Health
Measles breaks out at massive NYC migrant shelter
At least two people staying at a sprawling migrant shelter in New York City have contracted measles and health officials in the Big Apple are working to stop the spread of the disease, according to reports.
The outbreak took place at a migrant shelter on Hall Street in Clinton Hill, a huge taxpayer-run facility which opened last year. The facility houses around 3,000 migrants.
The two people who tested positive are being quarantined on one floor of the building while dozens more are also being quarantined, according to CBS.
VACCINATING MIGRANTS LIKE US CHILDREN WOULD HAVE PREVENTED DISEASE OUTBREAKS AT CHICAGO SHELTERS: EXPERTS
At least two people staying at a sprawling migrant shelter in New York City have contracted measles. Health officials are now working to stop the spread of the disease, according to reports. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Measles is a highly contagious and serious airborne disease that can lead to severe complications and even death, especially in children. It is characterized by a fever as high as 105°F and malaise, cough, coryza and conjunctivitis followed by spots and a rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The news comes amid a spike of measles cases in the city, with 11 cases reported in 2024 as of July 12, according to the city’s health department. That is up from just one case last year, which followed three consecutive years of zero cases being reported. In 2019, a major outbreak in the city saw 605 cases.
The number of measles cases in the U.S. so far this year is nearly three times the total for all of 2023. A total of 167 measles cases have been reported so far this year in the U.S., with about 53% of those cases resulting in hospitalization as of July 11, according to the CDC.
There have also been measles and tuberculosis outbreaks at migrant facilities in Chicago. At least two students who tested positive for measles were attending school.
TUBERCULOSIS BREAKS OUT AT CHICAGO MIGRANT SHELTERS FOLLOWING MEASLES CASES
Newly arrived migrants are offered vaccines at a Midtown intake facility, city officials say. It’s not clear how many people at the Clinton Hill facility are vaccinated. Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office and the city’s health department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
City Councilmember Crystal Hudson, who represents the district where the facility is located, says the city should be doing more to vaccinate the migrants.
“My office has been pushing this administration to provide vaccines to residents at this site for months, only to be rebuffed time and time again,” Hudson told the New York Post. “In fact, our request for a vaccination van at an on-site resource fair organized by my office on June 1 was denied.”
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan says people at the shelter who may have been exposed will be tested to verify if they were vaccinated for measles. Those who were not will have to quarantine for three weeks, Vasan said, according to CBS.
Police patrol outside the migrant shelter in Brooklyn on July 21, 2023, where an outbreak of measles occurred. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“The Health Department and Health + Hospitals are coordinating to ensure that anyone who’s been exposed gets the support and resources they need,” Vasan told the outlet in a statement, while encouraging people to get vaccinated.
“While measles may be an extremely contagious virus, the risk to the community is low as most New Yorkers are vaccinated against it. Importantly, measles is preventable. The single best way to prevent measles is to be vaccinated.”
The measles virus under a microscope (BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Officials say the risk of contracting measles is extremely low after getting vaccinated.
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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.
BACTERIA IN YOUR MOUTH MAY TRAVEL TO THE GUT AND TRIGGER STOMACH CANCER, RESEARCH FINDS
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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