Measles News and Research

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Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. It remains a leading cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. An estimated 197 000 people died from measles in 2007, mostly children under the age of five.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. The measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs. It is a human disease not known to occur in animals.

World Health Day 2026: WHO urges global collaboration and science for better health

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on people everywhere to renew their commitment to working together and supporting science as the twin engines driving better health, under the World Health Day 2026 theme: "Together for health. Stand with science."

6 Apr 2026

US scientists sequence 1,000 genomes from measles, a disease long eliminated with vaccines

This week, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention posted online its first large tranche of advanced genetic data from measles viruses spreading last year.

2 Apr 2026

Natural peptide in sweat may help block flu infection before symptoms start

Researchers led by the Fisabio Foundation found that dermcidin, a natural antimicrobial peptide present in sweat and respiratory tissues, can block influenza infection by binding to a highly conserved region of the viral hemagglutinin protein and preventing cell entry. The study also found that people who did not develop flu-like symptoms had markedly higher baseline dermcidin levels, suggesting the molecule may help reduce susceptibility to infection and could support the development of broader-spectrum antivirals.

30 Mar 2026

CDC’s acting chief promises a return to stability in a tumultuous moment

President Donald Trump will soon nominate a permanent director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its acting chief, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, told agency employees at a Wednesday staff meeting.

25 Mar 2026

Nepal and Afghanistan show how abrupt aid cuts can unravel essential care

Abrupt cuts to external health aid can destabilize multiple essential services simultaneously in fragile, donor-dependent settings, as illustrated by Nepal and Afghanistan. The paper argues that donor withdrawal is not just a resilience test, but also an ethical and governance issue that should be managed through “transition discipline.”

24 Mar 2026

Survey: Public awareness of alcohol-related cancer risk remains unchanged

Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and elevated cancer risk remains unchanged since February 2025, with over half of Americans saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, according to a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

19 Mar 2026

Children develop stronger immunity after repeated infections in nursery

Young children who attend nursery get sick more often than those who don't, but they will go on to have fewer illnesses during early school years, finds a new review of evidence by a group of parent-scientists involving University College London (UCL) researchers.

18 Mar 2026

Birth control skepticism, teen fertility education center stage at Trump’s women’s health summit

Surrounded by hot pink lights and cherry blossom pink drapes on a ballroom stage, family doctor Marguerite Duane offered a seemingly simple solution to infertility: Doctors should have conversations with young girls about whether they want to have children one day.

16 Mar 2026

Doctors warn of a deadly complication from measles outbreaks

The first sign came when Deepanwita Dasgupta was 5 and started stumbling more while playing at her home in Bangalore in southern India.

13 Mar 2026

Republicans fret over RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine policies while MAHA moms stew

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is fielding pressure from the White House to relax his controversial approach to vaccine policies as the midterms near, but his most steadfast supporters are pressing for more aggressive action — like restricting covid-19 vaccines and pesticide use — to carry out the Make America Healthy Again agenda.

12 Mar 2026

Newsom picks a dogfight with Trump and RFK Jr. on public health

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national public health leader by staking out science-backed policies in contrast with the Trump administration.

9 Mar 2026

This doctor-senator who backed RFK Jr. now faces a fight for his job — and his legacy

The ambitious liver doctor would go just about anywhere in his home state to give people the hepatitis B vaccine.

6 Mar 2026

Why measles remains one of the most contagious viral diseases worldwide

This review synthesizes current evidence on measles virus biology, immune responses, complications, treatments, and prevention strategies. It highlights how measles can suppress immune memory, increasing susceptibility to other infections, and underscores vaccination as the most effective control measure.

4 Mar 2026

New structural insights pave way for hantavirus vaccines

Hantaviruses, transmitted from rodents to people, have a death rate approaching 40%. They're found around the world, and because there are no approved vaccines or treatments, they're among the pathogens of highest concern for future pandemics.

27 Feb 2026

Democrats decry meager medical care for detainees in funding fight

Fernando Viera Reyes needed a biopsy for possible prostate cancer when the Trump administration sent him to an immigration detention center in California's Mojave Desert.

25 Feb 2026

US measles and pertussis outbreaks expose policy failures, not just vaccine hesitancy

A recent commentary argues that US measles and pertussis outbreaks are not simply the result of vaccine hesitancy but reflect weakened immunization policies, permissive exemptions, and underfunded public health systems. The authors contend that policy environments determine whether pockets of low coverage escalate into large-scale, preventable outbreaks.

24 Feb 2026

Hospitals fighting measles confront a challenge: Few doctors have seen it before

At around 2 a.m., 7-year-old twin brothers arrived at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye, and cold symptoms.

24 Feb 2026

RFK Jr. made promises in order to become health secretary. He’s broken many of them.

One year after taking charge of the nation’s health department, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hasn’t held true to many of the promises he made while appealing to U.S. senators concerned about the longtime anti-vaccine activist’s plans for the nation’s care.

13 Feb 2026

Safety perceptions of major vaccines show significant drop over the past three years

In a winter marked by flu outbreaks, the persistence of Covid-19, and surges of measles cases across the United States, an Annenberg survey finds that a sizable majority of Americans think the three vaccines that combat these potentially deadly illnesses are safe to take, although perceptions of the safety of all three vaccines showed a statistically significant drop over the past three years.

10 Feb 2026

Public health workers are quitting over assignments to Guantánamo

Rebekah Stewart, a nurse at the U.S. Public Health Service, got a call last April that brought her to tears. She had been selected for deployment to the Trump administration's new immigration detention operation at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

9 Feb 2026