COVID-19 cases are expected to decrease nationwide over the next two weeks, even as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.5 accounts for more than 80 percent of infections, modeling from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic shows.

Health experts say the U.S. should cast a wider net with monkeypox testing to contain the outbreak, which has now grown to more than 7,500 cases. 

More than 7,000 monkeypox cases have now been confirmed in the U.S., and as the outbreak continues to grow, health experts are cautioning that, if not contained, the virus may begin spreading among the broader population. 

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths fell nationwide this week, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Aug. 5.

Here are two recent studies on long COVID-19 in children and adults: 

Polio has been detected in New York wastewater samples, potentially signaling further spread of the disease, with the state's top health official warning the single case may be the "tip of the iceberg," The New York Times reported Aug. 4. 

The Biden administration on Aug. 4 declared the nation's monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, a move that will unlock additional federal dollars to address the outbreak. The declaration comes as U.S. cases near 7,000, more than any other country so far.

COVID-19 patients have reported a wide range of symptoms, with some symptoms appearing more often for different variants of the virus.

Countries in the Southern Hemisphere are experiencing a severe flu season, which may be a harbinger of what's to come for the U.S. this fall, NBC News reported Aug. 4. 

The U.S. saw the largest weekly spike in monkeypox cases of any other country in the last week of July, the World Health Organization said in an Aug. 3 report on the outbreak. 

Current messaging surrounding how monkeypox spreads is focused on sustained physical contact. But as the outbreak grows, with more than 6,000 cases now confirmed in the U.S., questions are also rising about whether and to what extent respiratory transmission plays a role. 

The pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained steady since May at about 400 deaths a day, with a slight uptick in July, USA Today reported Aug. 3.

Health officials investigating the nation's first polio case in nearly a decade have detected the virus in wastewater samples, the New York State Department of Health said Aug. 1.

President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order that directs HHS to consider ways to support patients who travel out of state for abortion, the White House said Aug. 3. 

Omicron and its sublineages' now 10-month influence likely won't recede anytime soon, one expert predicts. 

Exposure to a group of chemicals found in many household items may be tied to infertility, diabetes and other medical conditions, according to a new study that involved almost 5,000 Americans.

With U.S. monkeypox cases now surpassing 5,800, the CDC has issued isolation and prevention practices for those infected. 

Many Americans' concern over COVID-19 has dwindled amid access to vaccines and other life-saving therapeutics, but the nation is still grappling with serious health issues exacerbated by the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported July 31.

The U.S.' monkeypox outbreak could become "one of the worst public health failures in modern times" if it becomes endemic, according to Scott Gottlieb, MD, former FDA commissioner. 

CDC models are, for the second week in a row, forecasting an uncertain trend for COVID-19 admissions, as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.5 spreads nationwide.