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This is a MedPage Today story. More than 80 domestic cats, among many other types of mammals, have been confirmed to have had bird flu since 2022 -- generally barn cats that lived on dairy farms, as well as feral cats and pets that spend time outdoors and likely caught it by hunting diseased rodents or wild birds. Now, a small but growing number of house cats have gotten sick from H5N1, the bird flu strain driving the current U.S. outbreak, after eating raw food or drinking unpasteurized milk. …

This is a MedPage Today story. Artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to prescribe medications to patients -- if a new bill makes its way through Congress. The proposed legislation, sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify that AI and machine learning technologies can qualify as a practitioner eligible to prescribe drugs if authorized by the state involved and approved by the FDA. The bill was introduced in the U.S. House …

This is a MedPage Today story. A German physician who was arrested last summer on suspicion of killing four patients is now suspected of killing 10, and in some cases he allegedly tried to cover up evidence by starting fires. (AP) Pediatrician Anita Damodaran, MD, has been accused of animal cruelty after a March 2024 incident in which a cleaning woman found a malnourished dog inside a plastic storage bin in an apartment. Damodaran was reportedly being evicted from the apartment at the time of t…

This is a MedPage Today story. Cleveland Clinic officials fired back at a conservative organization's "Woke Alert" attack ad that asked if the large health system was "the wokest hospital in America," saying the ad's claims are "riddled with inaccuracies and lies." The ad, by Consumers' Research, says clinic officials "prioritize care based on skin color, perform child sex changes, push transgender propaganda on vulnerable kids, insert DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] into everything they…

This is a MedPage Today story. Thousands of employees of federal health agencies have been let go in a chaotic and slow-rolling Trump administration purge over the holiday weekend. While the total number of dismissed employees appears to be smaller than originally expected, the changes sowed confusion as some staffers received termination notices over the weekend, while others waited for expected firings that never came. This includes members of CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, a 2-year fel…

This is a MedPage Today story. A strike involving nearly 5,000 healthcare workers at Providence Health in Oregon, which began Jan. 10, has come to an end. Late Monday, eight RN bargaining units voted overwhelmingly to ratify their contracts and end the strike, which was believed to be the largest involving healthcare workers, and the first involving physicians, in the state's history, according to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), which represented the workers. Among the key provisions in th…