Birthdays are exciting for everyone. There's celebration, a cake, and balloons. But what if it goes wrong? This is what happened with Giang Pham, from Vietnam, who was celebrating her 33rd birthday on February 14, when a hydrogen balloon in her hand touched the flame from the candle on the cake and exploded on her face.

This incident was also captured on camera. The footage clearly shows how the balloon blew up as soon as it touched the flame. Her friends were shocked and can be heard gasping in the background as they saw this.

In the days following the incident, she also shared photos on her Instagram showing her bandaged face, and revealed the first-degree burns on her hand and second-degree burns on her face. However, the good news was that her vision was unaffected, though for her face to recover, it would take months.

She is now also warning others about the risks of using highly inflammable hydrogen balloons. The other alternative could be a helium balloon, which you could fly higher and they remain on the ceiling.

Health Update

She revealed that her doctor estimated up to six months for her skin to recover. She would still have to go to the hospital for dressing and treatment. Another such case happened with a woman named Tine from Australia, when on her son's 7th birthday, the balloon exploded and "shook her house". Her son was burned in the forearm.

Such incidents happen because decorators want to save the cost by replacing helium with hydrogen, which is highly inflammable.

In Healing

Giang shared that she experienced second-degree burn on her face and first-degree burn on her hands. As per John Hopkins Medicine, first degree burns affect only the epidermis, or the outer layer of skin. The burn site becomes red, painful, dry, however, there are no blisters. A mild sunburn could be an example of such a burn. This is also called superficial burns.

Whereas, second degree burns involve the epidermis and part of the dermis layer of the skin. The burn site appears red, blistered and could also be swollen and painful. This is also known as partial thickness burn.

Then comes the third degree burns, also known as full thickness burn. This destroys the epidermis and dermis and could also damage the underlying bones, muscles, and tendons. However, when the bones and muscles are burned, it could be referred to as a fourth degree burn. The burn sit appears white or charred and there is no feeling in the area since the nerve endings are destroyed.

How burns are treated?

The right way to treat a burn depends on its depth and how much of the body it covers. While minor, superficial burns can be managed at home, deeper or larger burns may need medical attention. Keep these essential guidelines in mind:

Do:

• Remove the source of the burn immediately – For example, take off clothing soaked in hot liquid to prevent further damage.
• Run cool water over the burn – This helps soothe the skin, except in cases of certain chemical burns.
• Keep the burn clean and protected – Cover it with a clean, non-stick bandage when possible.
• Seek medical help – If the burn is deeper than a superficial layer, larger than your hand, or full-thickness, see a doctor.

Don’t:

• Use home remedies like bleach or butter – These can make the burn worse.
• Apply ointments or creams on deep burns – They can trap heat and worsen the injury.
• Put ice on the burn – It can cause more damage to the skin.
• Pop blisters – This increases the risk of infection.

Knowing these simple steps can make a big difference in burn care and healing.

An international team of researchers has identified a new way by which coronaviruses carried by bats can enter human cells.

Their study, published in the journal Nature, targeted the spike proteins of coronaviruses carried by heart-nosed bats in Kenya.

The team, including those from the universities of Cambridge and York, along with those from the National Museums of Kenya, found that a coronavirus, dubbed CcCoV-KY43, has evolved a new way of binding to human cells. It is different from the mechanism used by SARS-COV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus - Cardioderma cor coronavirus (CcCoV) KY43, or CcCoV-KY43 - can bind to a receptor cell found in the human lung, but testing in Kenya suggests it has not spilled over into the local human population.

“Viral spike proteins are keys that fit into locks (host receptors) to open the door and enter a cell. So far, we have identified one alphaCov receptor. The challenge now is to find the others,” said Professor Stephen Graham in the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, joint senior author of the paper.

CcCoV-KY43 is found in heart-nosed bats, Cardioderma cor, an ecologically important species found mainly in eastern Africa, including in eastern Sudan and northern Tanzania.

The researchers say the zoonotic (animal-to-human) and pandemic potential of alphaCoVs has remained relatively uncharted - to date, only two cellular receptors have been characterized for alphaCoVs.

Read: US CDC Study Showcasing COVID Vaccine Benefits Blocked From Publication

How Did The Researchers Identify The New Mechanism

Rather than work on ‘live’ viruses, the scientists used a public database of known genetic sequences, Genbank, to select and synthesise alphacoronavirus ‘spike’ proteins, including 27 viruses originally isolated in bats, and screened these against a library of coronavirus receptors found in human cells.

Spike proteins protrude from the surface of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and bind to specific receptors on human cells, triggering infection.

They showed that CcCoV-KY43 binds to the human glycoprotein CEACAM6.

“Before our study, it was assumed all alphacoronaviruses used just one of two possible receptors to enter their host, and the only difference was which species they could enter. We now know alphaCovs might use a whole variety of different receptors to open cells,” said Dr Dalan Bailey, Group Leader at the Pirbright Institute and joint senior author of the paper.

“Not only did we find the new coronavirus receptor in human cells ahead of any virus spillover into the human population, but the study was performed using just a piece of the virus (the spike) rather than the whole pathogen, negating the need to import a live virus into the UK," added Dr Giulia Gallo, lead author of the paper.

Also read: Bangladesh Measles Outbreak: Meghalaya, Tripura To Ramp Up Vaccination, Boost Surveillance

The study stressed the need for further study in East Africa to better understand the risk from the family of viruses that can use this receptor to enter human cells.

This will help scientists to be better prepared for any spillover of the virus into humans in the future, and potentially begin to develop human vaccines and antivirals.

“We hope our findings will help better understand the risk from the family of viruses we identified that can use the human receptor: for example, by mapping the prevalence of the virus in bats and looking to see if it has already spilled over in at-risk populations,” Graham said.

With the rising measles cases, the US is most likely to lose its measles elimination status, acquired in the year 2000. The reason is in plain sight: the lack of vaccination.

The US recorded 2,288 measles cases last year – the highest number since the disease was declared eliminated in the country 25 years ago. Another 1,748 cases have already been reported this year, so far, raising concerns among experts that the US could lose its elimination status.

However, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, long known as a vaccine skeptic, who faced intense questioning from several US senators, denied his role. He instead attributed the surge in measles cases in the country to global outbreaks.

Measles Outbreak in US: "I Have Nothing To Do With It", Says Kennedy

According to public health specialists, Kennedy failed to strongly promote vaccination and instead highlighted unproven treatments such as steroids while the virus spread across state lines.

In his opening remarks to the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden criticized Kennedy’s messaging on vaccines, saying: “When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors.”

“The secretary has ducked, bobbed, and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America,” he added.

However, he replied: “I have not visited Mexico or Europe. I have nothing to do with the measles outbreak. A lot of nations have lost their elimination status; (the) outbreak has nothing to do with me". "The whole world had their worst measles year,” he added.

Noting that he “promoted the measles vaccine”, Kennedy explained that most unvaccinated Americans who contracted measles last year were over the age of 5 years, meaning their parents decided not to vaccinate well before he assumed his role at HHS.

But David L. Hill, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the issue is nuanced.

“When 95 per cent of the population is vaccinated, sporadic cases from outside the country don’t spread as they are doing now, where rates in many communities have fallen below that level,” Hill told CIDRAP News. “So, anyone who is spreading misinformation about the safety or effectiveness of the measles vaccine shares in the responsibility for these outbreaks, especially if they have the ear of the public.

“All of our public health professionals have an obligation now to speak out clearly and forcefully in favor of universal measles vaccination, which we know saves lives.”

Also read: Surging Measles Cases In US Prompting Antivaxxers To Quietly Embrace MMR Vaccine: Report

Senators Probe Kennedy's Role In Childhood Flu Deaths

Further, the senators also questioned Kennedy about his role in childhood flu deaths. As of April 2026, the 2025-26 US flu season has seen 143 pediatric deaths, as per CDC data.

Senator Michael Bennet questioned Kennedy about changes to vaccine recommendations, pointing out that 2025 saw the highest number of childhood flu deaths — 280 pediatric deaths — in modern American history.

“I assume you no longer believe that the flu vaccine is destroying children’s brains, that there’s zero evidence that the flu vaccine prevents any hospitalizations or any deaths, because today, you’re here agreeing that the vast majority of kids that died from the flu were people without vaccines,” Bennet said.

Kennedy replied: “We’re making sure that we follow the science.”

Senator Ben Ray Luján also accused Kennedy of “pushing vaccine misinformation” that predated his tenure and pressed him to explain how he would reduce the number of measles cases and improve the MMR vaccination rate.

“We promote the MMR. We advise every child to get the MMR,” Kennedy said.

Read: US CDC Study Showcasing COVID Vaccine Benefits Blocked From Publication

What Is Measles?

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through direct contact or through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is a vaccine-preventable disease that can cause devastating complications, including blindness, pneumonia, encephalitis, and long-term immune dysfunction.

Symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after exposure and may include:

• high fever,
• cough,
• runny nose,
• red eyes,
• rashes across the body.

How To Stay Safe

To safeguard against measles, individuals should

• ensure timely vaccination, especially for children.
• Maintaining good hygiene, such as frequent handwashing and covering the mouth while coughing or sneezing, helps reduce transmission.
• Avoiding close contact with infected individuals and ensuring proper nutrition to boost immunity are also important.

Eating disorders in children might sound like a rare occurrence, but evidence suggests that this is no longer a once-in-a-while case. According to new research, social media is a powerful influence affecting eating disorder risks in children. A study by Turkish researchers showed that heavy social media use among teenagers could be linked to poor eating attitudes, orthorexia nervosa, poor body image, and an unhealthy obsession with eating ‘clean’. For this, a team of researchers comprising Semiha Ozcakal, Gamze Yurtdas Depboylu, and Gulsah Kaner surveyed 1,200 high school students and found that the more addicted they were to social media, the more likely they were to follow poor eating patterns and struggle with body dissatisfaction.

How does social media addiction fuel eating disorders in teens?

Researchers found that girls were most affected by social media addiction. They were more likely to develop an unhealthy relationship with social media use and consequently were also more dissatisfied with their bodies. This could be fuelled by constant exposure to idealised fitness and beauty standards. They start to compare themselves to thin people, and eventually that comparison can turn into restriction, difficult food rules, and even shame.

Researchers noted that the most striking finding of the study involved nutrition content. Teens who followed diet and food posts from celebrities, influencers, or even wellness experts were six times more likely to show symptoms of eating disorders. Many were also likely to develop orthorexic tendencies and may cut down on foods that they believed were unhealthy in order to achieve an unrealistic goal.

Social media addiction and an obsession with thinness

A study from Italy added to the concerns - researchers examined 232 girls aged 9–10 years and found that those who showed symptoms of Instagram addiction were more driven to become thinner and were unhappier with their bodies too. They also scored higher on social withdrawal and emotional instability. The warning clearly stated that social media can shape self-image far earlier than most adults realise. Even before adolescence, children absorb harmful messages about beauty, worth, and weight.

Is there a solution?

According to experts, the answer is not banning screens, especially when digital media is an important part of daily life. Children should instead be given guidance at home and at school—parents and teachers must promote healthy social media habits and sustainable goals. Teachers and parents must discourage unrealistic goals, especially with respect to extreme dieting and an obsession with becoming thin.

What are the symptoms of eating disorders?

Eating disorders are often characterised by poor eating habi—thisis can be either overeating or undereating or complete starvation. People dealing with eating disorders are likely to show the following symptoms:

1. Avoid certain foods or food groups
2. Restrictive eating habits
3. Eating too much in a small window of time
4. Forced vomiting after eating
5. Laxative misuse
6. Frequent trips to the bathroom after eating
7. Withdrawing from social activities or friends
8. Compulsive exercising after meals