MRI scans are strong diagnostics with high-definition images of what lies inside a body. Strong magnetic fields require precaution, as brought out by an instance where a young woman suffered very serious injuries due to an oversight in a metallic core within a silicone sex toy that she happened to have before the MRI scan. This makes a stark reminder about the potentially deadly consequences of missing metal objects when such procedures are being performed. In April 2023, a 23-year-old woman went into an MRI with a silicone plug containing a metal core that was not known.

She thought that the item is made entirely out of silicone according to the advertising. However, the strong magnetic field of the MRI machine interacted with the hidden metal, dragging the object through her body and causing excruciating pain. According to reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the scene was harrowing, with the woman screaming in agony and requiring immediate hospitalization. Despite pre-scan screenings, which are routine prior to a scan, the patient did not inform the facility that the object existed because he presumed it was purely non-metallic. This caused serious injuries that led to the patient's law suit against the manufacturer for deceitful misrepresentations of material content.

MRI machines employ magnets between 0.5 to 3 Tesla (T). This is thousands of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. The tremendous force causes ferromagnetic materials, like iron and nickel, to be magnetized quickly and become strongly attracted toward the magnet. Objects as small as hairpins or paper clips will accelerate at 40 miles per hour inside the magnetic field.

The force can lead to catastrophic injuries in items lodged within the body, such as metallic implants or foreign objects. Metallic cores within devices, like pacemakers or intrauterine devices, must be disclosed to radiologists to prevent such complications.

How Metal Objects Interact with MRI Fields?

On these claims, Dr. Adam Taylor, a specialist in human anatomy, weighed his words in a international health website and added that the distance away and mass of this object would increase its velocity towards that of sound, "The acceleration would be phenomenal, but with a metallic core, it can't go anywhere near supersonic speeds. As for the size, the magnetic acceleration to the internal soft tissues would ensure that there could be severe intracranial trauma."

The injuries inflicted in this case likely involved damage to major blood vessels, nerves, or organs, highlighting the devastating impact of even minor oversight during an MRI scan.

This is not an isolated case. There are documented cases of metallic objects causing serious damage during MRI scans with a 65-year-old man with schizophrenia swallowed metal objects, including sockets and a hinge pin. The powerful magnetic field during an MRI scan caused the objects to rupture his stomach, resulting in serious injuries.

A toddler who ingested 11 small magnets perforated his bowel while undergoing a scan, making his case unique. In another deadly but extremely rare incident, there have been people who hide a firearm on themselves during MRI procedures. Magnetic attraction can trigger a discharge in a weapon and has led to some fatal injuries.

These cases emphasize the very strong need for adequate screening and patient education prior to an MRI.

Preventing MRI-Related Incidents

Medical professionals have been trained to avoid risks. This is by properly screening a patient for metallic objects. In general, most pre-scan protocols include:

• Patients are interrogated about implants, recent surgery or exposures at work related to metals.
• Radiologists sometimes use handheld metal detectors to search for hidden items.
• People who work with metal, like welders or machinists, will need additional testing to detect microscopic metal fragments within soft tissues or eyes.

The case emphasizes the importance of product labeling by manufacturers, especially those products that are likely to unintentionally cause harm to health. The patient's assumption that her device was 100% silicone points to a larger problem in consumer markets with misinformation.

It also reminds the patients to report any possible dangers to the medical professionals, no matter how the objects look non-metallic. In sensitive cases, patients can request private discussions with healthcare providers to ensure safety without discomfort.

In the end, it is a joint effort from manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and patients that can prevent such tragedies. Manufacturers must ensure truthful marketing, while healthcare providers should educate patients about the dangers of metal objects in MRI settings. For patients, understanding the risks and actively participating in pre-scan disclosures can be lifesaving.

This young woman's experience is a sobering example of the unforeseen dangers posed by MRI machines when precautions are overlooked. It serves as a wake-up call to address gaps in patient awareness, medical protocols, and product transparency. By learning from this incident, the medical community and the public can work together to ensure MRI scans remain a safe and effective diagnostic tool.

Cancer is a dreaded diagnosis. Along with the physical and emotional toll, patients and their families face the financial burden of treatment, as cancer medicines can be extremely expensive. In a major relief for patients, India has approved a cap on the trade margins charged in the supply and sale of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines.

According to the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, these margins will be capped at 30% of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

“The measure is expected to reduce medicine prices by up to 70% and help cancer patients save Rs 2,500 crore annually, significantly reducing the amount they pay from their own pockets,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Essential cancer medicines included in the scheduled list are already subject to government-mandated ceiling prices. The new decision extends price protection to non-scheduled cancer medicines, which fall outside that list, by limiting the trade margins added as medicines move through the supply chain.

Rising Cancer Burden And Drug Costs

Also read: Indian Medical Industry Backs Maharashtra FDA Crackdown On Device Markups

Cancer treatment places a substantial financial burden on patients and their families, who often have to pay significant amounts out of pocket. In India, approximately 60 people per lakh population are affected by cancer.

According to a National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) analysis of market data, non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines carry an average price markup of approximately 170%, reaching 700% or more in some cases.

Prices can rise sharply as a medicine moves through the supply chain before reaching the patient. They also vary significantly depending on whether medicines are purchased from retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies or online pharmacies.

The new cap aims to curb excessive trade margins, address unfair pricing practices and help ensure fairer prices for patients, particularly those who require expensive cancer medicines.

Supreme Court Flags Steep Markups On Cancer Drugs

Read More: Antibiotic Costing ₹86 Carries MRP Of ₹4,528: Karnataka FDA Flags Massive Drug Price Gaps

State authorities, including those in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka, along with patients and civil society groups, have raised concerns about excessive medicine prices.

Recently, the Supreme Court also questioned the Centre over the steep prices of life-saving medicines, particularly cancer drugs.

The Court pointed to the absence of adequate price-control mechanisms and sought to know why certain medicines remain outside the scope of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO).

During the hearing, Justice Sandeep Mehta highlighted the significant markups on cancer medicines, citing an example in which a drug supplied to retailers for approximately Rs 3,000 was being sold at an MRP of Rs 27,000.

“27,000 MRP of a cancer drug, price to retailer is around 3000. Just see the drastic difference,” Justice Mehta stated.

The Bench also questioned the government over the absence of a uniform criterion of 16%.

The Court had previously flagged a similar instance involving a cancer medicine priced at Rs 2,700 but sold for Rs 27,000, raising concerns about the financial burden on patients who require life-saving treatment.

In February 2019, at the government's direction, the NPPA capped trade margins on 42 selected non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.

The decision reduced MRPs by up to 91%, with reported annual savings of ₹984 crore across 526 brands. It significantly eased the financial burden on cancer patients.

Which Cancer Drugs Will Be Covered?

The intervention will cover non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines across categories, including branded and generic, domestically produced and imported, and patented and non-patented drugs.

An expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will finalise the list of medicines to be covered. The NPPA will then take a decision and issue the notification.

The Ministry said manufacturers of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines will be required to maintain their current production levels to ensure that these life-saving drugs remain available.

Shigellosis, an intestinal infection caused by Shigella bacteria, is becoming harder to treat as drug-resistant strains spread in the US and UK.

Although the infection can spread through contaminated food and water, sexually transmitted Shigella has become an established part of transmission in some communities, particularly among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).

An estimated 450,000 people acquire shigellosis each year in the US. While the infection can affect anyone, some strains have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics, making treatment increasingly challenging.

Drug-Resistant Shigella Rising In The US

A CDC analysis published in April 2026 found that extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella isolates increased in the US between 2011 and 2023. Among 16,788 isolates analyzed, the proportion classified as XDR rose from 0% in 2011–2015 to 8.5% in 2023.

The CDC report found that 86.2% of XDR shigellosis patients with available sex data were men. However, sexual exposure information was not routinely collected, so the findings do not establish that these infections were sexually transmitted.

Molecular biologist Shangxin Yang said healthcare workers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), are now seeing roughly one case of extensively drug-resistant Shigella a month, compared with just one case throughout 2022.

"It's almost like an explosion of this pathogen in the community," Yang told CIDRAP News at the University of Minnesota.

The CDC has warned that XDR Shigella infections pose a treatment challenge because these strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics, and no FDA-approved oral antimicrobial treatment is available for them.

Sexually Transmitted Shigella Spreading Faster In The UK

A July study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found that sexually transmitted Shigella strains are spreading faster than non-sexually transmitted strains in the UK and developing resistance to key antibiotics.

Over an evolutionary period of about 2.5 years, sexually transmitted strains spread an average of 117 kilometers between related cases, compared with 46 kilometers for non-sexually transmitted strains.

“Many men who have sex with men are unaware of the serious and increasing risk posed by sexually transmitted Shigella,” said Professor Kate Baker, senior author of the study from the University of Cambridge's Department of Genetics.

Baker said sexually transmitted shigellosis should be treated as a distinct public health threat requiring different surveillance, prevention and treatment strategies.

Why Is Sexually Transmitted Shigella Becoming Drug-Resistant?

Cambridge researchers found that antibiotic-resistant sexually transmitted Shigella strains were spreading 71% faster than drug-susceptible strains. More than 70% of sexually transmitted strains were resistant to at least one clinically important antibiotic.

“This isn’t just one form of sexually transmissible diarrhea. This is multiple overlapping variants emerging that are all quickly becoming resistant to the drugs we use to treat them,” Baker said.

They believe the rise in resistance may partly be driven by antibiotics prescribed to treat or prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including gonorrhea.

“Our evidence suggests that the variants of Shigella transmitting in sexual networks were actually getting resistant against treatments for other STIs, like gonorrhoea, so people need to remember that when they’re taking antibiotics they’re treating their whole body,” Baker said.

Another possible factor is bystander resistance, in which antibiotic exposure affects bacteria other than the intended target and can favor the survival and spread of resistant bacteria.

How To Prevent Sexually Transmitted Shigella

Precautions to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted shigellosis include:

• Avoiding sexual activity during illness: Do not have sex while experiencing diarrhea or recovering from a recent diarrheal illness.
• Waiting before resuming sexual activity: Wait at least two weeks after fully recovering before having sex again.
• Telling your healthcare provider about possible exposure: Mention your sexual history if you seek care for diarrhea or related symptoms.
• Asking about testing: Seek advice on appropriate testing and sexual health screening if you may have been exposed.

People experiencing symptoms should seek medical advice. Because some Shigella strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics, treatment should be guided by a healthcare professional, who can determine the appropriate approach based on the infection and its resistance profile.

As the US measles outbreak nears 4,000 cases and five deaths amid concerns over vaccine hesitancy, the new CDC director Erica Schwartz says the MMR vaccine is “absolutely safe.”

The US has reported 3,887 confirmed measles cases in 2026, with 95% occurring among unvaccinated people or those with unknown vaccination status, according to CDC data as of October 1. The outbreak has also claimed five lives in Pennsylvania, all reportedly among unvaccinated people.

As of October 5, Pennsylvania has reported 1,004 measles cases, including 198 hospitalizations and five deaths. Lancaster County alone has recorded 391 cases. The outbreak is the worst recorded in the US since the major measles resurgence between 1989 and 1991.

This week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency after the state recorded 108 measles cases through October 3. Of these, 92 cases were reported since July 15 across 18 counties, particularly in under-immunized rural communities.

CDC Director Calls MMR Vaccine ‘Absolutely Safe’

“If there's one vaccine that parents should be talking to their health care providers about in terms of immunizing their children, the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine is absolutely safe, absolutely effective,” said Erica Schwartz, speaking at the WSJ’s Future of Health event.

“We want to make sure that we're constantly telling Americans that the MMR vaccine is safe.”

Measles is a highly infectious disease that can be prevented with vaccination. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are recommended for children, while some adults may also need additional doses depending on their vaccination history and risk.

Measles was considered eliminated in the US since 2000. However, the country could lose that status as cases continue to rise. The Pan American Health Organization is expected to decide in November whether the US has lost its elimination status.

The Trump administration and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have faced criticism over their anti-vaccine stance and policies amid the measles resurgence. More recently, President Donald Trump announced a proposal to separate the MMR vaccine into individual shots, which experts have warned could have consequences.

Meanwhile, Schwartz attributed the rise in measles infections across the US to declining herd immunity, saying, “the herd immunity within this country and other nations is lower than ever before.”

“And so because of that herd immunity, we really want it to be about 95%. I think we're hearing 87% in some communities, 98% in other communities. Because the herd immunity is lower, that's why we're seeing this resurgence of measles.”

Schwartz Says Vaccine Hesitancy Is A Global Issue

The recently appointed CDC director also noted that while the US is nearing 4,000 measles cases, there have been more than 45,000 cases of measles in Mexico and Guatemala. She attributed it to global rise in vaccine hesitancy.

“So it's not just a United States issue; it's an international issue. And I think the key critical issue is that there is vaccine hesitancy not just within the United States, but we're seeing that vaccine hesitancy throughout the world. Again, my premise is that all happened around COVID, where we were seeing folks who were just not trusting vaccines in general,” Schwartz said.

“We were finding that children were not getting vaccinated because they were not going to school during that time frame. So there's a number of reasons why we're seeing this increase in measles,” she said, adding that “people are conflating their concerns about all vaccines; all vaccines are bad.”

Schwartz also defended Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., and said he has always maintained that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective.

“I think what people get confused is that the secretary does represent the voices of a number of Americans who are asking the questions about certain vaccines. [...] And so there's this shared decision-making that the secretary is very focused on to say, why aren't we having conversations with parents, with people that may have some concerns about vaccines, rather than saying it's an all-or-nothing premise,” she said.