As US health agencies have struggled since early November to determine how ByHeart’s baby formula became contaminated with botulism spores, an international risk assessment of powdered formula will be launched. www.healthbeat.org/2026/01/08/b... #publichealth #MedSky #IDsky #foodsafety

The S.C. measles outbreak is one of the nation’s largest in recent months. Most of those infected have been children and teens, and nearly all were unvaccinated. Four have been hospitalized.

The South Carolina measles outbreak - one of the nation’s largest in recent months- shows no signs of being brought under control. Newly identified cases potentially exposed others in schools, churches, Best Buy + more www.healthbeat.org/2026/01/06/s... #publichealth #medsky #IDsky

Q&A with Dr. Ericka Brown at @hcphtx.bsky.social - “I get to affect the lives of patients and vulnerable populations, not just one patient at a time, but really thinking about it from a more global perspective, and driving the health of the community forward.” www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/24/e...

“It’s critically important that the agency go out there in the field & do a survey of all the infant formula out there to reassure consumers and to understand whether this is a broader problem” - Sarah Sorscher of ⁦‪@CSPI‬⁩net.org www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/19/b... #publichealth #MedSky #foodsafety

‘They get to reintroduce public health to America’: Former assistant surgeon general shares insights on his students, outbreaks and the crisis at CDC.

As food safety groups say ByHeart's recall and infant botulism outbreak exposes dangerous gaps in the oversight of baby formula, federal regulators issue warnings.

“The key question that never seems to be addressed by the defenders of gain-of-function experiments of this kind is how we, the people, get to influence whether such experiments go ahead,” writes Matt Ridley. spectator.com/article/play...

Infant botulism outbreak linked to ByHeart baby formula prompts warnings to major retailers and calls for tougher testing + regulation. What to know about 4 recent developments www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/19/b... #publichealth #foodsafety #pedsky #medsky #IDsky

Healthbeat asked 10 of the nation's largest maternity hospitals and systems that deliver the most babies about their policies for giving hepatitis B vaccines at birth and whether they are changing. Most wouldn't answer.

MGB isn’t budging. I’ve been giving Hep B vaccine to newborns all week.

Maternity hospitals will now play a significant role in whether babies will universally be vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth. But many of the largest ones won’t say how they are responding to a controversial change in federal guidance. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/18/h... #medsky #publichealth

Big maternity hospitals are mum on how they will handle new federal guidance against universal hepatitis B shots for newborns. “Hospital policy absolutely does matter,” says March of Dimes’ chief medical officer. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/18/h... #publichealth #medsky #IDsky #Pedsky

“I think we should be honest with ourselves that trust issues have deep roots. It’s not brand new.” - Q&A with Ali Khan public health dean and former director of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/16/a... #MedSky #IDsky #publichealth

“We’re not reforming the agency. We’re dismantling the agency,” says @unmc.bsky.social #publichealth dean + retired assistant surgeon general Ali Khan on the state of CDC. Much more in this Q&A on key public health issues. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/16/a... #IDsky #medsky

“Closest to Breast Milk” “Made with Organic Grass-Fed Whole Milk” “Certified Clean Ingredients” “Purity Award” Parents who chose ByHeart said they wanted something better than your average baby formula. Instead they’ve been on the lookout for infant botulism. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/03/b...

Government officials in Spain are investigating a research center near Barcelona as the possible source of a lab leak that may have caused a recent outbreak of swine fever. 1/ #biosafety #biosecurity #publichealth #IDsky #MedSky

While ByHeart has said botulism bacteria has not been among the pathogens routinely tested for across the formula industry, one major formula maker told Healthbeat it has tested its products for botulism contamination for years. www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/03/b... #publichealth #idsky #medsky

ByHeart’s recall of its baby formula products amid a growing nationwide outbreak of infant botulism has shaken the trust of moms and caregivers – not just in ByHeart’s formula, but also in formula made by other brands. #medsky #idsky #publichealth www.healthbeat.org/2025/12/03/b...

HHS did not announce the appointment of new CDC second in command + “many C.D.C. employees seemed unaware of it. But the C.D.C.’s internal database lists Dr. Abraham as the agency’s principal deputy director, with a start date of Nov. 23.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...

Top official at Association of Food and Drug Officials described what he says was FDA’s delayed, limited and disjointed sharing of critical information needed by state food safety officials about what stores received infant formula linked to botulism outbreak. www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/22/b...

This from FDA commissioner in wake of our @healthbeat.org report describing delays in FDA sharing with state officials details of where recalled by ByHeart formula was sold. 👇 www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/22/b.... #MedSky #IDsky #publichealth

California public health officials confirmed late Friday that six babies in that state who consumed ByHeart formula were treated for botulism between November 2024 and June 2025, up to nine months before the outbreak that has sickened at least 31 babies in 15 states. apnews.com/article/byhe...

The leader of the Association of Food and Drug Officials told Healthbeat that the FDA has been slow to share distribution lists for recalled ByHeart formula. “I’m not sure they recognize the sense of urgency,” he said.

FDA delays left recalled ByHeart baby formula on store shelves, food safety expert tells Healthbeat. Nearly a week was lost clearing bureaucratic hurdles before all state and local food safety officials were told where formula was being sold. www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/22/b... #IDsky #Medsky

How did ByHeart baby formula become contaminated with botulism bacteria? “It’s very important to find out where the spores are coming from, because it’s difficult to eliminate them, to kill them, to prevent them from germinating into active bacteria” www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/20/b... #Medsky #IDsky

The latest on the growing infant botulism outbreak and baby formula recall: “It’s very important to find out where the spores are coming from, because it’s difficult to eliminate them, to kill them, to prevent them from germinating into active bacteria.” 👇#publichealth #IDsky #MedSky #motherhood

New tests find botulism bacteria in ByHeart infant formula as more babies are hospitalized. Meanwhile major retailers are still selling the recalled products. www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/20/b...

Outreach needed to ensure families who got donated formula linked to botulism outbreak are aware of danger, said Donald Whitehead of @nationalhomeless.bsky.social “Until you just alerted me, I did not know this issue existed…I personally will reach out to the CDC.”

ByHeart, the baby formula maker at center of a botulism outbreak investgiation, donated products to homeless, at-risk families. It's unclear what's being done to alert them.

Baby formula linked to an outbreak of infant botulism was distributed to programs serving homeless mothers and other struggling families in multiple states, but it’s unclear what actions are being taken to alert those families to the recall. www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/13/b... #medsky #publichealth

NACCHO CEO Lori Freeman talks to Healthbeat about CDC disruptions, funding cuts, and what city and county officials can learn from red state colleagues.

The baby formula company linked to a growing infant botulism outbreak that has hospitalized children across the US, was previously cited by federal regulators for contamination issues involving a different type of dangerous bacteria www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/11/b... #publichealth #IDsky #medsky

5 From the Field: Our Q&A with @nacchoalerts.bsky.social CEO Lori Freeman on how local health departments are dealing with CDC chaos + how #publichealth moves forward #episky #IDSky www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/11/n...

“We may be the only specialty that continues to do major abdominal surgery without a shred of evidence of benefit,” said Dr. Steven L. Clark, an obstetrician at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas who has extensively studied electronic monitoring. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/h...

Thank you to everyone who attended Healthbeat's event in Atlanta about 'Aha' moments in public health! And thank you to those who shared their stories! Be on the lookout for videos from the event and more stories on healthbeat.org.

Investigators previously cited monkey research facility for lax treatment of wastewater from labs experimenting with anthrax and other deadly bacteria. (4 things to know in my Healthbeat article 👇)

New details on the history of biosafety lapses at the Tulane monkey research facility involved in this week’s truck crash + monkey escape. My latest article for Healthbeat: www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/31/m... #publichealth #IDsky

For those following the Tulane research monkey escape: There is an entire chapter in my book about biosafety breaches in Tulane’s monkey research. Page 160 is only part of what I uncovered in my deep FOIA work for Pandora’s Gamble…

“The critical violation occurred in November 2014, when three macaques had to be euthanized following a ‘biosecurity breach.’ …when ‘one or more staff members had failed to adhere to established biosafety and infection control procedures.” www.wlbt.com/2025/10/29/u...

Four things to know about new mpox alert in Europe + cases spreading in California www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/28/m...

A malaria mystery in Washington state - and how disease sleuths solved it. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/27/w... #publichealth #IDsky #episky

“None of the three Southern California residents hospitalized in the new outbreak were vaccinated against mpox” www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/22/m...

As California health officials investigate an outbreak of a more severe type of mpox virus, federal data indicate that low vaccination rates across the country. In dozens of states, >half of at-risk people remained unvaccinated in wake of 2022-2023 mpox outbreak. www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/22/m...

An unusual series of US malaria outbreaks in 2023 – and now local mosquitoes are suspected of causing malaria infections in two states this summer. What you need to know from @healthbeat.org www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/17/u...

5 takeaways from new report on obesity in the United States. “The rates of obesity in the nation remain alarmingly high,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia of @tfah.bsky.social www.healthbeat.org/2025/10/16/o...

South Carolina now has 16 confirmed measles cases. Public health tags Greenville gym as one source. www.postandcourier.com/health/south...

Trump Administration Will Rehire Scores of Experts Fired in Error Friday’s layoffs swept up scientists involved in responding to the measles outbreak and running an influential journal. An official acknowledged the mistakes on Saturday. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

“The administration told a federal judge in California on Friday night that seven agencies…had issued RIF notices to a total of more than 4,100 workers,” reports @washingtonpost www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Alison Young has covered health, science and environmental issues for most of her career, including as a CDC beat reporter during an earlier time of controversial change at the agency. She joins Healthbeat in another period of upheaval.