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Month: February 2026

Published on Leave a comment on The Olympics You Haven’t Heard About

Yes, you can spend thousands to travel to Italy and maybe get a ticket to a major event, but why not just come to my yard in Maryland? The snowcrete from the snow and ice storm of 2 weeks ago has now become a combination ice rink and slippery downhill ski slope. Wouldn't it be just as much fun to watch me gracefully pirouette on my early morning trek to gather my (now depleted) daily Washington Post print paper, or witness me careening down the slope to fill the bird feeder? And, admission is free.

NMIAI

Check my new acronyms tab if you've forgotten last week's intro to this new acronym.

Nipah virus is again in the news. You recall last week I mentioned the outbreak in India, and now WHO reports a new case in Bangladesh. The patient apparently had no connection to the Indian outbreak and likely was infected from repeated consumption of raw date palm sap. Fruit bats are the natural hosts of Nipah virus, and humans often are infected by consuming food contaminated by infected bat poop, urine, or saliva. Cases of Nipah virus infection are reported fairly regularly in small numbers in Bangladesh, so this one new case is not out of line with past epidemiology.

On the good news side of the globe, the cholera vaccine stockpile is now replenished enough to allow resumption of preventive vaccination campaigns in Mozambique and subsequently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh, following a WHO allocation framework developed in 2024.

Vaccination Happenings

I don't usually report on preclinical research studies because they are so far removed from clinical applications that most never make it to approval for human use. I'm making an exception for a study that appears to have established a plausible mechanism for how mRNA covid vaccines cause mild myocarditis in some individuals. Unfortunately the publication does not have open access, but the bottom line is that the problem may lie in activation of an interferon-gamma signaling pathway that facilitates myocardial cell injury. Understanding the mechanism can of course lead to effective interventions, but again we are far away from seeing this applied to human health.

CIDRAP collaborated with a group called Unbiased Science to put together a wonderful overview of The State of US Vaccine Policy. The most frightening part of the report was the summary of steps taken by the HHS Secretary that could eventually destabilize the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and drive vaccine manufacturers out of business. I highly recommend all healthcare providers who administer or discuss vaccines with patients to read this CIDRAP/Unbiased Science report.

CIDRAP and other investigators released a new report on safety, effectiveness, and public health benefits of the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine. It strongly refutes the move by ACIP and HHS to recommend against a universal birth dose which is still recommended by AAP and all major medical societies.

Measles March

CDC numbers as of February 5 put us at 733 cases in 2026 and 2276 for calendar year 2025. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we might be seeing a true slowdown recently.

Rewer cases nationally the past 3 weeks in CDC's graph

So far, our neighbors in Canada have logged 94 cases in 2026. See PAHO's Februrary 3 alert for more Western Hemisphere details, including the 740 cases in Mexico for 2026.

WRIS

Winter Respiratory Infection Season finally caught up to LSW and me; we're going through facial tissues at record rates. Influenza activity seems to be decreasing nationally, and I note some evidence of an increase in influenza B detections (the green bars below) which often occurs at the end of flu season. Percent test positivity has leveled off.

CDC graph showing slight rise in influenza B as a percentage of positive tests in clinical labs

RSV and COVID hospitalization rates are static or decreasing. (Remember I'm looking at hospitalizations as probably the least-biased metric of disease activity.)

Chili and Chilly

I'll be parked in front of the TV this evening, trying to watch the big game as well as the million-dollar commercials while feasting on a recently remembered old chili recipe and trying to stay warm indoors. Silver Spring is due for highs in the 40's later this week, none too soon for me.

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Published on 2 Comments on Reading by the Fire

I managed to avoid any severe musculoskeletal or cardiac injury while tackling the "icecrete" in my driveway and walkways this week. It was a time better suited for reading by the fireplace.

NMIAI

No man is an island. I learned about this John Donne quotation several decades ago when I read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. It took me probably a few decades more to read Donne's original Meditation 17 from which it came. This work inspires many take-home messages, but the (perhaps) unique message I take away applies to global health. As the US is attempting to complete its severance from the World Health Organization, and California has joined WHO's GOARN (Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network) independently, I am reminded of the importance of keeping abreast of infectious diseases worldwide. Even disregarding any empathy for citizens of far-away countries, we must be engaged with the global community to anticipate, and help prevent, global spread of infectious diseases, including to the US.

So, I'm invoking this nonsensical, unpronounceable acronym as a title to highlight recent global health happenings.

Two global outbreak events are notable this week. WHO updated the Nipah virus outbreak in India. I mentioned this relatively rare virus in my March 3, 2024 post regarding an outbreak in Bangladesh. The current outbreak in the West Bengal State in India is causing concern, though more for local and regional spread than for international spread at this point. You can look through that 2024 post for more information about the disease; I was also interested to see that post because it had a long section about an ACIP meeting, before that group was hijacked.

The second outbreak report is good news: the Marburg virus disease outbreak in Ethiopia has officially ended now that 2 consecutive incubation periods have passed since the last opportunity for transmission occurred. This hemorrhagic fever outbreak had started last November and totaled 19 cases with 14 deaths. This was a very effective public health response.

US Happenings

This week the American Academy of Pediatrics published its updated vaccination schedule for 2026; no momentous changes, basically just incorporating some tweaks that were adopted as AAP policy in the past year. This is the schedule of choice, I strongly advise avoiding the ACIP/CDC recommendations as they now stand. Virtually every professional medical organization and many states have endorsed the AAP vaccination schedule.

CDC's National Center for Health Statistics updated maternal syphilis rates for 2022-2024. It's disheartening but not surprising.

2024 rates rose to 357.9 per 100,000 births

Speaking of CDC surveillance activities, investigators from multiple institutions reported this week that 38 of 84 CDC surveillance databases have been paused, presumably driven by budget cuts and political priorities. No surprise the #1 paused database category was vaccination.

The largest topic in the paused group was vaccination

A nice summary for patients is available, also worthwhile reading for healthcare providers.

Measles

I'm running out of things to say. Measles is out of control in the US. CDC's total case count for 2026 is 588 as of January 30. Totals for calendar year 2025 are now at 2267. The Johns Hopkins map for the past 2 weeks shows South Carolina still leading the way with many other hot spots of local transmission.

377 cases Jan 16-30

WRIS

The most interesting development is a slight uptick in influenza-like illness this past week after some downward trending. Hospitalization rates are still downtrending however. I'm keeping a watch for whether we really see a second flu peak this season.

Meanwhile, RSV hospitalization rates might be leveling off, and Covid hospitalizations are downtrending in most places.

Playboy, Cleric, and Poet/Writer

No, I'm not referring to myself. I'm describing John Donne, a pretty interesting guy. I took the opportunity to reread the modern English version of Meditation 17 and want to share the most famous excerpt with you.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

I'm also thinking about rereading For Whom the Bell Tolls; some of its themes also offer commentary on today's headlines.

Look for NMIAI features in future posts.

Unless otherwise indicated, the content and opinions expressed on this web site are those of the author(s). They are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of the George Washington University.
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