A gut bacterium with benign to harmful strains
The CDC reports thousands of Cyclospora cases since May, linked to lettuce tied to Taylor Farms and distributed at Taco Bell locations across five states, with products also in major retailers. Health experts advise caution with raw produce as investigations continue.
Researchers at Stanford and the Arc Institute have used generative genome models to design and synthesise bacteriophage genomes; 16 of the lab-made viruses proved viable and a cocktail of them rapidly killed E. coli strains resistant to natural phages. Experts have warned the work has raised urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions about AI-designed genomes.
Officials say 23 people in Minnesota have fallen ill with E. coli or salmonella, linked to alfalfa sprouts from Everything Sprouts (Calco/Everything Sprouts). Wisconsin cases also connect to the same supplier. Investigators are coordinating with federal authorities to pinpoint the source and scope of contamination.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the multistate cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce over after cases have fallen sharply. Federal investigators have linked the outbreak to iceberg lettuce imported from central Mexico by Taylor Farms; about 12,800 people were infected, 570 were hospitalised and two people died.
The FDA has closed its investigation into the Taylor Farms cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce. Investigators found cyclospora in a wastewater tank and a drainage ditch at the Taylor Farms site in Guanajuato, Mexico, but the agency says it is unclear how contamination occurred. The outbreak had caused nearly 13,000 illnesses across the United States.
A new analysis shows a rise in cancers among people under 50 across England, the US and the Netherlands, driven by obesity, diet and lifestyle factors, with bowel, kidney and uterine cancers among the fastest-growing. Experts urge research and prevention as diagnosis at younger ages becomes more common.
Antimicrobial resistance is intensifying due to farming practices, environmental contamination and rising infections. Deaths are rising globally, with projections showing up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if action stalls. Health systems face soaring costs and reduced effectiveness of medicines.
Tshwane authorities have continued to battle contaminated, unchlorinated tap water after hundreds of illnesses were linked to the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works. Officials say chlorination has resumed, but safety remains uncertain as cases persist and investigations continue into upstream sewage pollution and governance failures.