Latest Disease outbreaks News

Southern California city detects localized tuberculosis outbreak

May. 03, 2024 12:45 PM EDT

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A localized tuberculosis outbreak has led a Southern California city to declare a health emergency, although officials say the risk to the general public is low. The Long Beach city health officer issued the declaration Thursday to increase resources for...

A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo's biggest outbreak

May. 02, 2024 01:06 AM EDT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people. Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300...

This Texas veterinarian helped crack the mystery of bird flu in cows

May. 01, 2024 17:42 PM EDT

The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats — half of them on one farm — had died suddenly. Within days, the Amarillo veterinarian was...

Vendor that mishandled Pennsylvania virus data to pay $2.7 million in federal whistleblower case

May. 01, 2024 16:34 PM EDT

A large staffing firm that performed COVID-19 contact tracing for Pennsylvania and exposed the private medical information of about 72,000 residents will pay $2.7 million in a settlement with the Justice Department and a company whistleblower, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. ...

Organic bulk walnuts sold in natural food stores tied to dangerous E. coli outbreak

Apr. 30, 2024 17:33 PM EDT

At least a dozen people in California and Washington have been sickened with E. coli food poisoning linked to organic walnuts sold in bulk in 19 states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. The nuts were sold in natural food and co-op stores such as Whole Foods and Market of Choice. ...

Connecticut House votes to expand state's paid sick leave requirement for all employers by 2027

Apr. 24, 2024 18:37 PM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's first-in-the-nation paid sick leave law from 2011 moved closer Wednesday to being updated, requiring all employers, down to those with a single worker, to provide their employees with time off by 2027. Cheers were heard from the House of...

What to know about the latest bird flu outbreak in the US

Apr. 24, 2024 14:16 PM EDT

A poultry facility in Michigan and egg producer in Texas both reported outbreaks of avian flu this week. The latest developments on the virus also include infected dairy cows and the first known instance of a human catching bird flu from a mammal. Although health officials say the...

Dairy cattle must be tested for bird flu before moving between states, agriculture officials say

Apr. 24, 2024 14:16 PM EDT

Dairy cattle moving between states must be tested for the bird flu virus, U.S. agriculture officials said Wednesday as they try to track and control the growing outbreak. The federal order was announced one day after health officials said they had detected inactivated remnants of the...

Lab chief faces sentencing in Michigan 12 years after fatal US meningitis outbreak

Apr. 17, 2024 13:26 PM EDT

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — Days after a routine injection to ease back pain, Donna Kruzich and a friend drove across the border to Canada in 2012 to see end-of-summer theater in Stratford, Ontario. The 78-year-old Michigan woman suddenly became ill and returned home. By early October,...

Governor's pandemic rules for bars violated North Carolina Constitution, appeals court says

Apr. 16, 2024 20:05 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's orders during the COVID-19 pandemic that directed standalone bars to remain shuttered for safety while restaurants that serve alcohol got to reopen were “illogical” and violated the state constitution, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. ...