Public Health

A farmer in Mercer County, Ohio, has tested positive for H5N1 influenza, marking the state's first human case of bird flu. 

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, more people in the U.S. died of influenza than from COVID-19, according to CDC data for the week ending Jan. 25. 

The Louisiana Department of Health has terminated mass vaccination campaigns and barred public health workers from recommending seasonal vaccines, The Times-Picayune reported Feb. 13.

Nine people have been hospitalized amid a measles outbreak in Gaines County, Texas, The Washington Post reported Feb. 13.

A new strain of bird flu, D1.1, has spread from dairy cows to a human in Nevada, marking a significant development in the ongoing outbreak, according to the CDC. 

The cost of hospitalizations for firearm-related injuries exceeded $1.05 billion in 2019, according to a recent study.

Clinical cases of Candida auris jumped more than 50% from 2022 to 2023, according to state data reported to the CDC. 

Outpatient visits have surged to their highest levels since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, with influenza-related emergency department visits remaining very high across the U.S. 

Two rare bird flu strains have emerged since late January, prompting public health concerns during a freeze on federal health communications. 

A quarter of Americans rank healthcare access and affordability as the top public health priority they want government leaders to focus on, according to poll findings from Gallup and Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.