What’s Really Going on With Bird Flu Wastewater Data

Wastewater, which can measure how much virus humans excrete, has become a valuable disease-tracking tool.

But using that tool to track our current viral threat, the H5N1 bird flu that has begun circulating in cows, is much trickier. Finding even high levels of bird flu in wastewater does not necessarily mean an area is experiencing an outbreak. Rather, it sets off a hunt for the source.

Secure access to food and water is decreasing for US children, research finds (medicalxpress.com)

Between 2005 and 2020, the number of children facing simultaneous water and food insecurity in the United States more than doubled. Additionally, Black and Hispanic children were several times more likely than white children to experience food and water insecurity at the same time....

In a study published in Nature Water, the researchers examined water insecurity, food insecurity and their simultaneous occurrence among children in the United States.

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Study finds even low lead levels in US water are linked to lead poisoning among susceptible people

In a first-of-its-kind study, physician-researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) report that even lead levels below the EPA's threshold in household water may adversely affect individuals with chronic kidney disease.

In a nationwide, cross-sectional analysis of household water lead concentrations and blood characteristics in patients beginning dialysis therapy, the team's findings—published in JAMA Internal Medicine—suggested that levels of lead commonly found in U.S. drinking water may be associated with lead poisoning among susceptible individuals.

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US says cyberattacks against water supplies are rising, and utilities need to do more to stop them The Environmental Protection Agency warns that cyberattacks against water utilities around the U.S. are becoming more frequent and more severe. AP News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water.

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