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.

Longevity expert and millionaire Bryan Johnson has revealed that he has been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis (AIG), a condition in which the immune system attacks the stomach lining.

In a post on X, Johnson, known for his radical experiments, including receiving blood transfusions from his teenage son, said he believes years of eating sugary cereals, drinking soda, consuming fast food and experiencing chronic stress contributed to the development of his autoimmune conditions.

Calling it a "bad news", the millionaire said: "I have an autoimmune disease. My stomach is eating itself". He added that "2–5% of people have this, too. Likely more, because it hides".

“As a kid, I ate sugar cereal, drank sugary soda, and gobbled down fast food. I had a few healthy years in my early 20s, but then became a young father of three and began building a business. Juggling that stress and grind, I let my health slip and gained 40 lbs,” he wrote.

He added that he later developed chronic depression and believes that during this period, his body began an autoimmune process affecting both his thyroid and stomach lining.

Also read: Donald Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating Critics for 'Derangement Syndrome'

Diagnosed With Hypothyroidism At 21

Johnson said he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the age of 21 during a routine blood test. He has since managed the condition with levothyroxine and Armour Thyroid.

“They are the hormones my body should be producing on its own, but wasn’t. By taking these pills daily, my body was able to operate as though my thyroid was functioning properly.”

He said his stomach had also begun attacking itself, but the condition went undetected because he had no symptoms. It was only discovered in May.

Johnson noted that autoimmune gastritis can cause irreversible damage, including nutritional deficiencies, anemia, and an increased long-term risk of stomach cancer.

Early Signs

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Johnson said he had persistently low ferritin levels for the past 11 years despite not having anemia.

“We continually tried to raise my iron levels with food and supplementation, but nothing would work.”

He said he followed a plant-based diet, trained intensely, used a sauna and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and took iron supplements, but his iron levels remained low.

A colonoscopy ruled out slow gastrointestinal bleeding, while an upper endoscopy with five stomach biopsies revealed early autoimmune gastritis. The biopsies showed early atrophy confined to the stomach's acid-producing lining, while

the rest of the stomach remained unaffected.

“So this was never one problem. It was three, linked to one another: the iron deficiency, the autoimmune gastritis driving it, and the autoimmune thyroid disease alongside it.”

Bryan Johnson's Treatment Plan

Johnson said he has undergone a large blood draw to sequence more than one million individual immune cells.

According to him, the goal is to identify the specific immune cell clones attacking his stomach lining. He compared immune cells to soldiers carrying unique "keys," explaining that the advanced sequencing technology can identify the rogue immune cells responsible for autoimmune gastritis.

Johnson said that once those immune cells are identified, the findings will help determine the most appropriate therapy to target and suppress the autoimmune attack.

What Is Autoimmune Gastritis?

Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) is a long-term autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the stomach's parietal cells, which produce stomach acid, as well as intrinsic factor, a protein essential for absorbing vitamin B12. Over time, this damages the stomach lining and reduces the body's ability to absorb iron and vitamin B12, increasing the risk of nutrient deficiencies.

In many people, symptoms are caused more by these nutritional deficiencies than by inflammation of the stomach itself.

Common symptoms include:

• Ongoing fatigue and weakness
• Low iron levels or iron-deficiency anemia
• Vitamin B12 deficiency, which may lead to numbness, tingling, balance problems or memory difficulties
• Pale skin and shortness of breath
• Reduced appetite, bloating, nausea or discomfort in the upper abdomen
• Mouth ulcers.

The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has risen to 1,427 cases, while the death toll has climbed to 440, according to the latest government data.

More than 609 patients are hospitalized in Congo, while many have also recovered. Uganda has so far reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. There has also been one case in France and another in a US citizen medically evacuated to Germany, both believed to have been imported from areas affected by the ongoing outbreak.

The Ebola virus disease, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has no approved vaccine or treatment.

"Even without approved therapeutics, people are recovering from this disease, but, of course, we could save many more lives with safe and effective therapeutics in our toolkit," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

He said this while announcing the launch of the clinical trial of two therapeutics, with the enrolment of the first patient.

"The PARTNERS trial will evaluate the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir, alone and in combination," he added.

Also read: Donald Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating Critics for 'Derangement Syndrome'

All About the Trial

The study is being coordinated by the DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research, supported by a coalition of partners including WHO, and conducted in close cooperation with the affected communities.

According to Tedros, patients who enroll in the trial will receive comprehensive supportive care and close follow-up.

"We are also working to ensure they have access to the two drugs should they prove safe and efficacious in the trial."

In addition, the WHO has granted emergency use listing to the first molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus.

Further, the antiviral drug remdesivir, marketed as Veklury is also expected to start. Remdesivir became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic and is being evaluated to determine whether it can improve outcomes when combined with the antibody treatment.

As per experts, it could take months, and possibly as many as 1,000 study participants, to determine whether either drug works.

Currently, the study is being offered only at one Ebola treatment center in Congo's Ituri province. The region has been heavily affected by violence, including attacks on healthcare workers responding to a virus spread through contact with infected patients' bodily fluids. Officials plan to expand the trial to other locations once it is safe to do so.

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Challenges Remain

Tedros said that despite the progress, significant challenges remain, including mistrust and violence.

This week, an Ebola treatment center in Ituri province was attacked, resulting in the deaths of two people. The center was set on fire, and patients fled.

Such acts not only endanger patients and health workers but also impede efforts to stop transmission and save lives.

He added that the complexity of the outbreak requires close coordination across the United Nations system.

What Is Ebola?

Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever first identified in 1976. Since then, more than 30 outbreaks have been recorded, primarily in Central and West Africa.

Common Symptoms of Ebola

• Fever
• Headache
• Weakness and fatigue
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Muscle pain
• Sore throat
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Amid increasing conversations about Donald Trump suffering from dementia, the US President posted an AI-generated video of himself as a doctor diagnosing celebrities with what he calls "Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)."

The clip features AI recreations of Hollywood actors and celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts and Rosie O'Donnell, all of whom have previously criticized Trump.

"Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with TDS?" the AI Trump asks at the start of the clip posted on Truth Social.

Calling the "symptoms relentless," the 80-year-old President said that "fortunately, I'm Doctor Trump, and I have a treatment plan," The Independent reported.

Trump's AI Patients Share Their Symptoms

The AI-generated Trump then invited viewers to hear from some of his "patients."

"I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, constantly angry…" the fake De Niro said. "I made everyone miserable around me."

"I feel like I've aged 20 years in the last two years," added the AI version of Roberts, claiming that she was starting to "worry about her future."

The fake O'Donnell claimed that she had been "suffering for over a decade," while the AI Goldberg said she believed she was a "lost cause."

Other stars spoofed in the 90-second clip include actors Edward Norton and John Leguizamo, both of whom have criticized the president.

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'Doctor Trump's Treatment Plan

At the end of the video, "Doctor Trump" revealed his "treatment" plan: "Turn off fake news."

He further instructed the AI patients to: "Say your prayers and, if you ever feel anxious, just have a Diet Coke like me and you're gonna see a remarkable difference in your life."

What Is Trump Derangement Syndrome?

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Trump has often labeled his detractors as having Trump Derangement Syndrome, even claiming in the Oval Office that he had heard it "actually is a disease."

The term is an adaptation of "Bush Derangement Syndrome," which was coined by columnist Charles Krauthammer in 2003.

Krauthammer described the term as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush."

Trump's Health Under Scrutiny

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Trump, who became the oldest US president in history after turning 80 this year, has faced growing public scrutiny over his health.

Recent public appearances have prompted speculation after observers noted swollen ankles, bruising on his hands, verbal slips and occasional episodes in which he appeared drowsy during meetings and international summits.

Some physicians have also publicly expressed concerns about the president's physical and cognitive health, although none have diagnosed him with dementia.

But Trump has repeatedly rejected allegations of cognitive decline or other serious health issues. His most recent annual physical examination also concluded him to be "in excellent health."

The White House also maintains that: "President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises."