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.
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.
A recent study of schoolchildren finds that the youngest students harbor the most germs. Researchers looked at nasal swabs and symptom reports of more than 800 students and staff in Kansas City, Missouri. Kids in pre-kindergarten and elementary school had the highest rates of virus detection compared with older students and staff. The pre-K kids, ages 3 to 5, had the highest rates of actual illness, too. Young children can have up to 10 respiratory viruses as their immune systems are introduced to different infections for the first time. Those viruses include colds, flu and more.
A Maryland resident who traveled to El Salvador has been diagnosed with New World screwworm. It's the first reported U.S. case tied to travel to a country with a current outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the diagnosis three weeks ago. Federal health officials acknowledged the infection in an emailed statement Monday. Health officials say the parasite does not spread from person to person and that the risk to the public is very low.
COVID-19 activity is rising in much of the country. Data shows overall respiratory virus spread is very low in the U.S. But COVID-19 is rising in most states, with more people of all ages going to emergency rooms because of it. The stratus variant is most common. It can cause a "razor blade" sore throat and is considered a "variant under monitoring" by the World Health Organization, but it is only marginally better at evading people's immune systems. Flu and RSV activity remain very low. Doctors say hot summer weather can drive people indoors where respiratory viruses like to spread.
COVID-19 activity is rising in much of the country. Data released Friday by federal health officials shows overall respiratory virus spread is low. But COVID-19 is rising in many states in the mid-Atlantic, the South, the southeast and on the West Coast. More people of all ages are going to emergency rooms because of COVID-19. Flu and RSV activity remain very low. Doctors say hot summer weather can drive people indoors where respiratory viruses like to spread.
Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest in more than three decades. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has 1,288 cases since the beginning of the year. That's higher than 2019, when there 1,274 cases driven by 22 outbreaks over 12 months. Eighteen states have seen outbreaks this year. Experts fear the U.S. may lose its status as having eliminated measles. There are also large outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable disease in Mexico and Canada.
A new variant of COVID-19 is circulating in parts of the world and may be driving an increase in cases in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions. The World Health Organization said Wednesday the new variant called NB.1.8.1 is increasing globally and in mid-May had reached nearly 11% of sequenced samples. Current vaccines are expected to remain effective and there's nothing to suggest that the disease associated with the variant is more severe. Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in international travelers arriving in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York.
