CDC

If you live in the Midwestern United States, you may want to avoid bagged salad mixes for a while. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details a new outbreak that has been linked back to the products, putting consumers at risk of contracting a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal distress. Multiple brands of bagged salads sold by various retailers have been recalled as part of this outbreak.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new report stating that the majority of Americans support measures intended to prevent or slow the spread of the novel coronavirus behind COVID-19. The statement is based on a survey of thousands of Americans from across the nation; the data was recently published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Hydroxychloroquine can no longer be used for COVID-19 treatment in the US, with the FDA revoking its emergency use authorization for the controversial drug touted by President Trump. Chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate had been credited with reducing coronavirus infection after an early study, but critics were quick to dispute both those findings and the drugs' efficacy.

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Many people are experiencing health anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic and adopting enhanced hygiene practices in an effort to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus. The CDC has looked into the best preventative practices and detailed them in a new report, but has also found that some people are taking extreme, dangerous measures in a futile effort to protect themselves.

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COVID-19 serologic tests that aim to identify whether people have already come into contact with coronavirus could be giving false hope, the CDC has warned, cautioning that false-positives are likely in many situations. Currently, two types of COVID-19 testing are primarily underway as the extent of the pandemic is measured, focusing either on whether patients are currently infected with the virus, or whether they have been in the past.

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The CDC is singing a familiar song: stop snuggling, kissing, or otherwise being physically affectionate with chickens. The message has been preached many times in the past, each in reference to outbreaks of Salmonella, a bacterial disease most commonly acquired through contaminated water or food. Salmonella is common among chickens, as well, and that's a problem for backyard farmers.

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Experimental drug remdesivir has been given authorization by the FDA for COVID-19 treatment in the US, following promising early results in Phase 3 trials last month. The drug, initially developed by Gilead for ebola and other infections, can now be prescribed in hospitals to shorten the recovery time from coronavirus, though the FDA makes no claims about the efficacy of the drug.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has officially added six new novel coronavirus symptoms to its list of warning signs. The public is advised to monitor for these symptoms, in addition to the coughing, shortness of breath, and fever already associated with the respiratory disease COVID-19. Unfortunately, the new symptoms are, as with the original three, widely associated with a number of colds and the flu.

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The US CDC has published a new advisory revealing that two pet cats have been diagnosed with mild cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The cats are both located in New York, according to the CDC, which says these are the first pets in the nation to test positive for the virus. Experts expect both cats, which are located in different parts of the state, to recover.

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A second wave of coronavirus could coincide with flu season and have lead to an even greater death toll, the director of the CDC has warned, sounding an early alarm amid talk by some US states of reopening plans. Though there have been calls from state legislators and indeed the White House to call a halt to stay-at-home orders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief has cautioned that doing so could send America head-first into a double epidemic.

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The CDC has eased its guidelines on employees returning to work after potentially being exposed to coronavirus, amid concerns that essential services like healthcare and food supplies could be disrupted by continued staff absences. The new instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention take a more defensive approach to tracking COVID-19 infection, though it's one which may prove controversial.

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The FDA has warned COVID-19 serological test-makers not to overstate the usefulness - or claim federal approval - of their products, cautioning that it may still be too early for such diagnostics to be meaningful. Unlike more widespread test processes, which look for the coronavirus itself in samples taken from patients, serological tests instead look for the body's immune response to an infection.

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