National data tracked by The New York Times indicates the U.S. may see an increase in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks as test positivity rates rise and more states report a boost in admissions.

The CDC and FDA are investigating a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, Food Safety News reported Feb. 16.

The Biden administration is weighing a tentative plan that would ensure COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests remain free for uninsured individuals into 2024, according to a Feb. 16 report from Politico.

Health officials are responding to a rare outbreak of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization said Feb. 13. The virus, a relative of Ebola, has no known treatments or cures. 

Three were killed and five injured in a Feb. 13 shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing — marking the 67th mass shooting in the United States in 2023, according to The New York Times.

Growing bodies of research continue to shed light on the effects of long COVID-19, including some that is leading one University of California Los Angeles physician, William Pittman, MD, to now say the condition is "a neurological disease" just as much as it is "a pulmonary disease."

COVID-19 admissions are flat or increasing in nearly half of U.S. states, as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 4 in 5 infections nationwide, data shows. 

What is being called an "alarming" 900 percent increase in infants being treated for congenital syphilis in Mississippi has health officials concerned, NBC News reported Feb. 11. The increase is also disproportionately affecting Black mothers and infants.

Bivalent COVID-19 booster shots have now been directly proven to provide higher levels of protection, according to new information released by the CDC.

Avian flu's continued spread to mammals has health officials paying close attention. Now the H5N1 strain of the virus has been found in three species of mammals in Colorado: a bear, a mountain lion and a skunk, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Is it possible to be focused on an individual's health as an emergency department physician while also being passionate about population health? The answer is unequivocally yes, according to Megan Ranney, MD, newly appointed dean of the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn.

As the COVID-19 pandemic transitions out of its crisis era, the American Nurses Association, American Hospital Association and American Medical Association are reminding people of the importance of vaccines in a new public service announcement. 

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center plans to shut down March 10, officials told NPR in a Feb. 10 report. 

Two Oklahoma counties where 53 residents have become infected with Campylobacter and Shiga-toxin producing E. coli still don't have answers, KFOR 4 News reports.

The highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for about three-fourths of all COVID-19 cases reported nationwide, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Feb. 10.

Dayton (Ohio) Children's Hospital deployed gunshot detection technology which can activate security measures at a moment's notice, SDM Magazine reported Feb. 9.

Avian flu has begun to spread to mammals, including minks, otters, foxes and sea lions, and WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, warned that the risk to humans may begin to rise.

Shower curtains, wallpaper, paints, toys and makeup are just a few of the items in daily life that contain phthalates, a common chemical used in plastics. Now, research suggests that the chemical may be traced to a higher risk of diabetes in white women — who were found to have anywhere between a 30 to 63 percent higher incidence of diabetes, according to the study.

The occurrence of rhinovirus and enterovirus among children rose slightly between 2019 and 2020 — surprising some and revealing new insights for pediatricians. 

It's been roughly two months since the combined hospitalization rate for flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus peaked. The decline, however, has only meant a minor sigh of relief for hospital workers.