Category: Featured Headlines
Texas measles outbreak hits 422 cases with 22 new infections confirmed over last 5 days
ABC News The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 22 new cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 422 in the state, according to 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 […]
Apr 1, 2025
HHS starts layoffs of thousands of workers across its agencies
STAT As many as 10,000 — one-quarter of the department — are expected to be let go Layoff notices began arriving early Tuesday for thousands of employees of the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services and its subsidiary agencies, with as many 10,000 workers potentially expected to be hit by the cuts, including some of the […]
Apr 1, 2025
Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in Yorkshire
UK.gov Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been confirmed in a single sheep in Yorkshire. The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed a case of influenza of avian origin (H5N1) in a single sheep in Yorkshire following repeat positive milk testing. The case was identified following routine surveillance of co-located livestock on a premises […]
Mar 26, 2025
DRC Outbreak Linked to Malaria, Officials Confirm
News Central Africa Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that a mysterious illness responsible for over 50 deaths earlier this year was malaria. The National Public Health Institute announced late Monday that laboratory tests identified malaria as the cause of the outbreak, which killed 52 people and affected nearly 1,000 others in Equateur province. Continue reading
Mar 26, 2025
We Need a Reminder of What the Pre-Vaccine Era Was Like
NYT Of the more than 200 Americans infected by the measles outbreak in Texas and beyond, nearly all were unvaccinated — including a 6-year-old child who died — or had an unknown immunization status. While a measles epidemic affecting hundreds of people across state lines is hard to imagine in 2025, the vaccine fears that […]
Mar 25, 2025
Health official warns of prolonged measles outbreak as cases rise in TX, NM, OK
KOMO A measles outbreak has continued to spread across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, with 321 confirmed cases as of Tuesday — an increase of 25 cases from Friday. Texas is bearing the brunt of the outbreak, with the majority of the cases reported in the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday reported […]
Mar 19, 2025
Close Relative of Highly Fatal Coronavirus Discovered in Brazil’s Bats
Science Alert Brazil’s bats are harboring a vast and diverse pool of coronaviruses, a new study finds, including a newly identified strain that may pose a danger to human health in the years to come. Scientists are taking the threat seriously and will soon conduct testing in a secure lab to see if the variant […]
Mar 19, 2025
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