Author: Claudinne Miller
We Can Stop Deadly Hospital Outbreaks — So Why Aren’t We?
MedPage Today Aaron Young was a patient in a California hospital undergoing a routine procedure investigating the source of his pancreatitis. He needed an exam using a duodenoscope — something more than 500,000 Americansopens in a new tab or window undergo each year. But what should have been safe turned serious. The duodenoscope used on Young was […]
Oct 15, 2025
Respiratory virus season has arrived. What to know about getting this year’s vaccines
CNN It’s that time of year when the leaves are turning golden, there’s a chill in the air and the threat of respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza or RSV looms across the country. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the 2025-26 fall and winter respiratory disease season to have a similar number […]
Oct 15, 2025
More than 150 unvaccinated students quarantined in South Carolina measles outbreak
Scripps News The students were identified as having been exposed to measles and lacking vaccination against the highly contagious disease. More than 150 unvaccinated students in South Carolina are under mandatory 21-day quarantine due to a measles outbreak affecting two schools in Spartanburg County. State health officials confirmed measles cases at both schools — Global […]
Oct 15, 2025
Japanese Farmers Send Out Automated Laser Drones to Defend Chickens
Futurism Chicken farming is a fowl business. To make it, you’ll need extensive knowledge in animal husbandry, business finance, biosecurity, and mechanical repair. If one company in Japan has its way, that list could soon include “drone skills” as well. A Japanese firm called NTT e-Drone Technology Company Ltd has developed a drone-laser system designed […]
Oct 15, 2025
New York confirms 1st locally acquired case of chikungunya virus in 6 years in US
ABC News The New York State Department of Health has confirmed a case of locally acquired chikungunya on Long Island, marking the first case of the virus reported to be locally acquired in New York and the first locally acquired case to be reported in the United States since 2019. Laboratory testing at the department’s […]
Oct 15, 2025
Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum
NYT The president’s call for removal of the metal from childhood inoculations set off alarms. About half of shots for polio, whooping cough and other diseases would be affected. Federal health officials are examining the feasibility of taking aluminum salts out of vaccines, a prospect that vaccine experts said would wipe out about half of the nation’s […]
Oct 15, 2025
‘Very mean squirrel’ seeking food has sent at least 2 people to the ER in a California city
WTOP Residents of a San Francisco Bay Area city are on the lookout for an aggressive squirrel that has sent at least two people to the emergency room for medical treatment. Joan Heblack told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that she was walking in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael when a squirrel seemingly came out of nowhere […]
Oct 8, 2025
Leptospirosis ripping through California sea lions in record numbers
SF Chronicle An “all-time record” number of sick sea lions has washed up on California beaches since a deadly bacterial disease broke out this summer, according to the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center — with the outbreak especially concentrated in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Since July 1, the center has responded to at least 375 cases of leptospirosis, […]
Oct 8, 2025
Australia: Health issues urgent warning measles outbreak alert after 47 cases detected
The Australian A measles outbreak is spreading in WA, with 47 cases now detected so far this year. WA health authorities issued a fresh warning about the potentially fatal disease on Wednesday, saying eight cases had been detected in an outbreak in the Pilbara region. Measles is highly infectious and can spread via airborne droplets, […]
Oct 8, 2025
Mexico confirms new screwworm case in northern border state Nuevo Leon
Reuters Mexico’s agriculture ministry said on Monday another case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite was detected in Nuevo Leon, which borders the United States, marking the state’s second confirmed case in about two weeks. The infested calf had originated from the south of Mexico and was intercepted in the town of Montemorelos, south of Monterrey. […]
Oct 8, 2025