Public Health

A 40-year-old woman died Sept. 12 from measles complications in Jefferson County, Pa., marking the state’s third measles-related death of 2026 and the first reported outside hard-hit Lancaster County. Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong confirmed the death Sept. 12, calling…

The CDC has reported a 17% jump in rabies exposures this summer, along with increased rabies vaccine errors, according to a Sept. 10 CDC Health Alert. Each year, an estimated 1.4 million people in the U.S. seek medical attention after…

COVID-19 infections are growing in 47 states, but Texas is the only state to see “very high” viral activity in the wastewater, the CDC reported. Here is what to know. 1. As of Sept. 4, respiratory illness activity in the…

Vermont vaccinates the most out of any U.S. state, while Mississippi vaccinates the least, according to a Sept. 9 ranking from personal finance website WalletHub. WalletHub developed the ranking by comparing all 50 states and the District of Columbia across…

Drug-resistant malaria mutations are becoming increasingly prevalent in Ethiopia, potentially undermining both frontline treatments and commonly used diagnostic tests, according to an Aug. 20 study published in JAMA. Here are five notes:

After HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Penn. Gov. Josh Shapiro sparred over whether two deaths were caused by measles, the state’s coroner confirmed to Lancaster Online a 6-week-old infant had died from measles in August.  The confirmation prompted…

Death rates from cancers associated with alcohol consumption doubled between 1990 and 2023, according to a study published Sept. 2 in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas.  Led by the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, researchers…

In 2024, overall overdose deaths fell 27% in the U.S., dropping from 105,007 deaths in 2023 to 79,384 deaths in 2024, according to a Sept. 3 report from The Commonwealth Fund. Provisional data show approximately 70,000 deaths in 2025.  The…

Managing Back-to-School Respiratory Infections In late summer, tens of millions of children throughout the United States return to school, sharing tales of their summer adventures and, inevitably, new germs. Many will develop a cough, sore throat, or runny nose in…

The impact of timely respiratory diagnosis in decentralized care settings As hospitals and health systems across the nation gear up for another potentially unpredictable respiratory season, the importance of timely and accurate diagnosis of respiratory illness once again takes center…