Alarming Outbreaks Currently Ongoing in the US

In October 2021, five pediatric patients at a hospital in Alabama were found to have inflammation of the liver – or hepatitis – with no known cause. The children tested negative for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, and had no known contact or common exposures. After similar cases of hepatitis in children were reported in 45 other states, the CDC officially declared the spike in pediatric hepatitis an outbreak in May 2022.

While the United States and United Kingdom account for a majority of the mystery pediatric hepatitis cases worldwide, more than 1,300 children in 37 countries have developed acute severe hepatitis of unknown etiology as of April 2022.

Listeria is a foodborne germ that causes listeriosis, an infection that can result in fever and diarrhea, but more severely affect pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Since April 2021, 13 hospitalizations and one death were tied to Listeria illnesses from deli meats and cheeses.

Listeria can survive and grow in cold temperatures, and easily spreads among food on deli countertops, slicers, and surfaces. While it is difficult to identify the primary source of the illness, the majority of cases have been reported in New York and Maryland.

In 2020, the CDC investigated the first known Listeria outbreak in the United States linked to enoki mushrooms. The outbreak resulted in recalls of several mushroom brands, including Utopia Foods and Sun Hong Foods.

Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, and tiredness, though they also get a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures. In pregnant people, Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth and serious illness or death in newborns. Recent hospitalizations due to enoki mushrooms have been reported in California, Nevada, and Michigan.

In December 2022, the Texas Department of State Health ordered a recall of all oysters harvested in southeastern Galveston Bay after several dozen reports of gastrointestinal illness among people who consumed oysters from the area.

The Food and Drug Administration has since confirmed that these raw oysters were likely contaminated with norovirus, and has linked the contaminated oysters with norovirus cases in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Symptoms of norovirus include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. As of December, approximately 300 cases of norovirus related to the oysters have been reported.

The CDC is currently investigating a multistate outbreak of eye infections due to a drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa present in bottles of artificial tears. While the investigation has tied the outbreak to over 10 different brands of eye drops, the most commonly reported brand is EzriCare Artificial Tears.

The most common eye infection symptoms associated with the outbreak include discharge from the eye, eye pain, increased sensitivity to light, blurry vision, and, in some cases, vision loss. As of March 2023, 68 infections have been reported in the United States, including eight reports of vision loss, four reports of surgical eye removal, and three deaths.