Fall and winter mark the peak season for common respiratory infections such as COVID-19; respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV; influenza, better known as the flu; and the common cold. These illnesses often begin with symptoms that look very similar, so telling them apart can be tricky – especially when the beginning of cold and flu season in...Read more

Some Coloradans have a drug problem: old prescription medications clogging their medicine cabinets.

Disposing of unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs is important to protect children and teens from accidental or unintentional exposure. Eliminating medications properly is also important to prevent contamination of vegetation,...Read more

By the time doctors diagnose Alzheimer's disease, heart failure or cancer, the biological processes behind the illness may have been unfolding silently for years or even decades.

Mayo Clinic wants to make those invisible years a new target for medicine.

The healthcare organization is undertaking a sweeping research effort, called Precure ...Read more

Taya Hailstone has been in remission from childhood Hodgkin lymphoma for five years. But the cancer’s lasting damage to her organs and nerves can make basic tasks, like loading a dishwasher, hard.

Still, Montana’s health department decided last year that Hailstone is no longer eligible for low-cost disability health coverage through ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania is seeking more emergency aid from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to respond to the state’s largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, but only if the federal agency acknowledges the four measles-associated deaths Pennsylvania has reported.

The CDC has so far declined to publicly report ...Read more

Minnesota’s streak of almost six months without a new measles case ended this week when an infection was confirmed in an unvaccinated adult in one of the state’s least-vaccinated counties.

The state’s 18th measles case of 2026 was reported Thursday in Fillmore County — not far from the southwestern Wisconsin region that has reported ...Read more

A long-running lawsuit challenging what it means to be an employee and therefore have access to work-based health plans is being closely watched by health policy analysts. Its outcome could spur the availability of lower-cost but potentially skimpier health coverage that skirts some consumer protections.

Court papers indicate a settlement in ...Read more

Some parents in Colorado are uncertain about the safety and necessity of vaccines given to their children. They also question how the vaccines are timed.

I am a sociologist who has spent nearly two decades studying how parents make vaccine decisions for themselves and their families.

I have interviewed dozens of Colorado ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland health officials are warning residents about possible measles exposure after a person from another state who had the disease visited three Ocean City businesses this month.

The Maryland Department of Health said the person visited the Casablanca Oceanside Inn, 2408 Baltimore Ave., from 4 p.m. Sept. 3 through noon Sept. 6;...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I know prostate cancer is common, but I’m not sure who is most at risk or whether there are symptoms to watch for. When should men consider screening? And if cancer is found, what treatments are available, and what side effects should patients expect?

ANSWER: About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during ...Read more

Nearly five years ago, Chase Johnson was cured of breast cancer — but not of the profound anxiety that it would return.

When Johnson was originally diagnosed in 2021, the resident of Cary, North Carolina, was only 31 — nearly a decade away from the age at which regular mammograms are recommended — and she had no history of breast cancer ...Read more

Amber Bates of Cohutta, Georgia, is one of thousands of people without health insurance in the 14th Congressional District, home to about 765,000 people in the northwestern corner of the state.

She and her husband have not had health coverage for the past two years, Bates said, because their employment is unsteady and they earn too much to ...Read more

Mosquito bites can be more than a nuisance this summer — they can make you sick.

Florida has become a hotbed for mosquito-borne dieases, reporting hundreds of cases of dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and even West Nile virus.

The state leads the nation in dengue cases this year with 270 reported. Increasingly, residents aren’t just ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to launch a new research initiative related to autism, using AI and other technology to map how the condition develops and identify opportunities for early intervention.

The initiative, called SPECTRA, will analyze available data and then fill in the gaps on “the missing biology needed to...Read more

The main Medicare open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

During this period, anyone enrolled in original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or a Part D drug plan can adjust their coverage. Because Medicare offers two main paths — original Medicare (Parts A and B) or Medicare Advantage (Part C) — you should shop around during ...Read more

Fructose has become one of the most misunderstood nutrients in modern diets. Often blamed for a range of health problems, it’s easy to assume that this type of sugar is inherently harmful. In reality, fructose itself is not the enemy— how and where we consume it makes all the difference.

Fructose is a naturally occurring sugar found in ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Most of the time, I can tell when my kids are using a tummy ache as an excuse not to do something. But when should I take their “Mommy, my tummy hurts” seriously?

ANSWER: Every child has belly pain at some point, and most of the time, it’s nothing serious. Half of my gastroenterology clinic visits involve abdominal pain ...Read more

One day, Wendy noticed a quarter-sized rash at the top of her thigh. By the next day, it had grown to the diameter of a half-dollar. But since the flat, red patch didn’t resemble the bullseye rash Wendy had seen listed among Lyme disease symptoms, it didn’t even occur to her she might have the infection.

Wendy was wrong. She was one of the ...Read more

A “nearly 100% fatal” disease is the rise across the United States, prompting federal officials to issue a nationwide health alert.

Since July, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a sharp increase in the number of people exposed to rabies.

Meanwhile, officials in several California counties have reported ...Read more