Category: Featured Headlines
How vulnerable might humans be to bird flu? Scientists see hope in existing immunity
NPR Bird flu has ripped through the animal kingdom for the past few years now, killing countless birds and crossing into an alarming number of mammals. Yet people remain largely untouched. Even though the official tally of human cases in the U.S. is most certainly an undercount, there’s still no evidence this strain of H5N1 has spread widely among […]
Mar 19, 2025
Should You Get a Measles Vaccine Booster?
Yale Medicine As cases increase in some places, a Yale Medicine specialist reviews the groups, including some adults, who should get vaccinated. These days, most people are vaccinated against measles, a highly contagious, life-threatening respiratory virus, when they are children. But recent reports that measles is spreading in parts of the United States are prompting some […]
Mar 18, 2025
Japanese encephalitis has claimed a second life in NSW and been detected in Brisbane. What is it?
The Conversation A second man has died from Japanese encephalitis virus in New South Wales on March 6, the state’s health authorities confirmed on Friday. Aged in his 70s, the man was infected while holidaying in the Murrumbidgee region. This follows the death of another man in his 70s in Sydney last month, after holidaying in the same region […]
Mar 18, 2025
First US Outbreak of H7N9 Bird Flu Since 2017 Spurs Health Worry
Bloomberg The first outbreak in the US of deadly H7N9 bird flu strain since 2017 was detected in a Mississippi poultry farm, raising fresh health concerns. H7N9, which is separate from the H5N1 strain that has been sweeping through flocks across the US, was detected in a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Mississippi, the […]
Mar 18, 2025
Texas measles outbreak grows to 279 cases, approaching nationwide total for 2024
ABC News The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 20 additional cases confirmed, bringing the total to 279 cases, according to new state data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health […]
Mar 18, 2025
United States: Where U.S. Measles Outbreaks Are Spreading
NYT Measles continues to spread in West Texas and New Mexico, with more than 250 people infected — many unvaccinated school-age children. Two cases in Oklahoma, for which state officials have not provided a location, have also been linked to these outbreaks. Twelve other states have reported isolated measles cases, typically linked to international travel. Continue […]
Mar 12, 2025
This Is How Measles Kills
Wired Measles is known for its characteristic rash, but it can have serious respiratory and neurologic complications. Declining vaccination rates are fueling a growing measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico that has so far been linked to two deaths. In late February, an unvaccinated child in Texas with no underlying health conditions became the first […]
Mar 12, 2025
Co-Circulating Viruses Causing Concern in Mpox Outbreak
IDSE The mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spilled over into Uganda, which borders the DRC, according to reports at CROI 2025, which is ongoing in San Francisco (abstract 191). Surveillance has found co-circulating viruses, particularly varicella-zoster virus, with one person coming down with coinfections. That person died, according to Nicholas Bbosa, PhD, an assistant professor […]
Mar 12, 2025
5 years since the pandemic started, long COVID patients are still hoping for a cure
NPR It’s been five years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. But many patients with long COVID have yet to find meaningful recovery. Around 6% of adults in the U.S. — or roughly 18 million — are estimated to be living with the damaging aftermath of catching the virus, according to research and a long-running survey of U.S […]
Mar 12, 2025
His Daughter Was America’s First Measles Death in a Decade
The Atlantic Peter greeted me in the mostly empty gravel parking lot of a Mennonite church on the outskirts of Seminole, a small city in West Texas surrounded by cotton and peanut fields. The brick building was tucked in a cobbled-together neighborhood of scrapyards, metal barns, and modest homes with long dirt driveways. No sign out […]
Mar 11, 2025