All posts tagged: Measles

Measles kills more than 500 children in Bangladesh : NPR

Measles kills more than 500 children in Bangladesh : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Thirteen-month-old Jannat cries as her mother Sohana, a garment worker, tries to feed her. The child is hospitalized for measles at DNCC Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Anik Rahman for NPR hide caption toggle caption Anik Rahman for NPR Hantavirus and Ebola are making headlines. But another deadly outbreak is unfolding that’s barely registered on the global scene. “We’ve been crying out loud about this from the beginning, but it has been a silent situation,” says Hasina Rahman. “There hasn’t been much attention around it.” She’s talking about a devastating measles outbreak in Bangladesh. Since the virus took off in mid-March, the country has tallied more than 60,000 suspected cases and 528 suspected measles-related deaths. The vast majority of the sick and dead are children under age 5. “It is huge, with just so much strain on the [health care] systems,” says Rahman, who is the International Rescue Committee’s deputy regional director for Asia. Miftahul Zannat’s family knows how strained the healthcare system is firsthand. The 2-year-old developed classic symptoms of measles — including a fever …

More than 500 children die in measles outbreak in Bangladesh | Health News

More than 500 children die in measles outbreak in Bangladesh | Health News

Published by Sam Flores

Most cases recorded in the country have been among children aged between six months and five years. Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026 A measles outbreak in Bangladesh has killed more than 500 children in the deadliest surge there in decades. The death toll continued to rise on Saturday, with 13 children passing away in the past 24 hours alone, increasing the total to 512, according to a health department tally that began on March 15. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Hospitals in the capital Dhaka, which have been overwhelmed with cases, have set up dedicated wards but lack sufficient numbers of intensive care beds. Measles, which has no specific treatment once caught, is a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through coughs and sneezes. The disease primarily affects children and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation and death, particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated children. It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide. The South Asian nation of 175 million people has rolled out a …

People are betting on measles outbreaks – and that might be useful

People are betting on measles outbreaks – and that might be useful

Published by skeptic

New York State Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald talking in New York last year about measles outbreaks Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images Gamblers are increasingly placing bets on the number of people infected with measles in the US. Since January alone, nearly $9 million dollars have been bet on future cases of the disease on prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket – and there is some evidence that the predictions are accurate enough to be useful for modelling its spread. Prediction markets involve buying and selling shares related to an outcome. Each market offers a question about future events and the option to bet “yes” or “no”, with the cost of a bet determined by the way others have bet. For example, if 86 per cent of wagers on a given future event are “yes” bets, the cost of a “yes” share is 86 cents. If that event does in fact occur, successful gamblers receive $1 for every share they have bought, with the unsuccessful gamblers – who lose their money – footing …

People are betting on measles outbreaks – and that might be useful

Gamblers are betting millions of dollars on measles outbreaks

Published by skeptic

New York State Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald talking in New York last year about measles outbreaks Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images Gamblers are increasingly placing bets on the number of people infected with measles in the US. Since January alone, nearly $9 million dollars have been bet on future cases of the disease on prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket – and there is some evidence that the predictions are accurate enough to be useful for modelling its spread. Prediction markets involve buying and selling shares related to an outcome. Each market offers a question about future events and the option to bet “yes” or “no”, with the cost of a bet determined by the way others have bet. For example, if 86 per cent of wagers on a given future event are “yes” bets, the cost of a “yes” share is 86 cents. If that event does in fact occur, successful gamblers receive $1 for every share they have bought, with the unsuccessful gamblers – who lose their money – footing …

ER Study Finds Major Gaps in Measles Immunity

ER Study Finds Major Gaps in Measles Immunity

Published by Sam Flores

By Deanna Neff HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, April 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — As measles cases in California hit a seven-year high, new research suggests many adults are walking around without the protection they need. A nationwide study reveals that emergency departments are seeing a high volume of patients who are under-vaccinated, uninformed or hesitant about the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Measles is notoriously easy to spread through simple actions like coughing or sneezing. Because it is so contagious, even a tiny dip in community vaccination rates can trigger a massive outbreak. The study — publishing in the July issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine — looked at survey data from nearly 2,500 adults across 10 U.S. emergency departments to see who is falling through the cracks. The survey, which ran from mid-April 2024 until Dec. 31, 2024, included eight U.S. cities (Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well as Fresno and Sylmar, both in California; and Durham, North Carolina). The findings were eye-opening for public health officials.  About 25% respondents had never …

America isn’t prepared for what comes after the measles crisis

America isn’t prepared for what comes after the measles crisis

Published by Sam Flores

In the first three months of 2026, America logged roughly 1,600 measles cases — nearly as many as the total number for all of 2025, which was by far the worst year we’ve seen for the highly infectious virus in decades. In fact, because we’ve had more than 12 straight months of continuous measles spread, the nation should soon lose the measles elimination status we achieved back in 2000. I say “should” because Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was granted a delay of the April 13 meeting of the Pan American Health Organization, where officials were expected to reach that embarrassing conclusion, until its annual meeting, which is scheduled for after the midterm elections. A coincidence, no doubt. It’s disgraceful and dangerous that instead of acting to prevent the spread of preventable diseases like measles, the secretary and his cadre of mad scientists are playing politics and spreading misinformation — and putting American lives at risk. As Kennedy faces rounds of congressional hearings, including before two Senate committees that include four Republican …