Health - US

Flu activity remains high in most regions of the U.S. as a winter wave of respiratory illness sweeps across the country. The post-holiday surge in flu cases and hospitalizations is straining many hospitals, leading to overflowing emergency rooms and prompting some facilities to limit patient visitors.

This trend is expected to continue for the several more weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest FluView weekly surveillance report for the week ending Jan. 11.

‘I was violently ill': Doctors warn about dangerous symptom amid norovirus outbreak Health officials are raising alarms about a significant increase in norovirus cases nationwide, including here in North Texas. Alanna Quillen NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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Long-Covid Patients Are Frustrated That Federal Research Hasn't Found New Treatments - KFF Health News The federal government has allocated $1.15 billion to long-covid research without any new treatments yet brought to market. Patients and scientists say it’s time to push harder for breakthroughs. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

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Despite long covid’s vast reach, the federal government’s investment in researching the disease — to the tune of $1.15 billion as of December — has so far failed to bring any new treatments to market.

Avian flu surge continues on US poultry farms as feds address contamination of raw pet food Over the past few days, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry from eight states, including the first at a commercial farm in Georgia. CIDRAP

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Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the USDA on January 17 announced new steps to step up the safety of raw pet food, following recent reports of H5N1 infections in household cats. ...