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.

Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine has shown statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements. The late-stage trial showed recurrence-free survival (RFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) when combined with Keytruda in patients with melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer.

The vaccine, intismeran autogene (mRNA-4157/V940), is custom-made for each patient based on the unique genetic characteristics of their tumor. It is designed to work alongside Keytruda (pembrolizumab), an immunotherapy that helps the immune system attack cancer cells.

What Makes the Vaccine Different?

According to experts, the development moves personalized cancer therapy closer to a practical clinical reality.

“A tumor-specific mRNA vaccine offers a way of making the immune response more targeted by using the individual tumor’s molecular characteristics to identify the abnormal signals that the immune system should recognize,” Prof. Jyoti Bajpai, Director – Medical Precision Immuno-Oncology, Apollo Hospitals, Mumbai, told HealthandMe.

What Did the Phase 3 Trial Find?

In the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial, the combination met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and a key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS).

Compared with Keytruda alone, the combination of intismeran autogene and Keytruda showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both RFS and DMFS.

The findings were reported in patients with stage IIB, IIC, III, or IV cutaneous melanoma who had undergone complete surgical removal of their cancer and had not previously received systemic therapy.

The mRNA Vaccine: How It Works

After tumor sequencing, up to ~34 patient-specific neoantigens are encoded into a single mRNA construct delivered in lipid nanoparticles.

Host cells translate the neoantigens, which are then presented on MHC, driving de novo and expanded neoantigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses.

When combined with PD-1 blockade, the vaccine supplies the antigenic “signal” while the checkpoint inhibitor supplies the “permission” to attack.

“The result is a more focused, polyclonal, and potentially longer-lived anti-tumor immune response—exactly what is needed to clear residual microscopic disease after resection,” Dr. Shyam Aggarwal, Chairman, Medical Oncology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told HealthandMe.

Early translational data from KEYNOTE-942 already showed durable neoantigen-specific T-cell responses, supporting the idea that the vaccine can generate immune memory that outlasts the treatment period.

“Immunotherapy releases the body’s natural brakes to attack cancer, whereas the custom vaccine acts like a precision GPS—training the immune system to recognize the unique genetic signature of that patient's specific tumour. Immunotherapy mobilizes the immune response, but the vaccine tells it exactly where to go,” Prof. Jyoti said.

What Could It Mean for Cancer Treatment?

“The practical implication is a shift in the adjuvant paradigm: rather than relying solely on broad immune checkpoint inhibition or chemotherapy, we can now envision adding a tumor-specific ‘instruction set’ that educates the patient’s own T-cell repertoire against the unique mutational fingerprint of their cancer,” the noted oncologist said.

He added that the manufacturing turnaround, currently ~6 weeks from biopsy to first dose, remains a logistical and cost challenge. However, the COVID-era mRNA infrastructure has shown that rapid, decentralized production of custom constructs is feasible.

mRNA’s Potential For India

India’s cancer burden has continued to rise steadily over the past five years, with the estimated number of new cancer cases increasing from 14.26 lakh in 2021 to 15.70 lakh in 2025, while annual cancer-related deaths also climbed from 7.89 lakh to an estimated 8.69 lakh during the same period, according to data placed before Parliament recently.

For India, this technology has intriguing potential, Dr Jyoti said.

While typical skin melanoma is less common here, India sees higher rates of acral and mucosal subtypes, which tend to be aggressive and diagnosed late.

“A tailored neoantigen approach could be very useful for these complex cases. However, manufacturing costs, long turnaround times for genomic sequencing, and cold-chain logistics mean translating this into routine clinical care in India may take time,” she added.

Almost all states in the US are reporting a growing summer wave of COVID-19 cases, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While the numbers aren’t especially high and there aren’t many hospitalizations or deaths, the test positivity rate for the week ending August 8 rose above 3% for the first time since March, with numbers climbing in every state. Emergency department visits related to COVID-19 are also “very low.”

Wastewater Data Offers Closer Look At COVID Activity

According to the CDC, wastewater data can be a key tool for tracking where the virus may be circulating. Testing sewage can detect the presence of COVID-19 in a community and “can pick up signs of infection even from people who feel perfectly healthy,” the CDC said.

COVID-19 Activity By State

• Hawaii and Mississippi show signs of elevated viral activity.
• Both states have “moderate” levels of COVID-19.
• Wastewater data for Mississippi is limited.
• The West and South are seeing higher COVID-19 activity than other regions.
• Low wastewater levels: Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
• Very low levels: The remaining states.
• In Alabama, COVID-19 is not reflected in hospitalizations or mortality data yet, but cases are registering an “uptick” rather than a surge.

“It is going up. We don’t know how to describe these numbers that we’re seeing in terms of what the denominator is anymore,” Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, told the media.

“Now we just know when we get a positive test, and we don’t even have clinical data sometimes to put that in context.”

‘August Is Solidly Covid Season’

“August is solidly Covid season,” Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an expert in outbreak science and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security, told CNN.

“Right now, the South and the West are sort of the leading edge of this Covid season. In the past, it almost always starts in Florida, Texas and Georgia, which is exactly what we’re seeing this year.”

Who Is At Higher Risk?

COVID-19 can still be serious and even deadly, especially for people who remain vulnerable to severe disease. These include:

• Elderly individuals
• Pregnant women
• People with chronic heart disease
• Patients with COPD or interstitial lung disease (ILD)
• Those with chronic kidney or liver disease
• Immunocompromised individuals

How To Prevent COVID-19?

To reduce the risk of infection, people should:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Wear masks in crowded indoor settings.
• Maintain hand hygiene.
• Ensure good ventilation.
• Avoid close contact with others when unwell.

Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough or breathlessness should get tested and seek timely medical advice.

If you didn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine last year, you may want to talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist about getting one, including the vaccine formulated for last season, Dr. James McDonald, commissioner of health for the New York State Department of Health, told CNN.

In a world first, a 15-foot reticulated python named Jodie Foster has successfully undergone electrochemotherapy, a pioneering cancer treatment usually used in humans.

The reticulated python is a species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world’s longest snake and the third heaviest.

The 50kg python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, underwent the treatment after being diagnosed with fibrosarcoma, a malignant tumor, in her jaw. The tumor was initially removed through surgery but later returned and began invading her jawbone.

“Months later, 50kg Jodie Foster is cancer-free and back to her usual ‘bright and feisty’ self,” Chester Zoo in the UK said in a statement.

What Happened To Jodie Foster?

Keepers became concerned when Jodie started eating less and became more inactive. Tests confirmed a fibrosarcoma in her jaw. Vets initially removed the tumor through surgery.

Tests confirmed she had a fibrosarcoma, a malignant tumor, in her jaw. Although vets initially removed the tumor, it later returned and started destroying part of her jawbone. Doctors feared further surgery alone would not be enough and that the tumor could eventually make it difficult for her to eat.

“We were facing the possibility of losing her as the tumor made it more and more difficult for her to eat, so we worked with cancer specialists to see whether we could adapt electrochemotherapy for a snake," said Ian Ashpole, Veterinary Officer at Chester Zoo :

“As far as we're aware, this is the first time it's ever been used in one," Ashpole added.

Also read: Moderna and Merck’s Custom-Made mRNA Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise In Late-Stage Melanoma Trial

How Was The Human Cancer Treatment Adapted For A Snake?

With no operating table large enough for a python of Jodie's size, the veterinary team had to improvise.

For the operation that lasted 90 minutes, Jodie was first anaesthetized in her habitat before being taken to the veterinary center.

Two operating tables were placed together to create a surface roughly the size of a double bed. Heated blankets and warm air were also used to keep her body temperature stable.

Dr. Ashpole first removed the tumor and performed a hemi-mandibulectomy, removing part of the diseased jawbone. Electrochemotherapy was then used to target any remaining cancer cells.

What Is Electrochemotherapy? How Does It Work?

According to Cancer Research UK, electrochemotherapy combines chemotherapy with small electrical pulses.

It is used to treat some cancers that begin in the skin or have spread to the skin. However, its use in Jodie Foster marks a world first in veterinary medicine for a snake.

“Electrochemotherapy is an emerging treatment, and this was the first time it had been used in a snake,” said Jose Alvares Picornell, Department of Small Animal Clinical Science, University of Liverpool, who was part of the three-hour-long surgery.

The treatment combines the cancer drug bleomycin with carefully controlled electrical pulses delivered directly to the tumor site.

• The electrical pulses temporarily make cancer cells more permeable.
• This allows the drug to enter the cells more effectively.
• The approach can allow lower doses of chemotherapy to be used.
• It can sometimes be delivered in a single procedure.

Read More: Microplastics Found In Anchovies’ Edible Muscle: What It Means For Brain Health

Jodie Foster Back 'Bright And Feisty'

Despite losing part of her jawbone, Jodie's appetite and hunting ability have not been affected, the Zoo officials said, adding that she continues to strike, grip and swallow food without difficulty.

Months of observation have shown no problems with feeding, and a final check confirmed that she remains free of signs of the cancer returning. The officials added that Jodie is eating normally, exploring her habitat and behaving as usual.

“Seeing her back to her normal bright and feisty self has been incredibly rewarding. A few months ago, we genuinely didn't know whether she'd survive," Dr Ashpole added.