Health News

(NEW YORK) -- More cities and counties across the U.S. are moving to ban fluoride in public drinking water after Utah became the first state in the country to do so.The Miami-Dade County commissioners voted 8-2 on Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to the public water supply.Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sponsored the legislation, referred to fluoride as a "neurotoxin" and that studies show it "should not be in the water."Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph […]

(WASHINGTON) -- The battle over taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood takes center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a dispute over South Carolina's exclusion of the group from the state Medicaid program because it provides abortions.On the line is the ability of Medicaid beneficiaries to freely choose a healthcare provider, including physicians at Planned Parenthood who provide services other than abortion, like contraception treatments and cancer screenings.South […]

(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 […]