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.

Pennsylvania has recorded 903 measles cases, while the US national tally has climbed to 3,659.

Pennsylvania, which is among the worst-hit states in the ongoing outbreak, added 115 cases in the past week, according to the state Department of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also listed Pennsylvania among the states reporting the highest number of measles cases, followed by South Carolina and Utah.

Pennsylvania Reports 4 Measles Deaths

Pennsylvania has reported four deaths so far due to measles, although the CDC has acknowledged only two.

Two of the deaths were among unvaccinated adults — an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old. The other two deaths were among infants who were too young to have received the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

According to Pennsylvania’s health department, less than 1% of measles cases occurred in people who were fully vaccinated against the virus. A total of 176 people have been hospitalized, while about 31% of cases occurred in people under 18.

US Measles Cases Reach 3,659

Also read: Measles In US Expands Beyond Major Outbreak Areas As New Wisconsin Case Reported, Philadelphia Airport Exposed

This year has been one of the worst for measles in the US in more than 30 years, with the highest number of annual cases reported since 1992.

The US eliminated measles in 2000, but that status is set to be reevaluated at an upcoming November meeting with the Pan American Health Organization. Canada lost its measles elimination status last year.

As per the CDC, 3,659 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US through September 24. In comparison, a total of 2,289 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US during the full year of 2025.

About 95% of cases were among people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Around 9% of cases resulted in hospitalization, while 14% occurred among children under five.

Measles Cases By Age

• Under 5 years: 656 cases
• 5–19 years: 1,577 cases
• 20+ years: 1,407 cases

Measles Cases Rise In Other US States

Other states have also reported increases in measles cases.

Ohio added nine new cases this week and now has 189 cases for the year. Kentucky added 10 new cases and has 67 for the year, while Wisconsin added four new cases and has reported 171 cases so far this year.

WHO Warns Measles Is Making A Comeback

Read More: Bill Gates Says Vaccine Hesitancy Could Make Ending Measles Impossible

Commenting on the measles resurgence, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said the world risks “bringing back a disease we have long known how to prevent”.

Piukala lamented the loss of years of progress in measles vaccination and attributed the resurgence to vaccination challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with mounting anti-vaccine misinformation.

“Behind every outbreak is a gap: a missed child, delayed action, weakened trust or communities not reached through regular vaccination programs. In the Western Pacific – home to 2.2 billion people, more than a quarter of the world’s population – an immunity gap in one country quickly becomes a regional risk,” he said.

“This should concern all of us because measles is not only about one disease. It is one of the clearest signals of whether health systems are strong, consistent and serving everyone.”

The US Is Not Alone

Measles cases are also being reported in Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh, Guatemala, India and Yemen currently have some of the highest reported case counts.

India has reported 26,627 measles cases in the first half of 2026, making it the world’s second-highest tally. Recently, the country also reported two measles deaths in Kerala's Malappuram.

Bangladesh has reported 189,255 suspected measles cases nationwide since March. Confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in Bangladesh have reportedly reached 1,099 this year.

The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to allow federal prisons to restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender inmates. This has escalated a legal battle over what healthcare transgender inmates in federal custody are entitled to receive.

The Justice Department filed an emergency request on September 28, asking the court to lift a lower-court order that currently prevents the Bureau of Prisons from enforcing its restrictions.

The case concerns a policy introduced by the Bureau of Prisons in February 2026. Under the policy, federal prisons would stop providing surgeries and hormone therapy for transgender inmates and would also remove certain cosmetic accommodations like wigs and other clothing-related provisions. Mental health and psychiatric care would remain available.

Here's a wider look at its implications on prison healthcare for transgenders.

Why Is The Policy Being Challenged?

Also read: Why Is The Trump Administration Stopping Obamacare Health Plans For 760,000 Enrollees?

Three transgender inmates in federal prisons in New Jersey, Florida and Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the restrictions.

A federal judge, Royce Lamberth, ordered the government to continue providing gender-affirming medical care like hormone therapy to affected inmates. He found that the Bureau of Prisons was likely to have acted unlawfully.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to lift that order on September 18, leaving the restrictions blocked while the legal challenge continues.

The administration has now taken the dispute to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow the restrictions to be enforced while the wider case proceeds.

The administration argues that an executive order required the Bureau of Prisons to revise its medical care policies so that federal funds aren’t spent “for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex." It also argues that security and prison-management concerns support the policy.

The government is seeking permission to enforce the policy before the courts reach a final decision on whether the restrictions themselves are lawful. It says that the Bureau of Prisons had “determined that sex-trait-modification surgeries, hormone interventions in general, and social accommodations could no longer be justified as treatment for gender dysphoria.”

What Do The Inmates Say?

Also read: Trump Proposes A New Board That Could Have Veto Power Over 48 Billion NIH Budget & Prevent 'Woke' Research

Attorneys representing the transgender inmates argue that withholding medically necessary treatment because a person is transgender could violate their constitutional rights. They have also raised the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Their argument is that prison officials have a constitutional obligation to provide necessary medical care for serious health conditions and that gender dysphoria can require personalised treatment.

The legal dispute therefore involves two questions: whether the Bureau of Prisons can change its medical policy in this way, and whether denying gender-affirming treatment to transgender inmates can amount to unconstitutional refusal of medical care.

What Is Gender Dysphoria?

Gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis that identifies significant emotional distress that someone experiences when their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth do not match.

Treatment for gender dysphoria can vary from person to person. Depending on an individual's circumstances and clinical assessment, gender-affirming care may include mental health support, hormone therapy or surgery.

Having gender dysphoria does not automatically mean that every person diagnosed with it will receive every form of gender-affirming treatment.

How Does This Affect Healthcare For Transgender Inmates?

Inmates cannot simply choose another doctor if a certain kind of treatment is restricted. Medical treatments are largely controlled by the correctional authorities. The Bureau of Prisons previously allowed inmates with gender dysphoria to receive gender-affirming treatment when clinicians determined that it was medically appropriate. The new policy would make that approach invalid.

The Bureau said in 2025 that it was providing hormone therapy to more than 600 inmates, highlighting the number of people affected.

The case could ultimately affect other areas besides federal prisons, as it challenges medical necessity, prison healthcare and transgender rights directly before the nation's highest court.

A blood pressure medicine manufactured in India has been recalled in the US for the second time in three months after a few batches failed a test designed to ensure that the drug dissolves properly in the body.

The medicine is chlorthalidone 25 mg, a commonly used diuretic, or 'water pill', manufactured by Inventia Healthcare Limited in India. The latest recall involves more than 13,500 bottles, while the earlier recall included 11,460 bottles. Both recalls have been classified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Class II recalls.

India-Made BP Drug Recalled In The US For The Second Time

The US Food and Drug Administration recalled chlorthalidone due to “failed dissolution specifications.” It means that when the tablet is swallowed, its active ingredient needs to dissolve at the right rate so the body can absorb the medicine.

If a tablet does not dissolve properly in the body, less of the active ingredient may become available for absorption, making the medicine less effective that it should be.

For someone taking chlorthalidone to control high blood pressure, inadequate drug absorption could mean that blood pressure is not controlled as effectively as intended. The FDA has not reported contamination or a toxic ingredient as the reason for this particular recall.

Also read: Chlorthalidone Recall: FDA Flags Second India-Made Blood Pressure Drug

Why Was The Drug Recalled Again?

The first recall was made by Inventia Healthcare on June 5, 2026, involving 11,460 bottles. A second, separate recall was initiated on September 3, involving another 13,567 bottles. The FDA classified this second recall as Class II on September 17. Together, the two recalls affect more than 25,000 bottles of the medication.

The second recall has raised eyebrows as both issues were linked to the same type of manufacturing quality problem, which is failure to meet dissolution specifications.

The earlier recall involved batches RISA24001 and RISB24002. The latest recall involves 25 mg chlorthalidone tablets. Patients must check their medicine packaging for:

• Manufacturer: Inventia Healthcare Limited
• Strength: Chlorthalidone 25 mg
• Batch: RISA24002
• Expiry: April 2027
• NDC: 64980-599-01

Also read: Thyroid Medicine Recall Gets US FDA’s Highest Risk Rating: What To Know

More About Chlorthalidone & Class II Recall

Chlorthalidone is a diuretic used to treat high blood pressure. It works mainly by helping the kidneys remove excess sodium and water from the body. This reduces the amount of fluid circulating through the blood vessels and helps lower blood pressure.

Keeping blood pressure under control is essential as untreated hypertension increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.

A Class II recall does not mean the medicine will cause serious harm in everyone who takes it. The FDA defines Class II recalls in which the affected product could cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or where the probability of serious harm is remote.

In this case, the concern is primarily that the affected tablets may not work as intended because of inadequate dissolution.

What Should Patients Who Take This Medicine Do?

Patients should not stop the medication abruptly without speaking to a doctor or pharmacist. The FDA advises that people generally should not stop a recalled medicine without medical guidance, as suddenly stopping treatment for high blood pressure could be risky.

If you take chlorthalidone, check the batch number on your bottle and contact your pharmacist or healthcare provider if it matches one of the recalled ones.