Childhood vaccination rates in the U.S. have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines for common diseases are now less common among kindergartners. Even states with high coverage rates have seen declines.
This trend increases risks for individuals and the broader community. Falling rates could expose adults to illnesses considered childhood diseases. They could also bring back diseases like polio, once thought eradicated.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion illness in deer. It also affects elk, moose, and reindeer. The disease has no cure and spreads through saliva, feces, and blood. CWD has been found in 35 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) released a new report. It examines how genetic differences in CWD strains influence disease spread. Some experts worry CWD could jump to humans or livestock.
You are more likely to catch colds during winter than in summer. Cold weather itself doesn’t cause colds, but it helps them spread. Many viruses, like the flu and COVID-19, thrive in cold, dry air. These conditions keep viruses infectious longer and help them multiply faster.
Cold weather also weakens the immune system, making it harder to fight infections. Still, viruses and bacteria—not the cold—are the real cause of illness.
Dengue fever is the world’s fastest-spreading mosquito-borne virus. Its range has extended drastically over the last six decades. Much of this transformation is the result of climate change.
