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Mysterious Fog in the US , Canada and UK: A dense, eerie fog with a "burning chemical-like smell" has spooked a good part of North America and parts of the United Kingdom and Canada. With social media amplifying all concerns, this phenomenon has sparked attention across all social media platforms. However, at the heart of this mysterious fog are a conjunction of natural events, social psychology, and environmental conditions that culminated in all the conspiracy theories and public health fears. Here's a closer look at the mysterious fog, its potential causes, and the societal response it has triggered.
The first reports of this "mysterious fog" came in from Florida where a resident said that they experienced respiratory symptoms, feverish warmth, and stomach cramps after contact with the fog. Similar stories started flooding social media, and within a day or two, a sinister force seemed to sweep across the United States, Canada, and parts of the UK. From Texas to Minnesota, people reported weird odors and health issues that they thought were linked to this bizarre atmospheric event.
Some witnesses were said to see "white particles" swirling through the air; theories ranged from a chemical attack or experimental weapon to drone-related chemical dispersals and references to historical military experiments, such as the infamous 1950s "Operation Sea-Spray."
Fuel to the fire were added when videos and posts, hundreds of thousands in number, began circulating on social media sites like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) speculating on the origin of the fog. Hashtags like #ToxicFog went trending for days. Hysteria created a self-reinforcing loop in which every post spurred further scrutiny and fear.
Fog is essentially a low-lying cloud formed when the air temperature cools to its dew point, causing water vapor to condense into tiny droplets or ice crystals. Several types of fog—advection fog, radiation fog, and valley fog—can form depending on conditions such as warm, moist air moving over cooler land or when temperatures plummet rapidly under clear skies.
Such chemical-like smell as reported during the occurrence of fog events is sometimes attributed to air pollution. It acts like a sponge, where it absorbs these pollutants, which include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, among others, that emit from industries. This mixture, therefore, leads to a stench that could be mistaken as unnatural or even toxic.
Also Read: Health Concerns Rise As US, Canada, and UK Come Under The Blanket Of Thick, Dense, Toxic Fog
High moisture levels from fog can significantly exacerbate symptoms related to respiration, but especially in already predisposed asthmatics and allergy patients. The connection of these symptoms with actual fever, stomach cramps, and puffy eyes is too remote. Experts assume that the irritating effects of entrapped pollutants trapped in fog tend to affect more the eyes and throat rather than the rest of the body affected by some report.
Social media amplified a natural weather event into a health epidemic. It made the personal experience of individuals become a cause for fear and speculation, a domino effect.
According to psychologists, this is a concept of selective perception, wherein once people's attention is drawn to environmental anomalies, they begin to notice them. This mirrors earlier panics, such as the Seattle windshield pitting panic of 1954. Then, atomic bomb testing caused fear in many and started to have people looking at their windshields for small marks that they had not seen before. Likewise, postings on the strangeness of the fog probably increased public awareness and suspicion, with people looking to attach unrelated symptoms to the phenomenon.
The fog hysteria shares a commonality with other instances of mass panic, such as the "drone sightings" of recent years or the Cold War-era fears of biological warfare.
Also Read: Mysterious Fog Is Making Americans Sick
These events underscore how fear can cloud judgment, especially when amplified by social media and sensationalist headlines. While historical cases, such as "Operation Sea-Spray," offer concrete evidence of the existence of unethical experiments, the jump from a natural weather condition to theories of chemical attacks exemplifies a more modern trend of connecting unrelated dots, all wonderfully seeded in distrust and anxiety.
Despite the swirling rumors, meteorologists and scientists are in agreement that the mysterious fog is not as alarming as it seems. It is well known that fog traps and amplifies pollutants, especially in urban and industrial regions. Moreover, winter months are the most conducive for fog formation, so its recent prevalence is unsurprising.
On the other hand, environmentalists advise that the fog should wake everyone up to increased levels of pollution. The reported odors and health irritations could be just symptoms of far deeper systemic issues like industrial emissions and lack of control over air quality.
The authorities must be transparent in their communication to combat misinformation and allay public fears. Governments and environmental agencies must provide timely updates on weather phenomena, air quality, and health risks. Initiatives like real-time pollutant tracking and public education campaigns can help demystify natural occurrences while addressing valid environmental concerns.
The mysterious Canada fog is a compelling case study in how environmental events intersect with psychology and societal dynamics. While rooted in natural phenomena, the fog became a vessel for collective fears, amplified by modern technology and historical anxieties.
In this information era where communication occurs at an almost lightning pace, the fog becomes a metaphor that reminds everyone about scientific literacy, environmental responsibility, and an effective balance when considering public concern. Whether perceived as a marvel of nature or as a tale that serves to teach, it left a very powerful mark in people's minds.
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Children under 5 in India remain at high risk of typhoid infections, hospitalization, and death due to growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to an alarming study, which highlighted the urgent need to control drug resistance in the country.
Typhoid fever is a systemic illness caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), and presents a significant health challenge in India.
The modelling study, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia, showed that typhoid fever caused an estimated 4.9 million cases and nearly 8,000 deaths in India in 2023.
However, more concerning was that a large proportion of infections were found resistant to fluoroquinolones — one of the main classes of antibiotics used to treat typhoid. They found that:
"Drug-resistant typhoid fever remains a serious public-health threat in India, with implications beyond national borders," said Dr Vijayalaxmi Mogasale, Joint PhD Candidate at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Nagasaki University.
"Tackling this problem does not lie solely in moving to newer antibiotics, but calls for timely preventive action, including responsible antibiotic use and the introduction of the typhoid vaccine into the national immunization program, prioritizing high-burden age groups and regions," she added.
Also read: Study Links Widespread Use of Antibiotics During COVID To Surge In AMR Cases
In Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) 2021, India contributed to 58 percent of global typhoid fever cases and 48 percent of global deaths.
The new study, including researchers from Christian Medical College in Vellore, estimated that more than two-thirds of typhoid cases in India are resistant to fluoroquinolones. This not only limits treatment options but also increases the risk of complications.
The major drivers of typhoid fever deaths were identified among those with no treatment and hospitalized cases with AMR-related complications. The highest burden of typhoid cases were reported from Delhi, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
Further, the study found that drug-resistant typhoid infections accounted for at least 87 per cent of India's disease-related economic burden in 2023, the PTI reported.
The total economic burden due to typhoid fever was estimated at Rs 123 billion.
Children under the age of 10 incurred the highest economic burden, contributing to over half of the costs, researchers found.
In addition, they estimated that households bore 91 per cent of expenses, and 70,000 families faced "catastrophic" health expenditure.
A 2024 ICMR report also flagged that more Indians are developing antibiotic resistance against typhoid, pneumonia, and urinary infections. Over 95 percent of Salmonella typhi strains are now resistant to fluoroquinolones, making it difficult to treat infections caused by this bacterium.
Also read: Antimicrobial Resistance Explained: Why Is WHO Calling It A Serious Health Threat?
Typhoid fever is a water- and food-borne infectious disease. Major symptoms include
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends TCV for children from six months of age and for adults up to 45–65 years, depending on the vaccine.
To achieve greater impact, the Lancet researchers suggested implementing:
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised concerns about a highly mutated variant of COVID-19 -- BA.3.2 -- which has been reported in at least 23 countries, including 25 states in America.
The BA.3.2 variant was first identified in a respiratory sample in South Africa in November 2024.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated BA.3.2 as a Variant Under Monitoring (VUM). It does not boost immunity from previous infection or vaccination.
What makes the BA.3.2 variant special is the “70 to 75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of its spike protein”, according to the CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages (including LP.8.1 and XFG) that have circulated in the US since January 2024,” said the CDC researchers.
“BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination,” they added.
BA.3.2 is a descendant of the Omicron BA.3 lineage. It is genetically distinct from the previously circulating JN.1 lineages (including LP.8.1 and XFG).
BA.3.2 comprises two major branches, BA.3.2.1 and BA.3.2.2. BA.3.2.2 also has substitutions like: K356T, A575S, R681H, and R1162P, the CDC report said.
The first BA.3.2 lineage sequence was detected in a respiratory sample collected on November 22, 2024, in South Africa from a boy aged 5 years.
It was then identified in 2025, in Mozambique (March), the Netherlands (April), and Germany (April). It began to increase in September 2025, with the highest number of detections reported during the week beginning December 7, 2025.
As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been detected in at least 23 countries.
Between November 2025 and January 2026, the weekly BA.3.2 detections increased and reached approximately 30 percent of sequences reported in three European countries (Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands).
The strain was detected in the US on June 27, 2025, through the CDC’s Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program in a participant traveling to the US from the Netherlands.
The first US detection of BA.3.2 in a clinical specimen collected from a patient was reported on January 5, 2026. Since then, the CDC has detected the BA.3.2 variant from
The CDC stressed the need for “continued genomic surveillance to track SARS-CoV-2 evolution and determine its potential effect on public health”.
According to the WHO, BA.3.2 demonstrates antigenic drift and reduced neutralization in vitro from previously infected or vaccinated individuals.
However, the global health body noted that currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to continue providing protection against severe disease.
Despite immune evasion, phenotypic data suggest BA.3.2 has reduced infectivity.
It shows resistance to some monoclonal antibodies (cilgavimab, bebtelovimab, sotrovimab) but increased sensitivity to tixagevimab-be, the WHO said.
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After the huge success of the first phase of its 100-day TB Mukt Bharat campaign in 2025, India has launched the next phase of a focused and intensified campaign to end tuberculosis — the most infectious disease in the world — in the country.
The campaign was launched by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda at a national-level event held in Greater Noida to commemorate World TB Day 2026.
He reaffirmed India’s unwavering commitment to eliminating tuberculosis, ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goals target of 2030.
The second phase marks “a decisive, mission-mode push to accelerate progress towards TB elimination”, the Ministry of Health said.
The campaign is expected to “cover 1.58 lakh villages and urban wards, each guided by granular, locally tailored micro-plans, ensuring precision in implementation and measurable outcomes,” it added. The villages and wards were identified using AI-based assessment of 30+ indicators.
“World TB Day 2026 as both a moment of reflection and a renewed call to action in India’s journey towards a TB-Mukt Bharat,” said Nadda, while delivering the keynote address.
The 100-day campaign was first launched on December 7, 2024, and it continued till March 24. It aims to accelerate TB detection, rapid decline in TB incidence, finding of missing cases, reducing mortality, and following a Jan Bhagidari or community approach.
In 2025, the campaign targeted a selected 347 high-priority districts across 33 States/UTs. It was later scaled nationwide and deployed advanced tools such as portable X-rays, AI-enabled diagnostics, and molecular testing.
Nadda noted that the 100-day campaign led to the detection of “nearly 10.9 lakh asymptomatic patients who exhibited no classical symptoms at the time of testing”.
The campaign led to the identification of the “invisible” pool of infection that would otherwise have remained undetected and contributed to continued transmission in the community, the Minister said.
Other key milestones achieved in the fight against TB since December 2024 include:
In 2024, India notified 26.18 lakh TB cases — the highest so far. TB notification has remained a key area of concern. A total of 67, 933 gram panchayats have achieved the TB-free status, the Ministry
“Over the past decade, India’s TB response has evolved into a transformational, people-centric movement, driven by innovation, equity, and strong political commitment,” Nadda said.
Also read: Tuberculosis in 2026: Why It Still Remains India’s Silent Epidemic
The Minister highlighted key achievements from 2015 to 2024. This includes:
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