H5N1 Returns to Idaho Dairy Cattle as US Measles Cases Reach 164 and Congo Investigates Mystery Illness Clusters

Idaho has confirmed H5N1 avian influenza in dairy cattle for the first time since October, bringing the US total to about 977 cases across at least 17 states, with the virus also found in cats, pet food and chicken flocks in New York and Wyoming. US measles cases in 2025 have reached 164 across nine jurisdictions, about 95% in unvaccinated or unknown-status patients, with about 20% hospitalized and one death; HHS Secretary RFK Jr. called the MMR vaccine critical and coordinated CDC and Texas support. Two unexplained disease clusters in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Equateur province have caused about 53 deaths, with Marburg and Ebola ruled out and some cases malaria-positive.