Health Desk

Health

Public health, vaccination, surveillance, and the line between fear and evidence.

Holstein dairy cows being milked on a rotary parlor in Virginia

Health • Report

Bird Flu Changed Farm Policy Before It Changed Human Medicine.

H5N1 remains a low public-health risk for the general public, but it has already redrawn dairy surveillance, farm biosecurity, and the line between agricultural disease control and health preparedness.

By Ruth Alvarez • April 7, 2026 • 12:35 p.m. EDT • 8 min read

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A bottle of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine

Health • Report

Measles Is Not a Childhood Memory Anymore.

The 2026 measles surge is a reminder that public health depends less on dramatic emergency language than on whether routine vaccination systems still hold.

By Ruth Alvarez • April 6, 2026 • 1:20 p.m. EDT • 8 min read