Health
Florida alerts first measles case of year in public school as experts stress vaccination
A case of measles has been detected in Florida for the first time in 2025.
One student at Palmetto Senior High School tested positive for the disease, according to local sources and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres addressed the measles case in a news conference on Thursday, noting that the vaccine rate at the school is 99.7%.
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“Everything is very stable,” he stated. “We have no other incident regarding the measles at this point.”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo also confirmed the measles case in a press conference in Tampa on Wednesday, noting that it’s possible there “may be more of them.”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo is shown at a press conference in Sanford, Florida, in 2024. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Obviously, we wish the best for everyone’s health,” he said.
Amid remarks on a variety of topics, Ladapo acknowledged that measles is “extremely contagious.” He said “it’s one of the most contagious diseases around” — and confirmed that the Florida Department of Health has been in communication with the school about the case.
“We’ve provided information about options that parents have,” he said.
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“One of those — it’s very important — is communicating that their preferences and choices for their healthy kids are going to be respected,” he said.
He also said, “We also have measles vaccines available … for any parent who wants them. So that option is there also, and we provide education there.”
Medical experts stress that the best way to prevent a measles infection is by receiving two doses of the MMR vaccine. (iStock)
Texas, meanwhile, has reported the highest number of measles cases since January, marking 198 infected people as of Friday morning, including 23 hospitalized, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Most of the cases were detected in unvaccinated, school-aged children — which included one child who died from the disease.
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New Mexico also reported its first measles death on Thursday in an unvaccinated adult, according to state officials.
The DSHS in Texas has stated on its website that the best way to prevent sickness is to receive two doses of the vaccine against measles, “primarily administered” as the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization.
A one-year-old child is held by his mother as he receives an MMR vaccine at a vaccine clinic by Lubbock Public Health Department on March 1, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)
Ladapo also mentioned using vitamin A as a treatment for measles for some people, as suggested recently by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which has proven effective in some research.
While this option can work for people who are deficient in vitamin A, according to experts, vaccination is the only way to prevent measles, as vitamin A is not an alternative.
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In a recent opinion piece for Fox News Digital, RFK Jr. noted, in part, “As healthcare providers, community leaders and policymakers, we have a shared responsibility to protect public health. This includes ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated. We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them.”
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Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told Fox News Digital that inappropriate dosing of vitamin A can result in toxicity and a condition known as hypervitaminosis.
“Thus, people should not be administering generic vitamin A supplements purchased at a pharmacy or health food store to their children,” he said.
A measles information sheet is seen posted at the Orange County Health Department on May 6, 2019, in Orlando, Florida. (Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Neil Maniar, PhD, MPH, professor of public health practice at Northeastern University, stressed that the MMR vaccine is the “most powerful tool” in preventing and controlling outbreaks.
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“It is vital that we work in partnership with communities to educate individuals and families about the importance of the MMR vaccine and ensure that this vaccine is available to all who need it,” he told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Miami-Dade Public Schools, Palmetto Senior High School and the Florida Department of Health for further comment.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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