The current measles outbreak has gripped US states like Texas and New Mexico leaving people worried whether it would become a new pandemic. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services as of February 21, 90 cases were diagnosed in the last month in the South Plains area, with at least 77 of them were reported in children and teens under 17.

Measles is highly contagious and can be deadly. The outbreak, which started spreading in late January, has resulted in multiple hospitalizations, with at least nine confirmed cases and three probable cases as of early February. Health officials caution that at least one in five infected individuals will have to be hospitalized, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Misinformation surrounding vaccines and with the new Trump administration anti-vaccine campaigs, has causing parents to hesitate or refuse vaccination.

Furthermore, the country down under Australia is also witnessing a surge in measles cases as health officials in Sydney have issued an urgent alert, urging residents to watch for measles symptoms after an infected individual visited several places in Sydney over the last seven days.

Authorities report that the traveller had returned from South East Asia where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles.

What Are The Symptoms Measles?

Key symptoms of measles include fever, a runny nose, sore eyes, and a cough. Typically, a red, blotchy rash appears three to four days later, spreading from the head down to the body. Symptoms can manifest between 7 and 18 days after exposure.

Anyone who experiences these symptoms after potential exposure should immediately contact their doctor or emergency department. It is crucial to call ahead before visiting to avoid potentially exposing others in the waiting room. Dr. Selvey also highlighted that ongoing measles outbreaks are occurring in various parts of the world, making awareness and prompt action essential.

Why It Is Important To Get Vaccinated?

According to CDC everyone should get the MMR vaccine. It protects you from measles, mumps, and rubella. Getting vaccinated helps stop these diseases from spreading. There are two safe MMR vaccines available. They work the same way, so it doesn't matter which one you get. Kids can also get a shot that protects against chickenpox too, but this is only for children.

Who Should Get Vaccinated?

Kids Need Two Shots

All children should get two MMR shots. The first shot should be given when they are between 12 and 15 months old. The second shot should be given when they are between 4 and 6 years old. If needed, the second shot can be given earlier, but it must be at least 28 days after the first shot.

College Students Need to Be Protected

Students going to college or other schools after high school, need two shots if they are not already immune. The shots must be at least 28 days apart.

Adults Need at Least One Shot

Most adults need at least one MMR shot. Some adults need two shots, especially those who work in healthcare, travel a lot, or go to college. These people should get two shots, with 28 days between them.

Travelers Need to Be Extra Careful

Anyone traveling to other countries should make sure they are protected. Babies 6 to 11 months old should get one shot before traveling. Kids 12 months and older, teens, and adults need two shots, with 28 days between them.

Healthcare Workers Must Be Immune

People who work in healthcare should have proof that they are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella. If they are not immune, they need two MMR shots, spaced 28 days apart.

Women Thinking About Having Babies

Women who might get pregnant should talk to their doctor about the MMR vaccine. It's safe to get the shot while breastfeeding.

The longtime Connecticut TV weather reporter Geoff Fox on Saturday announced that he would be entering hospice care as part of his ongoing cancer battle. He has spent nearly three decades at WTNH News8. Everyone's favorite weatherman, wrote on Facebook thar he was dealing with "cancerous growths" on his liver, lungs, and pancreas. He also wrote that he opted for hospice care because he was too weak for chemotherapy after previous bouts of cancer.

Now 75, he wrote, "With hospice I’m given the opportunity to stay just drugged enough to avoid the worst. And a guarantee I can die at home." He also noted that currently he had no symptoms or experiencing any pain from cancer.

"So, I've chosen how to die - out of pain. At the moment nothing is necessary. I feel fine," he wrote.

Fox's Cancer Diagnosis

It was in 2016, when his first diagnosis and update on cancer came in. It was pancreatic cancer. For that, he underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation before being declared in remission. Earlier this year too, he had another surgery on his vocal chords after a cancerous mass was found on his clavicle.

Cancer Recurrence

Cancer recurrence happens when cancer comes back after treatment. It could be because treatment missed cancerous cells or because the treatment did not affect some cells. Cleveland Clinic notes that while remission means you don't have cancer symptoms and tests don't find signs of cancer, it can come back after being in remission.

There are different types of cancer recurrence, based on its location.

• Local Recurrence: The same kind of cancer has come back to same place as the original cancer.
• Regional Recurrence: The cancer returns to lymph nodes or tissues near the original cancer.
• Distant Recurrence: The same cancer from the original tumor has spread to organs or tissues located far from the original tumor.

Cancer recurrence is a foremost concern of patients and their caregivers. The 2018 study titled Fear of Cancer Recurrence: A Practical Guide for Clinicians note that the fear of recurrence can negatively affect quality of life, and approximately 7% of patients develop severe disabling fear that includes constant intrusive thoughts and misinterpretation of mild or unrelated symptoms.

Another 2018 study, Central Nervous System Cancers, published in the Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology notes that some cancers are difficult to treat and may have a high rate of recurrence. Glioblastoma, which is the most aggressive and common type of primary brain cancer, recurs in nearly all patients, despite treatment.

A 2017 study titled Preoperative predictors for early recurrence of resectable pancreatic cancer, and a 2012 study titled Early recurrence of pancreatic cancer after resection and during adjuvant chemotherapy, note that pancreatic cancer has a 36% chance of recurrence within 1 year of curative surgery, 38% chance of local recurrence after adjuvant chemotherapy, and 46% distant metastasis after adjuvant chemotherapy.

In an exclusive interview with People, the NFL Legend, Dan Marino shared how minor changes in body, which, usually go unnoticed lead to liver disease, like it did for him. Marino did not notice any symptoms in his routine checkup in 2007, but he did feel a "little fatigued". He also "was not rally working out as much as" he usually would. "These are the things I kind of noticed," he said, now, 64. "Then they told me I had a fatty liver. I had MASH."

What Is MASH?

It is a liver disease, short for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, which was formerly called the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This happens when excess fat cells accumulate in the liver, causing chronic inflammation that leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer, as notes the Cleveland Clinic.

He informed People that the doctors "right away said that can be reversible, it can be taken care of". However, for him, it was to "work out" or to "lose weight", he noted.

The NFL legend is current part of Novo Nordisk's Unordinary Stories campaign, where athletes like him, share their unique health journey.

A Support System

Marino shared that his journey and health improvement also is credited to the support he got from his friends and family who helped him prioritized his health. Former teammate Terri Kirby also trained him at his nearby gym and his wife Claire joined him for night walks and bike rides. He also said in the campaign video that his wife helped him with "doctor's appointments, being on time, and making sure I'm doing things right".

Also Read: Every Year, They Return To Lake Minnetonka: Four Survivors Who Beat Cancer And Celebrate Life

Like most of us must have heard that it takes a village to raise a child, Marino echoes the same emotions. It does take a village to bring someone back to health too. "It is the people that love you and you love them. It feels like a little village," he says.

A Consistent Focus On Health

After his diagnosis, he soon realized that the focus on his health needs to be consistent. “It's the exercise, riding bike, walking, and diet, and then getting back to just being consistent — waking up and making sure you gotta do something every day.”

He also thinks that it is the diet that caused his MASH. He shared with People that while he played football, he had weigh-ins, but after he retired in 2000, he "kind of" let his diet go. "That's really where it kind of came about," he said.

A Diet To Fix

He shared that his doctor recommended him the Mediterranean diet to "cut back on the wine and pizza and candy, ice cream, those kind of things, you know - you can't eat those as much".

For people, he has a message: “if you get diagnosed with fatty liver and MASH, doing the things you need to do, like I talked about — diet, working out — and staying consistent with it, that's what our message really is.”

All such practices has made him get better. "I get the ultrasounds and all that every year, and so far it's been fine [and it is] gonna get better and better and better," he says.

Cholera, a disease so fatal that it can become severe within hours without treatment, was something we thought was not a big cause of worry. With proper measures, the cases of cholera were contained, however, recently we are seeing a worrying rise in the numbers again.

According to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the global situation with cholera is getting worse. In 2024, the number of people who got sick from cholera went up by 5%, and the number of people who died from it jumped by 50% compared to the year before. More than 6,000 people died from this disease, even though it's easily preventable and treatable. The real numbers are likely even higher, because many cases and deaths are never officially reported.

What is Cholera, How Is It Treated?

According to WHO, cholera is a severe sickness that causes watery diarrhea. It is caused by a germ called Vibrio cholerae, which people get from eating food or drinking water that has been contaminated with the germ.

Cholera is a big problem for global health, and its presence often points to a lack of clean water, proper sanitation, and overall development in a community. Access to safe drinking water and good hygiene practices are key to stopping cholera and other similar diseases.

Most people who get cholera have mild to moderate symptoms and can be treated with a simple solution called oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the illness can get very bad very quickly, so it's crucial to start treatment right away to save lives. People with severe cholera need to be treated with fluids given directly into their veins, along with ORS and antibiotics.

What Is Causing The Increase In Cholera Cases?

Cholera is a disease caused by a type of bacteria that spreads through water contaminated with human waste. It's becoming more common because of several big problems around the world:

• Conflict and wars disrupt clean water systems and force people to move from their homes.
• Climate change can cause floods and droughts, which also affect water safety.
• Population displacement, or people being forced to leave their homes, often means they live in crowded camps with poor sanitation.

In 2024, 60 countries reported cholera cases, which is a big jump from the 45 countries in 2023. Most of the outbreaks (98% of cases) were in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The disease even came back to places like Comoros, which hadn't had an outbreak in over 15 years, showing how easily it can spread.

Is Cholera Preventable?

The report shows that many health systems are struggling to fight cholera. In Africa, the number of people who died from the disease went up, which shows there are problems getting life-saving care to those who need it. A worrying one-fourth of all deaths happened outside of hospitals, which means people couldn't get the treatment they needed in time.

To fix this, governments and aid groups need to make sure people have access to safe drinking water and clean toilets. They also need to share accurate information so people know how to protect themselves. During outbreaks, it's crucial that people can quickly get treatment and vaccines.

Is There A Vaccine for Cholera?

A new cholera vaccine called Euvichol-S® became available in early 2024, which helped the global supply. However, the world still doesn't have nearly enough vaccines to meet the demand. In 2024, countries asked for 61 million doses, but only 40 million were available. Because of this shortage, a temporary rule was put in place to give only a single dose of the vaccine instead of two, to make the limited supply last longer.

The WHO says the risk of cholera is "very high" globally and is working hard to reduce deaths and stop outbreaks. The crisis is expected to continue into 2025, with many countries already reporting new outbreaks.