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There have now been 64 measles cases in the United States this year, surpassing the total of 58 cases in all of 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rise in cases should “alert us, rather than alarm us,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the C.D.C. (Blum, 3/22)

Lake County health officials confirmed the first case of measles in the county Saturday, as the number of cases in Chicago continues to climb after an outbreak mostly among unvaccinated migrants. (Guffey, 3/23)

Flu activity finally declined last week following a lengthy post-holiday bump, though levels are still elevated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest weekly FluView report. In its weekly respiratory virus snapshot, the CDC said indicators of COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also declined. (Schnirring, 3/22)

Has the pollen been worse this year? Doctors think so and are seeing more cases of allergy complaints this year then before. (Pedersen, 3/21)

Nestlé says it is recalling more than 440,000 Starbucks mugs that were recently sold, following reports of at least a dozen people suffering severe burns or cuts on their hands or fingers after using the product. The mugs were manufactured by Nestlé USA and sold as part of a 2023 holiday Starbucks-branded gift set sold online and at Target, Walmart and Nexcom, a military retail outlet, according to a recall notice posted on Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (Franklin, 3/21)

What happens when others assume people with Down syndrome can’t hit hard, aim high or drink a darn margarita? Well, it can become a reality. A new Down syndrome awareness ad cuts right to the philosophical heart of this often-misunderstood condition, reminding us that the way we treat people with Down syndrome can help smash false limits — or reinforce them. (Willingham, 3/22)

At a Narcan workshop at Bemidji State University presenter Margo Giese demonstrated how to administer the life-saving nasal spray, also known as naloxone, to an overdose victim. (Eagle III, 3/25)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Journalists Track Efforts To Curb The Opioid Crisis And Put Catholic Hospitals Under The Scope

�鶹Ů�� Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (3/23)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A Paramedic Was Skeptical About This Rx For Stopping Repeat Opioid Overdoses. Then He Saw It Help

Fire Capt. Jesse Blaire steered his SUV through the mobile home park until he spotted the little beige house with white trim and radioed to let dispatchers know he’d arrived. There, Shawnice Slaughter waited on the steps, wiping sleep from her eyes. ... Three days earlier, Blaire — a paramedic who leads the fire department’s emergency medical team — met Slaughter at a nearby hospital. She had overdosed on opioids. It took four vials of an overdose reversal medication and dozens of chest compressions to get her breathing again. (Peace, 3/25)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A Mom’s $97,000 Question: How Was Her Baby’s Air-Ambulance Ride Not Medically Necessary?

Sara England was putting together Ghostbusters costumes for Halloween when she noticed her baby wasn’t doing well. Her 3-month-old son, Amari Vaca, had undergone open-heart surgery two months before, so she called his cardiologist, who recommended getting him checked out. England assigned Amari’s grandparents to trick-or-treat duty with his three older siblings and headed to the local emergency room. (Castle Work, 3/25)