Category: Featured Headlines
Measles Outbreak Was Entirely Avoidable
Bloomberg Low vaccination rates contributed to the re-emergence of a disease declared eradicated in the US 25 years ago. A measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico has killed a child and sickened more than 130 people, and public health experts fear it’s only the beginning. It’s an entirely avoidable health emergency fueled by weaknesses […]
Mar 5, 2025
As Measles Spreads, Kennedy Embraces Remedies Like Cod Liver Oil
NYT In an interview, the H.H.S. secretary claimed that unconventional treatments were helping patients but did not mention vaccination. As a measles outbreak expands in West Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, on Tuesday cheered several unconventional treatments, including cod liver oil, but again did not urge Americans to get […]
Mar 4, 2025
To the Pandemic Czar: Are We Prepared to Talk About Bird Flu?
MedPage Today Effective communication across all levels of government is as important as a vaccine. The threat of a widespread human outbreak of bird flu is on the horizon. And, with it, the potential for a pandemic. The next pandemic — whether from the H5N1 strain circulating since 2022 or something else — may not […]
Mar 4, 2025
Mysterious illness claims dozens in remote congo villages, WHO on alert
Medafrica Times A puzzling disease outbreak in northwestern Congo has claimed 53 lives amid 419 reported cases across two isolated villages, baffling health officials who are racing to identify the deadly pathogen. The outbreaks began on January 21 in Equateur province, with many victims succumbing within hours of showing symptoms. Health authorities remain uncertain whether […]
Mar 4, 2025
Why This Measles Outbreak Is Different
The Atlantic America’s regression could change the experience of childhood. In 2000, the CDC declared that measles had been eliminated from the United States. But now America is at risk of losing that status: A measles outbreak has sickened more than 150 people in Texas and New Mexico since late January. An unvaccinated school-aged child recently died […]
Mar 4, 2025
Herding cats: It’s past time to include pets in disease surveillance
STAT H5N1 is just one reason why. As veterinarians, flu scientists, and biosecurity experts, we have watched with growing concern the rise in H5N1 avian influenza in cats. Since 2022, more than 100 domesticated cats in the United States have had confirmed infections — some house pets, some barn cats, some feral — with high mortality, although […]
Mar 4, 2025
Two clusters of unknown illness cases kill 50 in Democratic Republic of Congo
NBC News “The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” a World Health Organization spokesperson said. More than 50 people have died in recent weeks in two clusters of illness cases with the unknown cause being investigated in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization […]
Feb 26, 2025
Soil bacteria outbreak kills 14 in Australian flood-hit state
Medical Xpress Melioidosis, a rare antibiotic-resistant disease caused by bacteria found in soil or mud, often surfaces in tropical areas after heavy rain or flooding. While cases have occurred in Queensland in previous years, the state’s Tropical Public Health Services director Jacqueline Murdoch said 2025 “absolutely is a record-breaking year.” “Certainly we haven’t seen anything like this,” […]
Feb 26, 2025
An unvaccinated child has died in the Texas measles outbreak
AP A child who was not vaccinated has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month and the first from measles in the U.S. since 2015. The death was a “school-aged child who was not vaccinated” and had been hospitalized last week, the Texas Department of State […]
Feb 26, 2025
‘Unknown disease’ that can kill within days leaves 53 dead in Congo
Washington Post World Health Organization officials said the outbreak appeared to originate from a village where three children died after reportedly eating a bat carcass. An unknown illness has killed 53 people in a northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a significant portion of deaths taking place within 48 hours of the […]
Feb 25, 2025