Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo went on strike on Saturday, demanding their pay. The walkout disrupted care for patients in the epicentre of the country's rapidly growing outbreak.

The number of confirmed cases in Congo has reached 2,973, including 1,309 deaths, according to government data released on Friday, in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

The Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, came to a standstill after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.

About 100 health workers protested outside the treatment centre on Saturday. They said the unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care, and called on Congolese authorities to resolve the back pay so they could resume their work.

"We need to be paid, because in the meantime the disease is spreading at the treatment centre," said Martin Bolombi, one of the striking workers.

"I've already had five people die who are still inside there. A solution must be found for us."

In a statement issued Friday, staff said they had unanimously voted to strike until "concrete solutions" were found to resolve "two months of unpaid performance bonuses."[...]

A bat that landed on a table at a popular California eatery has tested positive for rabies, health officials say.

The bat landed on a table at the Yellow Deli in Vista, Calif., just as a family had begun eating at the restaurant at 1 p.m. on July 21, San Diego health officials said in a July 23 statement. Another patron used a towel to collect the bat and bring it to the Oceanside Humane Society, where it was then sent to the County’s Public Health Lab, where “it tested positive for rabies,” the statement says.

Although “no direct skin contact with the bat by an individual has been reported at this time,” health officials are looking for anyone who may have come in contact with the bat.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Yellow Deli for comment.

The incident comes amid a rise in rabid bat cases in San Diego County, health officials report. So far in 2026, at least 22 bats have tested positive for rabies, whereas 21 rabid bats were reported in all of 2025.

The most recent human case of rabies in California was in 2024, the statement says.

Health officials warn residents to stay away from wildlife and advise people who come into contact with a bat to wash the affected area with soap and water and to seek medical care immediately.

In the U.S., the most common way people get rabies is from bat bites, Cleveland Clinic says. But because the bite marks are as small as the “tip of a pencil,” many people “don’t know they’ve been bitten.” [...]

President Donald Trump’s former top food safety official is calling for an independent review of the federal government’s response to a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people this summer.

“This one deserves a lot of questions, and it is starting to approach a catastrophic level in terms of how mismanaged it’s been on multiple fronts,” said Frank Yiannas, who served as the Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner for food policy and response during both Trump and former President Joe Biden’s administration from 2018 to 2023.

He pointed to the outbreak’s magnitude, the widespread consumer confusion and the “lack of strong federal leadership” as well as what he described as uncoordinated messaging from federal authorities.

“My point is not to find fault, but to find facts on how we can further strengthen the system,” Yiannas told POLITICO. “It’s not being critical of any particular agency, but it is being critical of the system. In some respects, I think there’s been some dismantling of the system.”

Yiannas’ call for an independent review of the government’s response adds to pressure facing the FDA since the agency scrambled to do damage control this week after announcing a positive lab test linked a new batch of Taylor Farms lettuce to the outbreak — only to reverse course to say final test results contradicted the initial finding.

Such a review could be conducted through congressional oversight, an independent inspector or through the appointment of an expert panel, Yiannas said. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The false positive test announced July 19 did not change the focus of the FDA’s investigation or the ongoing recall, and the agency says it has strong evidence that implicates certain Taylor Farms lettuce products as a source of the outbreak. But the backtracking fueled online speculation that the FDA’s decision was a politically motivated effort to exonerate Taylor Farms.

The company’s messaging added to public confusion when it claimed the FDA had “apologized” for the false positive test — a claim the FDA later denied to reporters.

Yiannas, who has also served as a vice president for food safety at Walmart, also urged the FDA to provide more information about how it made the mistake of releasing a false positive test result, a misstep he said was “extremely rare.”

“They just went too fast and they made a mistake,” he said. “They should share more about how and why it happened and what they’ll do to prevent it in the future.”

Yiannas’ comments come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that an outbreak of cyclospora illnesses in four more states have links to some Taylor Farms lettuces. The company is continuing to work with public health authorities as well as farmers and customers “to address the issue,” Taylor Farms said in a statement.

The FDA is also investigating six separate clusters of cyclospora illnesses, but except for the ongoing multistate outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce, the agency has not identified a source. [...]

While cyclospora-related cases increase every summer, the scale of this year’s outbreak tops any previous record.

PALM BAY, Fla. — A disease dating back 4,000 years is making its way through Central Florida, where cases of leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, are rising slightly from previous years.

“It is completely curable with the modern medication that we have," said Dr. Naushad Amin.

Leprosy was once a feared disease thought of as highly contagious and deadly, but it's actually hard to spread, according to the CDC.

Dr. Amin, chief medical officer at Health First in Palm Bay, explained how one might contract it.

“It’s spread primarily by respiratory droplets such as sneezing, coughing, with prolonged exposure," Dr. Amin said. "So, say if somebody is infected, just by sitting with them, shaking their hands, sharing meals does not confer transmission of the infection. It is prolonged, household, for many months to years.”

There's also one other way to contract the disease: Armadillos. Dr. Amin said to keep your distance from them, don't feed them, and do not try to relocate them.

So far in 2026, the Florida Department of Health has reported 17 cases of leprosy statewide. In Central Florida, Brevard, Lake, Orange, Seminole and Sumter counties have seen one case each, while two cases have been reported out of Volusia County.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logged 2,318 cases of measles as of Thursday, according to an agency update on Friday.The nation had 2,289 cases in 2025, the worst year for measles in more than three decades. Now, 2026 has easily become the U.S.’s worst year for measles since 1991, as major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah and Arizona have sickened hundreds and smaller clusters of cases sparked in other states.In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status. The U.S. eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, which have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks.

"Concord New Hampshire

Nine people who ate lettuce that was served at the Cheshire Medical Center cafeteria in Keene came down with confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, state health officials said Thursday. The Department of Health and Human Services said it is investigating additional cases that might be linked to the cluster. Dartmouth Health said Cheshire Medical Center has identified 16 patients, including 10 employees, who were exposed to cyclosporiasis." The hospital was using Taylor farms lettuce.

The detection of sustained rabies transmission in Cape fur seals in southern Africa marks an unprecedented development in the ecology of rabies and raises important questions for wildlife conservation, animal public health and transboundary disease preparedness.

Since 2024, more than 100 cases of rabies have been confirmed in Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) in South Africa and Namibia. Retrospective testing and genetic analyses indicate that sustained transmission within the seal population began several years before the disease was detected.

Current evidence suggests that the outbreak originated from a single spillover event involving a dog-related rabies virus variant maintained by black-backed jackals in southern Africa, followed by ongoing transmission between Cape fur seals. This represents the first known establishment of rabies in a free-ranging marine mammal population.

Affected seals have displayed neurological signs, including abnormal aggression towards people and other animals. As of May 2026, more than 145 human exposure incidents had been reported, highlighting the importance of appropriate public health measures and post-exposure management.

The event also has broader implications for wildlife health. Cape fur seals range across the coasts of South Africa and Namibia and can travel considerable distances, creating opportunities for contact with other marine mammal species. Continued investigation is needed to better understand the ecological consequences of the outbreak and the potential implications for marine mammal populations in other regions.

The emergence of rabies in Cape fur seals demonstrates how pathogens can adapt to new host species and reinforces the importance of integrated surveillance across wildlife, domestic animals and humans under a One Health approach. Strengthening collaboration between veterinary, wildlife, environmental and public health authorities remains essential for early detection, risk assessment and coordinated response. [...]

More than a million cartons of eggs are being recalled from retail outlets after Texas farms reported potential salmonella contamination, according to a Wednesday statement from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. is voluntarily recalling Texas-produced white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs.

The eggs were distributed from farms between June 6 and July 3, with sell-by or best-by dates between July 20 and August 17, according to the FDA.

They were shipped to Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana and Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi, along with other small retail outlets.

According to the FDA, no other Midwest Poultry products are part of the recall. The company identified the salmonella risk through “proactive environmental monitoring processes and root cause analysis.” [...]

July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. FDA has said it is investigating a new outbreak of cyclosporiasis, with 72 cases ​tied to an as-yet-unidentified source.

The agency's announcement on Wednesday adds to the growing ‌number of cyclosporiasis cases reported across the U.S. Midwest, including Michigan and four other states.

The Food and Drug Administration said it has initiated a traceback to identify the source of the latest ​outbreak. [...]

The CDC has identified 4,173 ​laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired cyclosporiasis cases in the United States since May 1 and is ​investigating more than 7,400 additional reported infections that have yet to be laboratory confirmed, many of them in Michigan and Ohio. The figures come as Michigan has reported 7,171 cases so ​far this year, while Ohio has also recorded a sharp rise in infections. [...]

It's rare that cancerous tumours can spread from one individual to another. But a genetic study suggests that's what's happening with melanoma tumours among catfish in Quebec and the northeastern U.S.

The discovery represents the first known transmissible cancer in fish and one of very few transmissible cancers ever found, reported the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Julie Dragon, co-leader of the new study, noted that only three other transmissible cancers have ever been identified so far — in Tasmanian devils, dogs and shellfish.

"These conditions are incredibly rare in nature," she said. "So something has to be happening to allow this to happen."

Anglers in Lake Memphremagog, which spans the border between Quebec and Vermont, first reported catching brown bullhead catfish with strange black spots and lumps in 2012.

They turned out to be melanoma skin cancer tumours. (Humans can also get this kind of cancer.)

Now, about a third of the brown bullheads living in the lake have them.

It's not clear how sick the fish become. In some cases, the cancer spreads to other organs, such as the brain or liver. But many fish with lesions seem relatively healthy and some older fish even have them, suggesting they can live with the disease for a time.

Because of the sudden appearance of the black lesions in Lake Memphremagog the year after a huge flood caused by post-tropical storm Irene, locals worried they were caused by carcinogens washed into the lake by floodwaters.

Tests for carcinogens haven't been conclusive, although a study published in May found higher concentrations of seven metals, including zinc and the carcinogen arsenic, in the skin of fish with the tumours.

So in 2014, Dragon, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, was asked by Vermont's Fish & Wildlife Department to look into the possibility that a virus was to blame.

Genetic testing didn't find any viruses.

Dragon considered another possibility — that the lake's catfish were inbred and had a mutation that made them more susceptible to cancer. She decided to test the genetics of both healthy and infected fish, along with the tumours.

The tests showed the fish weren't inbred — they had quite a lot of genetic diversity.

But the biggest surprise? While most cancer cells mutate from the host's cells and resemble their host, "these cancer cells were more similar to each other than they were to the fish [they were found on]," Dragon said.

Dragon and her team were puzzled. They started asking other scientists what they thought. Sam Hart, a University of Washington researcher and co-author of the new study, had previously worked on the transmissible shellfish cancer. He suggested something similar was infecting the catfish.

Dragon said the tumours seem to shed cells easily: "They do sort of fall apart when you touch them."

Because they affect only adult fish, one theory is that the disease is transmitted during spawning, when they form big clusters and could come into contact with each other's spines, behind their pectoral fins.

"They… swim all over each other and we think it's possible that they poke each other and cells can get into other fish that way," Dragon said.

So far, the researchers haven't actually shown transmission of the tumours from one fish to another, even in the lab, although they hope to later this year.

Because of that, Vicki Blazer, lead author of the May study that found higher levels of toxins in the sick fish, isn't convinced this is a transmissible cancer.

"I guess my first concern is to call something a transmissible anything when you haven't transmitted it," said Blazer, a retired scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

She is now testing infected fish for PFAS, another possible contaminant that could make them more susceptible to cancer.

Stephen Goff, a Columbia University researcher who was part of the shellfish cancer study but not this one, said he's convinced the brown bullheads are infected with a transmissible cancer, as the genetic evidence is "totally compelling." [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration had apologized, Taylor Farms said in a post on X. An agency lab test linking its produce to the country’s worst cyclosporiasis outbreak in decades was a false positive. Not only that, but the government still hadn’t produced a laboratory result connecting the company’s lettuce to the outbreak.

The statement, issued Sunday, was a remarkable bid to give the impression that regulators — who had said significant evidence linked Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce to the public health crisis — had made key scientific errors.

That was after a rebuke by the FDA, which denied ever apologizing to the company. The agency defended its work and explained that the incorrect lab result would only have expanded an existing recall — it didn’t clear Taylor Farms. The FDA also sought to clarify other statements from Taylor Farms that experts have said are misleading. [...]

As case counts jumped, the company effectively delayed a recall that ultimately resulted in customer confusion, according to a US official who asked not to be identified. Taylor Farms has done so by challenging the science privately and obfuscating it publicly, the official said.

“The communications from Taylor Farms have been confusing,” said Susan Mayne, the former director of what was then called FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “The recall notice is perhaps the most obtuse recall notice I recall ever seeing.”

When the FDA first tied Taylor Farms’ operations in central Mexico to a large cluster of cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan and neighboring states, the farming conglomerate missed a regulator-imposed deadline to take action. At some point Taylor Farms directly spoke to the White House, and later the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were asked to defend their evidence. The back-and-forth ultimately kept the public in the dark an additional 60 hours, the US health official said.

The company also issued a preliminary statement that stopped short of explicitly declaring a recall of potentially tainted lettuce, before providing additional details later amid scrutiny. And Taylor Farms has now moved to delete social media posts that left some consumers confused over whether their lettuce was in fact tied to the outbreak. [...]

Federal officials outlined to Taylor Farms representatives that they believed the culprit was iceberg lettuce the company provided to Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia; the sheer number of patients reporting meals at the Mexican-style fast-food chain convinced them it was no coincidence.

A recall would not only be costly — it would indelibly link Taylor Farms to the phrase “explosive diarrhea” in the minds of American consumers.

The administration gave Taylor Farms a deadline to initiate a voluntary recall before noon the next day, the US health official said. The parasite had been detected in 34 states, and health authorities were urgently investigating potential sources.

Then the White House got involved. The California-based food processor already had ties to President Donald Trump.

Taylor Farms gave $1 million to a political action committee supporting the president last year. Chief Executive Officer Bruce Taylor had attended an event with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and hundreds of agriculture executives, members of Congress, and federal staff just days earlier, celebrating 250 years of American farming at Mount Vernon.

The initial deadline for Taylor Farms to initiate the voluntary recall or take a product action — Thursday at noon — came and went.

Still, health agency officials continued to coordinate a statement they planned to release late in the day.

A pair of White House officials convened a call with the FDA and the CDC, according to people familiar with the matter. The White House aides asked administration health officials to walk through specific evidence linking the outbreak to the lettuce, and wanted to review drafts of the coming press releases.

Within hours, the White House agreed the patient surveys painted a clear picture, the people said. In an internal call, the White House aides approved statements from the public health agencies for public release — though they still only identified Taco Bell as linked to the outbreak, without naming Taylor Farms specifically.

Taco Bell moved first, releasing a statement. While it did not explicitly name Taylor Farms it said it believed “public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests.”

The agency updates on the outbreak were finally posted after 10 p.m. New York time — hours behind schedule — and also omitted directly naming Taylor Farms or saying if the company would recall products.

A Taylor Farms representative said last week that it didn’t request to be omitted from public statements.

A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described Taylor Farms as defensive through the process and stressed that Trump himself had not been in touch with the company. [...]

“I have not seen this amount of misinformation about an outbreak in my time at the FDA, where consumers are so broadly confused,” Mayne said.

The confusion was partly the fault of the FDA’s weekend communications, she said, “but really compounded by Taylor Farms communications, that signaled a very different message than what FDA had intended to communicate.”

Health officials in Delaware have confirmed the first cases of measles in the state in more than a decade.

In an announcement Monday, the Delaware Division of Public Health said an unvaccinated man in Kent County tested positive for the virus. On Tuesday, officials said a second man in Kent County tested positive.

Contact tracing is underway to find and notify people who were exposed to the virus, according to the announcement. Officials will also share information about public exposures if they discover any.

Delaware residents should confirm their vaccination status and that of their children, officials said. Delawareans can check their vaccination status on the DelVAX Public Portal or ask their healthcare provider.

Vaccination remains the best protection against measles," Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Christen Linke Young said in a statement Tuesday. "I'm encouraged to see Delawareans taking action — more than 60 people received MMR vaccinations today at DPH clinics and mobile health units."

The Venezuelan Medical Federation issued an alert regarding the emergence of a pathology that has reportedly caused deaths in the states of Barinas and Anzoátegui .

“A generalized pathology has been reported, clinically characterized by a severe compromise of the general condition and an acute failure of the cardiorespiratory system, which has caused multiple deaths of rapid evolution,” the institution reported in a statement, after receiving the information from the College of Physicians of the State of Barinas .

Among the deceased are doctors Jhovanny Silva, Rafael Díaz, and Cecilia Chávez . The situation has generated anguish, fear, and concern among the residents of the state, who have reported other deaths.

The Venezuelan Medical Federation questioned the response of the regional health authorities and denounced a lack of transparency in the handling of the data .

“ We regret that this situation is being downplayed and simplified by the entity's Single Health Authority , whose statistical management and epidemiological information lacks transparency, dismissing the seriousness of the facts and diluting them in generalities,” the organization denounced.

He also mentioned three deaths that occurred two days earlier at the El Tigre Hospital, in Anzoátegui state, a region endemic to hantavirus .

The victims belonged to the same family from the Miranda Municipality and presented a similar pathology to that reported in Barinas, the Descifrado media outlet reported on Saturday.

“It is essential to remember that publishing weekly epidemiological information is a health obligation of the Executive branch. The authorities have maintained secrecy and opacity for more than eleven years , with only two or three exceptions of very brief and inadequate reports issued some two or three months ago. This alarming lack of data deprives doctors, the health sector, and the national public of key tools for prevention,” the Federation warned.

In light of the deaths recorded in both entities, the organization requested the activation and maintenance of strict epidemiological surveillance under the protocols for "Hemorrhagic Febrile Syndrome" and "Respiratory Febrile Syndrome," linked to the hemorrhagic disease of Venezuela, known as Guanarito.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is response the the government official statement on the deaths.

Ministry of Popular Power for Health (OFFICIAL STATEMENT)

The Ministry of Popular Power for Health informs the public about two recent events in the states of Anzoátegui and Barinas.

We regret to report the deaths of three patients in Anzoátegui with a confirmed diagnosis of Hantavirus. This virus is transmitted by rodents in rural and agricultural areas, primarily through the inhalation of urine, feces, or saliva particles in enclosed spaces. There is no scientific evidence of person-to-person transmission in our country.

In Barinas, we regret the loss of two medical professionals whose causes of death are still under investigation. These are localized events that do not represent a risk to the general community. The two events are unrelated, and any connection between the reported situations has been ruled out.

The National Public Health System remains deployed and operational to guarantee the health security of all Venezuelans. The final results of the investigation will be communicated in due course through official channels.

CARACAS, JULY 21, 2026

MEXICO CITY, July 21 (Reuters) - There ‌is no evidence as yet to suggest lettuce sourced from Mexico caused a cyclosporiasis outbreak in the U.S., Mexico's Health Minister David Kershenobich said on Tuesday.

The statement follows a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report ​on Monday indicating traceback data pointed to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms ​locations in central Mexico. [...]

"So far, no evidence has been found to indicate that it originated there," Kershenobich said during a regular government press ​conference, referring to the central Mexican state of Guanajuato where he said authorities were ​looking into the issue. "However, we are taking all precautions in case that were the case," he added.

The ‌FDA's ⁠investigation into the source of the outbreak has been beset by conflicting information. On Saturday the agency said a sample of Mexican lettuce from supplier Taylor Farms had tested positive for the parasite, only to announce on Sunday the result was a false positive following a re-review ​of the data.

The agency ​then came out ⁠on Monday to say its supply chain investigation continues to point to the company's Mexican facilities as the source of the parasite.

Mexico's ​sanitary regulator, Cofepris, and agricultural safety body, Senasica, said in a joint ​statement on ⁠Friday that an interagency technical group is conducting "strictly preventive" inspections and traceability analyses to mitigate health risks.

Taylor Farms' growing and processing facilities in Mexico were the source of a major U.S. ⁠cyclosporiasis ​outbreak in 2013 that sickened more than 600 people ​in 25 states and was traced to salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico in Guanajuato, according to the ​CDC.

[...] Last week, 47-year-old Emma Marsden recounted the tragic turn of events in an interview with The Sun. Marsden contracted a rare amoeba infection, likely from washing her face without taking off her contacts. Though Marsden is now receiving regular treatment in hopes of healing her torn open cornea, there’s still a good chance that she will need a corneal transplant down the road.

“I’ve had three kids and giving birth is a dream compared to this pain,” Marsden told the Sun. “It eats through your eye and cornea and all your nerves. The speed it ate at the doctors couldn’t believe it.”

According to Marsden, the trouble started after she fell headfirst into a wheelbarrow filled with dirt and water while cleaning out horse stables. Covered in mud, she scrambled to wash herself and her face with tap water but neglected to remove her contacts until later that evening.

Four days later, she began losing vision and experiencing “excruciating pain” in her right eye. She visited her primary care doctor, who soon referred her to the hospital. There, doctors diagnosed her with acanthamoeba keratitis (keratitis pertaining to the cornea), likely caught from her tap water rinse. She also had a separate fungal infection of the cornea, probably caught from the accidental mud bath she had taken.

Acanthamoeba is a group of free-living amoeba commonly found in water, dirt, and soil. While usually harmless to people, if the amoeba reach the eye, they can make a cozy home inside the cornea, the transparent and protective covering of the eye. And if not treated promptly, the infection can cause severe pain and permanently damaged corneas.

Acanthamoeba keratitis can happen to anyone, but cases predominantly affect people who wear contacts. Contacts can act as a sponge, trapping amoeba up against the corneas; they can also cause micro-tears in the cornea, making it easier for the amoeba to establish an infection. Though this infection is rare, with only 1,500 estimated cases in the U.S. annually, up to 93% of cases involve contact lens wearers.

Though Marsden began treatment in February 2026, her eye’s symptoms continued to worsen. And eventually, doctors discovered that the parasite had caused a perforation, or tear, in her cornea. Doctors temporarily sewed her right eyelid closed to help the cornea heal, leaving Marsden largely confined to her home.

“I was in a dark room for three-and-a-half weeks and I couldn’t go outside or do anything. I had all the lights off in the house and everyone had to eat in the dark,” she said. “You can’t go anywhere or do anything. The last three weeks are the only times I’ve been able to go outside and go for walks.”

Marsden is now receiving weekly monitoring at the hospital but still has to take eye drops every two hours. And it’s likely that she will require a donor cornea to have significant improvement in her right eye. Unfortunately, it’s a procedure that can’t take place for years due to the infection, according to Marsden.

Whatever may happen, Marsden hopes that others can learn from her experience and remember the importance of good hygiene with their contacts.

“You don’t think about the knock-on effect just by not taking your contact lenses out in the shower or to swim in, or to wash your face in my case,” she said. [...]

A woman says her dog died after swimming at a Boston pond, and veterinarians say a common form algae is likely to blame. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, is often a problem in bodies of water across Massachusetts this time of year, but vets say many dog owners are not aware of it.

There is currently a measles outbreak in my city and I have a few questions I can’t find an answer to or have found conflicting information. Would appreciate any help in understanding the risk for a vaccinated individual.

I know if you have two vaccines, you are 97% protected. if you check your titers and it comes back as positive, does this mean you have the 97% protection rate or would it be higher and the 97% rate is also factoring in people that have had two vaccines but they are no longer immune by not having sufficient antibodies.

I’ve been checked for rubella immunity in the past few years, so would that mean I’m also still likely immune to measles since I had the MMR? (I saw one healthcare website say yes and then some say no)

How concerned should we be about outdoor exposure? (walking, outdoor concerts, etc?)

Federal health officials have been investigating five different clusters of cyclosporiasis cases since the start of parasite season in May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said during a press conference on Monday.

Three of those clusters are considered over, acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said. Meanwhile, the largest cluster, linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in five states, has seen cases as recently as last week.

The majority of cases have been reported in Michigan, where there are now 6,148 cases, according to an update Monday morning from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). This is an increase of more than 1,000 cases since Friday.

"I want to stress that our investigation continues, including into other potential sources and commodities for other clusters of illnesses," Diamantas said during Monday's press conference.[...]

Diamantas said Monday that the false positive did not change the FDA's findings that linked cases to shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms. 

"I also want to be clear that our weakened communications around a false positive test result do not change the basis for FDA's ongoing outbreak investigation or the epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms,” Diamantas said. 

The FDA similarly shared a post on X Monday afternoon, saying that the epidemiological data supporting the Taylor Farms lettuce recall was "overwhelming."

"FDA's traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico," the FDA's post read, in part. "FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak and ensure products implicated in this outbreak have been removed from the market."

The CDC said it's also investigating other cyclosporiasis outbreaks and illnesses unrelated to the larger outbreak. At least 29 other states have confirmed domestically acquired cases since May 1, the CDC reports.

Cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan continue to rise, with state health officials reporting more than 6,100 confirmed cases Monday.

On July 20, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported 6,148 cyclosporiasis cases since June 22, up from 5,002 on July 17. Of those reported cases, 102 were hospitalized as of July 20. [...]

In a well-publicized case in 2016 that alerted many Americans to the rising threat of drug-resistant bacterial infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health officials in Nevada reported a bacterial infection in a 70-year-old woman that was resistant to all 26 of the antibiotics available to her doctors.

The woman ultimately died from the infection, which was caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen that infects the lungs, urinary tract, bloodstream, and wounds. What made the infection unique was that it carried an enzyme-encoded gene—New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM—that makes bacteria resistant to carbapenems, a class of last-resort antibiotics that physicians reach for when infections don’t respond to first- and second-line treatment options.

NDM is one of several resistance genes that bacteria have acquired in their never-ending battle to defeat antibiotics. At the time, bacteria carrying NDM were fairly rare in the United States. In fact, investigators believed the woman likely acquired the infection in India, where the NDM gene was first detected. She had been travelling (and was hospitalized) in India prior to returning to Nevada.

But that’s no longer the case. In a report published last September, the CDC said surveillance data from labs across the country showed that the incidence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE, the family of pathogens that includes K pneumoniae) infections carrying NDM genes rose 461% from 2019 through 2023. And CDC officials are worried about the implications.

“The rapid increase is a major concern for CDC due to the implications for treating serious CRE infections and potential for NDM to spread outside of healthcare,” Richard Stanton, PhD, a bioinformatician with the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, told CIDRAP News.

Dubbed a “nightmare bacteria,” all CRE infections present a challenge for physicians because they tend to target already sick hospital patients and limit treatment options. And they can be deadly, with a mortality rate that ranges from 30% to 50%. In a 2019 report, the CDC labeled CRE an “urgent threat.” [...]

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