Zoonotic diseases can spread from animals, including the ones we consume or keep as pets, including cats. Why are we talking about cats today? It is because of the increasing numbers of bird flu in the United States, cats of all shapes and sizes have come down with bird flu.

Bird flu was seen in poultry, where chickens have been affected, and even cows too. Why is it a concern for cats? This is because barn cats drink raw milk. In recent days, 20 wild cats at a Washington State animal sanctuary that ate infected birds and other reports of indoor cats dying from eating contaminated food have come out.

Why do cats get bird flu?

One of the leading causes is that unlike dogs, cats hunt for smaller prey, which includes birds and mice, carriers of bird flu. Dr Michael Bailey, the president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), in a guidance released for cat owners noted that by their very nature, cats have more "opportunity" to ger infected with bird flu.

“We don't know if the cats are more susceptible than anybody else,” he said. “It's just the fact they're exposed to higher viral burdens because of where they go.”

Reports say that domestic cats have been bird flu virus carrier since 2004. Kristen Coleman, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health told a media outlet that before, about half of cats died, and now with the spreading of the bird flu even in cows, about 90% of them seem to be dying. Coleman has also been tracking the deaths. She has also shared 4 main tips to protect pets from bird flu which includes:

• Do not touch or allow pets to touch sick or dead animals or animal dropping
• Do not consume, or feed your pet, raw meat or milk
• Keep a close watch on free-roaming outdoor pets
• Immediately report rabies-like symptoms to a veterinarian

Are there symptoms of bird flu in cats one should look out for?

As per AVMA, pet owners must look out for signs like:

• Loss of appetite
• Lethargy
• Fever

Bird flu infection can also progress with neurologic signs, which includes:

• Tremors
• Seizures
• Not being coordinated
• Blindness

Cats may also suffer from:

• Severe depression
• Discharge from their eyes or nose
• Respiratory symptoms which includes rapid breathing, shortness of breath, and sneezing or coughing

Are humans at threat?

Sick animals may also be able to transmit influenza virus to humans through their saliva, excretion and other bodily fluids. People can also get infected by breathing in the virus or by touching something that has virus on it and then touching their eyes, mouth, or nose.

If you think your cat might have bird flu—or any other infectious disease—try to limit their contact with other pets and people in your household, especially those with weakened immune systems, until you get advice from a veterinarian, as recommended by the AVMA. While the chances of cats transmitting H5N1 to humans are extremely low, they aren’t zero.

According to CDC guidance, keep an eye on yourself and your family for flu-like symptoms and reach out to a healthcare provider if needed. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling your cat or cleaning their litter box and bedding.

Pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously difficult to catch early, can now be detected early with a simple blood test, but powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

The AI-based test analyzes metabolic fingerprints in a blood sample and spots pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages with up to 94 percent accuracy.

The study published in the journal Nature Communications showed that the diagnostic tool called PanMETAI can be a non-invasive and cost-effective screening tool to save lives lost due to pancreatic cancer -- one of the deadliest forms of cancer worldwide, with only a 13 percent five-year survival rate.

The tool combines with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics to identify pancreatic cancer with remarkable accuracy. NMR is a method that captures the unique chemical fingerprint of hundreds of metabolites in a patient's blood.

"By combining the power of AI with the rich metabolic information captured by NMR spectroscopy, we have created a tool that can detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages. Our goal is to bring this technology to clinical practice so that more patients can benefit from timely diagnosis and treatment," said Yu-Ting Chang, Professor of internal medicine (gastroenterology and hepatology) at National Taiwan University, Taiwan.

The researchers noted that the PanMETAI platform enables high-precision pancreatic cancer prediction, facilitating early detection, which will enhance treatment outcomes.

Pancreatic Cancer: How PanMETAI makes early-stage detection

Pancreatic cancer is hard to treat as the symptoms are rarely seen in the initial stages, and most patients receive their diagnosis at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited.

The PanMETAI platform tapped the current screening methods -- blood marker CA19-9 -- for early detection.

Using 500 microliters of blood serum, the platform was able to extract over 260,000 metabolic signals in the study. It then analyzed the datasets using an AI model.

By integrating these metabolic profiles with age, the cancer marker CA19-9, and a protein biomarker called Activin A, PanMETAI correctly distinguished cancer patients from high-risk controls in nearly every case, said the team.

The researchers then validated the model in an independent Lithuanian cohort of 322 participants. The results proved that the tool works reliably across diverse populations.

Further, the team found that NMR metabolomic data were essential to boost early-stage detection sensitivity.

These capture subtle metabolic shifts -- such as decreased HDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and glutamine (an essential protein), and elevated lactic acid, glucose, and glutamic acid -- that occur before the cancer becomes clinically apparent.

Pancreatic Cancer: A Global Health Burden

Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer worldwide.

Data from the Globocan reveal there were 510,992 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2022, with China, the US, and Japan reporting the highest number of cases.

The pancreas is a 15cm long gland found behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The organ is key to digesting food and curbing blood sugar levels in the body.

Cancer develops in the pancreas when a change in the cells of the organ causes them to grow uncontrollably. Most pancreatic cancers start in exocrine cells, which produce digestive enzymes to help digest food and are secreted into the small intestine.

While there are hardly any early symptoms, the ones appear can include:

• eyes or skin turning yellow (jaundice)
• itchy skin
• darker pee and paler poo than usual
• loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
• fatigue
• a high temperature, or feeling hot or shivery

Rates of binge drinking have raised among gen Z since their teenage years. As per a recent research by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), data from nearly 10,000 people born across the UK in 2000-02 who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study was analyzed. The research found that the gen Z is challenging their reputation as the "generation sensible".

What Did The Research Find?

The study found that 7 in 10, which is 63 per cent of 23-year-olds report binge drinking in the past year.

Nearly a third or around 29 per cent also said they did so at least monthly, which is up from 10 per cent at age 17.

The study also found that while drug use is relatively limited in the teenage years, by 20, almost half of them, or 49 per cent have used cannabis and a third, around 32 per cent have tried harder drugs like cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy.

Researchers compared substance use in the same group at ages 17 and 23. By 23, the share reporting binge drinking at least once in the past year rose by 15 percentage points, from 53% at 17 to 68%. Binge drinking refers to consuming six or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting.

Drug Use Among Gen Z Sees Sharp Rise

Drug use among Gen Z has increased substantially as they move from their teenage years into their early 20s. The share of young people who said they had tried cannabis rose by 18 percentage points between ages 17 and 23, climbing from 31 per cent to 49 per cent.

Use of harder drugs showed an even steeper rise. The proportion of young people who said they had experimented with harder substances more than tripled, increasing from 10 per cent at 17 to 32 per cent by the age of 23. Meanwhile, the number who reported using these drugs at least 10 times in the past year went up from 3 percent to 8 percent.

Gambling and Vaping Also Increasing

The study also examined other potentially addictive behaviors. Nearly a third of the group, about 32 per cent, reported gambling by the age of 23. However, only 4 percent described their gambling as problematic.

Vaping saw one of the most noticeable increases. Daily vaping rose sharply from 3 percent at age 17 to 19 per cent by age 23. In comparison, cigarette smoking remained relatively stable, increasing slightly from 8 per cent to 9 percent.

Study Questions the Idea That Gen Z Drinks Less

Lead author Dr Aase Villadsen said the findings challenge the common belief that younger generations are moving away from alcohol.

She explained that while recent reports have suggested Gen Z drinks less than earlier generations, the new study indicates that this may not hold true once some members of this generation reach their early 20s.

Although late adolescence and early adulthood are often periods of experimentation, Villadsen said the rise in binge drinking and drug use during the early 20s is concerning, especially if these behaviors begin to become long-term habits.

She noted that the sharp increase in these behaviors between adolescence and early adulthood highlights how risks can intensify during this stage of life.

Villadsen also stressed that prevention strategies should focus on groups that appear to be more vulnerable. For instance, young men were found to be about seven times more likely than women to report gambling problems and were also more likely to use harder drugs.

Experts Warn About Alcohol’s Impact on Young Brains

Dr Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, as reported by The Guardian, said young people are particularly vulnerable to alcohol’s effects because the brain continues to develop until the mid-20s.

She said it is worrying that despite frequent claims that younger generations drink less, the findings suggest that Gen Z drinkers in their early 20s may be consuming alcohol at similar or even higher levels than millennials did at the same age.

Severi also pointed to higher rates of heavy drinking among university students as a major concern. According to her, this reflects the influence of the broader alcohol environment rather than individual choices alone.

She explained that affordability, easy availability and heavy promotion of alcohol are major drivers of alcohol-related harm, and students are often exposed to all three.

Severi added that universities have a responsibility to ensure students can study and live in a safe environment. She also said commercial ties with alcohol companies, such as sponsorships of sports clubs or campus events, should not take priority over student health and wellbeing.

The findings come from Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours: Initial Findings From the Millennium Cohort Study at age 23, a briefing paper by Aase Villadsen and Emla Fitzsimons that will be published on the CLS website.

The United States has signed 24 bilateral health Memoranda of Understanding or MoUs with Latin America and African countries under the Trump administration's America First Global Health Strategy.

The first agreement with Panama is described as “strengthening Western hemisphere health security”, which it added is “a priority”. Thereafter, four Latin American agreements too involve smaller grants and focus on disease surveillance. Other 20 agreements all with African countries who have been previous recipients of health grants via the now disbanded US agency for International Development or USAID and decimated US President's Emergency Funds for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

The five-year MoUs aim to quickly shift financial responsibility for key health services to national governments. In several countries, including Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), more than half of HIV programme funding has traditionally come from donors, particularly the United States. In the DRC, for instance, at least half of the antiretroviral medicines used have been financed by the US.

What Do These MoUs Comprise?

The transitional Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed between the United States and several countries come with a major condition. They require strong investment in infectious disease surveillance systems.

The goal is to ensure that pathogen information from outbreaks is shared with the US within a week. Officials say this helps detect global threats early and protect public health.

At the same time, it gives US pharmaceutical companies early access to pathogen data, allowing them to develop vaccines, medicines and diagnostics more quickly.

The US–DRC Health Agreement

The United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed their health MoU on 26 February. According to the US State Department, the agreement focuses on strengthening the country’s ability to detect and contain infectious disease outbreaks before they spread internationally.

• The focus reflects the country’s recent health challenges.
• The DRC has experienced several Ebola outbreaks in recent years.
• It is also dealing with the world’s largest mpox outbreak.

Funding Commitments

Under the agreement:

• The US will invest up to $900 million over five years
• The DRC will increase its health spending by $300 million

Most of the funding will support a national integrated surveillance and outbreak response system.

This includes:

• A laboratory network capable of detecting outbreaks within seven days
• Faster outbreak investigations and response systems
• Coordination between the US and other global health partners

The MoU also aims to modernize health data systems through electronic medical records, interoperable platforms, better trained community health workers and expanded services for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, polio and maternal and child health.

Minerals Before Health

In several cases, health agreements were preceded by deals related to natural resources.

The United States and the DRC first signed a strategic partnership on critical minerals. The deal aims to secure supplies of minerals needed for commercial and defense industries.

The DRC is one of the world’s largest sources of rare earth minerals, including cobalt and copper. China has historically dominated the purchasing and processing of these resources.

Recently, the DRC has begun opening its mineral sector to US investors. According to Reuters, the government sent Washington a shortlist of state owned assets involving:

• manganese
• copper
• cobalt
• gold
• lithium

Guinea followed a similar path. It signed a minerals MoU with the US on 5 February, followed by a health MoU on 27 February. The health agreement prioritizes strengthening laboratory networks and improving biosafety standards by 2027.

Legal Pushback and Rejected Deals

Not all countries are comfortable linking health support to access to resources or data.

In the DRC, a group of lawyers has challenged the minerals agreement in the Constitutional Court. They argue that the deal violates the constitution and undermines national sovereignty over natural resources.

Zimbabwe also withdrew from negotiations with the US over a similar agreement.

Officials said the country was asked to share biological resources and outbreak data for years without any guarantee that vaccines, treatments or diagnostics developed from that data would be available to Zimbabwe if a future crisis occurred. They also said the US did not offer reciprocal sharing of its own epidemiological data.

Concerns in Kenya and Zambia

Kenya’s agreement with the United States has also faced legal hurdles. The country’s High Court halted the MoU after two court challenges questioned provisions that could allow the US access to patient data and pathogen information.

Zambia has also expressed reservations about its proposed health deal with Washington. The agreement stalled after the US linked the billion dollar package to cooperation in the country’s mining sector, particularly copper and cobalt.

Zambia has since asked for revisions, saying parts of the deal do not align with its national interests.

Critics Call the Policy “Extractive”

Some experts argue that these agreements reflect a broader shift in US global health policy.

Sophie Harman, professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, wrote in the BMJ that extraction appears to be central to the approach.

According to her analysis, the policy focuses less on improving global health outcomes and more on strengthening US economic and geopolitical interests, including competition with China.

She warns that countries entering such agreements could risk giving up resources or scientific data while gaining relatively limited health benefits.