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Measles Outbreak and Vaccine Decline

US measles resurgence and loss of elimination status, tied to falling vaccination rates and RFK Jr.'s influence on federal policy

Third person dies in Manhattan Legionnaires' outbreak

Illustration accompanying article: Third person dies in Manhattan Legionnaires' outbreak
  • New York City health officials confirmed a third death Sunday in the Legionnaires' disease cluster on Manhattan's Upper East Side, bringing the total to 74 confirmed cases since the outbreak was first reported July 2.
  • The rate of new cases has fallen sharply, with an average of fewer than one new case per day from July 10 through July 17, down from more than eight per day in the first week of July.
  • Investigators believe the likely source of the cluster — a cooling tower contaminated with Legionella bacteria — has been eliminated after all 76 buildings that tested positive for the bacteria completed cleaning and disinfection.
  • Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said the identity of the latest patient would not be released out of respect for the family, and offered condolences to those mourning the loss.
 2026-07-20 · 3 MIN READ

Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for recruits amid boot camp outbreak

Illustration accompanying article: Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for recruits amid boot camp outbreak
  • The Pentagon has reinstated mandatory flu vaccination for all military recruits after a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas sickened nearly 300 people.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had made the flu shot optional for troops in April, citing medical autonomy and religious freedom.
  • Only 40% of new trainees at Lackland opted to receive the shot after the mandate was lifted, according to a source familiar with the situation.
  • Pentagon officials said the decision to restore the mandate was unrelated to the outbreak, noting that the timing coincided with the finalization of service exception requests.
 2026-06-25 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Health officials track dozens after hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship

Death cap mushrooms kill 4 in California as cases top dozens

2026-02-08

Four people have died and three others have required liver transplants after eating death cap mushrooms that are proliferating in California following a rainy winter, the state said. The California Department of Public Health urged people to avoid mushroom foraging this year because death caps can be confused with safe, edible varieties.

Emails challenge RFK Jr. testimony on Samoa trip before measles outbreak

2026-02-08

Newly obtained emails have raised questions about what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators about a 2019 trip to Samoa before a measles outbreak there, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. During Senate confirmation hearings for Kennedy’s role as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Kennedy repeatedly said, “My purpose in going down there had nothing to do with vaccines,” and later replied, “Nothing to do with vaccines.” The newly disclosed messages include contemporaneous accounts suggesting vaccine-safety concerns motivated the visit, and they show U.S. Embassy staffers played a role in arranging the trip.

Fear stalls measles vaccine outreach in Minnesota Somali community

2026-02-08

Public health officials and community leaders in Minneapolis say measles vaccination outreach is faltering in Minnesota’s Somali community as fears linked to a federal immigration crackdown and vaccine misinformation collide. They warn the decline in measles vaccine uptake leaves young children more exposed to a highly contagious disease.

Water well owners often last to know about PFAS contamination

2026-02-08

In Wisconsin, state testing of private drinking wells for PFAS has left residents of small towns scrambling to find safe water—sometimes only after levels in their wells were found thousands of times above federal limits. Across the U.S., many households that rely on private wells learn their water is unsafe far later than customers served by utilities, and some states have limited resources to test and clean up.

Mexico leads in measles cases as PAHO urges urgent vaccination drives

2026-02-05

Mexico reported the highest measles case numbers as the Pan American Health Organization issued an epidemiological alert for the Americas, citing a surge that has largely hit people who are not vaccinated. In the first three weeks of 2026, PAHO confirmed 1,031 new measles cases across seven countries, a 43-fold increase from the same period last year. The alert also comes as Canada lost its measles-free status in November and the United States and Mexico are watching their own outbreaks closely.

Jalisco issues health alert over measles outbreak ahead of World Cup

2026-02-05

Jalisco, Mexico, has issued a health alert and ordered face masks in certain school neighborhoods after a measles outbreak reached Guadalajara, a key host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The state said the measures are aimed at slowing transmission as Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned earlier this week of rising measles spread across the Americas.

Guinea worm infections hit historic low of 10 in 2025, Carter Center says

2026-02-02

The Carter Center said only 10 reported human cases of Guinea worm infections were confined to Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan in 2025, a historic low. The center also said animal infections remained in the hundreds and varied by country. The Carter Center’s Guinea worm program director Adam Weiss linked the remaining work to efforts on diagnosis and changes in behavior around unsafe water sources.

India says it has contained Nipah virus outbreak as Asia tightens screening

2026-01-29

India’s Health Ministry said it has contained a Nipah virus outbreak after confirming two cases in the eastern state of West Bengal. The ministry said contacts had been quarantined and tested negative, while several other Asian countries increased airport and border health screening for travelers arriving from India.

International health authorities to assess U.S. measles elimination status

2026-01-21

International health authorities are set to review whether the United States has lost its measles elimination status, with a decision planned for April 13, according to the Associated Press. The review comes amid renewed measles activity across multiple states, including a large outbreak in West Texas last year.

U.S. measles elimination status at risk as cases hit highest level since 1991

2026-01-20

International health authorities announced they will meet April 13 to determine whether the United States has lost its measles elimination status, a certification granted in 2000 that appears in jeopardy following a year-long outbreak that infected 2,242 people across 44 states. The assessment comes as the U.S. records the highest measles case count since 1991, with nearly 50 separate outbreaks documented and cases confirmed in multiple states showing potential signs of continuous transmission. The reexamination hinges on a technical threshold: whether a single chain of measles has spread uninterrupted within the U.S. for at least 12 months. But public health experts agree the underlying problem extends beyond this definition — vaccination rates have fallen below the 95% level needed to stop the virus's spread, leaving communities vulnerable to a disease that public health authorities declared eliminated more than two decades ago.

South Carolina measles cases reach 558 after nearly 30% surge in days

2026-01-16

South Carolina health officials said Friday that the state's measles caseload had jumped almost 30% in four days, reaching 558 total infections in what has become the worst active measles outbreak in the United States. The state health department reported 124 new cases since Tuesday, with the wave of infections centered on Spartanburg County.