiana/story?id=117394641
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/strain-bird-flu-found-california-110041642.html
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/the-tuberculosis-outbreak-in-kansas-is-alarming-its-not-the-biggest-in-us-history-though-cdc-says/ar-AA1y1CDG
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/2-dead-at-least-146-infected-as-kansas-battles-spreading-tuberculosis-outbreak/ar-AA1y22bG
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/bird-flu-ravages-poultry-industry-151913924.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html