Health News

(NEW YORK) -- Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday that a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine succeeded in a large, late-stage trial among high-risk patients with melanoma.The individualized vaccine, when paired with the existing immunotherapy, Keytruda, is the first and only combination regimen that demonstrated success in potentially extending melanoma patients' lifespans.In Phase 3 trials, the regimen significantly reduced the risk of cancer returning or spreading. The trial was conducted among patients […]

(NEW YORK) -- Eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to higher health risks, including death, according to a new study published in Family Medicine and Community Health. Researchers found that consuming higher amounts of ultra-processed foods increased the risk of heart disease, strokes, obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety, digestive issues, and cancer. Ultra-processed foods contain “significant amounts of added sugars, salts, fats” and can be hyper-palatable, meaning they are engineered to taste […]

(NEW YORK) -- Los Angeles County is seeing the highest number of West Nile virus cases in nearly a decade, health officials said Monday.The county has reported 100 cases so far this year. This is the highest figure since 2017 when 268 cases were recorded for the entire season. The number of current cases is also greater than the five-year average during the same period, according to the Los Angeles County Department […]

Dozens of Americans have filed personal injury lawsuits against the makers of popular GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, claiming they were not properly warned of the risk of a rare type of sudden vision loss, called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, when taking the medications.Researchers have been studying a possible link between GLP-1 drugs and this eye condition in recent years after a possible safety signal […]

(NEW YORK) -- The Florida Department of Health confirmed the state's first death from dengue fever this year as cases of the mosquito-borne illness continue to rise.The department did not provide any details about the patient including name, age, sex or residence.The Tampa Bay Times, which first reported the death, described the patient as an 80-year-old Tampa woman who died on Sept. 4.The FDOH did not immediately return ABC News' […]

(NEW YORK) -- Philadelphia is facing a second possible measles exposure, the city's Department of Public Health warned over the weekend.Health officials said an individual with measles passed through Philadelphia International Airport and that the case is not connected to the recent exposure that occurred at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).The Philadelphia Department of Public Health said the exposure occurred in Terminals B and F, as well as areas used […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeking more information about what she called the administration's "calamitous" response to the cyclosporiasis outbreak and expressing concern that politics could be to blame."I write regarding the administration's calamitous response to the biggest outbreak of cyclosporiasis in U.S. history, and the extent to which the outbreak and botched response may be the result of […]

(NEW YORK) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the vaccine-skeptic group Children's Health Defense on Thursday they have "a friend in the White House" in President Donald Trump.Kennedy delivered the keynote address in Washington, D.C., at a conference hosted by the group, noting that Trump has given directives to strengthen research, transparency and parental choice around childhood vaccines."Let me be clear. You have a strong […]

3D illustration of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, suspended in a microscopic environment. (Getty Images stock photo/Gilnature) (NEW YORK) -- The North Carolina teenager who died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri was likely infected from a water feature at a community center, according to state and local officials.Naegleria fowleri, also known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis or PAM, has been found in warm freshwater, including ponds, lakes and rivers, and it […]