In the outbreak, Texas has been the focal point, with more than half of all measles cases reported in about 20 states since January. Now that the feds are cutting, the hardest-hit state of Texas is beginning to feel the brunt, as reported by The Hills. 

CDC Funding Freeze Hits Local Programs 

A federal funding freeze has affected three funding grants out of several in the Dallas County area that were given out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Officials are early in estimating the millions of dollars required to rebuild the town. 

Overall, there is estimated to be a national loss of roughly $11.4 billion as a result of the loss of community health departments nationwide. 

Clinics Canceled, Staff Let Go 

The consequence is that 50 vaccine clinics in Texas have been canceled as places where they are trying to fight an outbreak that has largely affected those unvaccinated. 

In addition, more than 20 public health workers have been laid off — including those who administer vaccines and lab staff who are responsible for measles surveillance and prevention. 

Measles Cases Climb as Response Slows 

As reported by the State Department of Health, Texas has registered more than 420 measles cases since January, and the cuts in funding are hindering local efforts to contain the spread, as reported by The Hills. 

Fears are that cuts will mean the number of cases will increase since the limits to surveillance and vaccines will be decreased. 

In the meantime, they are using still active networks of clinics to deliver the vaccine and warn of the outbreak. 

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During seven years of follow-up testing, researchers found that shingles vaccinations decreased dementia diagnosis probabilities in elderly patients by 20%. 

A Wednesday publication in Nature Journal expands scientific knowledge about the various elements that determine brain health for seniors. 

According to the lead researcher, Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University, “It’s a very robust finding,” AP News reported. 

And “women seem to benefit more,” important as they’re at higher risk of dementia, Geldsetzer noted. 

Scientists observed Welsh participants above 80 years who took part in the global introduction of shingles vaccination ten years earlier. 

Americans who reach age 50 and beyond should now opt for the more successful shingles vaccine, which outperforms the older version. 

Research findings provide an additional motive for people to get vaccinated, according to Dr. Maria Nagel, who studies viruses that enter the nervous system at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. 

Furthermore, the virus “is a risk for dementia, and now we have an intervention that can decrease the risk,” as Nagel stated. 

With Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia on the rise in an aging population, “the implications of the study are profound,” as per Dr. Anupam Jena, who is a Harvard physician and health economist. 

About Shingles 

Individuals born before 1980 are expected to sustain the chickenpox virus throughout their lifetime since they experienced the infection. 

Shingles develop after chickenpox hides in nerves and becomes active when illness or age weakens the immune system and creates blister-like sores on one side of the body, which stay for weeks. 

Statistical data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that shingles will affect one-third of all Americans. 

Although recovery from shingles occurs in most cases, it may result in serious medical complications. 

Shingles infection leads to vision loss in the affected eyes. On average, between 20% and 30% of shingles patients experience severe nerve pain, which emerges after their skin rash has healed. 

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More Measles Case Confirmed 

The infectious disease measles exists as a preventable serious condition with highly contagious properties. CDPHE reports that people who receive the standard two doses of the MMR vaccine experience 97% protection against measles infection. 

The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, along with CDPHE, confirmed that an unvaccinated adult resident of Pueblo had measles. 

A Mexican region suffered from an active measles outbreak when this person visited there recently. 

All people who spent time in these two locations within the specified dates have the potential to have encountered measles, according to CDPHE findings, 9news.com reported. 

CDPHE recommends that people who visit these areas at those times should check for symptoms continuously after exposure during the next 21 days with caution when attending crowded events. 

Risk and Symptoms to Watch For 

CDPHE reports that people exposed to measles develop symptoms between seven days and three weeks after exposure. 

The signs of measles infection include fever with cough, runny nose, and red eyes, which develop before a distinctive rash begins to appear first on your face before spreading to other areas. 

CDPHE advises anyone experiencing symptoms after participating at one of these locations to contact their health providers at either an urgent care facility or emergency department while explaining potential measles exposure. 

Vaccination and Prevention 

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment asserts that those who got the MMR vaccine or people who were born before 1957 typically have measles immunity, 9news.com reported. 

Your monitoring for symptoms after possible exposure should be strictly controlled as an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated person during the 21-day period. 

Additional cases can be prevented through MMR vaccination, provided it happens within 72 hours after someone gets exposed, according to CDPHE. 

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Public Health Funding Slashed  

The Department of Health received an immediate termination notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding multiple pandemic grants, which totaled at least USD 130 million, according to Marisol Mata Somarribas, who speaks for the department. 

Public health systems protected through these grants provide essential features for disease surveillance and infection control, which develops vaccines for both COVID and other respiratory viruses. 

These public health system IT platforms receive funding from the grant system. 

The New York Times revealed that nationwide, the CDC eliminated federal grants totaling USD 11.4 billion, seattletimes.com reported. 

State health department workers, alongside their partner organizations, number more than 200 employees who face job interruptions due to funding budget cuts, Mata Somarribas mentioned. 

The Health Department is presently evaluating the budget effects of these cuts while promising to inform the public about new developments as they happen, she stated. 

According to the former state Health Secretary Dr. Umair Shah, “The reality is that, when we take funding away from public health systems, the systems just do not have the capacity because they’re chronically underfunded over the decades,” the New York Times reported. 

Senator Patty Murray from Washington defended the state the following day by arguing funding reductions would limit disease response abilities and hamper access to mental wellness treatment as well as substance use care. 

Setback to Mental Health & Addiction Services 

According to spokesperson Kennedy Soileau, the state Health Care Authority will lose an additional USD 34 million in funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as he informed the public during afternoon hours on Wednesday. 

Through these funds, the state-funded both community-based mental health programs and local substance use prevention treatments with treatment and recovery services. 

Two grants originating from the massive 2021 American Rescue Plan Act Stimulus package got canceled. 

The Health Care Authority of Washington acquired grants that focused on supporting patients with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. 

The post Health Disaster: Addiction & Mental Health Care on BRINK!  appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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The clinical community warns allergy sufferers to handle the upcoming severe allergy season, which may extend beyond usual fall durations. 

According to Alan Reppert, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, “About one-quarter of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with seasonal allergies, and nearly one in five children have seasonal allergies,” the Hill reported. 

“Millions of people living with seasonal allergies will be struggling with more intense symptoms that will likely stick around longer this year in many areas,” he noted. 

As Reppert stated, the upcoming wet and warm climate will produce increased pollen levels during the year. 

The researchers studied the snowy winter conditions across the nation that led to these upcoming warmer spring temperatures. 

What more are the experts stating? 

AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist Brett Anderson indicated that the upcoming hotter spring conditions would create longer growth periods and earlier beginning of allergy seasons similar to past years. 

“There will be variability year to year depending on spring temperatures, storm tracks, and additional moisture from tropical storms and hurricanes, but the overall trend is clear,” Anderson stated. 

According to a statement released by Anderson, seasonal allergy seasons recently extended between one to four weeks throughout various nationwide regions as compared to fifty years ago, the Hill reported. 

The first major allergen in the United States, known as tree pollen, initiates its season when soil temperatures reach between 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit, as per AccuWeather reports. 

Grass pollen emission comes after tree pollen ends during the late spring through early summer before weed pollen appears in late summer until fall. 

“The cold start to the year in much of the eastern half of the country will keep tree pollen levels lower to start, but there can still be a week period of very high levels,” Reppert noted. 

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Research published in Nature proves that BRINP2-related peptide or BRP functions as a natural regulator of hunger and weight loss in both mice and pigs without the typical gastrointestinal side effects. 

The research discovery provides hope to patients taking Wegovy or Ozempic by eliminating the significant side effects of pancreatic damage and vision issues while reducing thyroid cancer danger. 

What more are the experts stating? 

According to assistant professor of pathology Katrin Svensson, “The receptors targeted by semaglutide are found in the brain but also in the gut, pancreas and other tissues,” the Hill reported. 

Furthermore, “That’s why Ozempic has widespread effects, including slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract and lowering blood sugar levels. In contrast, BRP appears to act specifically in the hypothalamus, which controls appetite and metabolism,” Svensson noted. 

Sales of Ozempic and Wegovy have increased greatly during recent years, yet many patients struggle to obtain these drugs because of shortages and insurance limitations. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 100 million US adults qualify as obese based on a BMI of 30, and more than 22 million adults fit the classification of severe obesity at a BMI of 40 and higher, the Hill reported. 

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Between 2009 and 2024, the Archives of Disease in Children reported that twenty-one young patients ended up hospitalized because they drank dangerous slushies. 

The analysis indicates that 93% of children became ill within 60 minutes of consuming slush ice drinks that contained glycerol for slush texture since this exposure could trigger glycerol intoxication. 

Symptoms shown by children 

Hospitalized children demonstrated reduced mental awareness and hypoglycemia, together with decreased blood potassium levels, according to research findings, people.com reported. 

Tests of the children’s urine detected glycerol in all specimens. 

Furthermore, as per the study conducted by the health experts, none of the patients had a history of medical conditions. Results showed that 95% of the children “did not have reoccurrence” once they stopped drinking slushies following hospitalization. 

The ADC announced a warning about ice drinks containing glycerol after testing the study outcomes, which directed children under age eight not to consume such products. 

“Consumption of slush ice drinks containing glycerol may cause a clinical syndrome of glycerol intoxication in young children,” they noted. 

“This mimics inherited disorders of gluconeogenesis and glycerol metabolism. Clinicians and parents should be alert to the phenomenon, and public health bodies should ensure clear messaging regarding [this],” they continued. 

Furthermore, the Food Standards Agency recommends that children aged 4 years and under should “not consume” such slush ice drinks possessing glycerol “due to their potential to cause side-effects such as headaches and sickness, particularly when consumed in excess.” 

Also, as people.com reported, glycerol is “generally thought to be safe in humans,” and it is an authorized group I food additive in the EU, under Annex II and Annex III of Regulation (EC) number 1333/2008, per the ADC. 

The organization hence added, however, that “there is poor transparency around glycerol concentration,” possibly leading to children being hospitalized. 

The post 21 Kids Hospitalized, Common Glycerol in Slushies to Blame!  appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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Republican Governor Spencer Cox declared his support for legislation that prevents local governments from making decisions regarding water fluoridation in their networks. 

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride adds strength to teeth and fights cavities by taking the place of minerals that disappear during mouthwear processes. 

Drinking water fluoridation in low amounts represents a major public health milestone in twentieth-century America. 

The implementation of fluoride in community water supply controls 25% of tooth cavity development, according to research by government scientists. 

As the American Dental Association President Brad Kessler of Denver noted, “We’ve got tried and true evidence of the safety and efficacy of this public health initiative,” AP News reported. 

According to Kessler, the emissions of cavities in children would happen shortly after Utah terminated fluoride in drinking water. 

The ban on water fluoridation occurred shortly after the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as federal health secretary while he maintained doubts regarding fluoridation practices. 

“It’s not a bill I care that much about,” Cox maintained, “but it’s a bill I will sign.” 

Lawmakers from Utah introduced their bill to eliminate fluoridation because they considered applying fluorides to drinking water too costly. Cox shared a common experience with Utah residents since he matured and reared his children in an area without fluoridated water. 

Furthermore, “You would think you would see drastically different outcomes with half the state not getting it….We haven’t seen that,” Cox noted, as AP News reported. 

“So it’s got to be a really high bar for me if we’re going to require people to be medicated by their government,” he continued. 

The post Water Fluoridation Banned in US State—Experts Sound Alarm  appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

A mother’s diet during pregnancy can influence her child’s risk of ADHD and autism, a new study says. 

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According to researchers published in the journal Nature Metabolism, the unhealthy dietary characteristics of Western diets dramatically raise developmental disorder risks in children. 

According to the lead researcher, Dr. David Horner of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, “The greater a woman’s adherence to a Western diet in pregnancy – high in fat, sugar, and refined products while low in fish, vegetables, and fruit — the greater the risk appears to be for her child developing ADHD or autism,” US News reported. 

A 66% rise in the risk of ADHD along with a 122% rise in autism development emerged from minimal Western diet consumption during pregnancy, scientists determined. 

The research suggests modest changes in eating habits towards a non-Western eating pattern could decrease the potential for developmental disorders in children. 

Researchers analyzed pregnancy food consumption patterns of mothers whose 10-year-old children received developmental disorder diagnoses among 500 Norwegian children. 

What have the experts found? 

The research team discovered that eating habits during pregnancy by mothers led to subsequent ADHD and autism diagnoses in their offspring. 

The Western food pattern led to a 53% enhancement in development disorder risk, according to the study findings. 

More than 60,000 Norwegian mother-child pairs were analyzed when the team conducted tests on associations between diet and developmental disorders. 

Furthermore, as the senior author, Morten Arendt Rasmussen, a professor of food microbiology, gut health, and fermentation at the University of Copenhagen, stated, “We observed the strongest associations in the first and second trimesters, suggesting that brain development during this period is particularly sensitive to maternal nutritional influences,” US News reported. 

Researchers confirmed the existence of dietary effects during pregnancy which create developmental risks for children. 

Scientists found 43 metabolites in maternal blood that were related to Western diet patterns, which explained the relationship between dietary intake and the development of neurodevelopmental disorders. 

The post Is Pregnancy Diet Raising ADHD Risk for Babies?  appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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The study also reveals that Hispanics and Blacks are more impacted than other ethnicities, exposed to dangerous contaminants on a larger scale, and live closer to sources of pollution.

These sources reveal that nearly a hundred contaminants can, at the present time, be prohibited under the USEPA Safe Drinking Water Act.

Scientists discover new source of ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water – https://t.co/7HSlrL2zDw pic.twitter.com/NixPa6TpCq

— Local Now (@LocalNow) January 20, 2025

As a result, public water utilities need to sample these chemicals and work to make certain that levels are not above particular levels by putting in new treatment technologies and other appropriate steps.

What more are the experts stating?

According to the co-author Laurel Schaider, a senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, “Yet, we know there are thousands of other harmful chemicals that are not regulated that make their way into groundwater and surface waters and some of these chemicals can ultimately end up in drinking water supplies,” scitechdaily.com reported.

Schaider and her team focused on data captured in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) program gathered from 2013 to 2015.

Houses with high concentrations of the Hispanic and Black population, in general, were more exposed to those unregulated contaminants in drinking water and in closer communities around the wastewater treatment plant, airports, military operation fields, industrial sectors, etc.

“Our findings show that the percentage of Hispanic and Black residents in a community is a consistent predictor of poorer water quality,” described the lead author Aaron Maruzzo, a scientist at Silent Spring Institute.

'Forever Chemicals' in Tap Water Linked to Cancer. How to Lower Your Risk

Prior research has estimated that PFAS may be found in about 45% of US drinking water supplies. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (@EPA) does not regulate PFAS, though that will change in 2029… pic.twitter.com/d6aCo9q4vq

— Water Mark (@OtayMark) January 20, 2025

As recent testing has indicated, PFAS substances are nearly three times more prevalent in drinking water than has been estimated, and therefore, the number of residents affected by the contaminants at the time the information was gathered is still very low, according to Schaider.

In April 2024, the EPA proposed the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six out of the eighteen PFAS contaminants that had been in existence for eighteen years.

The study, therefore, recommends that the federal government should do more to help communities of color mitigate the effects of pollution by regulating additional contaminants, scitechdaily.com reported.

“Ultimately, we need to do a better job at protecting source waters and reducing discharges of pollutants into water bodies that feed into our drinking water supplies,” Schaider continued.

The post ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contaminating Water of One-Third Americans! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.