Health News

(GAINES COUNTY, Texas) -- The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 198, with 40 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday.Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 113 of unknown status. At least 23 people have been hospitalized so far, according to […]

(TEXAS) -- The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 -- an increase of 13 cases in the past five days, authorities said on Tuesday.The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website with the new numbers Tuesday afternoon and said the majority of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 74 of unknown status.At least […]

(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring an unknown disease that has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency said in a statement on Monday."CDC is monitoring the situation closely and engaging with DRC officials on what support the agency can offer," the agency's spokesperson said.At least 1,096 people have been sickened and 60 people have died from the disease, the World Health […]

(NEW YORK) -- Measles has been spreading across the U.S. for the last several weeks, sickening people in at least nine states amid a growing outbreak in western Texas.Several people have been hospitalized and at least one unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died, marking the first U.S. measles fatality in a decade.Some may believe that measles is a harmless childhood illness that causes a fever and a rash, clearing […]

(GAINES COUNTY, Texas) -- The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday.Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, with 79 unvaccinated and 62 of unknown status. At least 20 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).Just five cases […]

(WASHINGTON) -- In his first public comments on the measles outbreak hitting West Texas and New Mexico, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic whose first steps in combatting the outbreak will be closely watched, said his department was monitoring the situation daily but called it "not unusual.""Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year there were 16. […]

(NEW YORK) -- Before there was a vaccine in 1963, measles infected millions and killed hundreds of people in the U.S. every year. Now, with the first measles death occurring in over a decade, doctors warn that declining vaccination rates are bringing the disease back, putting more people — especially children — at risk.Here are five things to know about measles.What is measles?Measles is a highly contagious virus that can […]

A general view of the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 28, 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland. (Harold Cunningham/Getty Images) (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) -- At least 60 people have died and over 1,000 more have been sickened by a deadly "unknown disease" spreading in a region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said.Local health officials in Congo are partnering with the World Health Organization to investigate.The […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Some major medical associations are pushing back against the Department of Health and Human Services' updated definitions of biological sex in federal policy in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order.HHS issued new guidance on Feb. 19 where it said it "recognizes there are only two sexes: male and female," adding: "HHS will use these definitions and promote policies acknowledging that women are biologically female and men are biologically male.""There is extensive […]