Health
‘This Is a Dangerous Virus’
When bird flu first struck dairy cattle a year ago, it seemed possible that it might affect a few isolated herds and disappear as quickly as it had appeared. Instead, the virus has infected more than 900 herds and dozens of people, killing one, and the outbreak shows no signs of abating.
A pandemic is not inevitable even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.
Toothless guidelines, inadequate testing and long delays in releasing data — echoes of the missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic — have squandered opportunities for containing the outbreak, the experts said.
In one example emblematic of the disarray, a few dairy herds in Idaho that were infected in the spring displayed mild symptoms for a second time in the late fall, The New York Times has learned. In mid-January, the Department of Agriculture said that no new infections in Idaho herds had been identified since October. But state officials publicly discussed milder cases in November.
That a second bout of infections would produce milder symptoms in cattle is unsurprising, experts said, and could be welcome news to farmers. But reinfections suggest that the virus, called H5N1, could circulate on farms indefinitely, creating opportunities for it to evolve into a more dangerous form — a “high-risk” scenario, said Louise Moncla, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
“You could easily end up with endemically circulating H5 in dairy herds without symptoms, obscuring rapid or easy detection,” Dr. Moncla said.
It’s impossible to predict whether the virus will evolve the ability to spread among people, let alone when, she and others said. But the worry is that if bird flu finds the right combination of genetic mutations, the outbreak could quickly escalate.
“I’m still not pack-my-bags-and-head-to-the-hills worried, but there’s been more signals over the past four to six weeks that this virus has the capacity” to set off a pandemic, said Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Federal officials, too, have subtly altered their tone in discussing the outbreak, now emphasizing how quickly the situation might change.
For the general public, H5N1 is “a low risk, relative to the other risks they face today,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But “100 percent, that could change,” he said. “This is a dangerous virus.”
Health experts emphasize that there are precautions Americans can take: Do not touch sick or dead birds or other animals; get tested if you have flulike symptoms; do not consume raw milk or meat, or feed them to your pets.
If a larger outbreak were to erupt, the federal vaccine stockpile holds a few million doses, although that vaccine might first need updating to match the evolved form of the virus. In either case, officials would have to scramble to produce enough for the population.
The C.D.C. recommends treatment with the antiviral Tamiflu, but studies have shown that the drug does very little to ease illness.
Underlining concerns among many experts is that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who would lead the federal health department if confirmed, was a vocal critic of Covid vaccines and has said the bird flu vaccines “appear to be dangerous.”
Even if the second Trump administration embraces vaccine development, as the first one did when Covid bore down, it’s unclear how many Americans would roll up their sleeves for the shots. Influenza typically affects children and older adults, and pandemic influenza has sometimes hit young adults the hardest. But the mistrust engendered during Covid-19 may make Americans eschew precautions, at least initially.
An evolving threat
Unlike the coronavirus, which caused havoc with its sudden arrival, influenza viruses typically start off in a specific animal species or in certain geographical regions.
When H5N1 emerged in East Asia nearly three decades ago, it mostly sickened birds. In the years that followed, it infected at least 940 people, nearly all of whom had close, sustained contact with infected birds; roughly half of those people died.
But since January 2022, when the virus was detected in wild aquatic birds in the United States, it has affected more than 136 million commercial, backyard and wild birds, helping to send egg prices soaring. It has also struck dozens of mammalian species, including cats both wild and domesticated, raccoons, bears and sea lions.
For at least a year, H5N1 has been infecting dairy cattle, which were not known to be susceptible to this type of influenza. In some cows, it has had lasting effects, reducing milk production and increasing the odds of spontaneous abortions.
And in 2024, the virus infected 67 Americans, compared with just one in the years before, in 2022. The sources of these infections are not all known; one person may have transmitted the virus to someone in their household.
Many of these developments are classic steps toward a pandemic, said Dr. James Lawler, a director at the University of Nebraska’s Global Center for Health Security. But, he noted, “where those were really supposed to trigger accelerated and amplified actions at the federal, state and local level, we’ve just kind of shrugged when each milestone has passed.”
Infections in dairy herds, which first emerged in Texas, appeared to be declining last summer. But in late August, California announced its first case. The state’s figures soon rose sharply, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a public health emergency in December.
“That was sort of a flag to me, like, ‘OK, this hasn’t gone away,’” said Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. “Over the last couple of months, it has felt like the tempo has increased,” she said.
Several other recent events have raised the level of alarm among experts. In early December, scientists reported that in a lab setting, a single mutation helped the virus infect human cells more efficiently.
And late last year two people, a 13-year-old Canadian girl and a Louisiana resident older than 65, became seriously ill; previously, most people infected with H5N1 had not experienced severe symptoms. The Louisiana patient, who had health conditions and cared for sick and dying birds, died in early January.
The girl was placed on life support because of organ failure, but eventually recovered. Scientists still do not know how she became infected; her only risk factor was obesity.
Both patients had contracted a new version of the virus that is distinct from the one in dairy cattle and is now widespread in birds. In both individuals, the virus gained mutations during the course of infection that might allow it to better infect people.
“We are clearly now getting novel viruses forming in the wild bird reservoir,” Dr. Moncla said. “It’s become challenging to keep a handle on all of the various threats.”
Some experts see it as particularly worrisome that the virus seems to be in food sources like raw milk and raw pet food. Domesticated cats have died in numerous states, prompting the recall of at least one brand of pet food and new federal guidelines on pet food quality.
“The raw-pet-food thing to me is, I think, quite alarming,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pasteurization kills live virus, as does cooking meat at high temperatures. Still, neither procedure is perfect, Dr. Marrazzo noted: “There’s no way that you can police production and sterilization in a way that’s going to make sure 100 percent of the time that food supply is going to be safe.”
A flawed response
In the year since the outbreak began, federal officials have announced other measures to prevent or prepare for a pandemic. But each is deeply flawed, experts said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was slow to begin testing H5N1 vaccines for cows, leaving interested companies in limbo. Dr. Marrazzo said that the department had released genetic information from virus samples but had not said where or when they were collected — details that would help scientists track the virus’s evolution.
It is also unclear how many herds are reinfected or have been battling monthslong infections. In Idaho, some herds infected in the spring seemed to recover but showed milder symptoms again in November.
“From the data we have to date, we do not see evidence of new infections or reinfections in previously affected herds, but rather a lack of clearance of the original infection,” a spokesman for the U.S.D.A. said in an emailed response. But outside experts said that the trajectory of symptoms suggested a second round of illness.
The U.S.D.A.’s program to test bulk milk began in December — nearly a year after the outbreak began — and still does not include Idaho. Engaging private companies may help the program move faster.
Ginkgo Bioworks, a company that worked with federal agencies during the Covid pandemic, already assesses roughly half the nation’s commercial milk supply for bacteria, antibiotics and other substances.
Adding H5N1 to the list would be straightforward, so “why wouldn’t we just add assays into this infrastructure that we already have?” said Matt McKnight, a manager at the company’s biosecurity division.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced $306 million in new funding, about one-third of it for surveillance, testing and outreach to farmworkers.
But farmworkers in some places like the Texas Panhandle are still unaware of what bird flu is, how it spreads and why it should matter to them, said Bethany Alcauter, director of research and public health programs at the National Center for Farmworker Health.
As a result, she said, many workers still do not use protective gear, including in milk parlors where the virus is thought to spread.
Human testing has been voluntary, and infections have been missed. Few farmworkers have opted to be tested, out of fear of immigration officials or their own employers.
“If you don’t look for it, you won’t find it, right?,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Trump. “This is not about lockdowns or restricting activity. It’s about protecting the individual American by empowering them with the information.”
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Cannabis has been linked to some significant medical benefits, but recent research calls those into question.
A major new analysis published in JAMA examined more than 2,500 scientific papers from the last 15 years, including other reviews, clinical trials and guidelines focused on medical marijuana.
“While many people turn to cannabis seeking relief, our review highlights significant gaps between public perception and scientific evidence regarding its effectiveness for most medical conditions,” Dr. Michael Hsu of University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) Health Sciences, author of the study, said in a press release.
Many medical claims about cannabis are not supported by strong scientific evidence, according to a comprehensive review published in JAMA. (iStock)
The researchers — led by UCLA with contributions from Harvard, UC San Francisco, Washington University School of Medicine and New York University — set out to determine how strong the research is on the effectiveness of medical cannabis and to offer evidence-based clinical guidance.
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The review found that evidence supporting most medical uses of cannabis or cannabinoids is limited or insufficient, the release stated.
“Whenever a substance is widely used, there is likely to be a very wide set of outcomes,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“Cannabis is now used by about 15 to 25% of U.S. adults in the past year, for various reasons ranging from recreational to medicinal. This study points to the reality that this widely used substance is not a panacea,” said Dimitriu, who was not involved in the study.
There are very few conditions for which cannabinoid therapies have clear, well-established benefits backed by high-quality clinical data, according to the researchers.
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The strongest evidence supports FDA-approved cannabinoid medications for treating specific conditions, including HIV/AIDS-related appetite loss, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and certain severe pediatric seizure disorders.
The review identified significant safety concerns, with high-potency cannabis use among young people linked to higher rates of mental health issues. (iStock)
For many other conditions that are commonly treated with cannabis — such as chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder — evidence from randomized trials did not support meaningful benefit.
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The analysis also examined safety concerns — in particular, how young people using high-potency cannabis may be more likely to suffer higher rates of psychotic symptoms and anxiety disorder.
Daily inhaled cannabis use was also linked to increased risks of coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke when compared with non-daily use.
Daily inhaled cannabis use is associated with increased cardiovascular risks, including coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. (iStock)
Based on these findings, the review emphasizes that clinicians should weigh potential benefits against known risks when discussing cannabis with patients.
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The authors suggest that clinicians screen patients for cardiovascular risk, evaluate mental health history, check for possible drug interactions and consider conditions where risks may outweigh benefits.
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They recommend open, realistic conversations and caution against assuming that cannabis is broadly effective for medical conditions.
The review highlights the need for caution, urging clinicians to weigh risks, screen patients appropriately and avoid assuming cannabis is broadly effective. (iStock)
“Patients deserve honest conversations about what the science does and doesn’t tell us about medical cannabis,” Hsu said.
This article is a narrative review rather than a systematic review, so it did not use the strict, standardized methods that help reduce bias in how studies are selected and evaluated, the researchers noted.
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The review notes further limitations, including that some evidence comes from observational research rather than randomized trials, which means it cannot establish cause and effect.
The trial results also may not apply to all populations, products or doses.
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Chronic lateness is known to be a common annoyance, often leading to strain within relationships, experts have confirmed.
And for some people who struggle to be on time, the reasons may go far beyond poor planning.
Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert told Fox News Digital that chronic lateness often stems from a combination of psychological patterns and neurobiological factors that people may not realize are influencing them.
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“For some people, it’s personality-driven. They’re distractible, optimistic about how long things take, or simply not tuned into the impact on others,” the New York-based expert said.
For others, the issue stems from neurobiological differences that affect how the brain manages time.
Chronic lateness may not stem from poor planning, but from psychological and neurobiological factors. (iStock)
That can make it harder to estimate how long tasks take or to transition from one activity to the next, leading to chronic lateness, according to Alpert.
Impact on relationships
In addition to disrupting schedules, chronic lateness may also strain relationships and create tension.
“Lateness erodes trust. Over time, it sends the message that someone else’s time is less important, even if that’s not the intent,” Alpert noted.
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Lateness can also become an issue in the workplace, where repeated delays can undermine teamwork and harm a person’s reputation.
These patterns are common among people with ADHD, who often experience what is known as “time blindness,” making it difficult to recognize how quickly minutes pass or how long tasks truly take.
“Adding 10 to 15 minutes of buffer between activities reduces the frantic rushing that leads to chronic lateness.”
ADHD is strongly associated with executive-function difficulties, which are the skills needed to stay organized, plan ahead and focus on essential details, according to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association.
When these abilities are weaker, it becomes more challenging to gauge time, follow a schedule and meet deadlines, which can impact personal and professional relationships, experts agree.
Frequent tardiness in a work setting can throw off group efforts and leave others with a negative impression of the employee. (iStock)
Underlying patterns
Anxiety, avoidance and perfectionism are patterns that Alpert most often sees in people who tend to run late, he noted.
“Many chronically late individuals don’t intend to be disrespectful. They’re overwhelmed, anxious or trying to squeeze too much into too little time,” he said.
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These emotional patterns often show up in different ways. For some, anxiety can make it difficult to begin even simple tasks, pushing everything behind schedule before the day has even started, according to Alpert.
For others, the struggle happens in the in-between moments. Shifting from one activity to another can feel surprisingly uncomfortable, so they linger longer than intended and lose time without noticing.
Anxiety is a major factor behind why some people have trouble being on time, according to experts. (iStock)
Others may get caught up in the details, as perfectionism keeps them adjusting or “fixing one more thing” as the minutes slip away, Alpert said.
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Another major factor, the expert shared, is that many people simply misjudge how long tasks take. Their internal sense of time is often inaccurate, which leads them to assume they can fit far more into a day than is realistically possible.
‘Time audit’
Alpert often recommends that his clients perform a simple “time audit,” where they track how long they think a routine task will take and then time it in real life. This can help them rebuild a more accurate internal clock, he said.
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“Adding 10 to 15 minutes of buffer between activities reduces the frantic rushing that leads to chronic lateness,” he said.
Many people with ADHD have a difficult time recognizing how quickly minutes pass or how long tasks truly take. (iStock)
Despite the challenges lateness can create, Alpert said people don’t have to be stuck with these habits forever. With the right support and consistent strategies, meaningful change is possible.
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“Strong routines, alarms, checklists and accurate time estimates compensate for traits that don’t naturally disappear,” he added.
People who find that lateness is affecting their everyday life and relationships may benefit from discussing their concerns with a healthcare provider or mental health professional.
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The holidays are known to be a source of stress, between traveling, preparing for family gatherings and indulging in lots of food and drinks.
The uptick of activity can actually put a strain on the heart, a phenomenon known as “holiday heart syndrome.”
Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jeremy London addressed this elevated risk in a recent Instagram post, sharing how heart attacks consistently rise around the holidays.
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“Every year, like clockwork, we see a spike in heart attacks around Christmas and New Year’s,” the South Carolina-based surgeon said. “In fact, Christmas Eve is the highest-risk day of the year.”
This is due to a shift in behavior, specifically drinking and eating too much, moving less and being stressed out, according to London. “Emotional stress, financial stress, the increased pace of the holidays, increased obligations,” he listed.
Cold weather also causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels), according to London, which increases the risk of plaque rupture and the potential for heart attack.
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Dr. Glenn Hirsch, chief of the division of cardiology at National Jewish Health in New York, noted in an interview with Fox News Digital that holiday heart syndrome typically refers to the onset of an abnormal heart rhythm, or atrial fibrillation.
This can happen after an episode of binge-drinking alcohol, Hirsch said, which can be exacerbated by holiday celebrations.
Binge-drinking at any time can drive atrial fibrillation, a cardiologist cautioned. (iStock)
“It’s often a combination of overdoing the alcohol intake along with high salt intake and large meals that can trigger it,” he said. “Adding travel, stress and less sleep, and it lowers the threshold to go into that rhythm.”
The biggest risk related to atrial fibrillation, according to Hirsch, is stroke and other complications from blood clots. Untreated atrial fibrillation can lead to heart failure after a long period of time.
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“The risk of atrial fibrillation increases with age, but also underlying cardiovascular disease risk factors increase the risk, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea and chronic kidney disease,” he added.
Christmas Eve is the “highest risk day of the year” for heart attacks, according to one cardiologist. (iStock)
Preventing a holiday heart event
Holiday heart syndrome is preventable, as Hirsch reminds people that “moderation is key” when celebrating.
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The expert recommends avoiding binge-drinking, overeating (especially salty foods) and dehydration, while managing stress levels and prioritizing adequate sleep.
“Don’t forget to exercise,” he added. “Even getting in at least 5,000 to 10,000 steps during the holiday can help lower risk, [while] also burning some of the additional calories we are often consuming around the holidays.”
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London agreed, stating in his video that “movement is medicine” and encouraging people to get out and move every day.
The various stresses of the holidays can have physical consequences on the body, doctors warn. (iStock)
It’s also important to stay on schedule with any prescribed medications, London emphasized. He encourages setting reminder alerts, even during the holiday break.
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“Prioritize sleep and mindfulness,” he added. “Take care of yourself during this stressful time.”
London also warned that many people delay having certain health concerns checked out until after the holidays, further worsening these conditions.
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“Don’t ignore your symptoms,” he advised. “If you don’t feel right, respond.”
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