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The Food and Drug Administration has named Katherine Szarama as the acting director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which regulates vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply. (Lawrence, 4/30)

When President Trump named a new leadership team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention two weeks ago, public attention focused on Dr. Erica Schwartz, his nominee to be the agency’s director. Her public support of vaccines was interpreted by some as a sign that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quest to limit childhood immunizations might be coming to an end. But another senior official Mr. Trump named to the team shares many of Mr. Kennedy’s views, suggesting the potential for continuing tension at the public health agency. (Mandavilli, 4/30)

The CDC's shift to an uncertainty-based approach when conveying the scientific evidence on vaccines and autism could already be increasing vaccine hesitancy and strengthening agreement with science-denial strategies, according to an online survey of U.S. adults. (Rudd, 4/30)

Where Americans get their news may play a significant role in shaping their attitudes toward the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a national study published in Vaccine. (Bergeson, 4/29)

With a busy travel season approaching, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that additional measles cases in the U.S. can be expected over the next few months. The agency sent the alert to state and local health departments, reminding them to report measles cases to the CDC within 24 hours and to have measles cases reported in hospitals and to public health authorities. The CDC has encouraged public health departments to conduct contact tracing for exposed individuals as well as perform outreach to under-vaccinated communities. (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 4/29)

A Public Health Alerts report today describes the detection of measles virus in wastewater in the Chicago area that was linked to a single measles case in the community that same day, “demonstrating that untargeted metagenomics appeared to detect a single measles infection in a large municipal wastewater stream,” according to the authors. The report could serve as a template for using untargeted wastewater surveillance for identifying infectious diseases in the surrounding community, say the authors, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the University of Missouri, and elsewhere. (Wappes, 4/30)

Allegheny Health Network Chair of Pediatrics Dr. Joseph Aracri said cases of the highly contagious rotavirus among local children are increasing. The uptick usually happens every year, but the increase is usually in February and March. "It's been coming through the emergency room and urgent cares, and we're getting a lot of phone calls about it," Dr. Aracri said. "I don't think we're seeing much more than we usually do; we're just seeing it later in the season." (Linder, 4/29)

Avian flu detections among both commercial poultry and wild birds have dropped significantly this past week, per the latest updates from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Only one new poultry detection was reported this week, in Meade County, South Dakota, affecting 60 birds. This is the ninth facility in either North or South Dakota to be hit with H5N1 in April. (Soucheray, 4/30)