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The nation's flu activity continued a steady rise last week, with 44 states at the high or very high level and that national test positivity just shy of 30%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update. Outpatient visits for flulike illness have been above the national baseline for 9 weeks in a row. Of samples that tested positive for flu at public health labs, nearly all were influenza A, and subtyped influenza A samples were about evenly split between the H3N2 and 2009 H1N1 strains. (Schnirring, 1/31)

Friday marks five years since the COVID-19 virus was declared a public health emergency by the United States. But five years later, the virus is still killing thousands, according to experts. "One of the things we have learned is that COVID came to us new, and now is integrated into our way of life," said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "COVID is not going away, and it still causes a substantial amount of illness each year." (Forrester, 1/31)

US poultry farms saw no let-up in H5N1 avian flu detections over the past 2 days, with more outbreaks reported from eight states, according to the latest confirmations from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In California, outbreaks hit two more commercial duck farms, one in Madera County and the other in Merced County, affecting about 157,000 birds. (Schnirring, 1/31)

The head of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program said Saturday that six people who were in contact with Uganda’s latest Ebola case have become ill, though it’s not yet clear if they too are suffering from the dangerous viral disease. One is the wife of the patient, who died Wednesday, and several others are health workers. (Branswell, 2/1)

People with celiac disease face a food paradox. Gluten-free bagels, brownie mixes, and frozen burritos beckon from grocery store shelves. Yet despite this abundance, they can’t trust that these foods are actually safe to eat. (Todd, 2/3)

In 2023, about 1 in 4 high school students ate breakfast daily, according to a survey of adolescent health and well-being from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that charted a decline in students’ health lifestyle behaviors between 2013 and 2023. The report, which describes 10-year trends and more recent changes over a two-year period, delves into adolescents’ dietary, physical activity and sleep behaviors. It is based on a national youth risk behavior survey of a representative sample of students in grades nine to 12. (McMahan, 2/3)

Gladys Williams has been a nurse, a social worker and a special ed teacher. Now, she’s a one-woman bulwark against a geyser of misinformation and disinformation about health, medicine and money directed at older Americans in her community. “Here,” she said, her eyes scanning the crowded luncheon tables at the senior center in Culpeper, Virginia, where she’s worked for 42 years, “they can come to me.” As the senior administrator, she makes sure everyone is well fed, well entertained, well exercised — and well informed. In recent years, “well informed” has become more challenging, as older Americans get inundated by misinformation and disinformation aimed at scamming them, scaring them — or both. (Kenen, 2/2)

Last January, Allison Ciaccio had a respiratory illness she couldn't get over. Over-the-counter medications didn't help. An antibiotic from her doctor didn't either. After a month of symptoms, Ciaccio's daughter recommended she go to the emergency room. A chest X-ray showed that Ciaccio might have pneumonia, but there was a suspicious blot on the X-ray that her doctor wanted to follow up on. (Breen, 2/1)

���ϳԹ��� News: Strike Us In The Heart: Send In Your Health Policy Valentines

Affordable health care makes the heart grow fonder … or however the saying goes. Make us swoon by sending us your sweetest “health policy valentines.” Submissions will be judged by an esteemed panel of experts. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and tenderhearted members of our staff will pick the winners, announced on Friday, Feb. 14. (Zenda, 2/3)