HANOI, Vietnam — More than a dozen tigers were incinerated after the animals died after contracted bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officials said.

State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city saying the animals were fed raw chicken bought from nearby farms. The panther and 20 tigers, including several cubs, weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms when they died. The bodies were incinerated and buried on the premises.

“The tigers died so fast. They looked weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick,” said zoo manager Nguyen Ba Phuc.

Samples taken from the tigers tested positive for H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu.

The virus was first identified in 1959 and grew into a widespread and highly lethal menace to migratory birds and domesticated poultry. It has since evolved, and in recent years H5N1 was detected in a growing number of animals ranging from dogs and cats to sea lions and polar bears.

In cats, scientists have found the virus attacking the brain, damaging and clotting blood vessels and causing seizures and death.

More than 20 other tigers were isolated for monitoring. The zoo houses some 3,000 other animals including lions, bears, rhinos, hippos and giraffes.

The 30 staff members who were taking care of the tigers tested negative for bird flu and were in normal health condition, VNExpress reported. Another outbreak also occurred at a zoo in nearby Long An province, where 27 tigers and three lions died within a week in September, the newspaper said.

Unusual flu strains that come from animals are occasionally found in people. Health officials in the United States said Thursday that two dairy workers in California were infected — making 16 total cases detected in the country in 2024.

“The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions, and a panther at My Quynh Safari and Vuon Xoai Zoo amid Vietnam’s bird flu outbreak are tragic and highlight the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

“The exploitation of wild animals also puts global human health at risk by increasing the likelihood of another pandemic,” Baker said.

Bird flu has caused hundreds of deaths around the world, the vast majority of them involving direct contact between people and infected birds.
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chicago — California is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle, the state’s public health department said Thursday. 

The virus’ jump to cattle in 14 states and infections of 13 dairy and poultry farmworkers this year have concerned scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans from further spread. 

The worker had a “presumptive positive” result to a test for bird flu, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will do further testing to confirm the finding, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. 

The person, who was not identified, suffered only conjunctivitis, or pink eye, the department said in a statement. The person is being treated with antiviral medication and staying home, it added. 

The person works at a Central Valley dairy facility suffering an outbreak in cattle, according to the statement. 

Cows at dairy farms in California, the top U.S. milk-producing state, began testing positive for bird flu in late August. 

“The risk to the general public remains low, although people who interact with infected animals are at higher risk of getting bird flu,” the department said. 

Missouri last month confirmed bird flu in a person with underlying medical conditions who had no immediate known animal exposure. Six health care workers who cared for the Missouri patient developed respiratory symptoms, but the virus was not confirmed in any of them. 

Scientists are watching closely for signs that the virus has begun to spread more easily in people. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it would begin testing raw cow’s milk intended for pasteurization at dairy plants to better understand the prevalence of the bird flu virus in milk. 

Participation in the study, set to begin October 28, is voluntary, and pasteurized dairy products remain safe to consume, the agency said. 

Prior FDA testing of retail dairy samples came back negative, and more such testing is underway.
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GENEVA  — The World Health Organization launched a global plan Thursday to address the growing threat of dengue and other deadly arboviruses, which have affected millions of people around the world and put billions more at risk.  

“The rapid spread of dengue and other arboviral diseases in recent years is an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

An arbovirus is a virus that is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, ticks, or other arthropods, such as crustaceans, insects and arachnids.   

Dengue has emerged as the most problematic arbovirus disease. The WHO notes the number of cases has nearly doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases at the end of August of this year, including more than 6,000 deaths. 

The WHO aims to “turn the tide” against dengue and arboviral diseases, Tedros said, noting that the measures in the proposal could “protect vulnerable populations and pave the way for a healthier future.” 

The WHO chief said everyone has a role to play in the fight against dengue, “from maintaining clean environments to supporting vector control and seeking and providing timely medical care.” 

“Factors such as unplanned urbanization and poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices, climate change and international travel, are facilitating the rapid geographical spread of dengue,” Dr. Raman Velayudhan, WHO unit head, global program on control of neglected tropical diseases, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday, in advance of the plan’s launch. 

“The disease is now endemic in more than 130 countries,” he said. “Similar trends are also observed for other arboviral diseases, such as Zika, chikungunya, and more recently, the Oropouche virus disease, especially in the Americas.” 

Dengue is endemic in tropical and subtropical climates, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and the Americas. The WHO says the majority of dengue cases, as well as several other arboviruses, have been reported from the American region this year.  

WHO officials say the situation is also of concern in Africa, “where countries are battling multiple diseases amid conflict and natural disasters,” placing additional strain on already fragile health systems. 

The Africa CDC reports more than 15,000 cases of dengue have been recorded in 13 African countries this year. 

“This global escalation underscores the urgent need for a robust strategy to mitigate risks and safeguard populations taking into account that urban centers are at greater risk,” Velayudhan said. 

Dengue is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. Most people who get dengue get better in one to two weeks. However, some people who develop severe cases can die. 

According to the WHO, prevention is the best protection from dengue. It recommends people avoid mosquito bites, especially during the day, “by covering up.” 

Chikungunya, a virus spread by Aedes mosquitoes, has been reported in 118 countries, with the highest circulation found in Brazil.   

Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez, team lead on arboviruses, epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the WHO, notes newborns, elderly and people with pre-existing conditions “have been identified as a risk factor for poor disease outcome.” 

Besides chikungunya, she said Zika and Oropouche, which are spreading widely in the Americas, have symptoms similar to dengue and “can be easily misdiagnosed in areas with co-circulation of multiple arboviruses.”   

To avoid misidentifying those diseases, she said it is critical for countries to strengthen their detection, surveillance, and testing activities and “to make sure populations know which measures to take to protect themselves and their communities.” 

The World Health Organization says the global escalation of arboviral diseases underscores the urgent need for “a robust strategy to mitigate risks and safeguard populations.” 

It urges governments to implement five components of its strategic global plan:  Emergency coordination activities, collaborative detection and surveillance, community protection and prevention measures, safe and scalable care to prevent illness and death, and access to countermeasures, such as the promotion of research for improved treatments and vaccines. 

The WHO estimates $55 million will be required to put the plan into action over the next year.  
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A new exhibit in Washington sheds some light on a little-known layer of the sea and the strange creatures that live there. Artechouse art center and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution collaborated on the spectacle, called Twilight Zone: Hidden Wonders of the Ocean. Maxim Adams has the story.
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Abuja — Hundreds gathered in Abuja, Nigeria for the 2024 Childhood Cancer Awareness Walk, raising awareness and support for pediatric cancer. Despite progress in cancer care, Nigerian children face high costs and delayed diagnoses, which the walk aims to address.

Titilayo Adewumi joined the walk with her 13-year-old son Shittu, diagnosed with leukemia at age 5. With support from the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, Shittu is now cancer-free.

Adewumi recounts the toll her son’s cancer diagnosis took on her family.

“I had to stop working for like 4 – 5 years so I could concentrate on him,” she said. “We went out of cash, we didn’t have money, that is when the Okapi visited us … I was so excited when the doctor told me that he was free of cancer, I felt like jumping into the roof and back I was so happy because it was not easy.”

Among the walkers was Izuyor Tobi. He brought his daughter Hope, who battled neuroblastoma. Treatment costs nearly drained the family’s finances until Okapi intervened. Today, Hope is healthy.

Tobi believes that spreading awareness about pediatric cancer will save lives.

“If not for Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, I don’t think my daughter will be alive today… What I do is to create more awareness by telling people what Okapi Children Cancer Foundation has done for my daughter,” he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of childhood cancers occur in low-income countries like Nigeria, where many cases go undiagnosed or are detected late.

Pediatric oncologist Ifeoma Ezeukwu from the Federal Medical Center explained barriers to care.

“Ignorance is also another barrier,” she said. “I have come across so many people who will tell you, I never knew children could have cancer. … Early detection is key to survival in childhood cancer unlike the adult cancers; children, the prognosis are better in them when they are seen early, once you capture cancer early, you know that cure is what is expected.”

Kemi Adekanye founded the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation in 2017 and has been mobilizing community awareness and support. Funded by friends and family, the foundation has helped over 200 children access treatment, despite costs starting at $180.

Adekanye says they’re focused on influencing government action for pediatric cancer.

“As of today, there’s currently no supports being provided to children battling cancer, so we expect the government to intervene in terms of subsidizing treatment costs for children battling cancer, as well as equipping our hospitals more so people don’t have to travel far and wide to access oncology centers,” she said.

Health policy analyst Ejike Oji called for systemic reforms across Nigeria to ease the burden on families.

“The government should establish dedicated pediatric oncology wards across the country to provide grounds for training health care professionals to ensure their skills are good in diagnosing and treating childhood cancer,” he said. “If you look at the cancer from diagnosis to treatment, it’s a lot of money. Radiotherapy is one of the most expensive; most families cannot afford.”

The large turnout at the 8th Childhood Cancer Awareness Walk — ‘Bridge The Gap’ —showed the power of community mobilization.

Nigerians are advocating for better health care, early diagnosis and family support, ensuring no child faces cancer alone.
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Cape Canaveral, Florida — The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday’s arrival of a SpaceX capsule.

SpaceX launched the rescue mission on Saturday with a downsized crew of two astronauts and two empty seats reserved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will return next year. The Dragon capsule docked in darkness high over Botswana as the two craft soared 420 kilometers above Earth.

NASA switched Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX following concerns over the safety of their Boeing Starliner capsule. It was the first Starliner test flight with a crew, and NASA decided the thruster failures and helium leaks that cropped up after liftoff were too serious and poorly understood to risk the test pilots’ return. So Starliner returned to Earth empty earlier this month.

The Dragon carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov will remain at the space station until February, turning what should have been a weeklong trip for Wilmore and Williams into a mission lasting more than eight months.

Two NASA astronauts were pulled from the mission to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return leg.

NASA likes to replace its station crews every six months or so. SpaceX has provided the taxi service since the company’s first astronaut flight in 2020. NASA also hired Boeing for ferry flights after the space shuttles were retired, but flawed software and other Starliner issues led to years of delays and more than $1 billion in repairs.

Starliner inspections are underway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with post-flight reviews of data set to begin this week.

“We’re a long way from saying, ‘Hey, we’re writing off Boeing,'” NASA’s associate administrator Jim Free said at a pre-launch briefing.

The arrival of two fresh astronauts means the four who have been up there since March can now return to Earth in their own SpaceX capsule in just over a week. Their stay was extended a month because of the Starliner turmoil.

Although Saturday’s liftoff went well, SpaceX said the rocket’s spent upper stage ended up outside its targeted impact zone in the Pacific because of a bad engine firing. The company has halted all Falcon launches until it figures out what went wrong.
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WASHINGTON — The first rocky planet ever spotted orbiting a burned out star called a white dwarf offers a glimpse of what may be in store for Earth billions of years from now — showing it is possible our planet might survive the death of the sun, albeit as a cold and desolate outpost in space.

The planet, with a mass about 1.9 times that of Earth, is orbiting the white dwarf about 4,200 light-years away from our solar system near the bulge at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, according to a study using data from Hawaii-based telescopes. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, about 9.5 trillion kilometers.

The white dwarf began as an ordinary star one or two times the mass of the sun. Its current mass is about half the sun’s. Stars with a mass less than eight times the sun’s end their lives as a white dwarf, the most common type of stellar remnant.

Before its host star’s death, the planet orbited at a distance possibly placing it in the “habitable zone” — not too hot and not too cold, where liquid water could exist on the surface and perhaps support life. It originally orbited at about the same distance as Earth is to the sun. Following its star’s demise, it is at 2.1 times that distance.

“It’s currently a freezing world because the white dwarf, which is in fact smaller than the planet, is extremely faint compared to when it was a normal star,” said University of California, San Diego astronomer Keming Zhang, lead author of the study published on Thursday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The sun, roughly 4-1/2 billion years old, is destined to become a white dwarf.

“At the end of our sun’s life, it will puff up to enormous size — astronomers call it a red giant — and gently blow off its outer layers in a wind,” University of California, Berkeley astronomer and study co-author Jessica Lu said. “As our sun loses mass, the planets’ orbits will expand to larger sizes. Eventually, the sun loses all of its outer layers and leaves behind a hot compact core. This is called a white dwarf.”

Earth won’t always be habitable

Astronomers have debated whether Earth — the third planet from the sun, with Venus the second and Mars the fourth — would be engulfed and destroyed when the sun expands during its red giant phase, estimated to occur 7 billion years from now. It will become a white dwarf a billion years after that.

“Theoretical models disagree as to whether Earth could survive. Venus will most certainly be engulfed whereas Mars will most certainly survive. Our modeling shows that this planet very likely had a similar orbit to Earth before its host star became a red giant. It implies that Earth’s chances for survival may be higher than currently thought,” Zhang said.

Until now, only gas-giant planets larger than Jupiter, our solar system’s biggest planet, had been spotted orbiting white dwarfs.

The white dwarf is orbited by two bodies — the Earth-like planet and, further out, a brown dwarf, an object bigger than a planet but smaller than a star.

The planet endured tough times during its star’s death throes.

“It may have been a lava planet when the star became a red giant, then eventually cooled down to its current freezing state,” Zhang said.

As the sun ages and heats up, our solar system’s habitable zone would move outward. Earth will remain habitable for less than about a billion more years from now, by which point its oceans likely will have evaporated, Zhang said.

Does this mean certain doom for humankind — or whatever life still resides on Earth?

“We must migrate out of Earth prior to the 1-billion-year time scale,” Zhang said.

By the time the sun becomes a red giant, certain large moons in the outer solar system like Jupiter’s Ganymede and Saturn’s Titan and Enceladus may offer a refuge, Zhang added.

“There’s hope,” Zhang said.
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new york — U.S. suicides last year remained at about the highest level in the nation’s history, preliminary data suggests. 

A little more than 49,300 suicide deaths were reported in 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number that could grow a little as some death investigations are wrapped up and reported. 

Just under 49,500 were reported in 2022, according to final data released Thursday. The numbers are close enough that the suicide rate for the two years are the same, CDC officials said. 

U.S. suicide rates have been rising for nearly 20 years, aside from a two-year drop around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. So “a leveling off of any increase in suicide is cautiously promising news,” said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University public health professor who studies suicide. 

Indeed, there’s reason for optimism. A 2-year-old national crisis line allows anyone in the U.S. to dial 988 to reach mental health specialists. That and other efforts may be starting to pay off, Keyes said, but it “really remains to be seen.” 

Experts caution that suicide — the nation’s 11th-leading cause of death in 2022 — is complicated and that attempts can be driven by a range of factors. Contributors include higher rates of depression, limited availability of mental health services, and the availability of guns. About 55% of all suicide deaths in 2022 involved firearms, according to CDC data. 

The CDC’s Thursday report said: 

—Suicide was the second-leading cause of death for people ages 10–14 and 20–34, and the third-leading cause for people ages 15–19. 

—Deaths continue to be more common among boys and men than girls and women. The highest suicide rate for any group — by far — was in men ages 75 and older, at about 44 suicides per 100,000 men that age. 

—Among women, the highest rate was in those who were middle-aged, about 9 per 100,000. But more dramatic increases have been seen in teens and young women, with the rate for that group doubling in the last two decades. 

—The overall suicide rate in 2022 and 2023 was 14.2 per 100,000. It also was that high in 2018. Before then, it hadn’t been that high since 1941. 
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year. 

The capsule rocketed into orbit to fetch the test pilots whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month because of safety concerns. The switch in rides left it to NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. 

Because NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions. 

By the time they return, the pair will have logged more than eight months in space. They expected to be gone just a week when they signed up for Boeing’s first astronaut flight that launched in June. 

NASA ultimately decided that Boeing’s Starliner was too risky after a cascade of thruster troubles and helium leaks marred its trip to the orbiting complex. The space agency cut two astronauts from this SpaceX launch to make room on the Dragon capsule’s return leg for Wilmore and Williams. 

Wilmore and Williams watched the liftoff via a live link sent to the space station, prompting a cheer of “Go Dragon!” from Williams, NASA deputy program manager Dina Contella said. 

Williams has been promoted to commander of the space station, which will soon be back to its normal population of seven. Once Hague and Gorbunov arrive Sunday, four astronauts living there since March can leave in their own SpaceX capsule. Their homecoming was delayed a month by Starliner’s turmoil. 

Hague noted before the flight that change is the one constant in human spaceflight. 

“There’s always something that is changing. Maybe this time it’s been a little more visible to the public,” he said. 

Hague was thrust into the commander’s job for the rescue mission based on his experience and handling of a launch emergency six years ago. The Russian rocket failed shortly after liftoff, and the capsule carrying him and a cosmonaut catapulted off the top to safety. 

Rookie NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and veteran space flier Stephanie Wilson were pulled from this flight after NASA opted to go with SpaceX to bring the stuck astronauts home. Promised a future space mission, both were at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, taking part in the launch livestream. Gorbunov remained on the flight under an exchange agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Agency. 

“Every crewed launch that I have ever watched has really brought me a lot of emotion. This one today was especially unique,” a teary-eyed Cardman said following the early afternoon liftoff. “It was hard not to watch that rocket lift off without thinking, ‘That’s my rocket and that’s my crew.'” 

Moments before liftoff, Hague paid tribute to his two colleagues left behind: “Unbreakable. We did it together.” Once in orbit, he called it a “sweet ride” and thanked everyone who made it possible. 

Earlier, Hague acknowledged the challenges of launching with half a crew and returning with two astronauts trained on another spacecraft. 

“We’ve got a dynamic challenge ahead of us,” Hague said after arriving from Houston last weekend. “We know each other and we’re professionals and we step up and do what’s asked of us.” 

SpaceX has long been the leader in NASA’s commercial crew program, established as the space shuttles were retiring more than a decade ago. SpaceX beat Boeing in delivering astronauts to the space station in 2020, and it is now up to 10 crew flights for NASA. 

Boeing has struggled with a variety of issues over the years, repeating a Starliner test flight with no one on board after the first one veered off course. The Starliner that left Wilmore and Williams in space landed without any issues in the New Mexico desert on September 6, and has since returned to Kennedy Space Center. A week ago, Boeing’s defense and space chief was replaced. 

Delayed by Hurricane Helene pounding Florida, the latest SpaceX liftoff marked the first for astronauts from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX took over the old Titan rocket pad nearly two decades ago and used it for satellite and station cargo launches, while flying crews from Kennedy’s former Apollo and shuttle pad next door. The company wanted more flexibility as more Falcon rockets soared. 
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