Latest news with #TheCDC
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles cases reach 1,046 in US as infections confirmed in 30 states: CDC
Measles cases have reached 1,046 as the virus continues spreading across the United States, according to data updated Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases have been confirmed in 30 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Infectious disease experts have previously said the U.S. is likely on track to surpass the 2019 total of 1,274 cases, which were confirmed over the course of a year. This year's total also marks the second highest case count in 25 years, CDC data shows. MORE: Even a small uptick in vaccination could prevent millions of US measles cases. Here's how The CDC says 12% of measles patients in the U.S. this year have been hospitalized, the majority of whom are under age 19. About 96% of measles cases are among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to CDC data. Meanwhile, 1% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 2% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC. At least three deaths have been confirmed this year, two among children and one among an adult, all of whom were unvaccinated. It comes as an unvaccinated traveler with measles may have exposed people at Denver International Airport and a nearby hotel, health officials said on Thursday. The patient was in the international terminal on Tuesday, May 13, and then took a shuttle to stay at the nearby Quality Inn and Suites that night. The next day, the patient took a shuttle back to the airport and boarded a domestic flight. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment said anybody who may have been exposed on either flight will be directly notified by health officials. MORE: Amid growing Texas outbreak, how contagious is measles? Similarly, a resident of King County in Washington state traveled through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and a medical center while infectious, Public Health – Seattle & King County said on Tuesday. The individual was likely exposed to measles while recently traveling internationally. Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Health sent out an alert that a non-resident with measles attended the Shakira concert at MetLife stadium last week, potentially exposing people. Although the concert occurred on May 16, officials warned that people may develop symptoms as late as June 6. So far, no associated cases have been identified. The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. But vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. "I think the overall and overarching worry we have is that, as vaccination rates decline, we're starting to now see very contagious diseases such as measles come back and, generally, you need a 95% immunity wall of the population to stop an outbreak," Dr. Scott Roberts, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine and medical director of infection prevention at New Haven Hospital, told ABC News. "There are now many areas of the U.S. where we don't hit that 95% and it's much lower than that, and I think we're seeing the consequences," he continued. Roberts say he's worried about misinformation that has arisen around the MMR vaccine such as a link between the vaccine and autism, which has been debunked by several high-quality studies. "I worry that we are seeing this misinformation and parents are reading these things on the Internet, which is not based in truth," he said. "What we try to do as health care providers and public health professionals is really just to give the right information out there that the measles vaccine is safe. It is effective and measles itself is not a run-of-the-mill cold; it can lead to these really devastating consequences if somebody's vulnerable and gets infected." Dr. Karen Tachi Udoh is an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit. Measles cases reach 1,046 in US as infections confirmed in 30 states: CDC originally appeared on
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles cases surpass 900 in US as infections confirmed in 29 states, CDC data shows
Measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed 900 as outbreaks continue to spread across the county, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday. A total of 935 cases have been confirmed in 29 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. At least six states including Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas are reporting outbreaks, meaning three or more related cases. MORE: Even a small uptick in vaccination could prevent millions of US measles cases. Here's how The CDC says 13% of measles patients in the U.S. this year have been hospitalized, the majority of whom are under age 19. Among the nationally confirmed cases, CDC says about 96% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Meanwhile, 2% are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC. Dr. Conrad Fischer, chief of infectious diseases at One Brooklyn Health in New York City, told ABC News he is concerned about the growing number of cases in the U.S. "This is a disease that was at the level of complete eradication; this should not be happening," he said. "It's very sad to have an enormously safe vaccine that has been used in billions of people and to have a sort of cultural societal amnesia about what these illnesses were like in the past." In the decade before the measles vaccine became available, the CDC estimates that 3 to 4 million in the U.S. were sickened by measles every year, about 48,000 were hospitalized and about 400 to 500 people died. About 1,000 people suffered encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. But vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years, leading to an increase in cases. In Texas, where an outbreak has been spreading in the western part of the state, at least 663 cases have been confirmed as of Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. MORE: Amid growing Texas outbreak, how contagious is measles? Meanwhile, officials in Denton County -- in the eastern part of the state outside Dallas and Fort Worth -- reported its first measles case this week in a patient who attended a Texas Rangers game. The infected individual, an adult with unknown vaccination status, visited Globe Life Field and a handful of restaurants and other locations, Denton officials said. Additionally, Chicago reported its first measles cases this week, one in a suburban Cook County resident with unknown vaccination status and another in an adult Chicago resident who traveled internationally and received one dose of the MMR vaccine, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health and Cook County Department of Public Health. It comes as a WHO report this week found that cases in the Americas are 11 times higher this year than they were at the same time last year. Six countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Belize and Brazil, have reported a total of 2,318 cases so far this year. Last year had 205 cases at the same time. Fischer said measles is not a benign virus and can cause serious complications, especially among vulnerable individuals such as young children and immunocompromised people. "Measles has a chance to literally destroy your brain, to cause pneumonia, ear infections and, although it is only fatal in a relatively small number of people, it spreads so amazingly easily that even if it's only a few percentages, it's something extremely dangerous," he said. Fischer emphasized that measles is the most contagious infectious disease known to humans, even compared to other dangerous diseases like tuberculosis. "For instance, tuberculosis will spread only to two or 3% of the people exposed," he said. "But if you are not vaccinated and you're exposed to someone with measles, you have a 90% chance of getting that infection." MORE: RFK Jr. claims measles can be treated with vitamin A, linked to poor diet. Here's what science says Dr. Whitney Harrington, a physician in the division of infectious diseases at Seattle Children's Hospital, told ABC News the U.S. is at risk of measles becoming endemic again unless vaccination rates increase. The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says. "We really know that vaccines are the single most important public health intervention for preventing infectious disease," Harrington said. "And we know that they've dramatically decreased really the number of cases and the severity of cases of many infections, including measles." She encouraged parents who have not vaccinated their children yet to speak with a doctor or a health care provider about vaccination and the benefits of vaccination. ABC News Youri' Benadjaoud contributed to this report. Measles cases surpass 900 in US as infections confirmed in 29 states, CDC data shows originally appeared on
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
There's a misperception about teen dating violence in CT. ‘There is a disbelief that it can happen'
Teenagers across the country are experiencing high rates of dating violence, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, The CDC reports that 1 in 12 teenagers experience physical dating violence and 1 in 10 teenagers experience sexual dating violence. Females are more at risk according to the survey. Hartford's Interval House, the state's largest domestic violence agency, is seeking to highlight this issue and will hold a press conference at Connecticut State Community College's Capital Campus in Hartford on Friday at 11:30 a.m. as February is recognized as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Mary-Jane Foster, president and CEO of Interval House, said the biggest misconception about teen dating violence is that people don't think it's happening. 'We somehow think that our young adults are too young and too new to the world of relationships to experience abuse of any kind,' Foster said. 'It's a very big barrier and there is a disbelief that it can happen to a 12- or 13-year-old. According to a CDC study, over 80% of parents don't know that this is happening to their child but one in three children are reporting it.' Foster said many trends parallel with adult abusive relationships, not just with physical abuse but also with cyber stalking. 'In particular with teens, there is cyber stalking and the whole technology of abuse with dozens of texts that rise to the level of stalking constantly asking, 'Where are you?' or 'Why aren't you talking to me?' 'Who are you with?' 'I don't want you to play soccer because that is time away from me' or 'I don't want you studying at the library because it takes time away from me.' There are many cases of an abusive teen is regulating and controlling another teen's life,' Foster said. 'It's prevalent. But it's important to talk about it. If we don't, it will only get worse. It's fascinating going into middle schools and high schools and teens are willing to talk to you about this,' she said. 'Even if it's not about their life, they will tell you about their friend's life. As teens begin to open up, stories come out and they are receptive and want to know what a real relationship is and what is normal.' Foster said the best way to contend with this issue is prevention. Approximately 15.5 million children are exposed to domestic violence in the United States every year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 'Without intervention, two out of these young witnesses of abuse will repeat those behaviors in their own adult relationships,' Foster said. 'The only way we can manage these numbers is to work harder on prevention. This is information that needs to be out there in a consistent fashion so people can hear it more than once. Prevention has to be regular and consistent to stick because everyone deserves healthy friendships, romantic and family relationships.' Sofia Veronesi, 20, claimed that she experienced teen dating violence for 2 1/2 years. The Bristol resident and college student said she is a proud survivor and is looking to educate and help other teenagers who may be experiencing what she went through. Veronesi said she was a teen when she had a boyfriend, and it took her some time to realize she was being abused. 'I simply turned a cheek to because I deemed it as normal relationship behavior,' Veronesi said. 'I had nothing to compare it to. It started with me quitting my co-ed sport and then snowballed over the next 2 1/2 years into physical, mental and sexual abuse. 'My brain has seemed to block out a lot of the violent memories, but one vivid instance I remember was on my… birthday. I made plans to spend the day with him, and it quickly turned unpleasant. We began to argue. I'm not sure what about, and before I knew it, I had been struck in the face, leaving me bleeding and a mark on my forehead. I easily dismissed it as an accident and lied to my whole family that day later at my party and told them his dog had scratched me. In retrospect, there was always an excuse for his actions, and I was always somehow the one apologizing.' Over time the mental and physical abuse escalated, she alleged. She claimed that the relationship 'altered the course of some of the most pivotal and developmental years of her life and despite having a loving family,' she was isolated and felt like she could tell no one what she had been experiencing. In 2022, Veronesi spent a long weekend with her cousins and confided with them that she was in an unhealthy relationship and decided to end the relationship for good. 'He did not take this lightly,' Veronesi alleged. 'I had been harassed for days to share my location with him, send him pictures of who I was with, and threats of him coming to find me at night while staying on the beach. I blocked his number, but he would create anonymous numbers from a number generator app, which gave him endless communication with me. I decided to unblock his number because there was no hope of never hearing from him again.' She arrived back at home at 8 a.m. the next morning and claimed that she woke up an hour later with her boyfriend hovering over her. 'He was furious with me; I could see it in his eyes,' Veronesi alleged. 'He accused me of cheating and ripped my phone from my hands. I was helpless. He began to plead with me, 'How could you do this to me?' I begged him to leave. Before I knew it, I was struck in the face once again. I demanded he leave, and I ripped my phone from him. I ran into my bathroom and screamed for help from my parents despite being home alone with him. He attacked me again, this time pushing me into a windowsill and leaving me concussed, covered in broken glass. He fled the house after that, and I sat there in tears, knowing what I had to do.' Left trembling with fear and begging for her family to come home immediately, Veronesi said she didn't want to call the police to admit to the severity of the circumstance to herself, but she ultimately did. Her boyfriend was arrested later that day and faced three felony charges. 'Unfortunately, I waited for the worst, but it almost felt inevitable,' Veronesi said. 'I had finally gotten the courage to leave, and this was what I had been fearing would happen. I am truly blessed to be where I am, but all women in this situation should know they don't have to wait for the worst to escape. There are resources out there to protect you from your abusers, despite how alone you may feel.' Veronesi said during her unhealthy relationship she had lost all of her friends and felt cut off from the norms of healthy relationships. 'I associated and downplayed my ex-boyfriend's abusive behavior with anger issues initially until, evidently, more than just anger. I had friends shame me because of my relationship and made fun of me for being abused rather than help me,' she said. Over the last two years, Veronesi has spoken at multiple occasions on behalf of the Interval House, telling her story. 'Being a survivor is rooted in everything I do and stand for,' Veronesi said. 'While sometimes it is hard to think of the experiences I endured, they have made me a resilient, confident and grateful human. One who is proud to simply be alive because there were moments when I feared for my life. Being a survivor is even rooted in my studies as a college student. I am dedicated to finding work in legislation to mandate teen dating violence prevention into educational methods in middle and high schools. 'I am proud to say I have built myself into a stronger woman than I ever was before and have used the experience to be an advocate rather than still live in fear,' Veronesi said. 'Lastly, I would like to tell the women or girls out there that love should not hurt. No individual should ever have you in a situation where your life is no longer your own. You are brave, and there are ways to get out that will protect you. You are loved, and you are capable of having the life you deserve,' she concluded. National non-profit organization One Love Foundation, based in Baltimore, Maryland, has a 'goal of ending relationship abuse. We empower young people with the tools and resources they need to see the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and bring life-saving prevention education to their communities.' The foundation was created to honor the tragic death of University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend on May 3, 2010 just three weeks before graduating from college. One Love Foundation has a free educational website on teen dating violence with a curriculum as well as an activity and film-based workshops. 'Knowledge is power,' said One Love Foundation CEO Julie Myers. 'So, if people understand what our kids are juggling and what they're trying to manage before they really have the tools or experience to manage a whole lot of them. Just keeping the parents in the loop and the trusted adults in the loop — it can be really lifesaving.' Myers said national statistics are trending in the wrong direction as far as teen dating violence. 'I do think a lot of people have started to understand what an unhealthy or an abusive relationship looks like,' Myers said. 'I think people are slowly talking about it a little bit more often. When you look at the national stats and police reports, you realize that almost 90% of those killed through domestic violence are women. It is a huge public health issue for women in particular, although it is affecting more and more men and transgender, LGBTQ, really people everywhere. The trends are not going in our favor. I think a lot more awareness has to happen, a lot more education.' February was declared the month as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in 2011, and Myers said raising awareness is critical. 'There are 1.4 million high school students every year that are dealing with teen dating violence and only 33% of those teens actually told anybody about the abuse. We are just looking to normalize it and giving it language so people can say that this is happening to me, this is what I'm feeling or experiencing so that people know how to get help,' Myers said. 'Most of the abuse happens between ages 16 and 24. I know we're teaching our kids how to drive, and we're hoping that they make varsity and that they become All-Americans and go to college. What we need to be doing is asking about their friendships and their relationships and what it is that makes them happy and what is it and what they enjoy doing and what behaviors they value the most,' Myers said. Myers said trusted adults like parents, coaches and teachers need to recognize that kids may need some help here and there and the best way to help is consistently check in and show compassion. Social media and technology have added newer aspects to this abuse in recent years and teens need to put guardrails and boundaries. 'There's also the pressure of kids feeling like they need to reply right away to their partner and if they wait two minutes, is that going to cause a problem? These kids are kind of holding onto their significant others for almost 24 hours a day unless they have boundaries around their cell phone and set that expectation of 'Hey, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. I'm not on my phone, so please don't look for me to get right back to you.' You know, there's the whole following of (phone) locations that can be great in some moments but can be really problematic pretty quickly in other moments. It's having the conversation of, 'Hey tonight I know you want to make sure I made it home I think you share my location tonight but tomorrow I'm going to turn it off, but thanks for your concern tonight,'' Myers said. 'These are topics you wouldn't have to think of years ago and now these kids have to contend with it is not easy. They don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and it's really flattering when somebody wants your attention all the time. So really, it's helping kids understand that that could also lead to an intensity and a possessiveness that becomes really unhealthy,' she added. Dr. G. Duncan Harris, CEO of Capital Community College, is a member of Men Make a Difference Advocates for Healthy Relationships, an organization founded by Interval House and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in 2019. He said that while 72% percent of the school's students are female, and while domestic violence affects males and females, it disproportionately impacts women 'and many of our students have been impacted.' 'We have to keep informing the youth about this topic,' Harris said. 'We want to do our part in slowing down the shocking amount of domestic violence that is happening. Young men have mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts and friends that are impacted. We need to educate them on this topic as well.'
Boston Globe
07-02-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
‘Equivalent to book burning.' CDC gag order eases, but crucial data remain unavailable
Massachusetts and New Hampshire public health officials noted that state health agencies continue to communicate with each other about emerging health threats and have other sources for insight into the health of the nation. But the precedent of freezing communication is troubling, Massachusetts officials said. Advertisement The CDC is still providing information on emerging health concerns through other channels, Massachusetts DPH officials said. The federal agency shared information about an The CDC on Thursday released its Advertisement 'Not being able to talk about ongoing health emergencies is a level of stifling that will imperil our communities,' said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. The latest issue of the weekly report included articles about the health impacts of wildfires and firefighting chemicals. Nuzzo and others, though, had expected new information about H5N1. A variant of the bird flu spreading among cows has raised concerns about the virus' capacity to adapt to spread easily among humans. The CDC is posting updated numbers tallying bird flu infections among animals and people, but that's not sufficient, Nuzzo said. 'Just knowing a count and what state it occurs in doesn't tell us if this virus has mutated to trigger another pandemic,' she said. The CDC did not respond to a Globe question about the timing of future bird flu articles but told the Associated Press they It's been a week since the CDC removed material that included vital information about the health of groups including young people, Black and Latino populations and LGBTQ+ Americans. Advertisement 'What's happening to the federal data that's being taken off web sites is equivalent to book burning,' said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance and a former official with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. 'It's real world facts that are being prevented from seeing the light of day.' Scientists and health officials emphasized that failing to track health impacts based on race and gender will only succeed in blinding experts to emerging health threats. 'If people exist, simply declaring by fiat that they don't exist doesn't work,' said Nancy Krieger, a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'They still have health needs.' One of the paused datasets is the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which several scientists described as the country's best source of information about physical and mental health among American adolescents. By Friday, some of the links to the data had been restored, but not all. The database anchors a trove of research and policymaking, said Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus and senior advisor at the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health. His work on social justice and health disparities relies on the data, which includes information dating back to the 1980s about factors such as smoking, exercise, drug use, and suicidal behavior. He believes the database was removed because it includes a question on sexual and gender identity. 'Clinical trials have been forced to grind to a halt,' Woolf said. 'This delay in the scientific process and interference with the independence of science is only going to harm the health of Americans.' Clinicians also use that dataset to keep abreast of trends in illnesses they treat, said Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, medical research director at Fenway Health and co-director of The Fenway Institute. Advertisement 'It's helpful to know what are the emerging issues around sexually transmitted infections,' Mayer said. The CDC did not respond to questions about missing data, saying only that some communications were not subject to the pause, though a spokesperson did not say what communications were exempt. He also said the federal Department of Health and Human Services had provided guidance on how to 'seek approval for any other type of mass communication.' HHS spokespeople did not respond to questions about that guidance. Some CDC web sites say they are 'being modified to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders.' Researchers across the country are now trying to piece together the missing databases by sharing copies they've made. Some material, though, isn't available to download, Krieger said. And even researchers who have copies of the missing data aren't able to publish, since peer review requires that the data underpinning their work be available for fact checking. 'This is unprecedented, to my knowledge,' Krieger said. 'To lose that information, it's a crime against humanity, as far as I'm concerned, and against this planet.' Jason Laughlin can be reached at
