Latest news with #healthagency
Sky News
3 hours ago
- Health
- Sky News
Weight loss jab warning from health watchdog over unborn babies
Women taking weight loss jabs must use contraception, and wait up to two months after stopping the medication before trying to get pregnant, the government's health agency has warned. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a warning around the use of GLP-1 medicines, which are used both for weight loss and to treat diabetes. It says the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 or GLP-1 RAs) must not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to pregnant or while breastfeeding. Women who are attempting to get pregnant have been warned to stop using the medicine for two months before trying to have a baby. It is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the foetus. The MHRA said it has received 40 reports relating to pregnancy among women taking the jab. Mounjaro has also been found to reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in those who are overweight. This means anyone using the jab should also use condoms, particularly during the first four weeks and after any dose increase. The weight loss jabs have been linked with a "baby boom", with women reporting online they have surprise pregnancies, despite using contraception - nicknaming them 'Ozempic babies' or 'Mounjaro babies'. MHRA data found 26 pregnancy-related reports for women taking Mounjaro. Women do not have to specify in the report if the pregnancy is unintentional, but one did say as such. There were eight reports relating to people taking Ozempic and Wegovy and a further nine for Victoza or Saxenda, with one woman saying her pregnancy was accidental. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer said the "skinny jabs" were medicines, and "should not be used as aesthetic or cosmetic treatments" "They are not a quick fix to lose weight and have not been assessed to be safe when used in this way," she said. She urged patients to read in the information leaflet, or have a conversation with a healthcare professional as part of the prescribing process.
CBS News
5 days ago
- General
- CBS News
CDC steps up measles travel warning after spread in airplane
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its warning about the risk of contracting measles while traveling, after the agency tallied dozens of cases so far this year in travelers who were infectious while flying on airplanes within the U.S. "Travelers can catch measles in many travel settings including travel hubs like airports and train stations, on public transportation like airplanes and trains, at tourist attractions, and at large, crowded events," the agency now says, in an update published Wednesday. Since the beginning of the year, the CDC has received at least 62 reports of travelers who were contagious with the highly transmissible virus while flying into the U.S. or within the country, a spokesperson for the health agency told CBS News in a statement. After investigating 50 of those travelers, the CDC was able to determine that measles spread during air travel in at least one of those situations, the spokesperson said. That is usually based on connecting confirmed cases of measles among airline passengers sitting near each other. There have also been numerous public alerts in recent months about the possible risk of exposure in airports, after travelers were found to be contagious. "Exposures at the airport itself are more difficult to track, and state, local, and territorial health departments lead these investigations," the spokesperson said. In its Wednesday update, the CDC dropped its list of countries now facing "high incidence" of measles. Instead, the agency now warns only that the virus is "an ongoing risk around the world, and more international travelers are getting infected." In addition to this year's record surge of the virus within the U.S., health authorities in neighboring Mexico and Canada have also reported large outbreaks of measles. The CDC also replaced a previous recommendation that Americans "consider making alternative travel plans" if they could not get vaccinated before departing, and now says travelers should "consider postponing their trip." All travelers are recommended to be fully vaccinated for measles before going to any international destination. The CDC recently updated its guidance to doctors advising additional measles vaccines for some domestic travelers as well. The changes come as the CDC's tally of measles cases has begun to show signs of accelerating again. At least 1,088 cases of measles have been reported so far this year, the CDC said Friday, with two more states — Iowa and Nebraska — now reporting their first confirmed cases. Around 90% of confirmed cases are linked to outbreaks within the U.S., not travel outside the country. A tally of cases backdated by when their symptoms began has climbed for a second straight week, in the agency's preliminary data, after falling from a peak in late March during the height of the outbreak in Texas and neighboring states. While federal health officials have said that this Southwest outbreak now appears to be slowing, they have warned of the risk of renewed spread driven by travel. "This outbreak does appear to be leveling off, but the affected states remain hypervigilant, and that's because it's travel season," the CDC's Dr. Manisha Patel, chief medical officer of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told a webinar published by the American Medical Association on May 15.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles Cases In The U.S. Just Hit 1,000. RFK Jr. Still Isn't Taking It Seriously.
Cases of measles in the U.S. surpassed 1,000 for just the second time in 30 years this week. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. still isn't taking it seriously. The deadly and fast-spreading outbreak that first started in western Texas in January has spread to at least 31 states, with 1,001 cases in total reported, according to Friday data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texas currently has the most cases at 709. Three unvaccinated people have died, including two school-aged children from Texas. Data from the CDC shows that 96% of cases in the U.S. came from people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. More than 120 people have been hospitalized. As the onslaught continues, Kennedy ― an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who now heads the nation's top health agency ― has routinely downplayed the deadly spread, including promoting a range of unproven treatments. After the death of a 6-year-old boy in February, Kennedy said the child's death was 'not unusual.' 'We have measles outbreaks every year,' he said at the time. But this spread is unlike others the U.S. has previously seen, becoming the second-highest case count in 25 years. After facing criticism, Kennedy slightly walked back his comments after attending the funeral of an 8-year-old Texas girl who died from measles at the start of April. 'The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,' he posted on X. But since then, Kennedy has continued to downplay the continued spread of measles and the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine, which treats measles, mumps and rubella. At the end of April, Kennedy baselessly claimed that the measles vaccine 'contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles.' Less than a week later, he went on a TV appearance to tell parents to 'do your own research' on vaccines. Kennedy did not specify any sources parents should look at. And earlier this month, Kennedy announced the HHS would look into using vitamins as a possible treatment for measles. The directive comes because Kennedy and department officials 'recognize that some individuals and communities across the U.S. may choose not to vaccinate,' HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. Kennedy also announced this month that the HHS will now require placebo testing for 'all new vaccines.' Health experts warn that the changes could seriously delay a vaccine's release and lead to making vaccines less accessible. It could also create situations in which someone needing a life-saving vaccine could instead receive a placebo, which is an inert substance that does not contain the vaccine. 'You are watching the gradual dissolution of the vaccine infrastructure in this country,' Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Washington Post. 'The goal is to make vaccines less available and less affordable.' Making matters worse, thousands of workers at the HHS were laid off earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump's continued purge of civil servants. On Monday, more than a dozen states sued the Trump administration over the firings, arguing that the cuts brought important work at the agency to a 'sudden halt.' Despite Kennedy's seemingly-lax response to the spread and his continued denigration of vaccines, the CDC still recommends vaccinations as the best way to prevent measles. 'Measles is an airborne, extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness,' the CDC's website says. 'Before the measles vaccine was introduced, an estimated 48,000 people were hospitalized and 400–500 people died in the United States each year.'
Times
06-05-2025
- Health
- Times
Pregnant women warned not to drink contaminated tap water
A ban on drinking tap water has been introduced for people classed as vulnerable, including pregnant women, in 11 areas of eastern France because of chemical pollution from an airport. Tap water in parts of the Haut-Rhin département, near the commune of Saint-Louis, has been found to contain two to four times the permissible levels of harmful 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoralkyl substances. The contamination was traced to the use of firefighting foam at the nearby airport of Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, according to a joint statement from the local authority and the regional health agency. The statement said the airport 'has ceased the use of foams containing PFAS since January 2017', which means the airport authority cannot be held legally liable
