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Eight more measles cases have been reported, putting the nation's total at 121 so far this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest weekly update. The number of affected jurisdictions remained the same, at 18. ... Of the cases this year, 47% occurred in children younger than 5 years old. Young children also had the highest level of hospitalizations (65%). And. of people infected, 82% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. (Schnirring, 4/15)

The Cincinnati Health Department has been notified that an out-of-town visitor to Cincinnati has tested positive for measles. According to CHD, the visitor flew from Illinois to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and took a Lyft to the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. (Dietz, 4/15)

Public health officials on Monday confirmed the second case of measles in the Cook County suburbs this year. Officials said there was no known link between this case and the recent outbreak of measles at a migrant shelter in Chicago. The Cook County Department of Public Health said the latest case involved an adult who was not vaccinated, and had spent time at the Super Mercado Torres grocery store at 5310 W. 25th St. in Cicero between April 6 and April 10 while infected. (Feurer, 4/15)

Four years after the start of the COVID pandemic, the age and race of its victims in California have dramatically shifted: Now, a Bay Area News Group analysis finds, those who are dying from the virus are much older, and more often White than Latino, a notable switch. While COVID deaths in California have plunged across all race and age groups, a comparison of deaths from the first six months of the pandemic to the most recent six months of data compiled by the California Department of Public Health shows 70% of those dying nowadays are 75 or older. (Blair Rowan, 4/15)

Severe outcomes from COVID-19 infections are much less common in children than in older adults, and new research suggests that important differences in how the nasal cells of young and elderly people respond to the SARS-CoV-2 virus could explain why children typically experience milder COVID-19 symptoms. The cell-culture study is published in Nature Microbiology and is based on nasal epithelial cells (NECs) collected from healthy participants, including children (0 to 11 years), younger adults (30 to 50 years), and the elderly (over 70 years). (Soucheray, 4/15)

Makers of melatonin supplements have 18 to 24 months to voluntarily add child-deterrent packaging and improve cautionary language on labels of over-the-counter products, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry. (LaMotte, 4/15)

An investigation of five fur farms in China housing foxes, raccoon dogs and mink found a high risk of diseases developing that could jump from animals to humans, said animal protection group Humane Society International who conducted the study at the end of 2023. The farms in China's northern Hebei and Liaoning provinces each held between 2,000 and 4,000 animals in intensive conditions, including in close proximity to poultry, HSI said. (4/15)