NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4 The CDC official who was leading the measles response and was RIFd has more than 28 yrs experience as the senior USG official leading outbreaks on Ebola, Marburg virus, and mpox. 2/4

NEW: The loss of credibility in CDC has sent morale to all-time low. “The worst is the silence,” one scientist said. “You can’t explain what’s going on, correct mistakes, clarify things quickly before they spin up and out of control.” Me + @joelachenbach wapo.st/30hUXkC @JoelAchenbach 1/ Career staff at CDC remain proud of the expertise, talent and professionalism that the agency can bring to bear in a crisis. But they see the agency’s situation clearly.

NEW: Italy says number of coronavirus cases spiked from three to 132 in matter of days, making it the largest outbreak outside of Asia. washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac… And ICYMI, here is our story that explains why the coronavirus outbreak is edging closer to a pandemic. w @Carolynyjohnson @thewanreport @JoelAchenbach washingtonpost.com/health/coronav…

NEW: The 14 Americans who were infected with coronavirus were flown home from Diamond Princess this week to U.S. against the advice of CDC. Passengers on the plane were not informed. Me with @JoelAchenbach @LennyMBernstein @ShibaniMahtani. washingtonpost.com/health/coronav… @JoelAchenbach @LennyMBernstein @ShibaniMahtani "It was like the worst nightmare," said one senior U.S. official involved in the decision. "Quite frankly, the alternative could have been pulling grandma out in the pouring rain, and that would have been bad, too." 2/x

NEW: As coronavirus cases soar in China, the dilemma facing this Texas maker of surgical masks exposes major weaknesses in global supply chain of critical protective gear (PPE) needed to keep health workers safe--abroad and in U.S. Me and @rachsieg wapo.st/37um10z @rachsieg Mike Bowen's U.S. mask manufacturer is struggling to meet demand. But instead of celebrating the boom, he is indignant. He's been predicting this kind of public health crisis and there wouldn't be enough manufacturers--many companies rely on Chinese manufacturers. 2/x

NEW: How the coronavirus spread so quickly in China. One key misstep: Early on, Chinese authorities only looked for ppl with pneumonia, missing those with milder illness. Possible reason why the virus spread farther and faster. w @gerryshih @emilyrauhala wapo.st/2SfQHgK @gerryshih @emilyrauhala Despite progress in public health since SARS, Chinese public health system is overburdened. Beijng's bureaucratic culture also prizes political stability over all else. 2/

NEW: Key unknowns abt the coronavirus will determine how successful China's efforts are in limiting the outbreak's toll. Qs: how lethal it may be, how contagious, + whether it can be spread by people who are infected but show no symptoms. @lennymbernstein wapo.st/2uJDDIo @LennyMBernstein "It is very striking how quickly the numbers are going up," said Trish Perl, an expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Do I think I'm concerned about the rapidity of it? Yes. Do I think it may be difficult to control? Yes. But in the context of many unknowns." 2/

NEW: Washington state man is first U.S. case of Wuhan coronavirus. He is in stable condition and reached out proactively to provider when he fell ill. CDC has also expanded airport screening to 5 airports: LAX, SFO, JFK, Atlanta and O'Hare. Our story. washingtonpost.com/health/2020/01… U.S. patient is in his 30s. Officials have screened about 1,200 travelers from Wuhan and so far have not found anyone thru that screening and no one referred to hospital. But additional cases are expected. 1/

BREAKING: Travelers at 3 U.S. airports to be screened for new, potentially deadly Chinese virus. Applies to passengers on direct and connecting flights from central Chinese city of Wuhan. My story. #coronavirus (will be updated.) washingtonpost.com/health/2020/01… Screening begins tonight at JFK on flight arriving from Wuhan at 10 p.m. Next one will be arriving San Francisco Saturday around 11 a.m. Also screening for connecting flights arriving LAX on Saturday. /2

On my day "off," I made phone calls and sent emails. In between went grocery shopping and started making pies for turkey day. My favorite: sour cherry pie. Sour cherries picked this summer, pitted and frozen. So they could be available for the holidays. 2/There is something incredibly satisfying about rolling out pie dough. Tart cherries are packed with antioxidants. So really, this is very healthy if you don't count butter and sugar....

NEW: For months, CDC's disease detectives in the vaping investigation have been trying to figure out what's been making so many people sick this year. Here is my look behind the scenes. wapo.st/33d9U60 2/Just as the CDC lab team was about to test more lung fluid samples for vitamin E acetate, the critical tool they used for chemical analysis crashed.

Two years ago, Post photographer Melina Mara and I visited this remote village in the Republic of Congo and wrote about the search for monkeypox virus. washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/… I thought I would never again see some of the Congolese officials who helped us for our report. Guess who turned up in Alexandria, Va. this week. It was so great to see Dr. Tobi and Dr. Dzabatou.