Bird Flu News:

• A case of bird flu was detected in a person in central England after contact with infected birds on a farm. (Reuters)
• California reported its first H5N9 bird flu outbreak at a duck farm, along with the usual H5N1 strain. Nearly 119,000 birds were culled in response. (Reuters)

Health News:

• Kansas has the largest tuberculosis outbreak in U.S. history with 66 active and 79 latent infections so far. (Independent)
• Under a communications pause until Feb. 1, the CDC updated some important data but not others. (NPR)
• After a bit of a plateau, flu is still rising, though COVID appears to be slowing down. (CDC)
• The WHO announced a hiring freeze and cost-cutting ahead of a U.S. withdrawal, set for January 2026. (Bloomberg)
• Employers are boosting cancer benefits amid rising cases and costs. (Modern Healthcare)
• Managing long COVID could cost U.S. employers between 2 and 6.5 billion dollars per year. (CIDRAP)
• The RSV vaccine showed impressive real-world effectiveness—78-80% at preventing infections, ER visits, and hospitalizations in older veterans. (CIDRAP)
• Several states are weighing bills to update vaccine policies, including changes to exemptions and the creation of state vaccine databases. (AP)
• Despite the blackout on info from federal health agencies, the FDA has approved maintenance dosing for a drug that slows Alzheimer’s.  (Reuters)

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Mental Health & Substance Use News:

• Hospitals are bringing in therapy dogs to help healthcare workers de-stress, offering a much-needed break from the intensity of their jobs. (MedPage)
• New research reveals widening health disparities across U.S. populations, showing how factors like location, income, and access to care influence life expectancy. (ABC News)
• Mental health struggles are the deadliest risk in construction, with male workers dying by suicide at 5x the rate of work-related injuries.  (KFF Health News)

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call or text 988.

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Best Questions:

How do extreme weather events, like fires, mudslides, and heat waves, affect foodborne illness outbreaks?

Extreme weather events can create ideal conditions for pathogens to spread. For example, heat waves and power outages accelerate the growth of certain bacteria, like Salmonella and Campylobacter. Flooding can lead to chemical and microbial contamination of water (think Cryptosporidium or E. coli), which can infect food anywhere along the supply chain, from farms to processing facilities to restaurants. In fact, flooding might be the main risk factor for contamination of leafy greens in our food chain! Recent mudslides in California, caused by heavy rains in areas burned by wildfires, show how this can happen. Burn scars make flooding and debris flows worse, polluting crops, water, and transportation routes. 

In the aftermath of disasters, from hurricanes to wildfires, people may turn to food that hasn’t been stored or handled properly. It’s important to have written plans for the most common natural disasters and extreme weather events, from hurricanes to wildfires and regional ones like mudslides. Be sure to have a plan to safely discard unsafe food that doesn’t put the public at risk, and have clear decision points for when and how to safely reopen. Leaving it up to local managers, who are often solely focused on re-opening as quickly as possible, can place a brand at risk.  ZHH can help you draft a response plan for extreme weather that focuses on employee and community health. Just reach out if you need us!

Sources: Science Direct, USDA, ZHH

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We used to have a great relationship with our local health department, but now it’s all new people. What can we do to rebuild a relationship with them? 

Nearly half of public health employees at the state and local levels left their jobs between 2017 and 2021. If you’re feeling like you don’t have a strong relationship right now, you’re not alone, but rebuilding one doesn’t have to be daunting. Here’s how:

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1. Introduce yourself proactively. Don’t wait until there’s a problem! A quick call or email can go a long way toward building goodwill. 
2. Ask for a training inspection. Most jurisdictions allow you to request a training inspection for free. If you haven’t had a health inspection in a while, it’s a great way to meet a new inspector and start to build that relationship, and they can’t result in fines or violations. 
3. Keep track of names. Make a note of who you talk to and when so that you have the option to reach out to them later if you need to. 
4. Show a little love. If you do have a good interaction with someone in the health department, shoot them a thank you email, and consider emailing their supervisor with praise, as well. Little positive interactions add up! 

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Source: ZHH Knowledge Base, Harvard

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Best Read:

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Bird flu is evolving, spreading to over 900 U.S. dairy herds and infecting dozens of people, raising concerns about its potential risks. While a human pandemic isn’t inevitable, the virus’s recent mutations and reinfections in cattle are raising important questions:

‍Bird Flu Enters a New Phase, Scientists Say: The New York Times