H5N9 in Poultry, Tuberculosis Outbreak in Kansas and RFK, Jr.’s Affirmation Hearings

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Rachel Feltman: Pleased Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Rapidly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Hope your February is off to a fantastic begin. Let’s kick off the week by catching up on all of the science information you may need missed.

First, a fast word on some presidential strikes that may affect well being and science. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confronted not less than some bipartisan pushback throughout affirmation hearings for his nomination for secretary of the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers. On Thursday the chair of the Senate Committee on Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions, Republican Invoice Cassidy, pressed Kennedy to take a definitive pro-vaccine stance. Cassidy, who practiced drugs for many years, claims he has constituents who credit score Kennedy—not less than partly—for his or her choice to not vaccinate.

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After loads of backwards and forwards, Cassidy requested Kennedy to agree that if he have been to be confirmed, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration wouldn’t “deprioritize or delay evaluation and/or approval of recent vaccines and that vaccine evaluation requirements is not going to change from historic norms.” Kennedy replied within the affirmative—nevertheless it’s vital to notice that the nominee has an extended historical past of selling vaccine misinformation.

You may learn extra about RFK Jr.’s well being care observe file at ScientificAmerican.com, and we’ll preserve you up to date on the affirmation hearings as they proceed.

Final week was additionally fairly chaotic by way of government orders, a federal funding freeze and extra. As of final Friday afternoon, there have been experiences of webpages disappearing from authorities well being company websites. Stat Information reported that knowledge from the Youth Threat Conduct Surveillance System, a big nationwide survey on youth behavioral habits that features info on gender and sexual identities, had disappeared and was not accessible to researchers. The CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, which highlights teams significantly weak to disasters due to elements like poverty, additionally gave the impression to be down on Friday, as did some assets about HIV. That’s not an exhaustive listing by any means, and this story was very a lot nonetheless growing as of the time of this recording on the afternoon of January 31. We’re engaged on a deeper dive on these modifications and their implications for this week’s Friday episode, so tell us when you have any particular questions. You may ship these over to us at sciencequickly@sciam.com.

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Feltman: Now let’s get into some public well being information. You could have seen some headlines final week a few record-breaking outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas. Preliminary experiences dubbing it the nation’s largest TB outbreak for the reason that CDC began holding observe of instances appear to have stemmed from an incorrect assertion from the state well being division. After the CDC refuted that, a state well being official supplied clarification, claiming this outbreak has seen the nation’s highest case numbers over a one-year interval.

The discrepancy has led to some confusion concerning the nature of this—very actual and severe—outbreak. The well being division says that as of January 31, greater than 60 individuals in Wyandotte and Johnson counties have been identified with energetic TB related to the outbreak, although some have accomplished therapy since their diagnoses; “energetic” refers to a sort of tuberculosis, not whether or not somebody at present has the sickness—extra on that shortly. In line with a state official, two individuals have died within the outbreak. Right here to unpack the state of affairs for us is Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga, a well being fairness reporter for the Kansas Information Service and KCUR.

Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga: The primary instances associated to this particular outbreak have been, we’ve been informed, recorded in January of 2024. There was a pretty big spike over the summer season, which is definitely when the state got here in and began helping, and that’s when the CDC additionally got here in and began helping.

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Shackelford-Nwanganga: They’re fairly assured that they’ve bought the state of affairs beneath management. They do look forward to finding extra instances. They need to do loads of contact tracing and loads of investigations to attempt to determine who’s in contact with who. However for essentially the most half they’re proud of how numbers are trending downward, and they’re monitoring it fairly intently.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial an infection. It could settle in different places in your physique, however usually it settles in an individual’s lungs. You understand, when that individual coughs or is singing, issues like that, it might unfold that approach. Tuberculosis requires loads of prolonged, shut contact with an individual to catch it.

After which there are two forms of tuberculosis. There’s one which’s referred to as energetic tuberculosis. That is when an individual is displaying signs—, persistent cough, coughing up blood, ache within the lungs, after which issues like night time sweats and fevers and weight reduction. Meaning they’ve an energetic an infection they usually can unfold it to others. For the opposite model of tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis—individuals typically name it sleeping tuberculosis—which means somebody has the micro organism of their physique, nevertheless it’s not inflicting an energetic an infection. It has to grow to be energetic for it to unfold to others. And when you have a latent case, you received’t be experiencing signs.

Those who have diabetes, individuals who drink closely, individuals with HIV and other people which can be immune-compromised, they’re at a larger danger of growing the sickness—and particularly those that possibly journey to nations which have bigger outbreaks.

You understand, our well being officers proper now usually are not elevating alarm bells for most of the people. For proper now, public well being officers are saying they’re secure and that until they work together with somebody who has tuberculosis or they expertise any extended signs, they need to be within the clear. It’s actually vital for individuals who possibly hear that they have been uncovered to TB to adjust to what the well being division desires of them. It may be lethal, and so it’s simply—if you happen to’re conscious of the truth that you can presumably have it otherwise you’ve been uncovered, you will need to take it significantly and to adjust to therapy and with testing.

Feltman: Thanks a lot for that replace, Bek. Listeners, you will discover extra details about the outbreak on the Kansas well being division’s web site. We’ll be speaking extra about TB subsequent month, after we’ll have writer John Inexperienced on the pod to speak about his new e book, All the pieces Is Tuberculosis. However for now, let’s transfer on to a hen flu replace.

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Feltman: U.S. officers just lately knowledgeable the World Group for Animal Well being concerning the first reported look of extremely pathogenic H5N9 hen flu in U.S. poultry. It is a separate, less-common pressure of hen flu than H5N1, which is the kind that’s been making headlines for its unfold amongst birds and cattle. H5N9 has been present in U.S. birds earlier than, however authorities say that is the primary time a model of the virus that is extra more likely to make birds significantly sick has contaminated U.S. poultry. On this case, H5N9 turned up on a duck farm in California that additionally had birds check constructive for H5N1. Almost 119,000 geese have reportedly been killed, with the purpose of limiting the virus’s unfold.

Individually, final Tuesday one of many nation’s largest egg producers confirmed avian flu deaths amongst its flocks. Rose Acre Farms, which has services throughout seven states, stated on social media that staff had observed chickens dying at an Indiana location on January 25. Now, storing and cooking eggs correctly ought to forestall the unfold of hen flu to human customers—however the necessity to cull sick chickens is having its personal affect. On January 24 the Meals Value Outlook report from the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s financial analysis arm predicted that egg costs would improve by greater than 20 p.c in 2025.

However final week additionally introduced some excellent news on the hen flu entrance. In a examine revealed Thursday in Science researchers described an antibody-based immune remedy that helped defend monkeys who have been later contaminated with H5N1 from turning into significantly sick. The researchers say this antibody targets part of the influenza virus that doesn’t actually change because the microbe mutates. Within the examine on monkeys the safety towards severe sickness and loss of life appeared to carry up for eight to 12 weeks. The scientists counsel this might function a protecting measure for first responders and different caregivers at first of an H5N1 outbreak. For a deeper dive on the state of hen flu within the U.S., try our January 15 episode.

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Feltman: Now, this subsequent story is technically well being information—nevertheless it’s fairly old-fashioned. Mainly, a fossil hunter appears to have discovered some 66-million-year-old puke. The beginner fossil fiend noticed traces of historical sea lilies, which solely look flowery; they’re truly invertebrates associated to sea stars and urchins. Additional examination steered they have been gnawed on by some animal earlier than being, let’s say, rejected.

Curators at Denmark’s East Zealand Museum just lately introduced the discovering to the press. To be clear, this valuable artifact hasn’t been described in a peer-reviewed journal, so we shouldn’t get too excited concerning the implications of the traditional vom fairly but. However maybe unsurprisingly, the story has been making worldwide headlines anyway. Danish paleontologist Jesper Milàn informed the BBC that the specimen is “the world’s most well-known piece of puke ever.”

Paul Olsen, a professor of Earth and environmental sciences at Columbia College, informed NPR that whereas fossilized vomit, technically referred to as regurgitalite, isn’t truly uncommon, this one is an “particularly good instance.” He additionally famous that it was most likely extra of a spitting state of affairs, like somebody chewing on sunflower seeds and eliminating the shells, than a real upchuck.

We’ll wrap up with some new analysis on polar bears, who apparently thrive on dangerous hair days. A examine revealed final Wednesday in Science Advances reveals that sebum fabricated from ldl cholesterol, diacylglycerols and fatty acids—also referred to as grease—retains ice from accumulating on polar bear hairs. When researchers washed their samples of polar bear fur within the lab, the strands misplaced their ice-resistant superpowers.

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Feltman: That’s all for this week’s information roundup. We’ll be again on Wednesday with suggestions for the right way to keep away from a phenomenon typically referred to as “outrage fatigue.”

Science Rapidly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, together with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our present. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for extra up-to-date and in-depth science information.

For Scientific American, that is Rachel Feltman. Have a fantastic week!