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When Americans line up for flu vaccines next fall, they will almost certainly be getting vaccines that no longer contain protection against a family of flu viruses that appears to be extinct. (Branswell, 3/5)

On Sunday, public health officials in two Michigan counties warned their residents that they may have been exposed to measles. In Wayne County, an adult who had contracted the virus abroad had been in health-related settings in Dearborn on two days last week — two urgent care clinics, a CVS pharmacy, and a hospital emergency department. Health officials in neighboring Washtenaw County issued a similar alert about a different case — also an adult, also infected abroad — who was in the emergency department of a hospital in Ypsilanti on March 1. (Branswell, 3/6)

A former owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose mold-tainted drugs sparked a deadly U.S. fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 has pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges over the deaths of 11 Michigan residents. The plea by Barry Cadden, the former president of New England Compounding Center, was announced on Tuesday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and resolves a criminal case her office brought against him in state court in 2018. (Raymond, 3/5)

Concern is growing about the avian flu now spreading to marine mammals and a new study says that it increases the potential risk to humans. The danger to humans is low right now, but as long as the avian flu is spreading to other animals, there's a risk it could spread to people, which is why scientists say close surveillance and research is needed. ... Researchers say there have been cases where the virus spreads from infected birds to mammals. Now, researchers fear it may be moving from one mammal to another. (Stahl, 3/5)

Five European countries have reported an unexpected rise in infections involving psittacosis, a respiratory disease from a bacteria known to affect birds, which began in late 2023 and has led to the deaths of five people. In an outbreak notice today, the World Health Organization (WHO) detailed recent reports from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In most instances, people had contact with wild or domestic birds. ... Infections are often mild, but patients can develop a sometimes-fatal pneumonia. The disease is treatable with prompt, appropriate antibiotics. (Schnirring, 3/5)