The current measles outbreak has gripped US states like Texas and New Mexico leaving people worried whether it would become a new pandemic. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services as of February 21, 90 cases were diagnosed in the last month in the South Plains area, with at least 77 of them were reported in children and teens under 17.

Measles is highly contagious and can be deadly. The outbreak, which started spreading in late January, has resulted in multiple hospitalizations, with at least nine confirmed cases and three probable cases as of early February. Health officials caution that at least one in five infected individuals will have to be hospitalized, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Misinformation surrounding vaccines and with the new Trump administration anti-vaccine campaigs, has causing parents to hesitate or refuse vaccination.

Furthermore, the country down under Australia is also witnessing a surge in measles cases as health officials in Sydney have issued an urgent alert, urging residents to watch for measles symptoms after an infected individual visited several places in Sydney over the last seven days.

Authorities report that the traveller had returned from South East Asia where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles.

What Are The Symptoms Measles?

Key symptoms of measles include fever, a runny nose, sore eyes, and a cough. Typically, a red, blotchy rash appears three to four days later, spreading from the head down to the body. Symptoms can manifest between 7 and 18 days after exposure.

Anyone who experiences these symptoms after potential exposure should immediately contact their doctor or emergency department. It is crucial to call ahead before visiting to avoid potentially exposing others in the waiting room. Dr. Selvey also highlighted that ongoing measles outbreaks are occurring in various parts of the world, making awareness and prompt action essential.

Why It Is Important To Get Vaccinated?

According to CDC everyone should get the MMR vaccine. It protects you from measles, mumps, and rubella. Getting vaccinated helps stop these diseases from spreading. There are two safe MMR vaccines available. They work the same way, so it doesn't matter which one you get. Kids can also get a shot that protects against chickenpox too, but this is only for children.

Who Should Get Vaccinated?

Kids Need Two Shots

All children should get two MMR shots. The first shot should be given when they are between 12 and 15 months old. The second shot should be given when they are between 4 and 6 years old. If needed, the second shot can be given earlier, but it must be at least 28 days after the first shot.

College Students Need to Be Protected

Students going to college or other schools after high school, need two shots if they are not already immune. The shots must be at least 28 days apart.

Adults Need at Least One Shot

Most adults need at least one MMR shot. Some adults need two shots, especially those who work in healthcare, travel a lot, or go to college. These people should get two shots, with 28 days between them.

Travelers Need to Be Extra Careful

Anyone traveling to other countries should make sure they are protected. Babies 6 to 11 months old should get one shot before traveling. Kids 12 months and older, teens, and adults need two shots, with 28 days between them.

Healthcare Workers Must Be Immune

People who work in healthcare should have proof that they are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella. If they are not immune, they need two MMR shots, spaced 28 days apart.

Women Thinking About Having Babies

Women who might get pregnant should talk to their doctor about the MMR vaccine. It's safe to get the shot while breastfeeding.

A powerful veterinary drug has been lately spotted in Scotland's illegal drug supply, raising concern among health officials and addiction specialists about severe sedation, overdose-related deaths and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

Medically known as medetomidine, the drug is used by veterinarians to sedate animals. It is strictly not approved for use in humans.

According to Public Health Scotland, the drug has been located in Scotland's unlawful drug supply and is most likely being mixed into drugs and peddled as heroin and benzodiazepines.

According to recent reports, medetomidine was detected in one in five heroin samples tested between March and June 2026, highlighting it has seeped deeply into various parts of the drug supply. It has been detected in several areas, including Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Dundee, Fife and the Highlands.

Also read: Alzheimer's Day: Why Can A Patient Remember An Event From Decades Ago But Forget What Happened This Morning?

What Is Medetomidine?

Medetomidine is a sedative that affects the alpha-2 receptors in the nervous system, producing profound sedation and slowing down several bodily functions, rendering the user in a ‘zombie-like’ state.

The UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has previously warned that medetomidine can cause severe sedation, reduced heart rate and other negative cardiovascular effects. In severe toxicity, people may require intensive care and mechanical ventilation.

Unlike an opioid overdose, naloxone does not reverse medetomidine's sedative effects. This is particularly concerning as the drug was found mixed with opioids like heroin.

Also read: US Teen's Death Sparks Warning Over Synthetic Drug Deadlier Than Fentanyl

Why Is It Being Called A ‘Zombie’ Drug?

The drug is being called a ‘zombie drug’ due to the effects it leaves due to excessive sedation and changed behaviour. After ingesting it, people may become extremely drowsy or unresponsive, while others may experience confusion, hallucinations or agitation. It may also slow their movements and reflexes down.

The bigger concern is the aftereffects of exposure. A recent study of 16 people with confirmed medetomidine exposure found that patients reported severe and unpredictable withdrawal symptoms, sometimes requiring hospital treatment.

Symptoms reported in the study included nausea, vomiting, shaking, rapid heartbeat, and dangerous high blood pressure.

Researchers also found that standard medications used to treat opioid withdrawal did not always adequately control the symptoms linked with medetomidine.

Also read: Donald Trump Wants Childhood Vaccines Split Into 5 Shots To Prevent Autism: But Is There Evidence?

More About The Drug

Public Health Scotland says that the drug has been detected in brown powders sold as heroin and white tablets sold as diazepam. As people may believe they are taking another drug, they may have no idea that a potent veterinary sedative is also entering their body. This could make tracking the drug supply difficult to predict.

Medetomidine belongs to the same broad class as xylazine, another veterinary sedative that has been increasingly detected in illegal drugs.

Xylazine has become notorious in the US for severe skin wounds linked with repeated exposure. Scientists do not yet know whether medetomidine results in the same effect in humans.

Doctors in Texas are seeing otherwise healthy young and middle-aged workers getting diagnosed with severe kidney disease and, in some cases, reaching kidney failure without the diabetes, high blood pressure or any other long-standing condition that commonly damage the kidneys.

The condition doctors suspect is chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology, or CKDu, a form of kidney disease that has been documented for decades among agricultural and manual workers in hot regions of Central America, Sri Lanka and India. Recent reports suggest similar cases may be going unrecognised in the US, particularly among vulnerable migrant workers.

What Is CKDu?

CKDu is a condition in which a person's kidney function progressively declines without the usual causes of chronic kidney disease.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are among the biggest causes of kidney disease globally. But CKDu presents differently as it been reported predominantly in relatively young workers who may have neither condition.

The disease can damage the kidney's filtering and tubular structures and gradually reduce its ability to remove waste and regulate fluids and electrolytes.

Currently, there are no specific tests or treatment options to tackle CKDu. Doctors generally investigate and rule out other causes of kidney damage while considering a person's occupation and environmental exposures.

Also read: Dialysis Demystified: When Is It Necessary, How Does It Work And Can It Be Avoided?

Young Workers Are At Risk

Geographical location is one of the strongest clues that helps doctors confirm CKDu diagnosis. In Central America, the disease has been particularly associated with people doing strenuous agricultural work in hot and humid conditions.

Similar concerns have emerged among outdoor workers in Texas, including people working in construction, roofing and other physically demanding jobs.

Repeated heat stress and dehydration are among the leading suspected contributors. When someone repeatedly loses large amounts of fluid through sweating and does not adequately replace it, the kidneys can come under considerable stress.

Researchers are also investigating whether pesticides, contaminated water, heavy metals, infections and frequent use of painkillers like NSAIDs could contribute. However, the definite cause of CKDu still remains unknown.

Also read: Cefepime: Antibiotic Used For Pneumonia, UTI Linked To Higher Death Risk In Adults

CKDu Remains Silent Until Significant Kidney Damage Has Occured

CKDu can be particularly dangerous because people may have few obvious symptoms during the early stages. Many affected workers discover the problem through blood or urine tests rather than because they feel seriously ill.

By the time symptoms like severe fatigue, weakness, nausea, sleep problems or breathlessness develop, kidney function may already be substantially reduced.

A US study based on patients receiving emergency dialysis at a Texas county hospital found that 17% had clinically diagnosed, suspected or possible CKDu-related kidney failure.

Climate Change Could Be Another Contributing Factor

Researchers are increasingly looking into the connection between extreme heat and kidney health. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says CKDu has emerged mainly among agricultural workers in hot, humid regions and notes that rising global temperatures could increase exposure to severe occupational heat stress.

But scientists are still trying to determine exactly how heat, dehydration and other workplace exposures interact to result in last-stage kidney failure. That uncertainty is one reason why CKDu remains such a difficult disease to study.

A 2026 International Society of Nephrology report noted that proposed causes such as heat stress may contribute to kidney injury without necessarily explaining exactly how the disease begins.

US President Donald Trump wants his administration to gain greater control over how billions of dollars in biomedical research funding are distributed. He recently proposed new board that could have the power to veto individual grants of National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The proposal, drafted by Budget Director Russell Vought, emerged after a White House meeting was held on September 18, according to the latest reports. The proposed board would include Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, whose unanimous agreement will reportedly be required for grants.

The plan is just a proposal and has not yet been formally issued, and details of its structure and authority could change.

Current Process Of Distributing NIH Grants

The NIH financially back research into cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases, neurological disorders and many other serious conditions. Its current grant process relies heavily on scientific peer review, in which experts evaluate applications for scientific merit before funding decisions are made.

NIH says its peer-review system is intended to provide “fair, independent, expert, and timely scientific reviews” and to prevent funding decisions being coloured from inappropriate influence.

At the second stage, advisory councils made up of scientists and public representatives review applications and provide recommendations.

The institute or centre director currently makes the final funding decision, taking those recommendations and other factors into account. The proposed system could introduce another layer of political oversight above that process that could significantly influence how funds are allocated to research.

Also read: Donald Trump Wants Childhood Vaccines Split Into 5 Shots To Prevent Autism: But Is There Evidence?

Trump Administration Opposes Funding For 'Woke' Research

The administration has argued that federal research funding should better reflect its policy priorities and that some previous grants supported research it considers misaligned with those priorities.

At the White House meeting, Vought reportedly criticised the NIH for funding what he described as “woke” initiatives that conflicted with Trump's goals.

The administration has also argued that changes to research funding are needed to improve oversight and ensure taxpayer money supports what it considers scientifically sound and nationally relevant research.

Also read: Trump Nominates Dr Nicole Saphier As Third Surgeon General Pick

What Could The Proposed Board Change?

According to the reports, the board could review NIH grant awards and block funding that does not align with the administration's priorities. That would represent a significant change from a system in which scientific review is central to determining which research proposals are eligible for funding.

The NIH has already undergone changes to its grant process under the Trump administration. Separately, the White House has proposed more rules that would give political authorities greater power over federal grants across government agencies and sideline scientific peer review advisory.

NIH's Stance

The NIH has not confirmed the details of the proposed board. In a statement reported by The New York Times, NIH spokesperson Joshua Pradko said, “N.I.H. remains committed to its mission of funding biomedical research to benefit the health of the American people.”

Responding to reports that Vought wanted to rescind NIH funding, Pradko also said, “There will be no rescissions to N.I.H. grant monies. All N.I.H. grant monies will be spent.”

The NIH is currently dealing with a record number of applications. More than 40,000 grant applications have been received for the January 2027 council round, according to an NIH update issued September 18.