- A Wall Street Journal poll shows half of US voters are less confident in federal vaccine guidance due to Trump administration policies, with 50% disapproving of Trump’s handling of the changes to routine vaccine recommendations. About 36% of those polled said they approve of changes to federal vaccine guidance, while 13% said they were unsure. The poll also showed that health insurance costs, including rising premiums, are a top priority for voters in a midterm election year.
- Middle Tennessee is seeing an emerging cluster of histoplasmosis cases, with one family going public to say their 14-year-old daughter died from the fungal infection in December. The family of that girl is urging residents and clinicians to be on the watch for histoplasmosis and increase early testing. The girl’s mother said she did not receive a positive histoplasmosis diagnosis until after her death. According to local news, histoplasmosis is commonly found throughout the soil in Tennessee. A cluster of more than 30 human cases has been identified in Williamson and Maury counties, but so far there has not been a clear source of exposure.
- The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Western Pacific Region Office (WHO’s WPRO) described three new human H9N2 avian flu cases in mainland China. All three cases were reported to the WHO from January 9 and 15, and all three involve children, including a 5-year-old from Hubei province, an 8-year-old from Jiangsuprovince, and a 1-year-old from Guangxi province. All had symptom onset in November and December of last year. Only the child from Hubei province had a known exposure to backyard poultry. All three patients have recovered.
Minnesota residents delay medical care for fear of encountering ICE
