Until law, GLP-1 drugs were used to treat diabetes, obesity and even the recent evidences suggest that it could as well be used to treat chronic kidney problems. There is yet another research, published in JAMA Psychiatry on February 25, titled Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial that explores if GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide reduce alcohol consumption and cravings in adults with alcohol use disorder.

What Do Studies Say?

The research was conducted over a period of 9 weeks, where in the randomized clinical trial, the participants who were administered semaglutide, it led to reductions in some but not all measures of weekly consumptions. It also reduced weekly alcohol and craving related to placebo, and also led to a greater relative reduction in cigarettes per day.

The research also found that weekly injections of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in weight loss drugs like Wegovy also helped reduce cravings in people with alcohol use disorder.

The lead author Christian Hendershot said that these findings will help in developing new approaches to treat alcoholism. "Two drugs currently approved to reduce alcohol consumption aren't widely used. The popularity of Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists increases the chances of broad adoption of these treatments for alcohol use disorder," said Hendershot in news release by the University of Southern California's Institute for Addiction Research, where he is the director.

The study is government-funded research and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

How Was The Study Conducted?

The study was small, and took in account for only 48 adults over two months, thus experts say that it is not yet clear how safe these drugs are for people who do not need to lose weight. Though the results do add up with the evidence form animal studies on drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on how it helps manage cravings, not just for food, but also for tobacco and alcohol. Scientists are also studying these drugs on smokers, people with opioid addiction and cocaine users.

Co-author Dr Klara Klein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who treats people with obesity and diabetes said, "This is such promising data. And we need more of it. We frequently will hear that once people start these medications that their desire to drink is very reduced, if not completely abolished."

Why Does It Work So Well Against Alcoholism?

The GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking hormones GLP-1 in the gut and brain that regulates appetite and feelings of fullness. This response is what helps one lose weight, and what helps one curb their craving for alcohol. These drugs that mimic the functioning of your brain, which is responsible to tell your body when to stop consuming, are the same hormones that tell your body about other kinds of consumptions, including alcohol. Therefore by consuming the weight loss drugs one can treat alcohol use disorder.

However, the researchers have pointed out on the limited data on the research and have suggested to continue using the three approved drugs by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, namely, Disulfiram, Naltrexone, and Acamprosate to treat alcohol use disorder until large studies confirm these findings.

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.

Wondering why, in the peak of the summer, you are suffering from flu-like symptoms such as a sore throat and fever. Then you may not be alone. According to Delhi-based doctors, several patients are reporting to OPDs with a cold, cough, and severe fever.

India’s national capital, New Delhi, is currently reeling under extreme heat and heatwaves. With temperatures already soaring past seasonal norms, the region is also seeing a rise in cases of flu.

According to the latest weather bulletin by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there will be a steady rise in daytime temperatures over the next couple of days.

Maximum temperatures are expected to climb by 1-2°C over the next two days, remaining above normal for at least five days. The mercury has already been hovering between 40 °C and 42 °C, with Safdarjung recording 40.7°C, about 3 °C above normal. Nights are no cooler, with minimum temperatures ranging between 23 °C and 26 °C-also above average.

Also read: Heatwave in India: Delhi Govt Issues Advisory For Schools, Urges Hydration And Reduced Outdoor Activity

HealthandMe spoke to city doctors to understand whether the conditions are due to heat stress or is it summer flu and the reasons behind.

“Definitely, summer flu is being seen in our hospital. Several patients are coming with a viral type of illness, and many of them have influenza or para-influenza virus, which causes cold, coughs, and severe fever,” Dr. Atul Kakar, Chairperson, Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Director of Internal Medicine, Yatharth Hospital, “there is a noticeable rise in cases of cough, cold, viral fever, and upper respiratory tract infections in our OPD.”

The doctors told HealthandMe that people are also reporting “severe gastroenteritis, which is also called the stomach flu”. In addition, there are cases of typhoid and paratyphoid also being seen in the summer months.

The experts attributed the cases to

• The ongoing change in weather,
• Irregular rain,
• Heatwave,
• Fluctuations in temperature
• Unhygienic water and food.

“Such seasonal transitions often weaken immunity, making individuals more susceptible to infections,” the expert said.

Dr. Meenakshi Jain, Principal Director - Internal Medicine, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Patparganj, reported heat-related and bacterial illnesses in summer.

"Delhi-NCR faces an early intense heatwave (temperatures nearing 40°C+), which boosts infections indirectly through weakened immunity, dehydration, and AC-induced indoor crowding,” she told HealthandMe.

Read: Australia Reports Diphtheria Outbreak In Almost 50 Years: What You Need to Know

How To Prevent?

People must take timely precautions, including maintaining good hygiene, avoiding sudden exposure to cold, staying hydrated, and ensuring adequate rest.

Those infected must wear masks in crowded places and seek early medical advice in case of persistent symptoms to prevent complications.

Dr. Jain noted that “heatwaves do not directly cause flu but worsen it via outdoor heat–indoor AC swings, pollution, and heat-stressed immunity”.

Additional triggers include post-monsoon waterlogging, travel, and hygiene lapses at crowded events, the doctor said.

Other measures to prevent flu conditions during peak summer include:

• Hydration and heat avoidance: Drink 3–4L water daily, use ORS; stay indoors 11 AM–4 PM; wear light cotton clothes and hats.
• Hygiene: Wash hands frequently, use masks in crowded/AC spots, drink only boiled/filtered water, and avoid street food.
• Vaccination and monitoring: Get an annual flu vaccine for year-round protection; test for influenza if symptoms linger.