WASHINGTON — A first-of-its-kind drug for hepatitis B is letting some patients stop treatment without showing signs of the dangerous liver vir…
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The U.N. health agency says two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of infection were evacuated from a cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak. Two of the patients arrived at Amsterdam's airport Wednesday evening and were driven off in ambulances. The ship departed from Cape Verde and headed to Spain's Canary Islands. The World Health Organization says eight cases have been recorded, with five confirmed by lab tests. Three people have died. Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak say the government's leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing before boarding.
California health departments are fighting to contain measles outbreaks as cases rise and resources shrink. Investigating communicable diseases is time-intensive and expensive. Officials say teams have about 72 hours after a positive case to find exposed people and stop spread. Nurses trace contacts, order quarantine, or give post-exposure medicine. They then monitor people for 21 days. Experts say measles spreads fast and hangs in the air for hours. California has high vaccination rates overall, but unvaccinated pockets drive outbreaks. The outbreaks are occurring as local health departments also face major funding cuts and staffing losses.
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The risk to the general public appears low after an outbreak of tuberculosis at Archbishop Riordan High School, the San Francisco Department o…
New options for testing and treating some of the most common sexually transmitted diseases are becoming available. In the past year, U.S. health officials approved new home-based tests that can detect common infections like gonorrhea, chlamydia and HPV. The Food and Drug Administration also approved two new drugs for gonorrhea, the first new options in decades. Experts hope the trend toward access and convenience will keep downward pressure on infection rates. Cases of sexually transmitted diseases have been falling for several years after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's one of medicine's biggest mysteries — why sometimes our immune system attacks our own bodies. Autoimmune diseases affect as many as 50 million Americans and millions more worldwide. They're hard to diagnose and treat, and they're on the rise. A Massachusetts woman's journey with one named lupus — called the disease of 1,000 faces for its baffling variety of symptoms — offers a snapshot of the burden. Now researchers are decoding the biology behind these debilitating diseases in hopes of eventually treating the causes, not just the symptoms.
A mosquito-borne virus more common in South America has been detected in the United States. Health officials say the chikungunya virus has been identified in a patient living in the suburbs of New York City who began experiencing symptoms in August. Authorities say it's the first locally acquired case identified in any state since 2015, meaning the patient didn't travel outside the country before becoming infected. It's also the first locally acquired case that New York has ever seen. Chikungunya typically produces symptoms including fever, muscle pain, nausea, fatigue and a rash.
Three people have died from measles-related illnesses in the U.S. since the highly contagious virus started ripping through West Texas in late January. The U.S. has more than doubled the total number of measles cases in 2024. Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas and Oklahoma all have active measles outbreaks. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
Texas has reached 400 cases of measles in an outbreak that started two months ago. Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas and Oklahoma all have active measles outbreaks. Two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
Doctors declare Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger due to pneumonia, but remains hospitalized
Doctors said Pope Francis is no longer in imminent danger of death as a result of pneumonia but have decided to keep him hospitalized for several more days to receive treatment. In a late update, the doctors said on Monday the 88-year-old pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments. Francis followed the Vatican's weeklong spiritual retreat via videoconference as he continued his recovery from double pneumonia and looked ahead to the 12th anniversary of his election amid questions about what the future of his papacy might look like.
