YLE milestone, Red Dye #3, air quality in LA, raw cat food, and more on alcohol.
The Dose (January 17)
Happy Friday! And, in the States, happy long holiday weekend. Here’s this week’s public health news you can use.
But first, a new YLE milestone!
This week, Your Local Epidemiologist hit a big round number: 300,000 subscribers! Ahhh! A remarkable and unbelievable number. What’s more incredible is the YLE community it has created, fueled by curiosity, connection, and shared interest in improving health in an evidence-based and timely (and I hope, useful) manner.
Every day I pinch myself, wondering when this epidemiologist needs to wake up and get back in line. It’s not time yet. Thank you for being here and for helping grow this into something impactful.
Winter respiratory report: High chance of sickness
According to wastewater, we’re at high transmission for Covid and flu, and moderate for RSV. As we wrote earlier this week, we are at peak respiratory season.
Extreme conditions: From wildfires to a polar vortex
A warming earth is increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, and to an extent, we are learning how to best adapt and protect our health as we go.
After a traumatic week in Los Angeles, winds have blown much of the smoke out to sea, clearing a path to the mountain ranges once more. However, even though air quality index (AQI) maps show that air is “healthy” to breathe, this metric doesn’t tell the whole story.
AQI measures only five harmful particles in the air—a subset of pollutants unleashed during an urban wildfire. When burned, buildings can release many dangers, including volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead, asbestos, plastics, and other possibly pathogenic materials. Also, AQI sensors are hyperlocal, which means they might not accurately reflect your location or particles kicked up from things like cars or lawnblowers.
Your health risk from toxins in the air depends on a few things, including: prior exposure, proximity to the burn area, wind patterns, and/or comorbidities.
To protect yourself and your family:
Wear an N95 mask, preferably with a valve, in the following conditions:
The AQI is 40 and above. (Check here for the latest air readings or your weather app on your phone). For everywhere outside of LA, we typically don’t worry about AQI until it reaches 100, but this is a special case.
If you see or smell ash or smoke.
At or near a burned or smoke-damaged property.
Upgrade your mask to a P100 if you’re clearing burn sites or fighting fires, as these catch even the smallest particles.
Run air purifiers inside or use central air. If possible, upgrade your HVAC filter to a MERV 13-rated filter or higher.
Hear more on this topic on our podcast called America Dissected. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whenever you get your podcasts.
In other parts of the U.S., a polar vortex is coming to much of the country. Cold-related deaths vastly outnumber those from heat across the globe, and infants and elderly people are most susceptible. There is a lot you can do. Don’t forget about your pets!
FDA bans Red Dye No. 3
This week, FDA banned Red Dye No. 3 from food, beverages, and drugs. While it has already been largely removed from market (and replaced with Red Dye No. 40), it still can be found in some foods your grocery store, like:
Some maraschino cherry brands
Some candies
Some jello cups, ice cream cones, and baked goods.
About thirty years ago, scientists found a link between Red Dye No. 3 and cancer in male lab rats exposed to high doses. Since then, there has been no strong evidence that smaller doses in our food impact humans. Regardless, the color was banned in cosmetics in the U.S. in 1990 and from foods in California in 2023. It’s also restricted from foods in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
This FDA decision is unusual. The U.S. typically takes a risk approach to policy (identifying a hazard and assessing the probability of the exposure doing harm) rather than a hazard approach (as in Europe, where if a study shows a substance can be toxic, even to animals, they aim to eliminate the hazard completely). For dyes, though, we have a specific law in the U.S. called the Delaney Clause, which forces the FDA to take a hazard or precautionary approach if there is any evidence it induces cancer in humans or animals.
I’m not searching my pantry to throw out products with Red Dye No. 3. But manufacturers have until January 15, 2027, for foods, or January 18, 2028, for drugs, to reformulate their products.
Don’t feed your pets, like cats, raw pet food
Since the H5N1 outbreak started among dairy cows and birds in the U.S., dozens of cats have been infected, including farm cats, house cats, and big cats at the zoo. While the main exposure has been from drinking raw milk, a new pathway has been discovered: raw food. Raw pet food sometimes includes raw meat, like chicken.
Two brands have been linked thus far to sick cats:
Monarch Raw Pet Food
Northwest Naturals
Cats are at a particularly high risk of H5N1 (bird flu), which causes a fatality rate of more than 50%.
Can H5N1 be passed from cats to humans? It’s possible, but there have been no known cases thus far.
Another report warns against moderate drinking: Confused?
A new federal report has entered the conversation on the harms of moderate drinking. Their conclusion: the risks of drinking increase with increased consumption, even what’s considered “moderate.”
This adds to two other recent reports (one from the U.S. Surgeon General and another from the National Academies of Science) that will inform the 2025 Dietary Guidelines on whether the U.S. government recommends moderate American drinking.
While these reports agree on some things, like moderate drinking’s impact on cancer risk, they don’t agree on everything, like the risk of all-cause mortality or how to weigh the benefits and risks. This is mainly because of different methodologies, weak underlying studies (for example, no randomized controlled trials, but these are not always recommended), and questions into conflicts of interest with Congress and the alcohol industry.
In general, scientists agree that alcohol isn’t great for you. And the risk of alcohol consumption compounds when there are other health considerations, including comorbidities (like obesity or a chronic condition), genetic predispositions, and other health behaviors (like smoking).
It will be interesting to see how RFK Jr. weighs this evidence, but you can submit public comments by February 14.
Question grab bag
In your State of Affairs earlier this week, the CDC’s influenza-like illness (ILI) map showed Montana as “green” (low transmission) while surrounding states are “deep red/purple” (high transmission). Is there any learning from this?
It’s unclear, but I would guess that the difference in Montana likely reflects a small sample size/underreporting issue or a behavioral difference due to less dense areas (as in, the virus might have less opportunity to jump from person to person in a less populated region). Previous years show a similar pattern. There’s nothing biologically different about flu in Montana compared to other states.
Bottom Line
You’re all caught up for the week. Have a great weekend!
Love, the YLE team
Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) reaches more than 295,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people feel well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below:
Congrats on reaching 300k readers. But the epidemic line is missing from the chart. When did readership cross the epidemic threshold?
Congratulations on the YLE milestone! So well earned!! This post was, as always, tremendously timely, useful, and clear. Also, I’m glad you included the America Dissected episode in which you appear. For those of us who are not regular podcasters, it would be great if you could do this, or provide a link, each time you are on this podcast.