(WASHINGTON) — Cases of norovirus are rising across the United States, doubling over the last few months, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nearly 14% of tests came back positive for norovirus during the most recent week ending Nov. 15, compared to roughly 7% about three months ago.
Test positivity is a metric used to identify how many people are confirmed to have norovirus after an illness is suspected.
Health experts have said that, like other measurements, test positivity is imperfect as it depends on the number of tests that are ordered, which can vary.
Last December saw a record-breaking rate of norovirus cases in the U.S. with nearly 25% of tests coming back positive. Cases had been trending down since then but have begun to rise in recent weeks, CDC data shows.
Electronic health records data from Epic Research show that Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming are some of the states currently experiencing the highest number of norovirus cases. Emergency department visits have been on the rise since July, Epic Research data shows.
Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation of the inside lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
Although it’s often referred to as the “stomach bug” or “stomach flu,” norovirus illness is not related to influenza.
Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., causing 58% of foodborne illnesses each year, and responsible for about 2,5000 outbreaks annually, according to the CDC.
The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. Patients, however, can also experience fever, headaches and body aches.
Typically, an infected person will develop symptoms between 12 to 48 hours after being infected. However, norovirus typically resolves quickly and, in most healthy adults, lasts one to three days, according to the CDC.
Health experts say the best way to prevent getting norovirus is to wash hands with warm soap and water for 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer alone does not work well against norovirus.
The CDC says people should wash their hands after using the toilet or changing diapers as well as when eating, preparing or handling food.
Stock image of cigarette. krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Just 100 cigarettes over the course of someone’s life may be enough to raise their risk of heart disease and death, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, who looked at the smoking habits of more than 300,000 adults for almost 20 years, found that men and women who smoked as few as two cigarettes daily had a 60% increased risk of death from any cause compared to those who never smoked.
Additionally, the smoking group had a 50% higher risk of heart disease, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.
“Tobacco use is a very well-established risk factor for heart disease,” said Dr. Jennifer Miao, a cardiologist at Yale University and an ABC News Medical Unit fellow. “It really damages the blood vessel lining and it accelerates the development of plaques and coronary artery disease.”
Smoking is also linked to heart rhythm issues, such as atrial fibrillation and stroke, Maio added.
Cutting back on cigarette use may not be enough to reverse the harm, the study found. Although current smokers had a higher risk of death than former smokers, former smokers still had an elevated risk of heart disease more than 20 years after they had kicked the habit, according to the study.
Data from the American Lung Association shows that adult smoking in the U.S. has dropped from about 42% in 1965 to roughly 12% in 2022 — a decline of more than 70%.
However, the number of people smoking fewer than 15 cigarettes per day increased 85% during the same period.
Americans should be counseled to quit smoking altogether rather than just cutting back, Dr. Erfan Tasdighi, co-author of the study and internal medicine physician at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told ABC News.
“We actually have the evidenc. … to say that even less than one cigarette a day can increase different multiple cardiovascular outcomes, and it’s not something that’s clinically insignificant,” Tasdighi said.
Miao acknowledged how difficult it can be for patients to go completely smoke-free.
“It’s very, very important for us as clinicians to acknowledge that it’s a lot easier said than done,” she said.
Miao suggested that physicians identify who is having a difficult time stopping tobacco use and get them connected with the appropriate resources and medical therapies available for smoking cessation efforts.
The benefit of quitting smoking is most substantial in the first ten years after quitting, the study suggested. However, researchers say it takes time for the body to recover and reach the level of someone who never smoked.
Tasdighi emphasized that this doesn’t mean cessation doesn’t have immediate effects.
“It’s important that people know that when they stop smoking, their risk goes down immediately and significantly,” he said.
Miao agreed, adding that the study’s most important takeaway is that “it’s important to quit smoking early on, and no amount of smoking is without risk and health consequences.”
It’s not just patients who should heed the results of this study, the authors stressed. Physicians should also consider changing the way they inquire about smoking because the number of packs someone smokes per year is not necessarily predictive of long-term health risks, they said.
“Clinicians need a more nuanced approach that incorporates other ways to identify and quantify cigarette use, like smoking status and smoking intensity,” Miao said, noting that whether it’s smoking one cigarette a day or one a week, no amount of smoking is safe, and quitting remains the best thing someone can do for their health.
To learn more about quitting smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or make an appointment with your health care provider.
Radhika Malhotra, MD, is an internal medicine-preventive medicine resident at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NASSUA COUNTY, N.Y.) — The New York State Department of Health has confirmed a case of locally acquired chikungunya on Long Island, marking the first case of the virus reported to be locally acquired in New York and the first locally acquired case to be reported in the United States since 2019.
Laboratory testing at the department’s Wadsworth Center confirmed the case in Nassau County on Long Island, according to health officials.
“An investigation suggests that the individual likely contracted the virus following a bite from an infected mosquito,” officials said. “While the case is classified as locally acquired based on current information, the precise source of exposure is not known.”
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease most common in tropical and subtropical regions and symptoms include fever and joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash, officials said.
The disease cannot be spread directly from one person to another, authorities said, and the risk to the public is low.
The illness is rarely fatal, and most patients recover within a week, though some may experience persistent joint pain, authorities continued.
“People at higher risk for severe disease include newborns infected around the time of birth, adults aged 65 and older, and individuals with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease,” according to the New York State Department of Health.
The Aedes albopictus mosquito, which is known to transmit chikungunya, is present in parts of downstate New York and local transmission can occur when an A. albopictus mosquito bites an infected traveler, becomes infected and bites another person.
“Our Wadsworth Center has confirmed this test result, which is the first known case of locally acquired Chikungunya in New York State. Given the much colder nighttime temperatures, the current risk in New York is very low.” State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “We urge everyone to take simple precautions to protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites.”
In 2025, there have been three additional chikungunya cases outside New York City that were all linked to international travel to regions with active chikungunya infections, according to health officials.
“Routine mosquito testing conducted by the Department’s Wadsworth Center and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has not detected chikungunya virus in any New York mosquito samples to date,” said the New York State Department of Health.
Health officials said that all New Yorkers should take precautions to reduce the risk of mosquito bites by using EPA-registered insect repellents, wearing long sleeves, long pants and socks outdoors when possible, removing standing water around homes, such as in flowerpots, buckets and gutters, and by repairing or patching holes in window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out.
Susan Monarez, nominee to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, June 25, 2025 in Washington. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Lawyers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez said Wednesday evening that she would not leave her post as a top public health official, despite attempts by White House officials and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oust her for “protecting the public” over “a political agenda.”
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” Monarez’s lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
The showdown began as a disagreement over demands from Kennedy and Stefanie Spear, his principal deputy chief of staff, for Monarez to support changes to COVID vaccine policy and the firings of high-level staff, a source familiar with the conversations told ABC News, which Monarez would not commit to.
HHS then announced that Monarez was “no longer director” of the CDC, which touched off a wave of high-level resignations from CDC officials in protest and, ultimately, a fiery response later Wednesday evening from Monarez’s lawyers, who said she wouldn’t resign.
Kennedy, on Fox News on Thursday morning, would not comment on Monarez and argued that the priorities at the CDC need to be re-examined.
“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on a personnel issue,” Kennedy said. “What I will say is President Trump has very, very ambitious hopes for what for CDC right now. CDC has problems. You know, we saw the misinformation coming out of covid. They got the testing wrong. They got the social distancing, the masks, the school closures that did so much harm to the American people.”
Asked about Monarez’s lawyer statement saying that she “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts,” and the resignations that followed, Kennedy said he was not caught off guard by what happened and continued to claim that the CDC is “in trouble.”
“And we are fixing it, and it may be that some people should not be working there anymore,” Kennedy said.
The White House, which has the authority to dismiss Monarez, followed up late Wednesday night with a statement from spokesperson Kush Desai, who said Monarez was indeed “terminated.”
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again. Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC,” Desai said.
But Monarez’s lawyers again pushed back, arguing that because Monarez was appointed by President Donald Trump to the post — the first CDC director to go through a Senate confirmation process — Trump had to personally dismiss her.
“For this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position,” Zaid and Lowell said in a statement.
Monarez, the recently sworn-in director of the CDC, was confirmed by the Senate just four weeks ago.
Monarez was the second nominee for the position, after Trump’s first nominee, Dave Weldon, didn’t appear to have the votes for a Senate confirmation, in part because of his history of vaccine skepticism.
Monarez, during her confirmation hearing, was clear about her support for vaccines: “I think vaccines save lives. I think that we need to continue to support the promotion of utilization of vaccines,” she said in July.
But over the last few months, her boss, Kennedy, has made significant changes to vaccine policy, particularly for COVID vaccines, that have the potential to limit access to the shot.
Earlier Wednesday, Kennedy’s FDA narrowed the scope for who will be approved to get the updated vaccines available this fall and winter.
The latest vaccines were only approved for elderly people — adults aged 65 and older — and for younger people if they have at least one underlying condition that puts them at higher risk for severe illness, departing from the prior guidance that everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated.
The FDA decision will come before the CDC later this month, where Monarez and a committee of advisers, recently all replaced with handpicked choices by Kennedy, would’ve had the chance to weigh in — and Monarez would’ve ultimately needed to sign off.
In March, Kennedy also oversaw a change to the pediatric vaccine schedule, shifting to a “shared clinical decision making” model that leaves the decision to vaccinate children against COVID to parents, alongside advice from a doctor.
Kennedy has defended the vaccine policy changes as advancing “science, safety, and common sense.”
Following HHS’s statement about Monarez’s departure, four other senior career officials at the CDC also resigned, according to emails obtained by ABC News.
Deb Houry, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science at CDC, Dan Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, sent emails to colleagues on Wednesday night informing them that they’d submitted their resignations, each mentioning changing policies at CDC.
Jennifer Layden, Director for the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, resigned as well.
“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health,” Daskalakis wrote in his departure email to colleagues.
“You are the best team I have ever worked with, and you continue to shine despite this dark cloud over the agency and our profession,” he said.
Houry, who has worked at CDC through Democrat and Republican administrations, said “the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political pauses or interpretations.”
“I am committed to protecting the public’s health, but the ongoing changes prevent me from continuing in my job as a leader of the agency. This is a heartbreaking decision that I make with a heavy heart,” Houry wrote.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who has oversight of HHS as chair of the Senate committee focused on health, committed Wednesday night to looking into the high-profile departures.
The wave of departures comes during a tumultuous time for the CDC, just a few weeks after a shooting on the main campus in Atlanta that hit multiple buildings. Authorities said they found the alleged shooter had been harboring years-long grievances with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Monarez’s departure was first reported by the Washington Post.
