Each year in March, the US Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meets to discuss and make recommendations on the influenza virus strains to be targeted by next season’s flu vaccine. However, this year’s meeting, which was set...

Measles are continuing to make headlines as the U.S. reports 164 cases, 153 of which are from three outbreaks, with the largest occurring in West Texas; and Canada reports 78 cases in its largest outbreak in Ontario in more than a...

To develop effective control measures against diseases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), it is essential that the transmission routes be understood. While exposure has, thus far, been primarily attributed to direct contact with infected animals, there is a...

Because of a recently confirmed outbreak of Ebola disease in Uganda, the US CDC has issued a Travel Health Notice Level 2 – Practice Enhanced Precautions Health Advisory. There are currently no suspected, probable, or confirmed Ebola cases related to...

With a second H5N1 genotype, D1.1, detected in dairy cattle in Nevada and H5N1 confirmed in poultry flocks in at least 9 states since February 6, avian flu continues to circulate. The D1.1 genotype is generally found in migrating birds, providing yet...

In what is being called the largest documented tuberculosis (TB) outbreak on record in the U.S., the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), with support from the CDC and local health departments, has been responding to an outbreak of TB...

An EPA rule that would have limited the amount of PFAS that can be discharged into waterways by companies has been withdrawn by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), due to the regulatory freeze issued by President Trump. Because...

With cases of H5N1 in domestic and wild cats in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State found to be associated with eating contaminated food products, the FDA is now requiring that cat and dog food manufacturers subject to the Preventive...

On January 6, the city of Richmond, VA issued a boil water advisory following a recent snowstorm. Boil water advisories are more frequent than people realize, with many areas of the US experiencing several each year due to water main...

It’s that time of year again! As people gather indoors for the winter, influenza and other respiratory infections are rising in numbers. A particular respiratory illness, Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), has received recent attention due to an uptick in cases reported...