The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently cleared and approved the at-home test for cervical cancer, possibly revolutionizing the way millions of women handle one of the most important parts of preventive health care. Created by Teal Health, the recently approved self-test device—the Teal Wand—provides an alternative, less painful method than the conventional Pap smear, seeking to make it easier, less stressful, and more accessible for cervical cancer screening.

The product, called the Teal Wand, allows women to collect vaginal swabs themselves at home—providing a potent, less painful alternative to conventional in-clinic Pap smears.

This approval represents a groundbreaking step toward breaking down long-standing barriers to screening for cervical cancer, particularly among women who find pelvic exams unpleasant, inaccessible, or culturally daunting. For them, it could be the bridge they've waited years for to early detection and timely treatment.

Cervical cancer ranks among the most preventable types of cancer owing to the existence of HPV vaccination and routine screening. However, despite increased medical capabilities, screening rates have consistently decreased since the mid-2000s. According to a 2022 study, 23% of women in 2019 were overdue for a cervical cancer screening, which was up from 14% in 2005. Almost half of all women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, are not current on their screenings.

This alarming trend is part of the estimated 13,360 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,320 deaths projected for 2025. The intent is for this home test to turn that trend around by reaching women where they're at—literally.

How the Test Kit Work?

The Teal Wand detects human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer, using a self-collected vaginal swab that detects high-risk strains of the virus—just as a clinician would get a sample with a Pap smear, without the office visit and speculum.

To have access to the test, patients first have to meet with a Teal Health-affiliated provider through telehealth. If they are approved, the test is mailed to their home. After the sample has been taken, it is sent to a laboratory for processing. In case the test comes back positive for high-risk HPV, Teal Health's providers coordinate follow-up diagnostic care through in-office procedures as usual.

The advantages of this home test go beyond convenience—it could shrink the equity chasm in access to health care. According to a recent JAMA Network Open report, rural women are 25% more likely to have cervical cancer and 42% more likely to die from cervical cancer than city women. Disparities frequently are explained as a result of infrequent screening and inadequate availability of gynecologic services.

By facilitating home self-screening, the Teal Wand could assist underserved and rural communities in obtaining vital early diagnoses, possibly saving thousands of lives.

Role of HPV in Cervical Cancer

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that most commonly resolves spontaneously. But some strains are associated with cervical and other cancers. The HPV vaccine, when given prior to sexual activity, is extremely effective in preventing illness from the high-risk strains.

As of a 2025 American Cancer Society report, incidence of cervical cancer in women between the ages of 20 and 24 decreased by 65% from 2012 to 2019 due primarily to early HPV vaccination. However, not all women are sharing in this success. Rates of cervical cancer in women in their 30s and early 40s have started to creep upward once more.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prescribes two doses of the HPV vaccine between preteens aged 11–12, although it can begin as early as age 9. Individuals having the first dose at 15 years and older need a series of three doses. The vaccine is usually prescribed up to age 26 and up to age 45 in special situations depending on personal risk.

Worldwide, cervical cancer continues to be the fourth most frequent female cancer and is responsible for 7.5% of all female cancer deaths, based on the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States alone, there are about 200,000 women diagnosed with cervical precancer each year and over 11,000 with HPV-related cervical cancer. Unfortunately, more than 4,000 American women die from the disease each year.

Data from an 11-year study in England also supports the efficacy of early HPV vaccination and screening. The program there averted 448 cases of cervical cancer and more than 17,000 cases of precancerous lesions, highlighting the huge promise of proactive, accessible prevention strategies.

Although the Teal Wand now must be prescribed through Teal Health's telehealth platform, the business is continuing to move toward availability through additional healthcare providers. Pricing and insurance coverage are also points of interest. Because cervical cancer screening is supported by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, coverage is also highly anticipated, which would further drive accessibility.

Ozempic Lawsuit: For any medication that gains a popular status, there is a counterfeit available in the market. Similar happened with Ozempic, a popular diabetes and weight-loss drug, as a result, an Iowa pharmacy company, which is already involved in multi-million dollar lawsuit is now facing additional sanctions for distributing counterfeit Ozempic.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy announced disciplinary actions against SmartScripts.

Did The Pharmacy Intentionally Sell Counterfeit Ozempic?

As per the reports, the timeline could be dated back to November 2023, when SmartScirpts placed an order with wholesale supplier Pharma Pac for a single case of Ozempic, which would contain 1,260 Ozempic pens. Each pen was designed to administer 4 milligrams of medications.

The problem arose when SmartScripts received 15 cases of medications, instead of a single one, ordered initially. Todd Thompson, who is the company owner went to ship the excess inventory to Central Pharma Management in Lansing, Michigan, which distributed the product among different pharmacies.

While all this seems too simple, the problem arose when Pharma Pac contacted Thompson for payment of the 15 cases.

Thompson's response to this was: quarantining the remaining Ozempic and advising the recipient pharmacies to halt the sales of the products.

Though there was no such reason mentioned in the regulatory documents for any such precautionary measures. So, why did Thompson asked the companies to put the sales on hold? The question arises: did he know that the Ozempic was a counterfeit product?

ALSO READ: This Naturally Occurring Molecule May Have Ozempic-like Benefits Without The Side Effects

Reporting Counterfeit Products

As per reports and state regulators, Thompson became aware about the counterfeit Ozempic on December 21, 2023, however, he did not notify the Iowa Board of Pharmacy until July 2024. This delayed reporting played a prominent role when disciplinary charges were filed against SmartScripts in January 2025.

Thompson, however, claims that he learned about the counterfeit drugs only after he had received a notification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after he sold the products to Central Pharmacy Management. According to him, immediate action was taken to contact the purchasing pharmacy. He says that instead of being a participant in fraudulent activities, his company is among those over 100 pharmacies nationwide that fell victim to similar drug counterfeit schemes.

What Happens When You Consume Counterfeit Ozempic?

FDA on April 14, 2025, released an advisory against counterfeit Ozempic. The advisory reads:

"FDA was notified by Novo Nordisk on April 3, 2025, that several hundred units of counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) injection 1mg were in the U.S. drug supply chain. The counterfeit products were distributed outside the Novo Nordisk authorized supply chain in the U.S. FDA seized the identified counterfeit products on April 9, 2025.

READ: Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic, Mounjaro And Wegovy Under Scrutiny After Deaths And Pancreatitis Reports in UK

The agency advises patients, wholesalers, retail pharmacies and health care professionals to check the Ozempic products they have received and not use, distribute or sell products labeled with lot number PAR0362 and serial number starting with the first eight digits 51746517."

A highly invasive tick species is spreading across the United States, carrying with it a previously unknown but potentially crippling infection that is causing scientists concern. First identified in New Jersey in 2017, the Asian longhorned tick has been detected in at least 21 states. With rising temperatures extending tick season and broadening their habitat, scientists fear that these invasive parasites may catalyze the spread of ehrlichiosis, a bacterial infection that is already increasing in the U.S.

Americans have linked ticks for decades with Lyme disease. But as climate change continues to reshape ecosystems and new invasive populations find a toehold, the risk landscape is evolving. Ehrlichiosis, previously rare, is now emerging as a major public health problem—and the experts say the risks are likely to increase.

Indigenous to East Asia, the Asian longhorned tick is an opportunistic species. It came to other nations such as Australia, New Zealand, and various Pacific islands before it arrived unobtrusively in the United States. Scientists speculate that it most likely rode in on imported animals or livestock, but their point of entry is not known.

Since its New Jersey discovery, the tick has consistently gained a foothold throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Michigan had its first sighting during this summer, indicating how rapidly its range is spreading. Modeling research indicates that the majority of North America—southern Canada to almost every nook and cranny of the continental U.S.—poses acceptable habitat for this resilient species.

What's more frightening about the longhorned tick is that it can reproduce without mating. One female will produce thousands of offspring, which enables populations to increase quickly. Unlike most indigenous animals, this tick is also able to co-feed on the same host with other ticks and retrieve and pass along pathogens very efficiently.

What is Ehrlichiosis?

The tick-transmitted disease ehrlichiosis, caused by the bacterium Ehrlichia chaffeensis, has risen in the shadows of recent years. A bite produces its effects usually one to two weeks later, in the form of fever, chills, muscle pain, headaches, and crushing fatigue.

Though most of them recover with early treatment, the disease becomes life-threatening if neglected. In serious situations, it develops into respiratory failure, brain and nervous system injury, uncontrollable bleeding, or organ failure. Approximately 60% of patients need to be hospitalized, and about 1% die from the disease, as per the CDC.

Confirmed cases went from only 200 in 2000 to over 2,000 in 2019. Experts, however, believe these figures are merely the tip of the iceberg. Rutgers University studies indicate that as much as 99% of infection may go undetected or unreported, masked by nonspecific flu-like symptoms doctors may attribute to other explanations.

Is Climate Change Contributing To Tick-Borne Diseases?

The biology of ticks is closely coupled with the weather. In the past, long, frigid winters kept tick populations low, both in terms of their numbers and in terms of the diseases they were spreading. Climate change is rewriting that season script, though.

"We are losing winter," says Connecticut's tick-testing program director, Goudarz Molaei. "And this tick, like others, will be active year-round."

Warmer, shorter winters mean ticks come out of hibernation earlier and remain active for longer periods, raising the chances of human contact. The CDC just released word of an all-time high number of emergency room visits in July for tick bites—illustrating how rapidly the risks are increasing.

The longhorned tick is not coming alone. A study in iScience reported seven non-native tick species arriving in Connecticut during 2019-2023. They rode in on livestock, pets, or travelers and are potential carriers of domestic and exotic diseases.

Several of these ticks carried bacteria similar to those causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a lethal disease recently starting to appear in Connecticut even though it has been nonexistent there historically. Other invasive ticks are recognized carriers of Theileria orientalis, a cattle-decimating parasite not yet shown to pose danger to humans.

Worldwide, ticks spread over 17% of infectious diseases in humans, the World Health Organization finds. In the United States, they are responsible for 77% of all vector-borne illnesses, case loads more than doubling over the past 15 years. The introduction of invasive ticks merely increases the stakes.

Why Invasive Ticks Are Different?

In contrast to indigenous species, invasive ticks present two such significant threats: they increase the range of current diseases and bring with them the potential to introduce entirely new ones. With their explosive ability to breed and thrive in a variety of climates, longhorned ticks are particularly well-suited to redefine the U.S. disease map.

Their diet also distinguishes them. Though they usually prefer livestock, they will consume humans if given the chance. And when there is more than one tick species that feeds on a single animal, they can share pathogens with each other in what is called "co-feeding transmission," multiplying the chances of new disease dynamics.

How Ticks Spread Diseases?

Ticks are not born with pathogens. They pick them up after they feed on an infected animal like deer, rodents, or livestock. Ticks being infected have the ability to transmit the pathogen to the next host—occasionally human.

America has about 50 native tick species that will bite humans and transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Invasive ticks, however, expand that menu of potential harm by introducing pathogens from elsewhere in the world into American habitats.

Is There Any Way to Avoid Tick-Borne Disease?

As scientists track the spread of invasive ticks, members of the public can act to minimize individual risk. Long sleeves and long pants in tick-infested areas, repellents that have DEET or permethrin, and careful tick checks after going outside are the most effective measures.

Medical professionals also advise travelers to report recent travel when they go for medical attention for tick bites, as invasive ticks from other countries are often hard to distinguish from local ones. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of ehrlichiosis and other diseases can be the difference between life and death.

The outbreak of invasive ticks in the United States illustrates how global change, fueled by climate change, trade, and travel, reconfigures local health threats. Within a decade, a species foreign to most Americans is now a possible cause of a major public health epidemic. Experts predict it's only a matter of time before other invasive ticks catch local or native pathogens, or even create new ones not previously observed in the US.

Nearly 200 tourists are being traced by Wyoming health officials after bat-infested cabins at Grand Teton National Park sparked a rabies scare, raising urgent public health concerns. For some tourists who came for a trip to Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park promises postcard-worthy mountains, pristine lakes, and wildlife encounters. But for hundreds of tourists this summer, the trip came with an unexpected and terrifying souvenir, possible rabies exposure.

State health officials are now urgently tracking down more than 200 people from 38 states and seven countries who may have been exposed to the near-always fatal virus after staying in bat-infested cabins at Jackson Lake Lodge.

Between May 15 and July 27, guests lodged in eight specific cabins—rooms 516 through 530—may have unknowingly slept just beneath a bat colony nesting in the attic. After multiple reports of bats flying into guest rooms, the lodge shut down those cabins on July 27. By then, more than 250 reservations had been fulfilled, meaning up to 500 guests could have rotated through the infested spaces.

Travis Riddell, director of the Teton County Public Health Department, explained that repeated sightings strongly suggest a colony, not isolated strays. “Although there were a lot of people exposed in this incident, one positive about it is that we know who 100 percent of those people are,” he said. That knowledge is crucial for officials working to prevent the spread of a disease that almost always turns fatal once symptoms appear.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is one of the deadliest viruses known to humans. Spread through the saliva of infected animals—typically bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes—it attacks the nervous system, traveling to the brain where it causes swelling, neurological breakdown, and ultimately death. Once symptoms begin, the disease is virtually untreatable.

Dr. Alexia Harrist, Wyoming’s State Health Officer, emphasized that even the smallest bite or scratch can be dangerous. “Bats are the area’s most common host for rabies and their bite leaves such a small mark that it is rarely visible,” she explained. This is what makes cases like Jackson Lake Lodge so alarming: guests could have slept through a bat encounter without ever realizing it happened.

What Counts as Rabies Exposure?

Health officials categorize rabies risk based on contact. The highest concern is for those who:

• Were bitten or scratched by a bat
• Had bat saliva touch broken skin or mucous membranes
• Touched a bat directly
• Could not confirm exposure, such as children, deep sleepers, or individuals with impaired awareness

Not every guest will require the post-exposure prophylaxis vaccine, but because the stakes are life and death, officials are urging caution.

Rabies Vaccine And Its Cost

Rabies is preventable if treatment starts quickly. A regimen of immune globulin plus a four-to-five dose vaccine series given over two weeks is almost 100 percent effective at preventing the virus from taking hold.

The treatment is expensive and sometimes difficult to access. In Wyoming, a single course can cost up to $16,000 per person, with some hospitals charging double that amount. Multiply that by hundreds of potentially exposed tourists, and the financial toll could be staggering.

Yet health officials stress that money should not deter people from seeking care. As Dr. Harrist put it, “The death of one person because of something that we could have otherwise prevented is not acceptable.”

Is US Awaiting A New Health Crisis?

Though the dog-specific rabies variant was eliminated in the U.S. in 2007 thanks to vaccination laws, rabies remains firmly entrenched in wildlife populations. Bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes are the primary reservoirs, and each summer, local health departments from Maine to California field calls about possible exposures.

In fact, within just the past month, counties across multiple states—including North Carolina—have reported rabies-positive animals and urged residents to stay alert. In one North Carolina case, a fox attacked a young mother outside her home, biting her leg and hand. Both she and another victim are receiving treatment.

These incidents illustrate a troubling trend: while human rabies cases remain rare in the U.S. (usually one to three per year), wildlife exposures are rising, especially during summer when both humans and bats are most active.

Mass exposure events are rare, but not unheard of. The last time Teton County saw something similar was in 2017, when a bat colony discovered at AMK Ranch led to over a dozen people receiving treatment.

This year’s case, however, is on a much larger scale. The fact that officials must now coordinate across nearly 40 states and multiple countries underscores how modern travel can turn a local outbreak into a global health concern. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been brought in to help track down foreign visitors who stayed at the lodge.

For Wyoming health authorities, the challenge is two-fold: alerting potentially exposed individuals without causing unnecessary panic. Officials stress that people who did not stay in the affected cabins—or who stayed elsewhere at the lodge—face no risk. The lodge itself has taken aggressive steps to secure the area, and other parts of the property remain open, including as host venue for the high-profile Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

Emily Curren, Wyoming’s public health veterinarian, praised the lodge company for swift action. “They’ve done a fantastic job of doing their due diligence to make sure everyone coming in is going to be as safe as possible,” she said.

What Tourists Should Know About Bat Encounters?

Bats are an essential part of many ecosystems, eating insects and pollinating plants. But they are also the leading source of rabies in the U.S. Signs of rabid bats include flying during the day, erratic circling, or being unable to fly at all. Anyone who finds a bat indoors should avoid direct contact and call local animal control or health authorities immediately.

The Wyoming rabies scare is a stark reminder that while rare, rabies is not a relic of the past. It’s still out there, carried silently by wildlife and capable of turning a family vacation into a medical emergency.