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Federal disease trackers reported Tuesday that the first child diagnosed with bird flu in an ongoing U.S. outbreak was infected with a virus strain closely related to one moving rapidly through dairy cattle, even though there is no evidence the youngster was exposed to livestock or any infected animals. The finding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the child, who lives in California, deepened the mystery about the spread of H5N1 bird flu, a viral ailment that epidemiologists have watched warily for more than two decades, fearing it could spark a pandemic. (Sun, 12/10)

Though virus RNA levels in the sample from a California child whose H5N1 avian flu infection was reported in November weren’t enough for complete sequencing, complex analysis was able determine that is most closely resembles the B3.13 genotype found in cattle, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in a technical update. In other developments, the CDC said yesterday that follow-up testing didn’t confirm two recent cases from Arizona as H5 infections, though they are classified as probable cases. (Schnirring, 12/10)

A second infant has died in an 8-state listeria outbreak related to recalled Yu Shang Food ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, according to federal health officials. The products were sold online and at retail locations nationwide, according to federal health officials. Nineteen cases are confirmed, with 17 hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest update. States with confirmed illnesses include: California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Tennessee.  (Gibson, 12/10)

It’s that time of year again, when the misery of norovirus strikes much of the U.S. Each year the pathogen causes an average of 900 deaths, 109,000 hospitalizations, 465,000 emergency room visits, and 19 to 21 million illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency reports national norovirus trends as three-week moving averages of positive test rates. So far in the 2024–25 season, infections peaked the week of Nov. 30, 2024, at 17.06% positivity. (Prater, 12/11)

Sandra Revill Tremulis was a healthy 39-year-old who taught fitness classes and had recently run a marathon when extreme fatigue and chest tingling drove her to see a cardiologist. The doctor discovered she had 95% blockage in one of her coronary arteries and that a heart attack was imminent. ... Further bloodwork revealed the culprit: high levels of a particle called lipoprotein(a) in her arteries. (Greenfield, 12/10)

A mysterious illness outbreak that has sickened at least 416 people and killed 31 in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo may be at least partly caused by malaria, health officials said Tuesday. (Goodman, 12/10)

Dengue fever is sweeping across the Caribbean and the Americas, with a record 12.6 million suspected cases of the mosquito-transmitted virus reported this year, nearly triple the number from last year, health officials said Tuesday. Cases of dengue have been surging globally as warmer weather brought on by climate change enables mosquitoes to expand their reach. The Pan American Health Organization —the regional office of the World Health Organization in the Americas — said deaths from dengue are also rising. (Coto, 12/10)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Taint Rural California Drinking Water, Far From Known Sources

Juana Valle never imagined she’d be scared to drink water from her tap or eat fresh eggs and walnuts when she bought her 5-acre farm in San Juan Bautista, California, three years ago. Escaping city life and growing her own food was a dream come true for the 52-year-old. Then Valle began to suspect water from her well was making her sick. “Even if everything is organic, it doesn’t matter, if the water underground is not clean,” Valle said. (Norman, 12/11)