How the United States found itself in a measles 'crisis'
The viral outbreak has led to broader questions over radical changes in vaccine policy under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. North America correspondent Kamin Gock reports.
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News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
Tennis legend Monica Seles diagnosed with rare disease
Tennis great Monica Seles revealed she has been diagnosed with a rare muscle-weakening condition. Seles, 51, started experiencing double vision and extremely depleted strength in her arms and legs in 2019, The Sun reports. A long string of tests and scans - delayed by the Covid pandemic - ruled out brain tumours and motor neurone disease. The nine-time Grand Slam champion was eventually diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2022. Now Seles has gone public on neuromuscular auto-immune disease - which currently has no cure - and will raise awareness for the condition with an event around this month's US Open. MG affects most of the body but particularly the muscles that control the eyes - although symptoms can vary from day to day. Approximately 15-20 people per 100,000 - or 0.015 per cent of the population - are affected by MG, which sees the immune system attack the neuromuscular junction where nerves and muscles communicate. 'I would be playing (tennis) with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball,' Seles told AP. 'I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls.' 'These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore. 'It took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. 'It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' Seles won seven of her nine Grand Slams by the age of 18. That included reaching eight Major finals in a row - winning seven - before she was tragically stabbed in April 1993 on court during a match in Hamburg by a fixated fan of Steffi Graf. The Yugoslavia-born star - who switched nationality to USA - returned in 1995 after a two-year absence. She reached the US Open final in her first Major since the stabbing then won the 1996 Australian Open, her ninth and final Grand Slam title. The lefty, who played with a double-handed forehand and backhand, officially retired in 2008 five years after her final competitive match. Now living in Florida, she told The Athletic about her MG diagnosis: 'I thought, 'OK, just push through it.' 'But a couple of instances happened when — on court and in daily life — I realised there was something going on. 'After coming out of my former country to the IMG Academy, I had to totally reset. 'When I became No1, it was a huge reset because everybody treats you differently. 'Then obviously when I got stabbed, that was a huge reset. And then when I was diagnosed, it was a huge reset. 'The day-to-day part of managing it, depending on my symptoms, is really adjusting, you know. I think anybody else who has Myasthenia Gravis knows it's a continuous adjustment. 'After my stabbing, I had to deal with that internally for quite a few years to process it and my MG diagnosis was kind of very similar. 'I had to understand my new normal of day-to-day life, what I can do work-wise and different things.'
ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
Tennis legend Monica Seles reveals myasthenia gravis diagnosis as her latest 'hard reset'
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis while she was swinging a racquet the way she had done so many times. The 51-year-old Seles, who won the first of her nine major trophies as a 16-year-old at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with the neuromuscular autoimmune disease three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the US Open, which starts on August 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. "I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls.' These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore," Seles said. "And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot." According to the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: "[MG is] a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles" and "most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but … can occur at any age, including childhood." It can lead to problems with speaking, chewing, swallowing and breathing, and while many complications are treatable, some can be life-threatening. Seles said she had never heard of the condition before seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her legs and arms, when even "just blowing my hair out … became very difficult". Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ The tennis legend said she wished at the time of her diagnosis, she "had somebody like me speak up about it". She talks about learning to live a "new normal" nowadays and characterised her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. This year marks three decades since Seles returned to competition and reached the final at the 1995 US Open, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. "I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times," she said. "I call my first hard reset when I came to the US as a young 13-year-old [from Yugoslavia]. Didn't speak the language; left my family. It's a very tough time. "Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes [everything], and it's hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. "Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a huge reset. "And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust'. And that's what I'm doing now." AP
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
Concerns over TikTok birth control content
Andy Park: Well, you'll probably agree that you can do better than get health advice from social media. Now, doctors say concerning even harmful misinformation about birth control is getting around. A recent study of 100 TikTok videos about contraception found that more than half rejected hormonal birth control methods like the pill, patch or IUDs. Many promoted so-called natural forms of birth control without disclosing the risk. Bridget Fitzgerald has more. Bridget Fitzgerald: Spend a couple of minutes on social media and you'll be bombarded with lots of opinions about birth control. Opinion: Is it true that the birth control pill? You know, the other thing about birth control too, this is crazy. I've been off birth control for a week and a half after being on it for 15 years. I don't know who needs to hear this, but you do not need a break from your birth control. Bridget Fitzgerald: And much like any other medical topic, most of it is based on thoughts and feelings rather than science. Dr Sara Whitburn is the medical director at Sexual Health Victoria. Dr Sara Whitburn: I think social media is there to validate people's experiences. However, when we're talking about contraception choice, we often talk about broad ranges of experiences and basing that in evidence and trying to give people both the pros and the cons of contraception. Bridget Fitzgerald: She says young people are using social media to learn about contraception. Dr Sara Whitburn: It is now being used as a search engine and it's now how people get their information. So I'm certainly not against using social media to get information, but I think it's about thinking about our digital literacy and also about how we assess or interact with things that are on social media. Bridget Fitzgerald: In a recent study published in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, an analysis of 100 TikTok videos found 53% of them rejected the use of hormonal birth control. The most frequently discussed topics were fertility awareness and cycle tracking, followed by videos about the pill. Dr Caroline de Moel is the lead researcher. Dr Caroline de Moel: Much of the information provided by the uploaders were based on personal experiences and beliefs, and they contained non-medical advice rather than medical evidence. Bridget Fitzgerald: Dr de Moel says often when content creators promote natural methods of birth control, such as cycle tracking, they failed to point out their limitations or that if used alone, they're often ineffective. She says about a third of videos analysed expressed broad distrust in medical professionals and with the health system. Dr Caroline de Moel: It is an alarming trend. People sort of choose to distrust their health professionals and look for TikTok instead for health information. And that's quite worrying. Bridget Fitzgerald: But broad concerns about the effects of hormonal contraception are not just isolated to social media. Professor Danielle Mazza is the director of the Sphere Centre of Research Excellence in Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care. Prof Danielle Mazza: Increasingly, there's a lot of misinformation appearing on social media of all kinds. And it corresponds with a trend towards decreasing use of hormonal contraception, particularly by young women, which is a worldwide phenomenon and quite a scary one in terms of health outcomes for women. Bridget Fitzgerald: Danielle Mazza says it isn't exactly clear why women are turning away from hormonal birth control, but it's associated with a lack of information and broader distrust in medicine, and it increases the risk of unplanned pregnancy. She says despite the trend, things like the pill or IUDs are largely safe. Prof Danielle Mazza: They've been used by millions of women around the world for many, many years now. And these products have a range of benefits and some risks. And it's very important for women to receive person-centred care, which takes into account their individual needs and individual health profiles when deciding on what form of contraception is best for them. And the best place to do that is with a healthcare professional that is highly trained to deliver this kind of care. Bridget Fitzgerald: And for those that prefer social media, just check the source. Dr Sara Whitburn says there's plenty of medical and expert content out there with good advice. Dr Sara Whitburn: Sexual Health Victoria and some GPs and University of Melbourne have some really great evidence-based TikToks to try and support people to find information in a place that is comfortable and useful for them. Andy Park: Dr Sara Whitburn from Sexual Health Victoria, ending that report by Bridget Fitzgerald.
