Trump Taps CDC Leadership Team Including Director Nominee Erica Schwartz and Texas Health Official Jennifer Shuford
President Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, a physician and former deputy surgeon general, to lead the CDC. A preventive medicine specialist and former U.S. Public Health Service rear admiral, Schwartz brings extensive military and federal public health experience, including leadership roles in the Navy, Coast Guard, and COVID-19 response efforts. If confirmed by the Senate, she would ove…
Gut Microbiome Can Reveal Risk of Parkinson’s, Scientists Say
A study suggests changes in gut microbiome may help identify Parkinson’s risk years before symptoms, with stronger signatures in people with genetic susceptibility and in diagnosed patients. Researchers analyzing data from over 1,000 participants across multiple countries found distinct microbial patterns affecting hundreds of species, not explained by medication.
The findings, published in N…
Got Wearable Data? Your Doctor Can Help You Connect the Dots
As wearable devices become increasingly common, they present new opportunities—and challenges—for public health. Millions of Americans are tracking metrics like sleep, heart rate, and temperature, but experts emphasize that data without context has limited value.
When patients and providers work together to interpret patterns, wearable data can support earlier detection of conditions such as…
AI's Unintended Consequences in Health Care
A recent study from the Peterson Health Technology Institute suggests that administrative AI may be intensifying, rather than easing, longstanding inefficiencies in the U.S. health care system. Evidence from prior authorization and medical coding processes indicates that AI-driven tools are contributing to increased back-and-forth between insurers and providers, sometimes accelerating “bot wars”…
CDC Reports Emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigella
CDC analysis published in MMWR reports a marked rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella infections in the United States. Among 16,788 isolates collected from 2011–2023, 3% were XDR, increasing from 0% in 2011–2015 to 8.5% in 2023.
Most cases occurred in adult men, with limited travel history, suggesting domestic transmission. XDR strains are resistant to five key antibiotics, and no…
Fertility Rate Drops to New Record Low: CDC
The CDC reports that the U.S. general fertility rate declined 1% in 2025 to 53.1 births per 1,000 females ages 15–44, marking another record low and a continued long-term downward trend since 2007.
Teen birth rates fell sharply, including a 7% decline among ages 15–19. The total fertility rate remains below replacement level, and increasing proportions of adults report delaying or forgoing pa…
Flu Vaccine May Slash Alzheimer's Risk
A new study published in Neurology suggests that influenza vaccination, particularly the high-dose formulation given to adults 65 and older, may be associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Analysis of health records from approximately 200,000 older adults found a 55% lower Alzheimer’s risk among high-dose vaccine recipients compared with about 40% among standard-dose recipients. R…