Force of Infection

It is that time of the year again! In the United States, Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of the summer. That means longer days, beach trips, kids splashing in pools, picnics, barbecues, and lots of time outdoors. But staying safe is just as important as having fun, which is why every year I share a few first aid videos to remind readers of the basics. I specifically chose these videos because they are only 2-5 minutes long, so you can get through the entire set in about 15 minutes.

When an emergency happens, many of us freeze. It is a natural response. Our brains are hard-wired for the “fight, flight, freeze” response, an automatic reaction to perceived threats that can make it hard to think clearly. But learning a few basic skills ahead of time, can help you stay calm and feel more prepared if something unexpected happens.

Force of Infection is now on the summer schedule, meaning national Outbreak Outlook updates are only available to paid subscribers. The winter schedule, including the free national version, will resume in October. To continue receiving reports during the summer, please upgrade to paid.

Influenza-like illness

We continue to navigate this off-season as expected. Trips to the doctor for fever, cough and sore throat (known as influenza-like illness, or ILI) are stable at 1.8%. 

At the regional level, the Midwest is reporting the lowest levels of ILI at 1%, which is nevertheless a slight notch higher than last week (0.9%; this is not a meaningful difference). The West continues to be a tad higher than the national average, but holds steady at 2.1%. 

Force of Infection is now on the summer schedule, meaning national Outbreak Outlook updates are only available to paid subscribers. The winter schedule, including the free national version, will resume in October. To continue receiving reports during the summer, please upgrade to paid.

Influenza-like illness

The off-season is in full swing. Trips to the doctor for fever, cough and sore throat (known as influenza-like illness, or ILI) remain steady at 1.8%. 

At the regional level, the Midwest is reporting the lowest levels of ILI at 0.9%, while the West continues to decline but is slightly higher than the

Force of Infection is now on the summer schedule, meaning most national Outbreak Outlook updates are only available to paid subscribers. However, we are making today's version freely available given widespread interest in the hantavirus outbreak. The winter schedule, including the free national version, will resume in October. To continue receiving reports during the summer, please upgrade to paid.

Influenza-like illness

We are well into the off-season. Trips to the doctor for fever and cough or sore throat (known as influenza-like illness, or ILI) are at 1.8%.

At the regional level, the Midwest reports the lowest levels of ILI (down to 0.9%), while the West is also declining but remains slightly higher than the national average at 2.2%.

Force of Infection is now on the summer schedule, meaning national Outbreak Outlook updates are only available to paid subscribers. The winter schedule, including the free national version, will resume in October. To continue receiving reports during the summer, please upgrade to paid.

Influenza-like illness

Flu activity continues to slide downward. Trips to the doctor for influenza-like illness (fever, along with a cough or sore throat, also known as ILI) have decreased to 1.8%. At the regional level, the Midwest is reporting the lowest levels of ILI (down to 1.0%), while the West is a bit higher at 2.3%, similar to last week.

This is the second installation in a series about respiratory viruses and their complexities. The first essay explained less common viruses like human metapneumovirus and adenovirus. Today, we're taking a deeper look at disease surveillance.

Why don’t I know what I have?

If you go to the doctor or hospital with what feels like a “cold,” there’s a set of decisions happening behind the scenes about whether to test you, and for what.

In most outpatient settings, testing is usually “targeted.” This means you might get a single test (for example, just for influenza), or a small “triplex” panel that checks for the most common viruses: SARS-CoV-2, flu, and RSV. These are the pathogens where a diagnosis can directly affect care or public health decisions.

Testing

A new Covid-19 variant has been making headlines lately, and this one has an unusual name. BA.3.2, nicknamed "cicada", has been detected in at least 25 U.S. states and 23 countries. Here's what we know so far.

Why "cicada"?

Cicadas are famous for spending years underground before emerging in enormous numbers, sometimes after 13 or 17 years of dormancy. BA.3.2 follows a loosely similar pattern: it was first identified in South Africa in November 2024, circulated at very low levels for over a year largely under the radar, and then emerged more forcefully in Europe last fall before spreading broadly this winter.

Force is growing, and so is the team. I'm excited to welcome Gage Moreno, PhD, as a contributing writer. Like our upcoming move to a standalone website, expanding the team is part of the plan to make this publication more valuable to you over the long term. This is the first explainer in a two-part series; Part II will cover how epidemiologists track these pathogens, and what future technologies might improve surveillance. -Caitlin

If you’ve ever been sick with “a cold,” yet tested negative for flu and Covid-19, you’ve already bumped up against a hidden world of viruses.

“A cold” isn’t a single illness it’s a label used for dozens of respiratory pathogens that circulate every year, most of which are rarely tested for. Even though they are largely invisible to patients, these viruses cause real illness, drive outbreaks, and shape seasonal patterns.

What

Yesterday, the U.S. CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory about New World screwworm cases on the Mexico side of the Texas-Mexico border. New World screwworm is primarily a disease of livestock, though humans can become infected. There are currently no human or animal cases in the United States, though it is an encroaching threat.

Against the backdrop of resurgent pertussis and measles, a recent infant botulism outbreak, and a changing vaccine schedule, screwworm feels like a distant concern. Yet clinicians have not received a HAN on these more pressing issues. The last advisory covering a disease with U.S. cases was in March, three HANs ago.

This is the gap I want to close with FOI Clinical, a new outbreak monitoring service I’m launching. There is no quick, easy way for front-line clinicians like pediatricians, family doctors, or emergency physicians to get a recurring, plain-language briefing