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The U.S. may be in for a severe flu season this year if trends in the Southern Hemisphere — historically a seasonal harbinger for the U.S. — hold true. It isn't the first time since the Covid pandemic began that experts have warned of a bad flu season or even a "twindemic": a bad flu season on top of a winter surge of Covid. But so far, that hasn't materialized. (Edwards, 8/4)

Testing found high levels of the bacteria in a sample taken from a cooling tower at the Embassy Suites Napa Valley hotel in the city of Napa, public health officials said Wednesday, though other sources of Legionella in the area are possible. “The cooling tower has since been taken offline, which mitigates any ongoing risk to public health,” officials said. (Yee, 8/3)

Health officials said they are investigating after several people developed a flu-like illness after working closely with pigs that exhibited respiratory symptoms and fever at a county fair. The state Department of Health and Human Resources said the H3N2v strain of influenza A was confirmed on at least one human test Tuesday. The sample has been forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Confirmation. (8/4)

The Environmental Protection Agency is warning residents who live near medical sterilizing plants in 13 states and Puerto Rico about potential health risks from emissions of ethylene oxide, a chemical widely used in their operations. Laredo, Texas; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Lakewood, Colorado, are among the communities facing the highest risk from ethylene oxide emissions, EPA said. (Daly, 8/3)

Feel sick from the heat? You’re not alone. Doctors at AdventHealth in the Orlando region say they’re treating a record number of patients for heat-related illnesses. (Prieur, 8/3)

KHN: ‘Children Are Not Little Adults’ And Need Special Protection During Heat Waves 

After more than a week of record-breaking temperatures across much of the country, public health experts are cautioning that children are more susceptible to heat illness than adults are — even more so when they’re on the athletic field, living without air conditioning, or waiting in a parked car. Cases of heat-related illness are rising with average air temperatures, and experts say almost half of those getting sick are children. The reason is twofold: Children’s bodies have more trouble regulating temperature than those of adults, and they rely on adults to help protect them from overheating. (Huetteman, 8/4)