The FDA labs that test food to prevent illness have been affected by wider health and human services staff cuts

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suspending a quality-control program for its food-testing laboratories as a result of staff cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

The proficiency testing program of the FDA’s Food Emergency Response Network is designed to ensure consistency and accuracy across the agency’s network of about 170 labs that test food for pathogens and contaminants to prevent food-borne illness.

The firing and departure of as many as 20,000 HHS employees has upended public health research and disrupted the agency’s work on areas like bird flu and drug reviews. Donald Trump hopes to slash as much as $40bn from HHS.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning people to be on the lookout for counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug that many people use off-label for weight loss.

The federal agency and Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant that makes Ozempic, said this week that they had learned about "several hundred units" of the drug that made it onto the market outside of the company's approved supply chain.

Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk, is part of a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists. The drugs are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Doctors and public health advocates were once able to imagine the end of the HIV epidemic in our lifetime. The last four decades of scientific advancements had delivered new treatments and preventive medications that significantly curbed the rates of transmission and impacts of the once deadly virus. The number of new infections has dropped from more than 130,000 in the mid- 1980s to 37,000 by 2022 — and mortality rates have steadily dropped.

Millions in federal funding — supported by Democratic and Republican leadership alike ― had helped buoy a swath of programs and research into new injectable drugs for HIV prevention and treatment, which are long-lasting and less burdensome than daily medication, and can be used to address HIV disparities across race, gender and sexual orientation both in the United States and internationally.

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But in March, that glimmer of hope began to fade as the Trump administration decimated the nation’s HIV prevention programs as part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s drastic overhaul of the Department of Health and Human Services agency.

The outbreak linked to romaine lettuce killed one person and sickened at least 88 more, including a 9-year-old boy who nearly died of kidney failure.

An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce ripped across 15 states in November, sickening dozens of people, including a 9-year-old boy in Indiana who nearly died of kidney failure and a 57-year-old Missouri woman who fell ill after attending a funeral lunch. One person died.

But chances are you haven’t heard about it.  

The Food and Drug Administration indicated in February that it had closed the investigation without publicly detailing what had happened — or which companies were responsible for growing and processing the contaminated lettuce.

Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation

Plantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system.

Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine.

Dr Quirijn de Mast, one of the paper’s authors, said they were now in a race against time to record and study the potential benefits of African heritage diets before they disappear as people move to cities and adopt western-style eating habits.

US health secretary bucks expert opinion as research shows rise in diagnoses due to better tools and screening

The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, said in his first press conference that the significant and recent rise in autism diagnoses was evidence of an “epidemic” caused by an “environmental toxin”, which would be rooted out by September.

Autism advocates and health experts have repeatedly stated the rise in diagnoses is related to better recognition of the condition, changing diagnostic criteria and better access to screening. Many also reject the label of an “epidemic”, arguing that neurodivergence should be valued.

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RFK disagreed with the consensus of health researchers, and said that “we need to move away” from the idea that the increase in autism prevalence “is simply due to better diagnostic tools”.

Study of 420,000 Britons suggests going at speeds of at least 4mph can lower risks by up to 43%

Walking at a brisker pace could lower the risk of a wide range of heart rhythm problems, according to a study.

The peer-reviewed research, published in BMJ Heart, analysed data from 420,925 participants of the UK Biobank who had provided data on their walking speed. Of these, 81,956 gave more detailed data on the amount of time they spent walking at different paces.

According to the study, a slow pace was defined as less than 3mph; steady/average pace as 3–4mph; and a brisk pace as more than 4mph. Just over 6.5% of participants had a slow walking pace, 53% had an average walking pace and 41% had a brisk walking pace.

As part of Trump’s administrations ‘efficiency’ drive, staff running decades old program for energy assistance laid off

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), is facing new demands to release almost $400m allocated by Congress to help low-income US families keep the air conditioning on this summer.

The funds are under threat after the staff running a decades old program were fired – as part of the Trump administration’s so-called ‘efficiency’ drive.

States and tribal nations are still waiting for funding allocated by Congress for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – a chronically underfunded bipartisan program that helped around 6 million households keep on top of energy bills last year.

Babies’ and children’s mattresses and bedding emit toxic chemicals and flame retardants associated with developmental and hormonal disorders, according to two new studies.

“We measured chemicals in the air of 25 children’s bedrooms between the ages of 6 months and 4 years and found worrisome levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and UV filters,” said senior study author Miriam Diamond, a professor in the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Toronto.

The highest levels of the chemicals were found near the children’s beds, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Holding the receipts for 10 seconds absorbs enough bisphenol S to break California’s safety rule, research finds

Paper receipts from major retailers in the US are so laden with bisphenol S that holding one for 10 seconds can cause the skin to absorb enough of the highly toxic chemical to violate California’s safety threshold, new research has found.

The findings are being used as evidence in legal action aimed at pressuring retailers to stop using receipt paper treated with bisphenol S, or BPS, which is linked to cancer and reproductive problems.

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) non-profit has sent violation notices to about 50 major retailers alerting them to the exceedance of California’s Proposition 65 limits for BPS.

Giving patients statins and ezetimibe after a heart attack can reduce risk of second attack or stroke, say scientists

Thousands of heart attacks or strokes could be prevented and lives saved with a combination of two cheap drugs, a study suggests.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, with heart attacks the most common acute event. For those who survive an attack, the risk of another one is highest in the first year because blood vessels are more sensitive, making it easier for blood clots to develop.

Researchers at Imperial College London and Lund University in Sweden found that by giving heart attack patients two drugs together – statins and ezetimibe, a cholesterol-lowering drug – their risk of another heart attack, stroke or death was reduced.

Dr Peter Marks, forced to resign by Trump administration, sees no ‘possible way’ to determine cause by September

The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, should not offer “false hope” to families by boasting he can figure out what causes autism as soon as September, says the physician who resigned as the nation’s top vaccine official amid what he called anti-vaccination misinformation from the Trump administration cabinet member.

In an interview during which he alluded to his help helming Operation Warp Speed – the initiative that took only about nine months to develop, manufacture and distribute the vaccines protecting the public from Covid-19 – Dr Peter Marks warned that autism “is an incredibly complicated issue”.

“If you just ask me, as a scientist, is it possible to get the answer that quickly? I don’t see any possible way,” Marks said on CBS’s Face the Nation in a pre-recorded discussion airing Sunday.

A pause to NIH funding has researchers scrambling for contingency plans at the University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. The center’s brain bank is preserving more than 4,000 brains for research.

For some patients, removing brain tissue can help treat OCD and other disorders. But ethical concerns remain.

Summary

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed measles vaccine protection “wanes very quickly” and questioned its safety, despite urging vaccinations.

Experts criticized Kennedy’s misinformation, noting two MMR doses provide lifelong immunity and that vaccines are rigorously tested and monitored.

The U.S. faces its largest measles outbreak since 2019, with 668 cases and three deaths.

Kennedy’s statements, seen as nods to anti-vaccine supporters, raise fears the U.S. may lose its measles elimination status.

Summary

Researchers have developed a “simple and cost-effective” blood test capable of detecting Parkinson’s disease “long before symptoms emerge,” offering a “highly accurate, non-invasive, rapid and affordable diagnostic tool.”

The test analyses transfer RNA fragments in the blood, focusing on a repetitive RNA sequence and a decline in mitochondrial RNA.

“This discovery represents a major advancement in our understanding of Parkinson’s disease,” said Prof Hermona Soreq.

Scoring 0.86 for accuracy, it outperforms current tests at 0.73. “More work is needed to continue to test and validate this possible test,” said Prof David Dexter of Parkinson’s UK.

Summary

The U.S. has recorded the highest number of measles cases since 2019, with 712 confirmed cases across 24 states, according to new CDC data. This marks an increase of 105 cases from the previous week.

At least 5 of the 24 states, including Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas, are reporting outbreaks.

About 97% of cases are among unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status. The CDC says 11% of patients have been hospitalized, most under age 19.

At least two deaths have been confirmed in Texas, both in unvaccinated school-aged children, with a third death under investigation in New Mexico.

Summary

Public health experts fear rising anti-vaccine sentiment and political resistance to mRNA technology could stall FDA approval of new vaccines, including Moderna’s flu+Covid combo shot.

The FDA unexpectedly delayed approval of Novavax’s Covid vaccine, sparking concerns about further delays.

Lawmakers in several states have proposed bans on mRNA vaccines, despite their proven safety. Moderna and Pfizer are advancing mRNA-based combo vaccines, while Novavax pursues a protein-based version.

Experts warn that political interference could undermine innovation and access to vaccines, even as combination shots promise greater convenience and protection.

• Vaccines have been effective in reducing the prevalence of an array of diseases.
• In spite of some major successes, deep challenges still exist in guaranteeing equitable distribution of vaccines around the world, including a North-South divide.
• A rise in vaccine hesitancy and a U.S. administration that is withdrawing from global health programs cast doubt on the future of vaccination.