The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,080 confirmed measles cases in the United States as of Oct 8, up 193 in a week and the highest annual count since the country declared measles eliminated in 2000. Cases were reported by 47 jurisdictions, with 42 new outbreaks this year and 96% of infections linked to outbreaks. About 95% of patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, roughly one in ten was hospitalised, and officials in Pennsylvania have confirmed five measles-associated deaths. Public health experts expect the US to lose its elimination status. In 2025, the full-year total was 2,289 cases.
New research suggests that losing beneficial gut bacteria during inflammation may open the door to new food sensitivities in people with inflammatory bowel disease. IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, involves chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, and many patients report that certain foods make symptoms worse. The gut hosts trillions of bacteria that help break down fibre, train the immune system and keep the intestinal lining intact. When inflammation flares, the mix of species shifts, helpful strains decline and the immune system may start reacting to proteins it previously ignored. The authors say more studies are needed before the finding changes clinical advice.
A study published in Nature Medicine analysed self-reported pain from 6,125,459 people in 118 countries. Women reported more pain than men at all 11 body sites examined. The largest differences were facial pain, 83 percent higher, headache, 74 percent higher, and stomach or abdominal pain, 60 percent higher. Back pain was the most common complaint at 40 percent, while facial pain was the least common at 2 percent. Pain at most sites rose fastest before age 55. Overall any-body pain climbed from about 30 percent at age five to 70 percent at age 100 or older.
Pennsylvania health officials say the state has recorded more than 1,000 measles cases in 2026, the largest outbreak in any US state in more than three decades. In a Monday update the department reported 1,004 cases, including 198 hospitalisations and five deaths. The outbreak began in April west of Philadelphia and has since spread to 39 counties. Lancaster County has the most cases, followed by Mifflin County. Nationwide, cases are nearing 3,900 this year, the worst total since 1991. Officials say the vaccine is 97 per cent effective after two doses. Only four cases have been reported among people who were vaccinated, state data show, and officials say most patients were unvaccinated or their status was unknown.
Florida has reported 252 locally acquired dengue cases in 2026, making this the largest outbreak in the continental United States in decades, state health officials said. Most cases are in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa. The state has also logged 245 travel-related cases this year. Dengue spreads through infected mosquitoes, and most people who catch it have no symptoms. Florida reported one death this year, an older woman in Tampa.
A three-paper series in The Lancet argues that governments should act now on health risks from digital media for children and young people. The papers, written by 13 experts in 10 countries, draw on research covering about 9 million people under 25. A related review of 2,790 studies found consistent links between problematic use, meaning addiction-like patterns rather than screen time alone, and depression, anxiety, sleep disruption and self-harm. The authors say responsibility should shift from families to technology companies and governments, and that simple screen-time caps or school phone bans are not enough on their own.
Florida's dengue outbreak now appears to be the largest in the continental United States in decades. The state has reported 252 locally acquired cases this year, according to an update this week. Hillsborough County accounts for 223 of them and has extended a state of emergency. The virus is spread by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which bite during the day. Florida recorded only 62 locally acquired cases in all of 2025. The national record is 264 cases in Hawaii over six months in 2015 and 2016.
The US Food and Drug Administration said it found two samples of the cyclospora parasite during an inspection of Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico. One sample came from the lettuce processing facility, and the other from a drainage ditch at a farm run by an independent contract grower. The agency closed its probe and said the evidence supports a link between the outbreak and recalled shredded iceberg lettuce. The CDC has received more than 15,000 laboratory-confirmed US cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1, compared with about 1,180 cases in the same period in 2025.
A 24-week study of 122 adults with overweight or obesity found an average weight reduction of 15.8% during tirzepatide treatment combined with a low-carbohydrate diet and activity guidance. Fat mass fell by about 35%, while skeletal muscle mass stayed fairly stable. Metabolic markers also improved. The authors say the results come from routine care rather than a tightly controlled trial, and that diet and exercise support likely helped protect lean tissue.
A low-calorie diet combined with an exercise programme put early-onset type 2 diabetes into remission for 54 percent of participants in a new trial, offering an alternative to lifelong drug treatment for younger patients. Separate research found that almost one in three adults develop cardiorenal disease or die within five years of a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Short steroid courses were linked to higher risks of pneumonia and heart failure, and vitamin B12 deficiency was tied to a higher fracture hazard after age 50.