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.
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.
By MIKE STOBBE and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new vaccine advisory panel plans to revisit long-settled questions about childhood vaccines. On Wednesday, the new committee announced it would be looking into the childhood vaccine schedule and into specific shots like the hepatitis B and MMR-chickenpox combination. Pediatricians and scientists are expressing alarm. The American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the committee, calling its process "no longer credible." The panel also discussed COVID-19 vaccines and shots that protect infants from RSV.
Public health officials say a day care facility in a Texas county that's part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated. West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 505 cases as of Tuesday and the state expanding the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January. Three people who were unvaccinated have died from measles-related illnesses this year, including two elementary school-aged children in Texas. Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells says day care there had seven cases as of Friday.
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.
By DEVI SHASTRI and KASTURI PANANJADY AP Health Writers
Measles cases in West Texas are still rising two months after the outbreak began. Local public health officials say they expect the outbreak to last for at least several more months and the case number is likely an undercount. More people have received a measles, mumps and rubella vaccination this year in Texas and New Mexico compared to last year, though officials would like it to be higher. Pharmacies across the U.S., especially in Texas, are seeing more demand for MMR shots. University of North Carolina epidemiologist Justin Lessler says measles has a slow way of spreading that makes it especially hard to contain.
