Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What Is Hantavirus, the Rare Disease That Killed Betsy Arakawa?

What Is Hantavirus, the Rare Disease That Killed Betsy Arakawa?

Betsy Arakawa, the wife of Gene Hackman, died from the effects of hantavirus, a rare disease often caused by contact with droppings from infected rodents. Hantavirus does not spread among people in the cases found in the United States. It can be transmitted through rodent saliva. But it is most commonly transmitted by breathing in particles of dried deer mouse …

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How Foreign Aid Cuts Are Setting the Stage for Disease Outbreaks

How Foreign Aid Cuts Are Setting the Stage for Disease Outbreaks

Dangerous pathogens left unsecured at labs across Africa. Halted inspections for mpox, Ebola and other infections at airports and other checkpoints. Millions of unscreened animals shipped across borders. The Trump administration’s pause on foreign aid has hobbled programs that prevent and snuff out outbreaks around the world, scientists say, leaving people everywhere more vulnerable to dangerous pathogens. That includes Americans. …

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As Ebola Spreads in Uganda, Trump Aid Freeze Hinders Effort to Contain It, U.S. Officials Fear

As Ebola Spreads in Uganda, Trump Aid Freeze Hinders Effort to Contain It, U.S. Officials Fear

The Ebola outbreak in Uganda has worsened significantly, and the country’s ability to contain the spread has been severely weakened by the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance, American officials said this week. The officials, representing a variety of health and security agencies, made the assessment during a meeting with U.S. Embassy staff in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on Wednesday. …

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F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots

F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots

A panel of scientific experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration on vaccine policy — and has been the target of criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — learned on Wednesday that its upcoming meeting to discuss next year’s flu vaccines has been canceled. The F.D.A. sent an email to members of the Vaccines and Related Biological …

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Mass Federal Firings May Imperil Pets, Cattle and Crops

Mass Federal Firings May Imperil Pets, Cattle and Crops

Shortly after taking office for the second time, President Trump began making deep cuts to agencies and programs that play critical roles in human health, slashing funding for medical research, halting global health aid and firing scores of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the campaign to downsize government, which has been led by Mr. Trump …

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Trump Administration Has Fired Health Inspectors at Some Border Stations

Trump Administration Has Fired Health Inspectors at Some Border Stations

At the nation’s borders, federal workers keep the country safe in many ways: Some investigate sick passengers. Some examine animals for dangerous pathogens. And some inspect plants for infestations that could spread in this country. Late last week, the Trump administration dispatched hundreds of those federal employees with the same message that colleagues at other agencies received: Their services were …

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Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders

Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders

The notices came all weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health professionals: Your work is no longer needed. At the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier biomedical research agency, an estimated 1,200 employees — including promising young investigators slated for larger roles — have been dismissed. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, …

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C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians

C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians

Three dairy veterinarians, including one who worked only in states with no known bird flu outbreaks in cows, had recent, undetected bird flu infections, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are based on antibody testing of 150 veterinarians working in 46 U.S. states. The findings were not entirely surprising, experts said, …

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Measles Outbreak Hits Town in Texas

Measles Outbreak Hits Town in Texas

A worsening measles outbreak has taken root in Texas, sickening two dozen and hospitalizing nine on the western edge of the state, where childhood vaccination rates have dwindled in recent years. As of Tuesday, 22 children and two adults had been infected, all of whom were unvaccinated, local health officials said. The outbreak comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a …

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Trump’s W.H.O. Exit Throws Smallpox Defenses Into Upheaval

Trump’s W.H.O. Exit Throws Smallpox Defenses Into Upheaval

President Trump’s order that the United States exit the World Health Organization could undo programs meant to ensure the safety, security and study of a deadly virus that once took half a billion lives, experts warn. His retreat, they add, could end decades in which the agency directed the management of smallpox virus remnants in an American-held cache. Health experts …

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