During a recent visit to tribal communities in Arizona and New Mexico this week, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr emphasized the importance of preventing chronic disease among the Native American and Alaska Native population. Is it targeting them? Because behind the scenes, a crucial health initiative that had long served those very communities is being dismantled. This will leave many tribal leaders alarmed and confused.

The initiative in question, Healthy Tribes, was part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and allocated $32.5 million annually to support culturally grounded programs focused on chronic disease prevention through traditional foods, medicine, and community engagement. As of early April, the program was also gutted due to workforce reductions at the CDC. Emails to tribal health organizations also confirmed that positions central to administering Healthy Tribes were in fact, being eliminated.

A Silent Rollback That Said A Lot

Kennedy’s public appearances, including a hike with the Navajo Nation president and a visit to a Native health center in Phoenix, made no mention of the program’s fate. He also moderated a panel at the Tribal Self-Governance Conference but avoided public questions. While he has said Native health is a top priority, his silence on the abrupt restructuring of Healthy Tribes has drawn criticism.

Tribal leaders now fear the rollback is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, Native leaders have pushed back against being categorized as such, asserting that tribal support is a legal obligation under treaties and federal law—not a diversity measure.

'A Violation of Trust'

The federal government has a trust responsibility to tribal nations, which includes ensuring access to healthcare, education, and public safety. Leaders like W. Ron Allen of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe call the recent cuts “a violation of trust.” He said he reminded Kennedy during their private conversation that tribes are already underfunded and rely heavily on supplementary programs like Healthy Tribes.

One of the key concerns is the lack of tribal consultation—a legal requirement for federal actions affecting Native communities. Tribes were not consulted before the layoffs, echoing similar frustrations after mass terminations at the Indian Health Service earlier this year were temporarily rescinded following backlash.

What Is The Ground-Level Reality?

For tribal health facilities, these cuts have an immediate and grave implications.

For instance, in Seattle, Healthy Tribes funded GATHER. This was a program that blended traditional medicine with modern care. Plants from community gardens were also used in this treatment, and traditional healers worked alongside clinical staff. However, now, he communication with the grant administrators has been broken down.

In Los Angeles, Healthy Tribes funds youth-elder mentorship programs among Native and Alaska Native communities. The abrupt staffing changes have left administrators unclear about how or if these initiatives will at all continue.

Native leaders stress that their status is political, not racial, a key legal distinction. “We are not DEI,” said Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, warning new federal officials against viewing tribes through a racial equity lens rather than honoring treaty-based obligations.

For now, tribal communities remain in limbo—concerned that Kennedy’s words on improving Native health aren’t matching federal actions that could ultimately set them back.

Health officials in Hood River County of Oregon are now investigating the three suspected cases of a rare and a fatal brain disorder. It is called the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). What is even more concerning is that two residents of the small county have already been reported dead and a third case is currently under review. While CJD is extremely rare, with a cluster of cases in the community of just 24,000 which prompt its serious concern, a deeper look at this mysterious disease could help people understand more about it.

What Is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)?

Before we delve into how it happens or what causes, let us first understand what is it. CJD is degenerative brain disorder that is caused by abnormal or infectious proteins, also known as prions. Unlike bacteria or viruses, prions are misfolded protein which can induce normal protein in the bodies to misfold itself too. It can also lead to severe and irreversible brain damage. These proteins accumulate and cause the brain to develop sponge-like holes, which disrupt normal function and lead to a rapid mental and physical decline.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most patients diet within a year of symptom onset and there is currently no cure of that same.

Is The Disease Common?

We have already established the fact that it is a rare disease. In fact, as per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) only 350 cases of CJD is diagnosed in the US each year. This translates into 1 to 2 cases per million people, annually. Most cases—about 85%—are considered sporadic, meaning they arise without any known cause or risk factors.

Other types include:

Familial CJD (about 10–15% of cases), caused by inherited mutations in the prion protein gene.

Acquired CJD, which is extremely rare, can result from exposure to infected brain or nervous system tissue, often during certain medical procedures or, in even rarer cases, through the consumption of infected cattle (known as variant CJD).

Health officials in Hood River have stated that the current cases do not appear to be linked to cattle consumption, and it’s unclear whether the individuals were related or had any shared genetic factors.

What Are The Common Symptoms Of CJD?

CJD progresses rapidly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC, early symptoms can include:

• Rapid memory loss and confusion
• Changes in behavior and personality
• Visual disturbances
• Poor coordination and balance
• Muscle stiffness or jerking
• Difficulty speaking or swallowing

As the disease advances, patients often lose the ability to move or speak and may enter a coma. The rapid progression makes early diagnosis difficult and complicates treatment, especially in communities with limited access to specialized neurological care.

How Can It Be Diagnosed?

In the Hood River cases, one of the diagnoses was done through an autopsy. This is also one of the most definitive way to identify CJD by analyzing the brain tissue under a microscope. Testing it for prion proteins then reveals the result. Two other cases are considered likely, however, the results are pending.

Because CJD is so difficult to confirm during life, doctors often rely on clinical symptoms, advanced imaging like MRI, and spinal fluid tests to support a diagnosis. But confirmation usually requires a postmortem examination.

The National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University plays a key role in diagnosing and studying cases in the U.S. Dr. Brian Appleby, the center’s director, notes that genetic testing can also help determine whether a case is inherited.

In a significant shift, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its plan to reduce its reliance on animal testing for drug development. This is especially for monoclonal antibody therapies and other advanced medicines. The agency now plans to use more human-relevant technologies in order to improve safety, lower costs and also speed up the approval process.

Animal History Traces Back To Ages

Animal testing has remained the cornerstone of all experiments, whether medicine or space. Since the 1930s, when the US passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in response to the tragic consequence of untested medication, animal testing was mandated. Scientists have been using mice, rats, rabbits and other animals to test for toxicity, side effects, as well ass efficacy before any new drug could be forwarded for human trial.

Over the decades, this practice also helped introduce many life-saving treatments. However, it has also raised ethical concerns and scientific questions, especially on how accurately can animal models really predict human response.

Why Is FDA Now Moving Away From Animal Testing?

The FDA’s new initiative represents a "paradigm shift," according to its Commissioner, Dr. Martin A. Makary. There are several reasons behind this change:

Limited Predictive Value: Drugs that work safely in animals don’t always perform the same way in humans. This mismatch can lead to failed clinical trials or unexpected side effects in people.

Ethical Concerns: As public awareness and concern about animal welfare have grown, so too has the demand for more humane research methods.

Cost and Time: Animal testing is expensive and time-consuming. Each stage of testing can take months or years and cost millions of dollars.

Scientific Advancements: New technologies now offer better ways to model human biology and disease. These methods not only spare animals but also yield more accurate data.

What Can Replace Animal Testing?

The FDA is planning to incorporate innovative tools like computer modeling and AI, human organoids, and organ-on-a-chip technology, as well as real world human data.

How Will these Work? The computer modeling and AI will allow the scientists with the help of simulations to predict how a drug will behave in the human body based on its chemical structure, genetics, and existing medical data.

Furthermore, human organoids are miniature, lab-grown versions of human organs like a liver or brain which are made from stem cells. They also closely mimic how real organs function and could be used to test drug safety and effectiveness.

Organ on a chip technology involves tiny chips that simulate the activity of the entire organ systems. For instance, how the heart beats or the lungs breathe. It allows for more accurate and efficient testing.

The agency is also planning to rely more on existing human clinical data from other countries with comparable regulatory standards. If a drug has already been tested and used abroad, repeating animal testing for the same in the US should not be any longer a mandate.

The new approach will be applied immediately to investigational new drug applications—essentially, the first step in bringing a new treatment to the U.S. market. This means that pharmaceutical companies can now submit non-animal safety data as part of their applications.

Importantly, this doesn’t mean animal testing will be banned entirely. In some cases, it may still be required to answer specific safety questions. However, the goal is to make animal studies the exception, not the rule.

North Carolina is grappling a disturbing public healthcare crisis as flu-related deaths reach a record high for the 2024–2025 respiratory virus season. At over 500 across the state, this year is the deadliest flu season since the state initiated flu surveillance back in 2009. The severity of the trend not only emphasizes the need for early detection and inoculation but also calls into question public health readiness and community vigilance on an urgent basis.

As per a press release by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), the alarming increase in deaths from the flu is nearly equal to the deaths from COVID-19 throughout the state for the time period in question. This symmetry is surprising, given that flu has long been thought of as a lesser seasonal disease. Reality, as the numbers now indicate, is much darker.

Flu deaths in North Carolina have jumped to more than 500, a 3,933% increase from the 2008–2009 season when 12 flu-related deaths were recorded. So far, the worst flu season ever was 2017–2018, when 391 individuals died statewide. This season, however, has rewritten the public health narrative completely.

Pediatric fatalities have also raised concern among experts, particularly since 75% of these fatalities took place among children who were unvaccinated. This too adds to the sense of urgency surrounding flu vaccination, especially for susceptible age groups.

NCDHHS Secretary Devdutta Sangvai recognized the tireless efforts of public health workers in all 100 counties and noted that the burden could have been even heavier without their efforts in education, vaccination campaigns, and treatment support.

But budget reductions and declining federal funds are now starting to reveal their impact. Health officials caution that a stretched system has left the state more vulnerable to outbreaks—not just of the flu, but of other respiratory viruses too.

Does Vaccination Still Matters?

In spite of strong scientific data endorsing flu immunization, the percentage of individuals getting the flu vaccine keeps dropping. According to infectious disease specialist Dr. David Weber, this is because widespread misinformation is the reason.

“One of the biggest reasons people skip the flu shot is a false belief that they’re not at risk,” he said. “People often think, ‘I’m young and healthy, I’ll be fine.’ But the truth is, flu can seriously affect anyone, regardless of age.”

Weber equates getting a flu shot with buckling up—yes, there are occasional side effects, but the advantages are well worth it. Vaccination, he insists, dramatically cuts hospitalizations and deaths.

Although the flu is hazardous to all, there are a few groups that are especially at risk:

• Older people (age 65 and above) are at increased risk of serious complications.
• Pregnant women must not only protect themselves but also their baby.
• Individuals with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or who have a history of smoking are particularly susceptible to serious illness.
• Children younger than age 5, and particularly those younger than age 2, are also at increased risk.

For them, annual flu vaccination isn't only advised—it's necessary.

Identifying the Early Warning Signs

Early recognition of flu symptoms can be lifesaving. Flu symptoms can also develop rapidly, and prompt treatment—particularly with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu—can sharply decrease severity and duration of illness.

Watch for the following symptoms:

• Sudden onset of high fever
• Persistent dry cough
• Sore throat
• Ache in muscles or joints
• Severe tiredness
• Runny or congested nose

If you or a loved one starts to feel these symptoms, particularly if you are in a high-risk group, get immediate medical attention and testing.

How To Stay Protected?

Public health officials emphasize that even as the season reaches its peak, it's not too late to become vaccinated. Flu season usually lasts through May, providing individuals and families with a valuable window to protect their health.

Other prevention measures include:

• Frequent washing of hands with soap and water to reduce the transmission of the virus.
• Wearing masks in high-density or high-transmission environments.
• Not going to work or school when ill to prevent infecting others.
• Taking antiviral drugs as directed, especially when symptoms arise early.