Bird Flu News:

• Mexico reported its first human H5N1 case in a toddler who is hospitalized in serious condition. (CIDRAP)
• Bird flu cases have been slowing, but as birds head back north in the warmer weather, the virus may follow. (NBC)
  

Measles News:

• A second child died in Texas of measles. The 8-year-old had no underlying conditions. (Guardian)
• RFK Jr. posted his clearest endorsement yet of the MMR vaccine as the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles,” but also endorsed alternative therapies that aren’t proven, prompting anger from his own supporters and public health experts. (AP, NPR)
• The CDC redeployed a 3-person team to Texas to respond to the outbreak, just a week after multiple people working on measles response were laid off. (CBS)
• Indiana reported its first case of measles this year. (WSBT)
• Here’s a map of the latest case counts in the panhandle outbreak. TX alone has 505 cases as of Tuesday.. (NY Times)

Health News:

• The public health risks of urban wildfire smoke are prompting a push for more monitoring of toxins that aren’t included in the Air Quality Index. (KFF Health News)
• Public records teams at HHS were slashed as part of the 10,000+ person reduction in workforce, which is likely to cause delays in public records requests. (NPR)
• RFK Jr. says he’ll tell the CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water. (AP)
• Flu is still dropping steadily across the U.S., but there have been 9 more pediatric deaths confirmed, with 168 so far this flu season. (CDC)
• The UK reported its first clade 1b mpox case with no travel history or links to earlier cases. (CIDRAP)

Best Question:

What should we do if our business is publicly mentioned as part of a measles case?

Measles cases are spiking right now, with over 600 cases across the country in 22 jurisdictions. Most of these are related to the panhandle outbreak, centered around Gaines County, TX, where so many people have measles that the health department isn’t realistically able to track everywhere they’ve gone while infectious. But outside of the epicenter, health departments tend to respond quickly to individual measles cases, often listing all the locations that a person visited while infectious with specific windows of time that people there may have been exposed. These regularly include restaurants, airports, or gas stations.

There’s actually a good reason for this public call-out: people who were exposed and aren’t fully vaccinated can get a dose of the MMR vaccine to slash their chances of severe complications (or of getting measles at all) if they get it within 72 hours of exposure. So, you’re unlikely to convince a health department to avoid naming your business in their press release.

There’s good news, though: we’ve had a number of clients listed from local health departments as sites of potential exposure to measles, but rarely hear of hits to sales as a result. At this point, we feel that the public knows enough about measles to know that it’s not the business’s fault that a contagious person visited, and frankly, public concern doesn’t seem all that high. We do see a fair amount of anxiety among staff, so clear communication and sharing good, factual information about measles early and often is key. Reach out to ZHH (or clients can check the app) for employee talking points about measles exposure.

Sources: CDC, ZHH

If I had the measles as a kid, should I get vaccinated? Is my natural immunity waning?

If you definitely had measles as a child—or were born before 1957—you’re assumed to be protected for life. Natural immunity from measles is typically lifelong. While immunity can technically wane, it’s extremely rare to get measles twice.

That said, measles isn’t always easy to confirm in hindsight. Many illnesses cause similar rashes, and most people don’t have documentation. If you’re not 100% certain that you had measles, talk to your doctor. A blood test can check for antibodies, but many providers will simply recommend another dose of the MMR vaccine. There’s very little downside to getting an extra dose—especially given how many cases we’ve seen this year.

Sources: YLE, IJID, NIH

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Best Read:

Roslyn wrote last week about the impact of HHS cuts on our Zero Hour Health community and clients. This piece from FSM does a great job walking us through how stakeholders are responding, and why food safety will be disproportionately affected.

As U.S. Pieces Together How HHS Cuts are Affecting Food Safety, Stakeholders Speak Out - Food Safety Magazine

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