OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS (++ ++ ++ +)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS The Hill: Pennsylvania Sees Rare Cases Of Congenital Measles The Pennsylvania health department issued a warning to doctors Monday about an increase in measles cases during pregnancy, along with rising concern about congenital measles, a disease rarely seen in the U.S. The department’s alert said congenital measles — a measles infection in a newborn contracted from the mother — was identified “for the first time in decades.” (Weixel, 10/21) https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6162533-pennsylvania-congenital-measles-outbreak/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8_9OEBCvFVqSd8soBse5vrs-Hwo0m8C32ii6qy4hikVlp_6kiZEC-K9jKuzvYsfu_tc_fXDwXjNbwXMVNpl9suhD138A&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email Daily Herald: Measles Case Reported In DuPage County A person in DuPage County has the measles, health authorities announced Wednesday. The individual, who had been vaccinated, recently returned from an international trip, the DuPage County Health Department said in a news release. County health officials said it was “a rare breakthrough infection.” (Sarkauskas, 10/21) https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/21/measles-case-dupage-county/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--tniCn_PfT6YjSiJa-mC0tcxRgh4_TBs4Cj89iwyN-JqamYlkuY9ChTGIlJn_8uTC0yyqFpJPm25gU0yr8euoLLxBSOA&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email The New York Times: Is Rabies Making A Comeback? In the United States, rabies can seem like a disease of the past, a remote risk caused by a mostly vanquished virus. But in recent months, this ancient foe has returned to the spotlight. A handful of unusual outbreaks have made headlines: rabid beavers at a Maryland state park, a cluster of goat cases at a North Carolina petting zoo. Officials in several states, including Idaho and Alabama, flagged surges in animal cases; California set an annual record for rabid bats. (Anthes, 10/21) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/21/science/rabies-virus-animals.html?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8J7aFBz8yTicBBcf7Inm52hbyayp119aHQK8YEhMW790BIll1s528XYL2mkd0fvAMqfDNyM_wPbnXWdE45F7i9dJxEQw&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email Axios: New World Screwworm Found In US Wildlife For First Time In Ongoing Outbreak Federal and Texas officials on Wednesday confirmed the first known case of the New World screwworm parasite in U.S. wildlife during the current outbreak. The discovery raises new questions about whether the flesh-eating parasite is spreading beyond livestock. (Falconer, 10/21) https://www.axios.com/2026/10/21/new-world-screwworm-fly-us-wildlife?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--0eeVpoBgeq0Ao5BFW04YK47X5v9YP0EPFkVSgAUpdaSerFm0NpyQ8KU2cc9Ye_3SjjFu5wx6PxFtNnclKEIW6c3eFlw&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email Southern California News Group: Deaths Mount As West Nile Virus Hotspots Emerge In LA, Orange Counties More people are contracting mosquito-borne West Nile virus and dying in Los Angeles and Orange counties than anywhere else in California, pushing state levels to a five-year high. The two counties combined account for at least 63% of the 378 human infections reported this year by the California Department of Public Health, making the region a hotbed for the disease transmitted by the female Southern House mosquito. The actual count is likely higher than the state’s database, which lags behind the local numbers reported by individual counties. (Fobar and Saavedra, 10/21) https://www.presstelegram.com/2026/10/21/deaths-mount-as-west-nile-virus-hotspots-emerge-in-la-orange-counties/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89IhdXcKgmPHHMLtc3zJkULxpCXXhI7fuji6czD2jOUGZgDnSpuXhaqsjB-LJ741gCb-MpTN3V5KcLF7oawsSmOqouGQ&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email ABC News: Nigeria Confirms Its 1st Ebola Case As Kenya Reports 9th Infection: Health Officials Nigeria is confirming its first Ebola case as an outbreak continues to spread in the nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the patient is a woman who arrived on an international flight from Uganda. She was admitted to a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital city of Abuja is located. The woman received care for several days before a diagnosis was confirmed through laboratory testing on Tuesday. She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, according to the ministry. (Kekatos and Jovanovic, 10/21) https://abcnews.com/Health/nigeria-confirms-1st-ebola-case-kenya-reports-9th/story?id=137443202&utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--1fvdndB1Vo8B2pwhjk6GbC5TFEDP8Gzc3Y-DijkkWr6IlG5uMoLgU4FMlpP8WYOerFm0I_mPlcZXFr94LpIuoHq3KqA&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email CIDRAP: Epidemics Linked To Loss Of Health Workers, With Poorer Nations Hardest Hit Infectious disease specialists gathered for an annual infectious disease conference in Washington, DC, today rallied to protest funding cuts to HIV research, prevention, and treatment. “Nothing has hurt me as much in the last year as the cruel and devastating cuts and attempts to silence us around HIV care, advocacy and research,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), one of the organizers of the IDWeek 2026 conference. (Szabo, 10/21) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/misc-emerging-topics/epidemics-linked-loss-health-workers-poorer-nations-hardest-hit?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--XAcz4CS_ZmwRNYeBBclxRiw_HwwnuQxDBFCTSv7r5skAvotu1Zi1IBiigXzmdeeLVOiEWmUHl0CSnGB_7BMg5Ki3H7Q&_hsmi=445490976&utm_content=445490976&utm_source=hs_email