Health News

(NEW YORK) -- One year ago, the first bird flu infection in a human in the United States was reported in a Texas dairy worker, just weeks after the virus had been found in cattle for the first time ever.While the virus has spread in birds for decades, in recent years it has started to infect more and more mammals including cows, bears and racoons -- and even house cats […]

(NEW YORK) -- Cutting back on calories three days a week may lead to more weight loss than daily dieting and may be more effective than other types of so-called "intermittent fasting," a new study suggests.In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers asked participants to reduce their calorie intake by 80% of what their body needed to maintain weight on three non-consecutive days each week. […]

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (SALT LAKE CITY) -- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill making the state the first in the nation to ban fluoride in drinking water.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LUBBOCK, Texas) -- When the first measles cases were confirmed in western Texas, health officials said the infections primarily affected the Mennonite community.Mennonites, who are part of the Anabaptist Christian church, have a small presence in the United States -- and Texas in general -- but they have a large presence in the South Plains region the state, and in Gaines County, which is the epicenter of the outbreak.Many Mennonite […]

Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (LANSING, Mich.) -- A Michigan resident has died of rabies after apparently undergoing an organ transplant, health officials said.The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) told ABC News that the patient underwent an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024.The resident died in January 2025 and "a public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ," MDHHS said.The organ donor […]

(WASHINGTON) -- A measles case was confirmed in a person who traveled to Washington, D.C., on an Amtrak train, according to the D.C. Department of Health (DC Health).The person visited multiple locations while contagious, including the southbound Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train and Union Station on March 19 as well as a MedStar Urgent Care in Adams Morgan on March 22, DC Health said in a press release on Tuesday.DC Health said […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Measles vaccination rates appear to be increasing in some areas of the U.S. that have been affected by outbreaks this year.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine -- the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses […]

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) -- The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 18 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 327 cases, according to new data published Tuesday.Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). At least 40 people have […]

(AUSTIN, Texas) -- The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 309, with 30 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday.This means the total number of Texas cases linked to the outbreak in roughly two months has surpassed the number confirmed for the entirety of last year in the U.S., which saw 285 cases nationwide, according to data from […]