Norovirus cases are up this year, with 91 reported outbreaks nationwide. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) cases are up in China and India. There has also been an increase in the U.S., but HMPV is currently a cause for concern in the nation, where its relative commonality gives many people some immunity. Louisiana has reported the first U.S. death from H5N1 avian influenza. Experts say the risk of bird flu to most people is low, though several factors can cause severe disease. Medical debts are set to be removed from U.S. credit reports, which could raise credit scores by an average of 20 points for the 15 million Americans who will be affected. 

Wildfires raged in the Los Angeles area last week, caused in part by a hot, dry winter and the speeds of the Santa Ana winds. Those winds made it difficult to fight the Palisades and Eaton Fires. As of last Thursday evening, firefighters were continuing to get a handle on these fires. 

Plus, a new study uncovers the cosmic kiss between Pluto and its largest moon Charon.

Recommended reading:

What Does First U.S. Bird Flu Death Tell Experts about Disease Severity? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-human-bird-flu-death-in-u-s-reported-how-worried-should-we-be/

HMPV Cases Are Rising across Asia, but Experts Say Not to Panichttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-human-metapneumovirus-and-why-are-cases-rising-in-china/ 

Palisades and Eaton Fires Show Rising Dangers of Fast-Moving Blazes https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/palisades-and-eaton-fires-show-rising-dangers-of-fast-moving-fires/ 

Pluto May Have Won Its Moon Charon with a ‘Kiss’ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pluto-may-have-won-its-moon-charon-with-a-kiss/ 

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Andrea Thompson. Our show is edited by Jeff DelViscio with fact-checking by Emily Makowski, Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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