On March 7, 2025, thousands of scientists, healthcare professionals, and medical researchers gathered in Washington, D.C., and over 30 cities across the U.S. in a coordinated protest known as "Stand Up for Science 2025." The demonstrations were sparked by recent federal policy changes that significantly impact medical research, public health, and evidence-based medicine. Similar protests were held in France and other international locations, highlighting global concerns about the politicization of science. One of the most controversial aspects of the new policies is the removal of funding for transgender healthcare studies, particularly those focusing on hormone therapy, surgical outcomes, and mental health support. Advocates stress that this research is crucial for improving medical care for transgender individuals and that eliminating funding could worsen health inequalities. Opponents, however, argue that federal funding should not support certain aspects of transgender healthcare, particularly for minors, making this issue highly divisive. Protesters also criticized the dismissal of government scientists, particularly from agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FDA, warning that these actions could erode public trust in science. Without independent experts guiding policy, many fear that scientific decision-making will be compromised, potentially affecting how the U.S. responds to future pandemics, Vaccine rollouts, and environmental health threats. Additionally, significant cuts to cancer, mental health, and infectious disease research have raised alarm. Some speakers at the protests highlighted that drug development and disease prevention efforts could stall without adequate funding. They also warned that patients suffering from chronic illnesses and rare diseases could see fewer treatment options as a result. Beyond the U.S., scientists and healthcare professionals in France, the U.K., and Canada joined the demonstrations in solidarity, emphasizing that the impact of politicizing science is not limited to one country. Some researchers argue that governments worldwide are increasingly undermining public health policies based on scientific evidence, particularly in areas such as climate change, reproductive health, and pandemic preparedness. As medicine and science become increasingly entangled in political and ideological debates, physicians face a difficult choice: should they take a stand on policies affecting research and public health, or should they maintain neutrality to preserve the integrity of the medical profession? Some argue that staying silent allows misinformation and harmful policies to go unchallenged, while others fear that activism could further politicize healthcare and erode public trust in medical expertise. What is your take on this ?

On March 7, 2025, thousands of scientists, healthcare professionals, and medical researchers gathered in Washington, D.C., and over 30 cities across the U.S. in a coordinated protest known as "Stand Up for Science 2025." The demonstrations were sparked by recent federal policy changes that significantly impact medical research, public health, and evidence-based medicine. Similar protests were held in France and other international locations, highlighting global concerns about the politicization of science.

One of the most controversial aspects of the new policies is the removal of funding for transgender healthcare studies, particularly those focusing on hormone therapy, surgical outcomes, and mental health support. Advocates stress that this research is crucial for improving medical care for transgender individuals and that eliminating funding could worsen health inequalities. Opponents, however, argue that federal funding should not support certain aspects of transgender healthcare, particularly for minors, making this issue highly divisive.

Protesters also criticized the dismissal of government scientists, particularly from agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FDA, warning that these actions could erode public trust in science. Without independent experts guiding policy, many fear that scientific decision-making will be compromised, potentially affecting how the U.S. responds to future pandemics, Vaccine rollouts, and environmental health threats.

Additionally, significant cuts to cancer, mental health, and infectious disease research have raised alarm. Some speakers at the protests highlighted that drug development and disease prevention efforts could stall without adequate funding. They also warned that patients suffering from chronic illnesses and rare diseases could see fewer treatment options as a result.

Beyond the U.S., scientists and healthcare professionals in France, the U.K., and Canada joined the demonstrations in solidarity, emphasizing that the impact of politicizing science is not limited to one country. Some researchers argue that governments worldwide are increasingly undermining public health policies based on scientific evidence, particularly in areas such as climate change, reproductive health, and pandemic preparedness.

As medicine and science become increasingly entangled in political and ideological debates, physicians face a difficult choice: should they take a stand on policies affecting research and public health, or should they maintain neutrality to preserve the integrity of the medical profession? Some argue that staying silent allows misinformation and harmful policies to go unchallenged, while others fear that activism could further politicize healthcare and erode public trust in medical expertise. What is your take on this ?

On March 7, 2025, thousands of scientists, healthcare professionals, and medical researchers gathered in Washington, D.C., and over 30 cities across the U.S. in a coordinated protest known as "Stand Up for Science 2025." The demonstrations were sparked by recent federal policy changes that significantly impact medical research, public health, and evidence-based medicine. Similar protests were held in France and other international locations, highlighting global concerns about the politicization of science.

One of the most controversial aspects of the new policies is the removal of funding for transgender healthcare studies, particularly those focusing on hormone therapy, surgical outcomes, and mental health support. Advocates stress that this research is crucial for improving medical care for transgender individuals and that eliminating funding could worsen health inequalities. Opponents, however, argue that federal funding should not support certain aspects of transgender healthcare, particularly for minors, making this issue highly divisive.

Protesters also criticized the dismissal of government scientists, particularly from agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FDA, warning that these actions could erode public trust in science. Without independent experts guiding policy, many fear that scientific decision-making will be compromised, potentially affecting how the U.S. responds to future pandemics, Vaccine rollouts, and environmental health threats.

Additionally, significant cuts to cancer, mental health, and infectious disease research have raised alarm. Some speakers at the protests highlighted that drug development and disease prevention efforts could stall without adequate funding. They also warned that patients suffering from chronic illnesses and rare diseases could see fewer treatment options as a result.

Beyond the U.S., scientists and healthcare professionals in France, the U.K., and Canada joined the demonstrations in solidarity, emphasizing that the impact of politicizing science is not limited to one country. Some researchers argue that governments worldwide are increasingly undermining public health policies based on scientific evidence, particularly in areas such as climate change, reproductive health, and pandemic preparedness.

As medicine and science become increasingly entangled in political and ideological debates, physicians face a difficult choice: should they take a stand on policies affecting research and public health, or should they maintain neutrality to preserve the integrity of the medical profession? Some argue that staying silent allows misinformation and harmful policies to go unchallenged, while others fear that activism could further politicize healthcare and erode public trust in medical expertise. What is your take on this ?

A listeria outbreak tied to frozen shakes served in hospitals and long-term care facilities has sickened at least 38 people and killed 12, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The shakes, which are not sold in retail stores, were supplied to care facilities under the Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial brands. They are sold in four-ounce cartons in flavors like chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

The FDA urges health care facilities to stop serving the shakes immediately.

The outbreak was linked to a Prairie Farms facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the shakes were produced.

On Feb. 24, the FDA confirmed that the samples tested positive for listeria.

Lyons Magnus and Sysco issued product recalls and suspended sales from the Prairie Farms facility.

“Sysco expresses our most sincere condolences with those affected by this outbreak and their families,” the company said in a news release.

Listeria is a bacteria that can contaminate many foods and be especially dangerous to older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The outbreak encompasses 21 states, with 37 of the 38 identified cases requiring hospitalization, according to the CDC.

This follows a deadly listeria outbreak from deli meats made by Boar's Head, which sickened as many as 59 people and killed 10 last year.

"Food safety is and will continue to be our top priority, and our focus will always be on improving these programs that protect our customers and our communities from foodborne illnesses," Sysco's recall notice said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information on listeria.

SOURCES: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, recall notice, Feb. 24, 2025; Sysco, recall notice, Feb. 21, 2025; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; The Washington Post, media report, Feb. 24, 2025

Health care facilities should check if they have served Lyons ReadyCare or Sysco Imperial shakes as they could be contaminated.

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. 

For the first time, bird flu has been detected in rats, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed, according to a recent report.

Bird flu, otherwise known as H5N1 avian influenza, was found in four black rats in Riverside County, California, where two recent poultry outbreaks were reported.

Officials said the rats were likely infected after exposure to sick birds on nearby farms.

The USDA's update, published Feb. 19, also included previous detections in mice and other mammals, like a fox in North Dakota, a bobcat in Washington state, a mountain lion in Wisconsin, a harbor seal in Massachusetts and two domestic cats in Oregon.

The agency noted the Oregon cat infection was likely tied to raw pet food contaminated with the virus.

The discovery comes as the USDA scrambles to rehire bird flu experts it had recently laid off due to budget cuts. The cuts were recommended by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

"Although several positions supporting [bird flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," the USDA said in a statement to CBS News.

Officials confirmed that veterinarians and emergency response personnel were exempted from layoffs to ensure ongoing efforts to deal with the virus.

Since bird flu began spreading in the U.S. in 2022, more than 162 million birds have been affected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The virus was also detected in dairy cows for the first time in March 2024, and 70 human cases have been reported, mostly among dairy and poultry workers.

One person, a Louisiana resident, has died from the virus, according to the CDC.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current bird flu situation.

SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CBS News, media report, Feb. 20, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted conditional approval for a new bird flu vaccine for poultry.

This new avian flu vaccine, developed by New Jersey-based Zoetis, was approved last week after meeting safety and efficacy standards.

“We’ve been working with the administration and with Congress, and we’re very excited today to get the licensure for (the vaccine) in poultry, which we think will be a tool that we will help support the government as they deem necessary,” Zoetis' CEO Kristin Peck told CNBC.

Bird flu has devastated poultry farms across the country, causing egg prices to soar.

Since 2022, the virus has affected more than 150 million birds, including 20.5 million in the last 30 days alone.

The U.S. has traditionally handled bird flu outbreaks by slaughtering (culling) infected flocks, rather than vaccination.

But as the virus spreads to other animals, including cattle and even humans, officials are considering new containment strategies.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that the Trump administration is finalizing a plan to combat bird flu without mass culling, CNN reported.

“What we need to do is have better ways with biosecurity and medication and so on” to avoid killing chickens, Hassett said. “And so having a smart perimeter is what we’re working on, and we’re finalizing the ideas about how to do that with the best scientists in government.”

So far, 68 bird flu infections have been confirmed in people in the U.S. since March 2024, with one fatal case in Louisiana earlier this year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the threat to the general public is low, though farm workers and backyard poultry owners remain at higher risk.

Meanwhile, egg prices are expected to remain high due to the ongoing outbreak.

The USDA predicts a 20% increase in egg prices this year -- far above the 2.2% rise expected for food in general.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current situation of bird flu.

SOURCE: CNN, media report, Feb. 16, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Federal funding for medical research has dropped by roughly $1 billion this year, raising alarm among universities, medical centers and lawmakers who warn the shortfall could slow progress in cancer, diabetes and heart disease research.

The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) grant review process was also disrupted when the Trump administration suddenly canceled scheduled funding meetings due to a temporary communications freeze.

Some of those meetings have since resumed, but experts warn that delays could impede new research projects.

The drop in funding comes amid administrative delays and policy changes under the Trump administration, including a controversial move to cut NIH payments for research facility and administrative costs.

A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocked those cuts, pending upcoming hearings.

The NIH awarded about $2.5 billion in grants in the first six weeks of 2024, federal records show. This year, that number has plummeted to $1.4 billion -- hundreds of millions of dollars lower than the amount awarded in the same timeframe over the past six years.

“The president has completely stopped funding for research that discovers cures for diseases that devastate families across the country, like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, all so he can give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), said in a statement.

“Make no mistake, their efforts to rob Peter to pay Paul means crushing families’ hopes and dreams of having cures,” she added.

The NIH typically distributes roughly $36 billion in grants annually. The funding supports groundbreaking research in such areas as gene therapy, immune-based cancer treatments, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease.

Without full funding, experts warn that vital projects could be delayed or stopped altogether.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) attempted to restore NIH funding to previously agreed-upon levels through a budget bill, but the effort failed on a party-line vote.

“Trump and Elon -- either through sheer ignorance or a genuine lack of caring -- are putting lifesaving research in America on life support,” Murray said in a statement, referring to billionaire Elon Musk and his reported influence on White House budget decisions.

Musk heads the Trump-created U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has slashed funding and staff in several federal departments and agencies.

What's more, the administration has also faced internal turmoil at the NIH, with two high-ranking officials suddenly resigning and the agency still lacking a permanent director.

Meanwhile, Trump's nominee to head the NIH, Stanford professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, is preparing for Senate confirmation hearings in the coming weeks.

The uncertainty at the NIH comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new secretary of health and human services (HHS), has suggested he wants to back off on infectious disease research and focus more on chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. NIH is part of Kennedy's department.

The New York Times reported that the proposed cuts in medical research have raised deep concerns among recipient institutions.

“If the federal government cuts its investment, we will have to scale back on research, and cutting-edge science will be cut short,” Dean Madden, the vice provost for research at Dartmouth’s medical school, said at a news conference Friday, according to The New York Times.

“You don’t know what discoveries won’t be made as a result, but they might include a cure for some childhood cancer or treatment for Alzheimer’s or dozens of other diseases that are afflicting patients across our country,” Madden added.

More information

SOURCES: The New York Times, media report, Feb. 14, 2025; U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, statement, Feb. 14, 2025: U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, statement, Feb. 15, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

New numbers have been released by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in an update on the measles outbreak in Gaines County: 22 children and two adults have been infected as of Feb. 11.

All cases have been identified among unvaccinated individuals. Symptom onset began within the last two weeks, and so far, nine patients have been hospitalized.

"It is troubling, because this was completely preventable," Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at Johns Hopkins, told CBS News. "It's the most contagious infectious disease known to humans. And when we start to see measles outbreak, that's a sign that there is a chink in the armor of vaccination and the fact that it's preventable, I think, is what people should understand. This doesn't have to happen if we can get vaccination rates back to high levels again."

Earlier this year, the Houston Health Department confirmed two cases of measles in Harris County residents, which were the first measles cases reported in Texas since 2023 and prompted a DSHS health alert on Jan. 23.

Health officials at the DSHS warn that additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities. In its health alert summary, the DSHS advises clinicians to "immediately report any suspected cases to your local health department, preferably while the patient is in your presence."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2023 to 2024 school year saw the highest level of vaccine exemptions for kindergarteners (3.3 percent). The DSHS notes that in Gaines County, the number was much higher, at 17.62 percent (nearly one in five children).

More Information

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. 

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restore access to public health websites that were removed or modified in response to a Trump administration executive order on gender.

The order, issued Feb. 11 by U.S. District Judge John Bates, grants a temporary restraining order requested by Doctors for America, a nonprofit group that sued the administration over the website removals.

The affected sites, some of which have been online for decades, contain public health information on HIV prevention, youth health risks, fertility treatments and more.

The ruling states that the two health agencies removed the sites without explanation and likely violated federal law.

“By removing long relied upon medical resources without explanation, it is likely that … each agency failed to ‘examine the relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for its action,’” Bates wrote.

He ordered the CDC and FDA to restore access by the day's end Tuesday, a process that staff members were scrambling to complete.

“It was a double waste for us because we took them offline, put some of them back, edited others and now are putting it back again,” a federal health official who wanted to remain anonymous told The Washington Post.

The removed sites included:

• The CDC's guidelines for HIV and PrEP, a medication that reduces the risk of contracting AIDS.

• The CDC's Social Vulnerability Index -- which was key to identifying high-risk hot spots during COVID.

• FDA databases that track diversity in clinical trials.

• The National Assisted Reproductive Technologies Surveillance System, which monitors fertility treatment success rates.

• Information on youth health risks.

Some researchers also reported that scientific studies on racial health disparities were removed, The Washington Post reported.

Lucia Leone, an associate professor of community health and health behavior at the University of Buffalo, said in a social media post that a 2017 study she co-authored on food access in low-income communities was taken down, likely because it contained the word “diverse."

Physicians and researchers were alarmed about the removals.

“Restoring access to this vital data is welcome news, if it happens," Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus and professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University, told The Washington Post. “But this list doesn’t cover everything that has gone missing.”

Some doctors who treat HIV patients said they were already struggling without the CDC’s HIV and PrEP guidelines.

“We recently had an outbreak of chlamydia at the high school where I work and are actively meeting with school leadership to address increasing our efforts around STI testing and prevention,” Dr. Stephanie Liou, who screens students for sexually transmitted infections and prescribes PrEP, said in a court declaration. “Without these crucial CDC resources, I am not able to do my job to help address this urgent situation that is affecting our youth.”

Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, said the CDC’s contraceptive guidance for providers was also removed, The Washington Post reported.

“I take care of female patients of reproductive age, many of whom have other medical conditions making it imperative to select the appropriate contraceptive that would not interfere with their existing comorbidities and other medications,” Ramachandran explained.

The lawsuit argues that the CDC and FDA violated federal law by failing to follow correct procedures for removing public information.

The Justice Department, defending the Trump administration, claimed Doctors for America lacked legal standing to challenge the actions. It said the sites could still be accessed through an online archive called the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post reported.

“The doctors just prefer not to search," Justice Department attorney James Harlow argued in a legal filing. "But one’s ‘desire’ for information from a preferred government source and in a preferred format does not establish informational injury when the content is otherwise obtainable.”

Bates' 21-page opinion rejected that argument, ruling that the health agencies’ actions would harm “everyday Americans, and most acutely, underprivileged Americans, seeking health care."

“If those doctors cannot provide these individuals the care they need (and deserve) within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there is a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe, life-threatening conditions,” Bates wrote.

More information

Read the full memorandum opinion here.

SOURCES: The Washington Post, media report, Feb. 11, 2025; Memorandum opinion, Doctors for America v. Office of Personnel Management et al., Feb. 11, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

The head of the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) is warning that a major spike in HIV infections and deaths could occur if the U.S. follows through on freezing foreign aid for HIV programs.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima told the Associated Press that without U.S. support, officials estimate that new HIV infections could jump more than sixfold by 2029.

The Trump administration moved last month to freeze U.S. foreign aid worldwide as part of his America First agenda.

“We will see a surge in this disease,” Byanyima said from Uganda in an interview.

“This will cost lives if the American government doesn’t change its mind and maintain its leadership,” she added.

HIV infections have been declining, with just 1.3 million new cases worldwide in 2023, a 60% drop since a 1995 peak.

However, UNAIDS predicts that those numbers could dramatically worsen.

Officials estimate that by 2029, there could be 8.7 million people newly infected with HIV, 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths and an additional 3.4 million children orphaned.

Byanyima emphasized that U.S. funding makes up about 90% of HIV programs in some of the hardest-hit countries, the AP reported. She pleaded with the Trump administration not to abruptly cut off funding, which she said has resulted in “panic, fear and confusion."

In one Kenyan county, Byanyima said 550 HIV workers were immediately laid off, while thousands of others in Ethiopia were terminated, leaving health officials unable to track the epidemic, according to the AP.

The funding freeze comes at a critical moment, just as a groundbreaking HIV prevention shot -- lenacapavir (Sunlenca) -- becomes available.

The twice-yearly injection has shown near-complete protection against HIV in women, offering a powerful new solution to curb the epidemic. It is nearly as effective in men.

Widespread use of that shot, in addition to other interventions to stop HIV, could help end the disease as a public health problem in the next five years, Byanyima told the AP.

International aid, she said, “helped an American company to innovate, to come up with something that will pay them millions and millions, but at the same time prevent new infections in the rest of the world.” The freeze in American funding, Byanyima added, doesn't make economic sense.

She urged U.S. officials to reconsider, noting that foreign assistance makes up less than 1% of the total U.S. budget.

“Why would you need to be so disruptive for that 1%?" Byanyima said.

So far, no other countries or donors have committed to stepping in to fill the funding gap.

But Byanyima said she plans to visit European capitals to seek emergency support.

“People are going to die because lifesaving tools have been taken away from them,” she said.“I have not yet heard of any European country committing to step in, but I know they are listening and trying to see where they can come in because they care about rights, about humanity.”

More information

The NHS has more on HIV and AIDS prevention.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, Feb. 10, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Scientists are calling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to disclose data about the risks of bird flu to people and pets that was posted briefly online Wednesday and quickly deleted.

The data table was the only mention of bird flu in a report devoted to air quality and California wildfires.

The data was not included in an embargoed copy of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) shared with news organizations on Tuesday. Until President Donald Trump ordered a communications ban on the agency two weeks ago, MMWR had published every week for decades.

A copy of the deleted data table obtained by The New York Times revealed that a cat infected with the H5N1 virus may have spread it to another cat and to a human in the same home. In a second case, two days after an infected dairy worker showed symptoms, a cat got sick and died the next day.

"If there is new evidence about H5N1 that is been [sic] held up for political purposes, that is just completely at odds with what the government's responsibility is, which is to protect the American people," Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University, told The Times.

She called on the CDC to publish the full data immediately along with the context in which they were gathered so other scientists can review them.

To date, 67 human cases of H5N1 infection have been confirmed in the U.S. and a patient in Louisiana has died, according to the CDC. The virus has not yet spread easily from person to person.

But cats are known to be highly susceptible to the bird flu virus, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports at least 85 domestic cats have been infected since 2022.

Until Tuesday, no cases of cats passing the virus to people had been documented, The Times reported.

Cases in domestic cats have been rising since last year when the virus began spreading through dairy farms. Some recent cases have been tied to contaminated raw pet food or raw milk.

"Given the number of cats in the U.S. and the close contact with people, there is definitely a need to understand the potential risk," Dr. Diego Diel, a veterinarian and virologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., told The Times.

While H5N1 primarily affected birds in the past, new versions of the virus are capable of infecting many mammals, including cows and seals. This risks changes in the virus that could make people more vulnerable to it.

A day after his inauguration, Trump ordered federal health agencies to put a hold on communications with the public for an indefinite time. 

The blackout not only affects the CDC, but also the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The CDC website has a prominent advisory that it is "being modified to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders."

More information

There's more about the gag order and public health at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

SOURCE: The New York Times, media report, Feb. 6, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

When it comes to the potential of H5N1 avian flu, otherwise known as bird flu, picking up mutations that might lead to human-to-human spread, that "train has already left the station," warns one infectious disease expert.

If and when bird flu -- already widespread in cattle, cats and other mammals -- gains the ability to transmit between people, the best Americans can hope for is to "control the speed of the train" with vaccines, masks and treatment, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. He's a professor of medicine at the University of San Francisco.

Speaking with HealthDay, Chin-Hong stressed that both rapid surveillance and reporting on any new cases of H5N1 that arise are crucial. So the recent silencing of communications from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by the Trump administration is worrisome.

"It's not that people won't get the information eventually if it's serious, it's the rapidity of information that I'm worried about," Chin-Hong said.

He compared the recent CDC gag order to a dysfunctional smoke alarm.

"You hope the fire isn't going to come, but if it comes, there will be a delay before you feel it," Chin-Hong said. "Time means lives when we're talking about infectious diseases that really don't know any borders."

As the UCSF expert explained, the current strain of bird flu has been circulating through avian species for about 30 years. It has only occasionally infected people -- usually those who've had extended close contact with birds, such as poultry farm workers.

However, viruses are built to mutate and find new hosts.

That's what's been happening with alarming rapidity in recent years, with more cases of mammals -- such as seals, cattle, cats, dogs and pigs -- coming down with bird flu.

Just one mutation

Over the past year, especially, there's been an uptick of cases among American people, including the recent death of an already frail patient in Louisiana.

In most human cases, H5N1 was thought to have been contracted from close contact with an infected animal.

Unfortunately, human-to-human transmission may only require a few new genetic tweaks by the virus, Chin-Hong warned.

"I think the length of the road before [we see] a mutation that allows easier entry into our lungs is much shorter than people think," he said.

One recent study "looked at the amount of mutations needed before that can occur, and it was very, very short, just one mutation," Chin-Hong noted. "[That] doesn't mean that this mutation will be picked up, but what it means to me is that it's not that far away."

He explained that H5N1 can also interact with "regular" seasonal flu viruses.

"We have a lot of influenza going around and influenza is engineered to really swap genes with each other and they can pick up tricks," Chin-Hong told HealthDay. "And some of those tricks include getting the combination to enter our bodies, which it is not so great at doing right now."

In the relatively few U.S. cases of human bird flu so far recorded, symptoms have typically been mild -- congestion, pink eye and other transitory effects. But if H5N1 mutated so that it could pass easily between people, "all of this may change," Chin-Hong said.

"You might get 'inside' disease, and that includes shortness of breath and you may have other organ involvement," he said.

Vaccines, masks, treatments

Chin-Hong stressed that societies are in a better position to fight mutated H1N1 than they were with COVID-19.

"We're in a very different place from the early days of COVID because we have a test, we have vaccines," he said.

The United States currently has a stockpile of 4.5 million H5N1 vaccines, based on older mutations.

"I think that the stockpiled vaccines would mitigate the effects probably by preventing serious disease, hospitalization and death," Chin-Hong said.

But 4.5 million vaccines would run out very quickly, especially when two doses might be needed to protect each recipient.

"It's a good start and it will be a good way to protect probably frontline workers in the event that we need to," Chin-Hong said, but production of any vaccine would need to be scaled up enormously in a potentially short period of time.

Other forms of prevention would be key, too, such as handwashing and widespread use of N95 masks, he said.

A handful of influenza treatments appear to be somewhat effective against H5N1, including oseltamivir (Tamiflu). "We may also need to stockpile more Tamiflu," Chin-Hong said.

A hobbled CDC and FDA

Key to all of this will be a coordinated effort by key government players, however.

Central to that effort is the CDC, which at the present moment seems hamstrung, Chin-Hong said.

"The CDC is generally the conductor of the orchestra" when it comes to safeguarding public health, he said. "And right now, different parts of the orchestra are playing their own music. And, you know, I think that's that's what we suffered from in the early days of COVID, too."

The potential appointment of anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (which oversees both the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration) also has Chin-Hong "worried."

"I'm concerned about, you know, any barriers at the FDA level" when it comes to areas such as vaccine research and distribution, he said.

"I know that humans are resourceful and will come up with the science, but the devil is always in the details, and implementing the science is often even more important than the science itself," Chin-Hong concluded.

More information

Find out more about H5N1 avian flu at the World Health Organization.

SOURCE: HealthDay interview, Peter Chin-Hong, MD, professor of medicine, University of California San Francisco

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken down multiple health-related websites and datasets, including those on HIV, LGBTQ health and more, following executive orders from the Trump administration.

The orders require federal agencies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and to recognize only two biological sexes: male and female.

A Jan. 29 memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management directed agencies to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology" by Jan. 31, CNN reported.

As of Friday, several CDC resources were removed, including:

• The HIV index page, testing information, national surveillance reports and datasets.

• Websites focused on the health of LGBTQ youth, including pages on their risk of suicide, those focused on creating safe schools for them and a page focused on health disparities among them.

• The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which tracks U.S. high school students' health behaviors.

• A food safety page called Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People.

• AtlasPlus, a tool for analyzing CDC data on HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis.

• The Social Vulnerability Index, which helps researchers and public policy leaders identify communities that are vulnerable to the effects of disasters and public health emergencies.

A senior health official told CNN that the CDC staff was warned that failing to comply with the orders could have consequences.

“In the process, large swaths of data and science will be unavailable for an undetermined period,” the senior health official said. “Regardless of your comfort with the idea of trans people, you should be terrified that the government is purging truth and science to fit an ideology, because what’s next?”

Public health experts say the removal of these resources could have serious consequences for health care providers.

“The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks,” Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Dr. Colleen Kelley, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, said in a statement.

While some public health organizations and activists have called for the immediate restoration of these resources, others are archiving the removed CDC data.

The Association of Health Care Journalists also sent a formal letter to Acting HHS Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink and Acting CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, requesting that the sites be restored.

The missing data, they wrote, is “crucial” for informing the public about issues such as “smoking, vaping, drinking, eating, exercise, and sexual behavior,” the association’s leaders wrote in the letter obtained by CNN.

More information

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's memorandum has more about the executive order.

SOURCES: CNN, media report, Jan. 31, 2025; Joint statement, HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Diseases Society of America, Jan. 31, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

As a bird flu outbreak escalates across the U.S., the Trump administration has paused the release of key public health studies, stalling research that could provide insight into how the virus spreads to animals and people.

The blocked studies were supposed to be published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a respected journal that has reported on health threats since 1952.

One of the studies examines whether veterinarians working with cattle have unknowingly been infected, and another explores whether people may have passed the virus to pet cats, according to CNN.

These reports could help scientists track and prevent future infections.

But a new memo from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has placed an “immediate pause” on communications. Approval is now required from a presidential appointee before publishing, according to the memo.

“This idea that science cannot continue until there’s a political lens over it is unprecedented,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former principal deputy director at the CDC, told CNN. “I hope it’s going to be very short-lived, but if it’s not short-lived, it’s censorship.”

Public health experts warn that delaying research on bird flu could put veterinarians, farmworkers and the public at greater risk.

One study, slated to be published last week in the MMWR, looked at cases in Michigan where dairy workers may have transmitted bird flu to their pet cats.

Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director at the Mid-Michigan District Health Department and a scientist on the pending study, told CNN she got a note from a colleague last week saying that “there are delays in our publication — outside of our control.”

And this isn't the first time the government has disrupted CDC reports.

During President Donald Trump's first term, CNN noted, White House officials interfered with scientific studies on COVID-19.

“What’s happening now is quite different than what we experienced in covid, because there wasn’t a stop in the MMWR and other scientific manuscripts,” Schuchat told CNN.

CDC insiders say the pause will last until at least Feb. 6, though it’s unclear if publishing will resume as scheduled.

The bird flu has infected at least 67 people in the U.S., and claimed the life of one person in Louisiana earlier this year.

It's affected more than 148 million birds and heightened concern about human transmission.

“Maintaining open lines of communication and continuing research with our federal partners is critical as we fight this outbreak.” Dr. Fred Gingrich, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, a group for veterinarians specializing in cattle medicine, told CNN.

Schuchat hopes efforts to spin or influence scientific reports won’t happen again.

“The MMWR cannot become a political instrument,” she concluded in a report published by CNN.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current situation of bird flu.

SOURCE: CNN, media report, Jan. 30, 2025; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

The Trump administration has made some concessions to the halt placed on distributions of global HIV treatments via the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), according to The New York Times.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the waiver on Tuesday; however, exactly what it covers remains unclear. While the waiver does allow for the resumption of distributing HIV medications, the freeze on other services, including the distribution of preventive drugs, is still thought to be in place.

PEPFAR, a $7.5 billion program under the governance of the State Department, was due for a five-year reauthorization in 2023. After avoiding a Republican effort to end the program, it was renewed for one year, according to The Times. Data on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website indicate that more than 1 million Americans are living with HIV, with more than 30,000 becoming infected each year.

Americans would face serious consequences if PEPFAR is defunded, The Times reported. Without the availability of HIV medications in other countries, there is a higher risk for HIV developing resistance to current medications. Large populations of immunocompromised people could lead to easier spread of other pathogens, including dangerous COVID variants. Trials conducted with PEPFAR support have provided insight into the importance of early treatment of HIV, managing pregnancy and the virus, and preexposure prophylaxis and long-acting antiretrovirals.

"We can very rapidly return to where the pandemic is exploding, like it was back in the 1980s," Steve Deeks, M.D., an HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told The Times. "This really cannot happen."

The New York Times Article

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

A new strain of bird flu, H5N9, has been detected for the first time in the United States, raising concerns about how it continues to spread.

The strain was discovered at a commercial duck farm in California's Merced County, and was reported to the World Organization for Animal Health, which maintains a database of animal disease threats.

The detection comes as the nation continues to battle a growing outbreak of another, more common bird flu strain, H5N1, which is rapidly spreading across poultry farms and infected dairy cows.

While H5N9 is not currently considered a serious threat to humans, experts warn that more mutations could increase the risk of bird flu spreading to people in the future.

Scientists are particularly concerned about a process called "reassortment," The Washington Post reported, where different flu strains mix in infected animals, creating new versions of the virus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed that the H5N9 strain detected in California is the result of reassortment involving H5N1, the strain that's already spreading rapidly in the U.S.

“It does suggest there’s enough virus around that reassortment might become more frequent,” Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, told The Post. “With enough H5 in these animals and enough seasonal flu in humans, you get them together, and you have a recipe for a potential pandemic virus.”

Past bird flu outbreaks have started due to reassortment, making ongoing monitoring critical.

In late November, both H5N1 and H5N9 cases were discovered in a Merced County commercial duck meat farm, which led to the quarantine of the facility and the culling of more than 100,000 birds.

Genetic sequencing confirmed the presence of H5N9 in January, triggering a formal report to health authorities.

According to The Post, Steve Lyle, director of public affairs for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said no further action is being taken because the flock has already been euthanized. The farm will undergo cleaning and testing before resuming operations.

While H5N9 is not new, with similar strains detected in other countries, its outbreak in the U.S. highlights ongoing risks posed by the bird flu.

“The fact that these [agricultural] operations are having to cull their flocks is costly. We see that when we look at the cost of eggs in the store,” Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University, told The Post. “The fact that cows can continue to get infected is ultimately going to prove costly.”

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current situation of bird flu.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, media report, Jan. 28, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been told to stop communication with the World Health Organization (WHO), in the wake of President Donald Trump's order withdrawing from the health agency.

The memo was sent late Sunday from the CDC's deputy director of global health, Dr. John Nkengasong.

“Effective immediately all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means – in person or virtual – must cease their activity and await further guidance,” the memo states.

The decision stems from Trump's Jan. 20 executive order, which states that the U.S. provided notice of withdrawal during his first term, in 2020, and can now cut ties immediately. Federal law typically requires one year of notice before such withdrawal can take effect, CNN reported.

The White House, the CDC, WHO and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to CNN's requests for comment.

This move comes as the world grapples with outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases like bird flu.

Experts warn that forgoing collaboration with WHO could have serious consequences for global health.

“This move is reckless, basically ordering CDC not to work with WHO to put out fires is going to make Americans far more vulnerable,” Dr. Lawrence Gostin, a global health expert at Georgetown University who runs a WHO coordinating center on national and global health law, told CNN.

The CDC maintains offices in more than 60 countries to monitor infectious disease outbreaks.

According to CNN, Gostin said that if Trump is trying to negotiate a better deal with WHO, there are better ways to go about it.

“President Trump is asking CDC to hit the pause button. But the truth is that viruses don’t take a break from circulating while the White House figures out its next move,” he told CNN. “If you want to figure out what your future relationship is with WHO, you stay in the fight until you figured it out, and then you make your move. You don’t just quit the battle while you’re trying to figure something out, because the enemy – which is the virus – is still circulating and causing mayhem.”

More information

Learn more about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

SOURCE: CNN, media report, Jan. 27, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

The last duck farm on New York's Long Island is facing an uncertain future after a bird flu outbreak forced the culling of nearly 100,000 ducks.

The highly contagious H5N1 avian flu, otherwise known as bird flu, was detected at the farm last week prompting a government-mandated quarantine and disinfection process.

“This has spread like wildfire here,” Doug Corwin, who is part of the fourth generation of his family to operate Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, which has been open since 1908, told The New York Times.

“I have done this all my life, and we are the last of this industry,” Corwin said. “It is gut-wrenching. You work your whole life for something, and then one day everything is gone.”

The farm, which supplies ducks to restaurants across the Northeast -- including New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston -- produces 3.5% of the ducks sold in the United States.

It is also the last remaining duck farm on Long Island, which had 90 farms in the mid-20th century.

The Suffolk County Health Department, which confirmed the outbreak on Tuesday, said state and federal officials were conducting “depopulating, cleaning and disinfection activities” at the facility.

The risk to humans is still considered low, though transmission is possible for farm workers who handle infected flock, according to Dr. Gregson Pigott, the Suffolk County health commissioner.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 67 human cases of H5N1 since last year, including one death in Louisiana.

While Crescent Duck Farm’s future is in jeopardy, Corwin said he has some hope for recovery.

Government officials have agreed to spare several thousand eggs, which a local hatchery has offered to hatch. This could allow Corwin to preserve the farm’s prized genetic strain of ducks, known for their tender meat and meat-to-fat ratio.

“The reason I am still in business is my genetics, and if I can’t preserve my genetics, then I am worthless as far as duck farming goes,” Corwin told The Times. “My customers are people who use multiple ducks a night -- chefs who use duck after duck after duck.”

However, Corwin said he is hesitant to rebuild unless the U.S. Department of Agriculture approves a vaccine for the virus.

“I don’t want to go through all of this again,” he said.

The outbreak has already forced Crescent Duck Farm to lay off 45 of its 75 employees.

“I’ve seen a lot of things in my years, but I haven’t seen anything like this," Corwin concluded.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current situation of bird flu.

SOURCE: Suffolk County (N.Y.) Department of Health, news release, Jan. 21, 2025; The New York Times, media report, Jan. 23, 2025

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.