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The CDC told Newsweek Monday that while bird flu's current risk to the general public remains low, the agency is carefully monitoring for several red flags that could indicate that the virus could be on the verge of becoming a pandemic. Those red flags include any outbreaks of bird flu that are spread from person-to-person, as well as evidence that the virus has mutated, making it easier for it to spread between humans. (Parry, 12/30)

After someone in southwest Louisiana was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu, the first such illness reported in the United States, health workers swabbed the person’s nose and throat, looking for genetic clues about the virus. On Thursday, federal health officials reported some unsettling results. Some of the genetic samples contained mutations that in theory might help the bird flu virus, H5N1, infect people more easily. (Mueller, 12/27)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin collecting samples of raw cow’s milk cheese from across the U.S. to test for the presence of bird flu, spurred on by the ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 in multiple states. In the announcement published Monday, the FDA said the goal of testing will be two-fold: detecting the H5N1 virus and taking the necessary follow-up actions to protect consumers. (Choi, 12/31)

Two groups of investigators today fleshed out fuller clinical understanding of North American patients recently infected with H5N1 avian influenza, one of them describing a Canadian teen who had a severe infection and the other reviewing illness features of 46 US patients, most of whom had mild infections following exposure to sick dairy cows or poultry. The teams published their reports today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (Schnirring, 12/31)

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed 12 more H5N1 avian flu detections in dairy cattle, all from California, as more outbreaks were confirmed in poultry across four states. The newly confirmed detections in California’s dairy cattle, where outbreaks have been under way since late August, push the state’s total to 697 and the national total to 912 across 16 states. (Schnirring, 12/30)

New Hampshire is gearing up to join a federal program testing dairy cattle for virulent strains of bird flu, which so far has been detected here only in some wild birds in early 2024. In other parts of the country, concern about Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is spreading. At least 875 dairy cattle herds in 16 states have tested positive; some zoos are reporting fatalities among birds and animals that became infected by wild birds in their enclosures; and at least two housecats on the West Coast have died after getting infected with the virus in pet food based on raw turkey meat. (Brooks, 1/1)

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife is working with other agencies to monitor the suspected presence of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, in the state. In recent months, the virus has been detected in several states, according to the division. The Division of Wildlife has submitted several dead birds to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory for testing. (Krouse, 1/1)

A winter wave of COVID infections is cresting as 2025 begins, one that started to swell before Christmas cookies were left out for Santa Claus and Hanukkah menorahs and Kwanzaa kinaras were lit. Nationwide test positivity was projected to be 7.5% the week ended Dec. 21, according to Dec. 30 estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Infections have ticked up consistently since the agency recorded a rate of 4.1% the week ended Nov. 16. (Leake, 12/31)

The emergence of Covid-19 five years ago marked one of the worst public health crises in modern history. During the pandemic’s first two years, life expectancy in the US plummeted by about 2.7 years — the steepest decline since World War II. Here’s a closer look at these grim numbers. (Gale, 12/29)

The number of Florida resident deaths this year linked to COVID-19 will be significantly lower than in past years. Data posted on the Florida Department of Health website Monday morning showed that 5,896 resident deaths had been tied to COVID-19 this year. This year’s pace of deaths is lower than during the past four years. (12/30)

China has shared the most COVID-19 data and research results in the international community, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after the World Health Organization repeated its call for more information and access. China is also the only country that organised experts to share traceability progress with the WHO on many occasions, Mao Ning, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, told a regular news conference. (12/31)

Nearly 900 people aboard cruise ships were sickened from gastrointestinal disease in December amid an escalation in both the frequency and severity of outbreaks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far this year, there have been 16 outbreaks on cruise ships, from norovirus, salmonella, e. coli or other unidentified pathogens that cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting. That's the largest number of cruise ship outbreaks in 12 years. (Noguchi, 1/1)

A common stomach bug is surging, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the week of December 5, there were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported, up from 69 the previous week. In the same period in recent years, there generally were 65 or less outbreaks per week. (It might not seem like a lot, but many more cases probably go unreported.) (Hetter, 12/31)