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.

The death of an Oregon house cat from bird flu and a pet food recall are raising questions about how people can protect their pets. Oregon health officials have traced the cat's illness to frozen cat food that contained raw turkey. Some pet owners feed their animals raw meat, but that can be dangerous, even fatal for the animals. Cooking destroys the bird flu virus and other disease-causing germs. Cats seem more susceptible than dogs to the bird flu virus. But the best advice for pet owners is to avoid feeding animals raw protein.