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CDC: Respiratory illness activity high nationally RSV activity remains high, with pediatric hospitalizations increasing across most of the country. CIDRAP

According to the latest weekly update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity continue to increase across the country, with COVID wastewater detections reaching high levels. ...

Pet food recalled after cat death linked to bird flu contamination The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) alerted cat owners to throw out a brand of frozen food after it tested positive for bird flu. One house cat has already died due to the contamination. “We… afields The Hill

...“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said Ryan Scholz, ODA state veterinarian, in a statement. 

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The detection of a new, fast-spreading strain of the virus in a remote mining town in eastern Congo led the World Health Organization to declare mpox a global public health emergency in August. Since then, its spread has only accelerated.

The virus is taking hold in crowded camps home to millions of displaced Congolese, who live crammed into rough shelters with limited access to water. And it has reached Congo’s cities, including its enormous, congested capital.

Belated efforts to control mpox in Kinshasa — by isolating patients and vaccinating their contacts — have been halting and haphazard, far outpaced by the speed of the virus’s spread and change.