The Louisiana resident infected with H5N1 bird flu is hospitalized in critical condition and suffering from severe respiratory symptoms, the Louisiana health department revealed Wednesday.
The health department had reported the presumptive positive case on Friday and noted the person was hospitalized, as Ars reported. But a spokesperson had, at the time, declined to provide Ars with the patient's condition or further details, citing patient confidentiality and an ongoing public health investigation.
This morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it had confirmed the state's H5N1 testing and determined that the case "marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States."
© Getty | Cavan Images
The gap of time between how long Americans live and how much of that time is spent in good health only grew wider in the last two decades, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study, which looked at global health data between 2000 and 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—found the US stood out for its years of suffering. By 2019, Americans had a gap between their lifespan and their healthspan of 12.4 years, the largest gap of any of the 183 countries included in the study. The second largest gap was Australia's, at 12.1 years, followed by New Zealand at 11.8 years and the UK at 11.3 years.
America also stood out for having the largest burden of noncommunicable diseases in the world, as calculated by the years lived with disease or disability per 100,000 people.
© Getty | Blend Images - JGI/Tom Grill
The gap of time between how long Americans live and how much of that time is spent in good health only grew wider in the last two decades, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study, which looked at global health data between 2000 and 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—found the US stood out for its years of suffering. By 2019, Americans had a gap between their lifespan and their healthspan of 12.4 years, the largest gap of any of the 183 countries included in the study. The second largest gap was Australia's, at 12.1 years, followed by New Zealand at 11.8 years and the UK at 11.3 years.
America also stood out for having the largest burden of noncommunicable diseases in the world, as calculated by the years lived with disease or disability per 100,000 people.
© Getty | Blend Images - JGI/Tom Grill
Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Jamie Foxx said that he had a stroke at the age of 55 last year, amid a trend of more younger adults experiencing the condition.
Strokes, which occur when a part of the brain doesn't have enough blood flow, are life-threatening and most common in older people. But strokes in people under 65 increased by around 15% in the US from 2011 - 2013 to 2020 - 2022, a CDC study, published May 23, found. This corresponds with a rise in cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity among younger, working-age adults, it said.
If brain cells go too long without oxygen, they die, which can lead to permanent damage and the loss of certain abilities like speech or sight, according to The Cleveland Clinic. That's why acting fast and educating the public about stroke risk factors are crucial, the study said.
The fifth leading cause of death in the US in 2021, stroke also cost the country about $56.2 billion between 2019 and 2020, according to the CDC.
In his Netflix comedy special "What Had Happened Was," which premieres Tuesday, Foxx, now 56, said he was hospitalized after complaining of a bad headache and passing out while on set. He said he was unconscious for weeks and couldn't remember 20 days during that period. The stroke was caused by a brain bleed, he said.
It's unclear what contributed to Foxx experiencing a stroke.
Researchers are working to uncover what's behind the uptick in strokes among younger adults, but possible factors could include pollution and stress, Dr. Neshika Samarasekera, a clinical neurologist, researcher, and senior clinical lecturer at the charity Stroke Association, told Business Insider.
While stroke can affect anyone at any age, there are things you can do to lower the risk, she said.
"Firstly, if you're smoking, stop," Samarasekera said.
Smokers are around three times more likely to have a stroke than non-smokers, and twice as likely to die from a stroke, according to the Stroke Association. This is because tobacco smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals that, when inhaled, enter the bloodstream and damage cells all around the body.
Smoking can reduce oxygen levels in the blood, increase blood pressure, trigger atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, raise levels of 'bad' cholesterol, and raise the risk of a blood clot, according to the charity. These are all known stroke risk factors.
Some risk factors, such as age and genetic disposition, are out of our control so it's important that we try to reduce the ones we can control, Samarasekera said.
Eating a healthy diet can help reduce stroke by keeping risk factors under control.
Samarasekera recommended eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with a focus on colorful vegetables such as broccoli and carrots, which are packed with antioxidants.
There's evidence to suggest that inflammation plays a role in causing stroke, and "antioxidants, put simply, help to mop up that inflammation," she said. They are also nutrient-dense and contain dietary fiber.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and foods with lots of added sugar and salt.
Samarasekera said that ideally, everyone should aim to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise that gets their heart rate up each day.
"Something that does visibly increase your heart rate, be that brisk walking, be that running," she said.
Aim to up your heart rate in a "graded way," she said: "you don't want people going from zero to really pushing themselves."
Doing 30 minutes of exercise five times a week is thought to reduce the risk of stroke by 25%, according to the World Stroke Organization.
This is because it plays an important role in reducing several stroke risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol.
The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week.
On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would begin a nationwide testing program for the presence of the H5N1 flu virus, also known as the bird flu. Testing will focus on pre-pasteurized milk at dairy processing facilities (pasteurization inactivates the virus), but the order that's launching the program will require anybody involved with milk production before then to provide samples to the USDA on request. That includes "any entity responsible for a dairy farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility."
The ultimate goal is to identify individual herds where the virus is circulating and use the agency's existing powers to do contact tracing and restrict the movement of cattle, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the virus from US herds.
At the time of publication, the CDC had identified 58 cases of humans infected by the H5N1 flu virus, over half of them in California. All but two have come about due to contact with agriculture, either cattle (35 cases) or poultry (21). The virus's genetic material has appeared in the milk supply and, although pasteurization should eliminate any intact infectious virus, raw milk is notable for not undergoing pasteurization, which has led to at least one recall when the virus made its way into raw milk. And we know the virus can spread to other species if they drink milk from infected cows.
© Credit: mikedabell
There's nothing quite like a deep dive into the shallow, vomitous puddles of children's splash pads. Even toeing the edge is enough to have one longing for the unsettling warmth of a kiddie pool. But the brave souls at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have done it, wading into 25 years' worth of records on gastrointestinal outbreaks linked to the wellsprings of fecal pathogens. And they unsurprisingly found enough retch-inducing results to make any modern-day John Snows want to start removing some water handles.
Between 1997 and 2022, splash pads across the country were linked to at least 60 outbreaks, with the largest sickening over 2,000 water frolickers in one go. In all, the outbreaks led to at least 10,611 illnesses, 152 hospitalizations, and 99 emergency department visits. People, mostly children, were sickened with pathogens including Cryptosporidium, Camplyobacter jejuni, Giardia duodenalis, Salmonella, Shigella, and norovirus, according to the analysis, published Tuesday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The tallies of outbreaks and illnesses are likely undercounts, given reporting delays and missed connections.
Though previous outbreak-based studies have provided bursts of data, the new analysis is the first to provide a comprehensive catalog of all the documented outbreaks since splash pads erupted in the 1990s. Together, they provide a clear, stomach-churning explanation of how the outbreaks keep happening. Basically, small children go into the watery playgrounds while they're sick and spread their germs.
© Getty | Al Seib
Bird flu has landed on a California farm that shuns virus-killing pasteurization, leading to a second recall of raw milk and a suspension of operations at the company, Raw Farm in Fresno County.
According to a November 27 alert by the California health department, officials in Santa Clara County found evidence of bird flu virus in retail samples of a batch of Raw Farm's milk, which has been recalled. It is the second time that retail testing has turned up positive results for the company and spurred a recall. The first contaminated batch was reported on November 24. The two recalled batches are those with lot codes 20241109 ("Best By" date of November 27, 2024) and 20241119 (Best By date of December 7, 2024).
In an email to Ars on Monday, Raw Farm CEO Mark McAfee said that none of the company's cows are visibly sick but that it appears that asymptomatic cows are shedding the avian influenza virus.
© Raw Farm
Bird flu virus has been found in a batch of raw—unpasteurized—milk sold in California, prompting a recall issued at the state's request, health officials announced over the weekend.
No illnesses have yet been linked to the contaminated milk, made by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County. The contamination was found in testing by health officials in nearby Santa Clara County, who detected the virus in milk from a retail store. The state laboratory has confirmed the finding.
In a YouTube message from Raw Farm, a company representative called the contamination "not a big deal" and emphasized that the recall is only being done out of an abundance of caution.
© Getty | Lukas Schulze
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre announced in September that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and in an interview this week he opened up about the challenges of living with the disease and his hope for the future.
The former Green Bay Packers great spoke with TMZ Sports about his health and the benefit of having been diagnosed in the very early stages of the disease.
"Overall, I feel – I can’t complain. It’s one of those things that I’m learning a lot about Parkinson's, and my Parkinson's was caught very early, very early."
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He continued, "It’s very early in the disease and the hope is something on the horizon comes out that can stop the progression."
Favre, 55, revealed the news of his shocking health diagnosis during his testimony at a congressional hearing on federal welfare reform.
"Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others," he said at the time. "I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me, because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, this is also a cause dear to my heart."
NFL LEGEND BRETT FAVRE ANNOUNCES HE HAS PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Favre considers himself fortunate because of the early detection, but he still experiences difficult symptoms.
"I don’t shake very bad, the medication – when I’m on it, you would never know. But I don’t want to keep taking medication for the next 30, 40 years if I live that long. But it is what it is.
"Most of the time, I’m good. With my Parkinson’s the main side effect is rigidity and stiffness. I have a little bit of shaking, not much, but rigidity and stiffness. When I wake up in the morning, I feel like a board. I don’t need any help because of football to be any stiffer."
"All things considered, I’m a very blessed man," he added.
Favre said on a radio show in 2022 that he estimates he may have experienced "thousands" of concussions in his two decades in the NFL. The causes of the disease are unknown, and it is unclear whether his football career and head injuries of the years are connected.
According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, scientists believe that the disease is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and those environmental factors "may include head injuries, pesticide exposure or area of residence."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Discouraging Americans from being vaccinated is "very disturbing" and would result in "more severe illness and death in children," a top U.S. health official told lawmakers Tuesday following President-elect Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Institutes of Health Director Monica Bertagnolli made the comments after Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., told her that she’s concerned "there's been some talk by some who might have leadership positions in next administration of discouraging vaccination.
"Could you tell me what would be the downside if our children specifically were not vaccinated?" Frankel asked Bertagnolli.
"If you go back 100 years ago, the leading cause of death – and it was dramatic – was infectious disease. And why did that change? Vaccination, that is the single reason," Bertagnolli told the House Appropriations Committee.
"And it’s been even in my career, my lifetime that I have also seen individuals who unfortunately were in the womb when their mother got rubella – terrible congenital malformations that happened. So it’s not just the consequences even for the individual – it can be mother to child and then finally across society when we see the spread of infectious disease," Bertagnolli continued.
"What we will see immediately if all vaccination suddenly stops, we will see much more severe illness and death in children," she also said.
OPINION: RFK. JR. WANTS TO DISRUPT OUR POWERFUL HEALTH CARE COMPLEX AND IT IS TERRIFIED
Kennedy rose to prominence as a skeptic of vaccines, voicing concerns about their impact.
"Look around the world because there are other places in the world that have this, that do not have widespread vaccination of their populations, and look at the tragedies that we see there. I think it would be very disturbing," Bertagnolli added Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., has called the choice of RFK Jr. to lead HHS "f------ insane."
"The RFK as Health Secretary appointment is f------ insane," he wrote on X. "He’s a vaccine denier and a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist. He will destroy our public health infrastructure and our vaccine distribution systems. This is going to cost lives."
Kennedy aligned with Trump after ending his own independent run for president, and Trump added the promise "make America healthy again" to his campaign.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
