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In late January, scientists at the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) reported the first cases of H5N9 avian influenza in the U.S., on a duck farm in California.

The latest strain isn’t a surprise, say public-health experts, since influenza takes different forms in different species and is constantly mutating. But the appearance of H5N9 is still concerning, especially in light of the ongoing outbreaks in chickens and cows of H5N1.

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Here’s what to know.

Why bird flu is so rampant right now

“We’ve never seen a global spread of avian influenza virus like this,” says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “We’ve seen an explosion in the number of outbreaks in poultry and duck operations over the course of recent weeks. This reflects the fact that there is so much H5N1 in migrating waterfowl.”

There are about 40 million migratory aquatic waterfowl in North America, ..

Now that bird flu has been detected in animals in all 50 states, and nearly 70 cases have been confirmed in people, health officials are racing to find better and more reliable ways to track the virus.

One promising method is sampling wastewater. The technique continues to prove useful for monitoring COVID-19; since most people now self-test and formal data collection has diminished, wastewater is the most reliable way of tracking upticks and changes in infections since it doesn’t require people to report results.

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Scientists are now figuring out how to apply the same principle to test wastewater on farms for H5N1, the avian influenza virus. On Feb. 4, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced a grant to Barnwell Bio, Inc. to fund the development of a farm-based system for testing wastewater for pathogens. The nonprofit research group FFAR was created by Congress in 2014 via the Farm Bill to use both government and private fundin..

Now that bird flu has been detected in animals in all 50 states, and nearly 70 cases have been confirmed in people, health officials are racing to find better and more reliable ways to track the virus.

One promising method is sampling wastewater. The technique continues to prove useful for monitoring COVID-19; since most people now self-test and formal data collection has diminished, wastewater is the most reliable way of tracking upticks and changes in infections since it doesn’t require people to report results.

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Scientists are now figuring out how to apply the same principle to test wastewater on farms for H5N1, the avian influenza virus. On Feb. 4, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced a grant to Barnwell Bio, Inc. to fund the development of a farm-based system for testing wastewater for pathogens. The nonprofit research group FFAR was created by Congress in 2014 via the Farm Bill to use both government and private fundin..

If you’ve tried to schedule a doctor’s appointment recently, you might have had to flip your calendar to a different season. There simply aren’t enough physicians in the U.S.: By 2037, the deficit is expected to reach 187,130 doctors, including more than 8,000 cardiologists and 4,000 nephrologists. That means patients routinely wait a long time—an average of 38 days, according to some data—before they’re able to snag an appointment with a doctor they really need to see.

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“People are constantly trying to get in to see doctors,” says Dr. Gerda Maissel, a physician in New York’s Hudson Valley who works as a patient advocate and helps people navigate the health care system. She once worked with a man who wanted to see a specialist at a major academic center about his worsening neurological disease. After he accepted an appointment 10 months down the road, “he and his wife were just beside themselves,” she recalls. “He had a tremendous need, and the academi..

On his first day back in office, President Trump ordered a sweeping 90-day spending freeze on almost all U.S. foreign aid, initially making exceptions only for military funding to Egypt and Israel and emergency food aid. The “stop-work order” in the directive had immediate consequences for people’s health and wellbeing.

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HIV clinics around the world funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a highly successful aid program launched by George W. Bush that has saved more than 25 million lives, had to cancel appointments and turn patients away. Two-thirds of the staff of the President’s Malaria Initiative—the world’s largest funder of malaria control programs, also founded by George W. Bush—have been fired. Humanitarian assistance programs in Gaza, Sudan, and Syria that provide services like clean water and cholera treatment were halted. Oxygen supplies are no longer reaching health facilities in some low-income countries.

Fu..

Walk down your grocery aisle, and you’ll spot many foods containing ingredients you won’t find in Europe. The unusual way the U.S. regulates ingredients is in the news and the hot seat right now, thanks to the recent ban of a food additive—red dye 3, an artificial dye linked to cancer in animals—and the rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During his confirmation hearing on Jan. 30, Kennedy said that compared to Europe, the U.S. “looks at any new chemical as innocent until proven guilty.”

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“It needs to end,” he said.

Here’s what to know about some of the most controversial food additives under the microscope and why additives are regulated differently in the U.S.

Key ingredients banned in Europe but allowed in the U.S.

Titanium dioxide is used to make foods and beverages whiter and brighter. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers it safe for human consum..