MAHA report on chronic disease in US kids includes fake citations, other errors

News brief

MAHA report cover page A Trump administration report outlining the potential factors related to the rise in chronic diseases in US children cites several studies that don't exist, according to media reports.

The Make Our Children Healthy Again report, issued last week by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission—led by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—focuses on addressing four potential drivers behind the rise in childhood chronic disease: ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity and chronic stress, and overmedicalization. The claims made in the report are backed by 522 footnotes.

"By examining the root causes of deteriorating child health, this assessment establishes a clear, evidence-based foundation for the policy interventions, institutional reforms, and societal shifts needed to reverse course," the report states.

Non-existent studies, other errors

But the footnotes contain multiple errors. The false citations, first reported yesterday by the news site NOTUS, include non-existent studies on anxiety in adolescents, the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising on the prescribing of ADHD and antidepression medication for children, and overprescribing of oral corticosteroids in children with asthma. Additional reporting by the New York Times and the Washington Post found citations listing the wrong author, published papers with the wrong journal listed, and inaccurate summaries of correctly cited papers.

The Post also found that several citations appear to have been generated by artificial intelligence

"This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point," American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, told the Post. "It cannot be used for any policymaking. It cannot even be used for any serious discussion, because you can’t believe what's in it."

At a press conference yesterday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the errors "formatting issues" that don't negate the substance of the report, and said the document would be updated. NOTUS later updated its story to note that the seven references it found to non-existent studies had been removed.

Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry grows to 104 illnesses, 1 death

News brief

Jim Wappes

A multistate Salmonella outbreak has grown in just a few weeks from 7 to 104 cases, with 1 death now recorded, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update yesterday.

Since its previous update on May 5, the CDC has confirmed 97 new cases, and the number of affected states rose from 6 to 35. Twenty-five of the outbreak patients (30%) have required hospitalization. The death was in Illinois. The CDC says the true number of outbreak cases, however, is "likely much higher."

Pennsylvania has reported the most cases, 14, followed by Colorado (9), Tennessee (8), Illinois (7), and Virginia (6). Illness-onset dates range from February 9 to May 3. All but 8% of patients are White, and 52% are male. They range in age from less than 1 to 85 years.

Of the 71 people with information about animal contact, 58 (82%) reported contact with backyard poultry before they got sick.

Outbreak strain found in hatchery shipments

Among 33 case-patients who reported owning backyard poultry, 27 (82%) said they obtained their poultry this year from agricultural retail stores. "These outbreak strains have been linked to two hatcheries," the CDC said. "CDC is working with state partners to notify these hatcheries of these links and assess any links to upstream suppliers. Additional hatcheries may be linked to these outbreaks as the investigation continues."

Investigators in Ohio collected samples from boxes used to ship poultry from hatcheries to stores. Whole-genome sequencing showed that the Salmonella Mbandaka found in these samples was the outbreak strain making people ill. This sample was linked to a hatchery that officials are investigating.

The CDC in each of the past several years has reported large Salmonella outbreaks tied to backyard poultry. The 2024 outbreak included 470 confirmed cases and 1 death. In 2023, cases climbed to 1,072, and in 2022 the case total was 1,230, including 2 deaths.

CWD detected on deer farm in Rock County, Wisconsin

News brief

Jim Wappes

Officials have confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) —an always-fatal prion disease that affects members of the deer family (cervids)—on a deer farm in Rock County, Wisconsin, according to a news release yesterday from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

The positive result came from a 5 1/2-year-old doe. Test results were confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Rock County is south of Madison, the state capital, on the Illinois border. One other deer farm in the county had CWD confirmed on its premises previously but remains in operation.

Farm under quarantine during probe

The newly affected deer farm is quarantined while DATCP and US Department of Agriculture scientists conduct an epidemiologic investigation. The DATCP regulates deer farms for registration, recordkeeping, disease testing, movement, and permit requirements.

Wisconsin has 142 registered deer farms and hunting ranches, 10 in Rock County, according to DATCP data. From 2001 through October 2024, 46 of the locations (32%) tested positive. Twenty-four of the affected farms depopulated their herds.

CWD is a slow and progressive neurologic disease of cervids caused by an infectious protein called a prion that affects animals' brains. No human cases have yet been confirmed, but health officials warn the public not to eat the meat of infected animals.

Quick takes: WHO RSV immunization recs, nirsevimab efficacy, new polio cases in 3 nations

News brief

Chris Dall, MA

The World Health Organization (WHO) today published recommendations for two immunization products to protect infants against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record, the WHO position paper recommends that the maternal RSV vaccine RSVpreF (Abrysvo) be given to pregnant women in their third trimester and the long-acting monoclonal antibody nirsevimab be administered to infants right after birth or before being discharged from a birthing facility, just before or during RSV season. Both products were recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts for global implementation in September 2024.
In related news, drug maker Sanofi yesterday presented data at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases showing that use of nirsevimab at hospitals in Spain during the 2024-25 RSV season reduced infant hospitalizations by 69% compared with the 2022-23 season. Additional data presented at the conference showed nirsevimab reduced infant hospitalizations 83% through 6 months compared with no intervention, exceeding the typical length of the 5-month RSV season.
Three countries reported new polio cases this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Pakistan reported 2 wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases with onset of paralysis on April 22 and May, bringing the number of WPV1 cases reported this year to 10. Yemen reported 6 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases, with 4 dating back to 2024 and 2 from 2025. Guinea reported 1 cVDPV3 case, bringing its 2025 total to 2 cases.