The Columbian

Measles was under control in the United States, but the U.S. is seeing outbreaks again in areas where vaccination rates have fallen. Because measles is so contagious, outbreaks happen quickly.

Measles is a preventable disease: What parents need to know about measles, vaccines

April 23, 2024, 6:04am Health

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the measles virus. The infection can lead to serious and sometimes fatal complications. Fortunately, measles is a vaccine-preventable illness. Read story

Loneliness can cause an intense desire for sugary foods, a new study found.

Study links sugar cravings, loneliness

April 23, 2024, 6:04am Health

If you’ve spent a lonely night at home eating chocolates and/or ice cream, you shouldn’t feel guilty. That’s because loneliness can cause an intense desire for sugary foods, a new study found. Read story

A microscopic image of the treponema pallidum bacterium which causes syphilis.

Syphilis cases growing among U.S. newborns

April 23, 2024, 5:55am Health

With syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketing, a doctors' group now recommends that all pregnant patients be screened three times for the sexually transmitted infection. Read story

Vice President Harris announces final rules mandating minimum standards for nursing home staffing

April 22, 2024, 8:25am Health

The federal government is for the first time requiring nursing homes to have minimum staffing levels after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed grim realities in poorly staffed facilities for older and disabled Americans. Read story

FILE - A security guard waves for journalists to clear the road after a convoy carrying the World Health Organization team entered the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of a field visit in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on Jan. 31, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary.

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

April 22, 2024, 8:23am Health

The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months. Read story

Health

Measles is a preventable disease: What parents need to know about measles, vaccines

Study links sugar cravings, loneliness

Syphilis cases growing among U.S. newborns

Vice President Harris announces final rules mandating minimum standards for nursing home staffing

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

Avian flu outbreak raises a disturbing question: Is our food system built on poop?

More kids are dying of drug overdoses. Could pediatricians do more to help?

People are staying homeless for longer than ever before in Clark County — experts say fentanyl is a factor