Low-dose CT chest scans could help detect pneumonia in at-risk patients while exposing them to only small amounts of radiation, a new study has found. The research, published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, shows that ultra-low-dose scans can effectively detect pneumonia in patients with compromised immune systems, enabling doctors to treat the infection before it becomes life-threatening. According to the researchers, these scans expose patients to just 2% of the radiation dose used in a standard CT scan.

"This study paves the way for safer, AI-driven imaging that reduces radiation exposure while preserving diagnostic accuracy,” lead researcher Dr Maximiliano Klug, a radiologist with the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, said in a news release. He added that CT scans are the gold standard for detecting pneumonia but there are concerns regarding the risk posed by repeated exposure to radiation. There is a solution- ultra-low-dose CT scan. However, the problem is that these scans can be grainy and hard to read, researchers said.

Study Gives Solution To This

To overcome that, Klug's team developed an AI program that could help "de-noise" low-dose scans, making them sharper and easier to read. Between September 2020 and December 2022, 54 patients with compromised immune systems who had fevers underwent a pair of chest CT scans -- a normal dose scan and an ultra-low-dose scan. The AI program cleaned up the low-dose scan, and then both sets of images were given to a pair of radiologists for assessment. Radiologists had 100% accuracy in detecting pneumonia and other lung problems with the AI-cleaned low-dose scans, but 91% to 98% accuracy in examining the scans that hadn’t been improved through AI, results show.

"This pilot study identified infection with a fraction of the radiation dose," Klug said. "This approach could drive larger studies and ultimately reshape clinical guidelines, making denoised ultra-low dose CT the new standard for young immunocompromised patients.

How Can You Detect Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes the air sacs in the lungs to fill with fluid or pus and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. The symptoms can range from milk to severe, which includes:

Coughing with or without cough

Fever

Chills

Trouble breathing

Chest pain, especially when breathing deeply or coughing

Sweating or chills

Rapid heart rate

Loss of appetite

Bluish skin, lips, and nails

Confusion.

How to detect Pneumonia in coughing newborns and toddlers?

Pneumonia can severely affect newborns and young children as their lungs are comparatively more sensitive. As per Dr Goyal, young children can cough for various reasons including seasonal infections and tonsillitis, which is very common in this age group. But if they look visibly irritable and have poor sleep patterns, then parents must reach out to an expert. "I am not saying that parents must visit a hospital but any local paediatrician would be able to detect pneumonia in your kid.

Amid an ongoing Salmonella outbreak that has infected hundreds of people, vulnerable groups in the UK are being advised to avoid undercooked or runny eggs.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued the precautionary advice after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared a national outbreak. The outbreak has infected 207 people across the UK, with one death and 34 hospitalisations.

Officials suspect imported eggs or food products containing imported eggs may be behind the outbreak.

However, the FSA said well-cooked eggs served in restaurants, cafes and takeaways are safe to eat.

Who Is at Risk?

The FSA advised vulnerable groups, including:

• Children under five
• Adults over 65
• Pregnant women
• People with certain health conditions or weakened immune systems

Ian Young, chief scientific adviser at the FSA, said vulnerable people eating out should ensure that eggs and egg products are thoroughly cooked.

Which Foods Should Be Avoided?

The FSA advised vulnerable people to avoid runny eggs and freshly made foods that may contain uncooked eggs, including:

• Mayonnaise
• Soufflés
• Hollandaise sauce

Are Supermarket Eggs Safe?

Young reiterated that people can continue to buy British eggs from supermarkets. Chickens bred in the UK are vaccinated against common strains of Salmonella.

“There is no link to those eggs to this current outbreak,” he said.

He described the outbreak as “unusually large and rapidly increasing” and urged people to take precautions.

The UKHSA has launched an investigation to identify the source of the outbreak. Initial findings suggest it may be linked to eggs imported from outside the UK, although the source has not yet been definitively established.

Dr Kathleen O'Reilly, associate professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the investigation involves identifying additional cases and examining possible common sources of infection.

Where Have Cases Been Reported?

Cases have been reported across the UK:

• England: 199 cases
• Scotland: 6 cases
• Wales: 1 case
• Northern Ireland: 1 case

In England, London has reported the highest number of cases, with 47, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber with 38.

What Is Salmonella?

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that commonly causes diarrhoea and gastrointestinal illness.

Common symptoms include:

• Diarrhoea
• Stomach cramps
• Vomiting
• Fever

How Does Salmonella Spread?

The UKHSA stated that Salmonella Enteritidis is the most common Salmonella serovar in England and a leading cause of salmonellosis.

Like other non-typhoidal Salmonella infections, it can spread through contaminated food, including:

• Eggs
• Poultry
• Meat
• Unpasteurised dairy products
• Fresh produce

The bacteria can also spread through contact with contaminated environments or from person to person.

How to Reduce the Risk of Salmonella

Dr O'Reilly advised people to fully cook eggs before eating them and maintain good food hygiene.

Key precautions include:

• Cook eggs thoroughly, including omelettes, rather than leaving them runny.
• Wash your hands with soap after handling food and during food preparation.
• Clean chopping boards and utensils after preparing food.
• Check food hygiene ratings when choosing catering outlets.

People who develop diarrhoea or stomach cramps should rest and drink plenty of fluids. Young children, older adults and other vulnerable people who become ill should seek medical advice.

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.