Have you been suspicious of your lettuce? Perhaps your TikTok feed is telling you to stop eating salad, or you’ve simply heard about an illness caused by contaminated produce from a friend. If you’ve been wondering what’s up with this lettuce-fueled frenzy, you’re in the right place. The U.S. is currently facing the largest outbreak of cyclosporiasis ever recorded.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, influenza activity is “high” across the state. From the week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10, 498 cases of influenza were reported in Boston. While cases have decreased in past weeks, they are still persistent with 158 cases reported in the week of Jan. 18 to Jan. 24. With data through Jan. 17th, the state of Massachusetts reports 193 deaths in the current season, including six pediatric influenza deaths.
Multiple U.S. states have reported increased cases of whooping cough this year. On Nov. 3, the Texas Department of State Health Services published a release indicating a “significant increase” in whooping cough cases, with 3,500 reported from January through October 2025. According to the department, this is four times greater than the number recorded over the same period in 2024. On Nov. 5, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported that whooping cough cases have “dramatically increased” this year, with 130 cases so far. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health also reported a notable rise, with 126 cases since Jan. 1 — the largest increase the state has seen since 2010. States including Florida and Louisiana have reported higher rates as well.
The United States is facing an increase in human infections by drug-resistant bacteria. One such bacteria, called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, is considered especially dangerous due to the fact that the bacteria are “resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics available.”
On Aug. 13, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a warning regarding a potentially dangerous bacterium found in the waters of Cape Cod: Vibrio vulnificus.
In 2000, the United States declared measles eradicated in the country due to the development of a vaccine. Yet, recent data has shown a measles resurgence in the United States with an outbreak in New York in 2019 and a larger outbreak this year in Texas and New Mexico.
An outbreak of tuberculosis within Kansas City in the United States has been ongoing since Jan. 2024 and has highlighted new trends of TB in the United States. According to March 2025 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the TB rate in Kansas increased by 148% from 2024–25.
There’s a new term to describe the rise of respiratory illnesses this season: “quad-demic.” The “quad” in quad-demic refers to four diseases that are part of the outbreak: respiratory syncytial virus, COVID-19, influenza and norovirus. The suffix “-demic,” stemming from the word “epidemic,” signifies a large occurrence of a disease or illness in a community or specified area. Knowing pertinent information, keeping up with available data and learning how to prevent these illnesses are three key steps in managing and ending this quad-demic.
With the beautiful colors on Prez Lawn and parties galore on weekends, we are in the peak of fall frenzy. However, with fall comes many respiratory illnesses and the continuation of the “freshman flu.” So, what actually is the freshman flu that is so often spoken about? The “freshman flu” is a common umbrella term used among university students to describe the variety of respiratory illnesses that first-year students contract during their first few months at college.
In August 2024, a man from Worcester County was infected with the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, the first human case in Massachusetts since 2020. The virus, also known as Triple E, can severely impair the human nervous system and cause illness, potentially proving fatal.
