Resources & Information

Washington Post Article via Yahoo
February 24, 2026
There are more than 900 confirmed measles cases in the United States, as of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent weekly count. It’s less than two months into the year, “and we already have over a quarter of [the measles cases] we had all of 2025, so things are not great,” said Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

“Measles is the most contagious disease that we have, period,” Wallace said. “So as soon as we start to see measles, we know that the [vaccination] rates in that county or state are starting to drop, and so other diseases will follow on to that, but they just take longer to rip through the communities.”

Medical News Today
February 22, 2026
We have known for some time that changes in the eye may help detect Alzheimer’s disease — a type of dementia affecting about 32 million people globally. Previous research has linked Alzheimer’s disease detection to certain eye conditions, including dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataract, glaucoma, and posterior cortical atrophy. Past studies also show that structural changes to the eye, such as blood vessel damage or modifications in retinal thickening, may be signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature Communications reports that a common type of bacteria that causes sinus infections and pneumonia may stay in the eye for many years, potentially boosting a person’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Medical News Today
January 16, 2026
Food deserts are regions where people have limited access to healthy food. This can be due to obstacles such as a lack of grocery stores, transportation, or affordability. Without access to healthy food, people living in food deserts may be at higher risk of diet-related conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) now refers to these areas as “low-access” areas. Continue reading to learn more about food deserts and their impact on health.

NC Health News (Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger)
January 16, 2026
Measles, once considered eliminated in the U.S., is back in a big way. Driven by declining vaccine rates and growing vaccine hesitancy, the United States experienced its largest number of measles cases in decades in 2025, with 2,242 cases reported across the country and outbreaks in Texas, New Mexico, Utah and South Carolina. In North Carolina, seven cases have been confirmed since early December. Most are linked to a fast-spreading outbreak in Spartanburg, S.C., near the state border, where more than 430 cases have been reported.

Medical News Today
December 29, 2025
For young adults, cutting back on social media for a week resulted in a significant reduction in anxiety, depression, and insomnia in a new study published in JAMA Network Open. Participants in the study reported 16% fewer anxiety symptoms, 24.8% fewer symptoms of depression, and 14.5% less insomnia. The study involved 373 individuals ages 18 to 24, each of whom was paid $150 to participate. Of the cohort, 277 were female, 73 were male, 12 were non-binary, 9 were transgender, and 2 were listed as ‘Other’.

STATNews
December 22, 2025
The infant botulism outbreak that sickened dozens of babies who drank ByHeart formula is a reminder of how vulnerable we all are to the companies that sell us food — and how important it is to have a robust food safety system that responds quickly to problems and prevents illness in the first place.

But federal cuts this year will leave more people exposed to potential foodborne illness in the future, food safety experts predict. The changes they say will degrade U.S. food safety include the reduced number of pathogens now monitored by a key surveillance program, brain drain of the foodborne illness staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration amid low morale and overwork, and cuts to the administrative staff who support FDA inspectors, which agency officials say has already led to a historic low in inspections of foreign facilities that import food to the U.S.