Category: Health

French health officials have quarantined more than 1,700 passengers and crew members aboard a British cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after dozens fell ill with stomach-related symptoms.

Regional authorities banned anyone from leaving the vessel Ambition after nearly 50 passengers developed signs of acute digestive illness, according to a Wednesday announcement from French officials.

The cruise ship, operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, had arrived at the French port Tuesday night during what was supposed to be a two-week voyage that began in Belfast and Liverpool, with planned stops along Spain’s northern coast and France’s Atlantic shoreline.

Étienne Guyot, the regional prefect for Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde, halted all passenger departures and limited the ship’s contact with Bordeaux port facilities following guidance from local health authorities.

The ship’s captain notified French officials Tuesday evening after passengers began showing symptoms, prompting immediate action from health agencies.

Medical personnel aboard the vessel have been treating the sick passengers, who have been quarantined in their individual rooms while awaiting further evaluation.

A specialized medical team was sent to examine the situation, and biological samples have been sent to a Bordeaux medical facility for testing to determine the exact cause of the illness.

French authorities emphasized that this incident has no connection to a recent deadly hantavirus outbreak on a different cruise ship.

“There is no reason to establish a link between this outbreak aboard a cruise ship from Belfast and Liverpool and the hantavirus cases detected aboard the MV Hondius,” officials stated in their announcement.

The hantavirus situation on the Hondius vessel last month resulted in an international health response, with affected passengers requiring hospitalization across multiple countries including Britain, France, Spain and the United States. That outbreak claimed three lives and produced nine confirmed infections, with two additional suspected cases.

Ambassador Cruise Line reported Wednesday that a 92-year-old male passenger had passed away Sunday, though he had not shown any symptoms related to the current illness outbreak. A coroner has yet to determine his official cause of death.

As of Wednesday morning, the cruise company confirmed that 48 passengers and one crew member were experiencing gastrointestinal problems.

The company’s records indicate the cases began appearing after passengers boarded the ship in Liverpool on May 9. All planned shore activities in Bordeaux have been cancelled, with full refunds being provided to affected travelers.

This outbreak adds to a concerning trend, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented 23 gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships visiting American ports in 2025 alone – the highest yearly count in over ten years. The majority of these cases have been attributed to norovirus, including a new variant responsible for the recent increase.

Ambassador Cruise Line, a British company that launched in 2021 and caters primarily to passengers over age 50, said it expects to provide additional updates once laboratory analysis results become available later Wednesday.

Federal health officials announced Wednesday they are implementing a nationwide six-month suspension of new Medicare enrollments for hospice and home health care providers as part of an expanded effort to combat fraud in government health programs.

The temporary ban will prevent any new providers in these sectors from joining Medicare’s reimbursement system during the moratorium period, according to an announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“We’ve seen systemic and deeply troubling fraud in the hospice and home health space, with bad actors exploiting some of our most vulnerable Medicare patients and stealing money from the American taxpayer,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement. “Today we’re shutting the door on fraud-preventing new bad actors from entering Medicare while we aggressively identify, investigate, and remove those already exploiting them.”

The action stems from an anti-fraud initiative led by Vice President JD Vance’s task force, which President Trump established to combat misuse of taxpayer dollars. The announcement comes amid nationwide concerns about increasing healthcare costs and access challenges, some resulting from federal policy changes. New Medicaid work requirements are anticipated to burden hospitals nationwide and cause millions to lose health insurance coverage.

While numerous fraud cases have been pursued in hospice and home healthcare sectors, and states recognize legitimate concerns exist, some officials have criticized the administration’s aggressive approach. They worry these broad measures might unfairly impact legitimate providers working to serve patients.

Federal officials argue this suspension and related measures will help prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud while protecting resources for those who need them most. Current hospice and home health providers will continue normal operations during the pause, but CMS plans to “intensify targeted investigations, deploy advanced data analytics, and accelerate the removal” of providers suspected of fraudulent practices.

Such enrollment freezes have precedent, according to Tricia Neumann, a senior vice president and executive director for Medicare policy at healthcare research organization KFF. She noted that President Clinton’s administration also implemented a temporary home health agency moratorium.

“A brief moratorium gives the administration time to crack down on true fraud and prevent new fraudulent entities from popping up,” she said.

Recently, CMS has suspended payments to hundreds of Los Angeles hospice and home care agencies due to suspected fraud and implemented another six-month moratorium on durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and related supply providers in Medicare.

The administration has also launched investigations into potential healthcare fraud in at least five states and suspended approximately $243 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Last month, Oz announced CMS would require all states to submit plans for revalidating certain Medicaid providers.

However, the administration has made errors in its fraud accusations. In April, CMS admitted to The Associated Press that it made significant mistakes in data used to justify a fraud investigation in New York. This acknowledgment has raised questions about the administration’s methods and reinforced criticism that the Trump administration often acts before verifying facts.

Federal health officials report that roughly 70,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses in 2025, representing a 14% reduction compared to the year before, according to newly released preliminary data.

Wednesday’s federal report reveals this marks the third consecutive year of declining overdose fatalities, creating the most extended period of improvement seen in recent decades. The 2025 numbers mirror overdose deaths recorded in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began.

Multiple drug categories showed reductions in fatal overdoses, including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Most states experienced decreases in overdose deaths, though Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico saw significant increases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.

Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher specializing in overdose patterns, expressed measured hope about the trend. “I’m cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis,” Marshall stated.

Despite the encouraging statistics, Marshall and fellow researchers emphasize that overdose deaths remain at concerning levels, and several factors could trigger another surge, including shifts in government policy or changes in available street drugs.

“If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas,” Marshall warned.

While overdose fatalities had been climbing for decades, they surged dramatically during the pandemic years, reaching nearly 110,000 deaths in 2022. The pandemic increase coincided with widespread social isolation and reduced access to addiction treatment services.

As pandemic restrictions lifted, death rates began falling. Experts point to several contributing factors: greater access to naloxone, the overdose-reversing medication; expanded treatment programs; changes in drug use patterns; and the impact of billions in settlement funds from opioid litigation.

Research also indicates the population at highest overdose risk may be shrinking, as fewer young people begin using drugs and many long-term users have died. Additionally, regulatory changes implemented by China several years ago appear to have reduced access to chemicals needed for fentanyl production.

However, health and law enforcement agencies have recently raised concerns about new substances detected with increasing frequency throughout 2025.

Alex Krotulski leads the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, a federally supported toxicology laboratory in Horsham, Pennsylvania, that serves as a key component of the national drug monitoring network.

Throughout 2025, the facility discovered 27 previously unknown drugs. In less than five months of 2026, researchers have already identified 23 new substances, Krotulski reported.

One particularly concerning drug under surveillance is cychlorphine, a powerful synthetic opioid reportedly up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl. Experts believe it’s being mixed into other illegal drugs without users’ awareness.

“The drug supply continues to change and evolve,” Krotulski explained.

Simultaneously, the Trump administration has been eliminating programs aimed at reducing overdose deaths and drug-related infections. Last month, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration informed grant recipients that funding would cease for test strips and kits that help users detect dangerous additives in their drugs.

Administration officials state they’re moving away from services that enable illegal drug use, including needle exchange programs and phone support lines for active users.

A group of mothers who lost children to overdoses recently met with media representatives to oppose government policies emphasizing punishment and imprisonment.

Kimberly Douglas established Black Moms Against Overdose following her 17-year-old son’s death.

“We are starting to see overdoses go down in some places and that’s because of harm reduction” services like those being targeted by the Trump administration, she said.

Federal health officials announced Wednesday that fatal drug overdoses across the United States continued their downward trend in 2025, dropping by almost 14% compared to the previous year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s preliminary data reveals that approximately 69,973 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses in 2025, a significant decrease from the estimated 81,313 deaths recorded in 2024.

Health experts point to the expanded access to naloxone, a life-saving overdose reversal drug, as a major factor behind the encouraging statistics. The medication has become increasingly available to first responders, community organizations, and the general public.

Opioid-related fatalities specifically showed substantial improvement, falling from an estimated 55,296 deaths in 2024 to 44,564 in 2025, according to the CDC’s provisional figures.

Despite these positive trends, synthetic opioids like fentanyl continue to be the primary driver of overdose deaths nationwide, the data indicates.

While the majority of states experienced reductions in overdose fatalities, the report noted that New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado bucked the national trend with increases of 10% or higher when compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

Marty Makary has stepped down from his position as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following what sources describe as a challenging 13-month period leading the federal agency.

Makary’s departure marks the end of his tenure overseeing the nation’s primary food and drug safety regulatory body during a period marked by significant challenges and controversy.

Travelers who experienced a fatal hantavirus outbreak during an Antarctic cruise expedition face significant barriers if they want to pursue legal action against the ship’s operator, according to maritime law experts.

The situation unfolded aboard the MV Hondius, a polar expedition vessel flying under the Dutch flag and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions. The ship was carrying nearly 150 passengers and crew members near Antarctica when officials reported a cluster of serious respiratory illnesses to international health authorities on May 3.

Medical officials confirmed the outbreak as hantavirus after detecting the virus in a passenger who had left the ship in late April and received medical treatment in South Africa. While hantavirus typically spreads through contact with rodents, the particular strain discovered on the vessel can transmit between humans.

Health investigators are still working to determine how the virus made its way onto the ship. As of Tuesday, three deaths have been linked to the outbreak, and the World Health Organization reported nine confirmed cases on Monday. The final passengers left the vessel on Monday, ending their extended ordeal at sea.

Legal experts say passengers face an uphill battle in court due to extensive liability protections built into Oceanwide’s passenger agreements. The company’s general terms and conditions, posted on their website, state that Oceanwide cannot be held responsible for various incidents ranging from passenger illness and death to stolen belongings and criminal acts.

However, Dutch legal specialists note that these broad liability shields might not withstand court scrutiny if passengers can demonstrate the company acted with extreme negligence. Any legal challenges would need to be filed in the Netherlands, as specified in the company’s terms and conditions.

So far, no passengers have announced plans to file lawsuits or indicated they intend to pursue legal action.

Proving extreme negligence or reckless behavior under Dutch legal standards presents a substantial challenge and would require evidence showing Oceanwide knowingly engaged in dangerous practices, legal experts explained.

Such evidence might include disregarding health authority warnings or instructions, or failing to implement standard infection prevention measures while understanding these failures could endanger passengers, according to legal professionals.

No reports have emerged suggesting the MV Hondius crew engaged in improper conduct, and some passengers have publicly commended the crew’s response to the crisis. Oceanwide Expeditions did not respond to requests for comment.

The company’s terms and conditions designate the District Court of Middelburg in the Netherlands as the only venue for filing lawsuits. Legal experts say courts in the United States and other countries typically respect these jurisdictional requirements and would likely reject cases filed elsewhere.

Passengers might challenge Oceanwide’s comprehensive liability waivers as unreasonable and legally unenforceable under European Union consumer protection regulations, Dutch legal experts suggested.

Travelers could also argue that the company’s extensive liability protections violate EU contract fairness laws for consumers, which invalidate terms that create an unreasonable advantage for businesses.

Family members of passengers who died could potentially file wrongful death lawsuits, though Oceanwide would likely maintain that the ticket terms still govern claims related to the voyage and insist on Dutch court jurisdiction.

In Dutch courts, families could contend they never surrendered their wrongful death legal rights and attempt to persuade judges that Oceanwide’s terms were unjust and unreasonable. Nevertheless, they would still face the challenging task of proving extreme negligence or reckless conduct.

Dutch legal experts say there is minimal precedent for passengers suing cruise operators in Dutch courts.

Cruise companies faced passenger litigation in the United States regarding COVID-19 exposure, but courts dismissed many cases because plaintiffs couldn’t demonstrate how cruise operators directly caused their illnesses.

Unlike major cruise corporations such as Carnival, Oceanwide appears to lack U.S. business connections that could establish American court jurisdiction.

Oceanwide Expeditions announced Wednesday they will determine by Friday whether their cruise vessel will proceed with planned summer Arctic voyages following a fatal hantavirus outbreak that claimed three lives.

The MV Hondius, flying under a Dutch flag, had been scheduled to embark on Arctic expeditions starting with a May 29 departure, according to the cruise line’s website.

The deadly outbreak has resulted in three fatalities, including a married couple from the Netherlands who health authorities believe contracted the virus first during their South American travels. Medical officials have documented 11 total cases linked to the outbreak, with nine receiving laboratory confirmation.

Following the vessel’s arrival at Spain’s Canary Islands earlier this week, where all remaining passengers were evacuated, Oceanwide Expeditions initially stated Monday they did not “foresee changes to our operations.”

However, the company revised their position Wednesday, explaining they anticipate “clarity on whether the vessel will sail and the sailing schedule by the end of this week.”

More than 120 individuals who were aboard during the health crisis – encompassing all passengers plus select crew members – departed the ship Sunday and Monday. These individuals are currently under quarantine protocols in various nations. The vessel has since departed for Rotterdam in the Netherlands, with an anticipated arrival between May 17 and 18.

Currently remaining aboard are 25 crew members, two medical personnel, and the remains of one deceased passenger. The cruise operator reports none of those still on the ship are displaying symptoms.

Medical experts note that hantavirus typically transmits through contact with rodent waste and rarely passes between humans, although the specific Andes strain identified aboard the Hondius can occasionally spread person-to-person. The virus typically manifests symptoms one to eight weeks following initial exposure.

ROME – Italian health officials announced Wednesday that four individuals who were being monitored for potential hantavirus exposure have all received negative test results, according to the country’s health ministry.

The individuals included an Argentine woman who was hospitalized with pneumonia, an Italian man from Calabria who placed himself in voluntary isolation, and a British traveler in Milan along with his travel companion.

Medical facilities in Rome and Milan conducted the testing, with all results coming back negative, health ministry officials confirmed.

“The risk connected with the virus remains very low in Europe and therefore also in Italy,” the ministry stated.

The Argentine woman had departed from an area in her homeland where the virus is known to occur on April 30, flying from Buenos Aires to Rome before traveling to Sicily, where medical staff treated her for pneumonia.

The Italian man from Calabria had a brief encounter on April 25 aboard an aircraft with a Dutch passenger who subsequently died from the infection.

The British traveler had also encountered the same Dutch woman during a separate flight and was placed under quarantine protocols, while medical personnel hospitalized his companion as a safety measure.

According to the World Health Organization, rodents primarily transmit hantavirus, though human-to-human spread can occur in uncommon instances. Initial symptoms typically resemble flu, including exhaustion and elevated temperature, appearing one to eight weeks following exposure.

Recent cases have been connected to passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise vessel, which arrived at Spain’s Canary Islands after completing a polar voyage that originated in Argentina.

The outbreak has claimed three lives so far – a Dutch couple and a German citizen.

The WHO has updated its count of verified cases in this outbreak to nine individuals. Officials noted that additional cases might emerge due to the extended incubation timeline, but emphasized this situation does not constitute a pandemic and differs significantly from COVID-19.

A Boston photographer and content creator is making the most of an unexpected 42-day quarantine after a deadly virus outbreak turned his dream Antarctic expedition into a public health emergency.

Jake Rosmarin, 30, is among 18 Americans now under medical observation at specialized facilities following a hantavirus outbreak that claimed three lives aboard the MV Hondius expedition vessel. What started as an enthusiastic social media post about his 35-day South Atlantic adventure has become an extended stay at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit in Omaha.

Fifteen other American passengers from the voyage are also housed at the Nebraska facility, while one passenger who tested positive for the virus remains in the hospital’s Biocontainment Unit. Two additional passengers are being monitored at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Health authorities emphasize that the risk of the virus spreading to the general population remains extremely low, with quarantine measures taken purely as a safety precaution.

Rosmarin, who works as a content creator and photographer, told The Associated Press he’s determined to stay positive during his isolation period.

His quarantine accommodations resemble a compact hotel suite, complete with a closet, smart television, private bathroom, mini refrigerator, bed, chair and exercise bike. Though his room has windows, he keeps the blinds drawn to avoid media attention outside.

“It’s a very nice room,” Rosmarin explained. “I already ordered a mattress pad, new pillows. I think, for now, my plan is to take it one day at a time and that’s the best I can do.”

On Tuesday, facility nurses surprised him with a special treat he shared on social media – an iced Horchata made with oat milk and vanilla cold foam. “This is everything I needed, right now. Wow!” he said in a video post.

The hantavirus typically spreads through contact with rodent droppings and rarely transmits between humans. However, the specific Andes strain identified in this outbreak may occasionally spread person-to-person. Symptoms typically appear one to eight weeks after exposure.

“I never got sick,” Rosmarin stated Tuesday.

The outbreak affected eleven passengers aboard the MV Hondius, with at least nine confirmed cases. Three fatalities occurred during the voyage, including a Dutch couple that health officials believe contracted the virus first while visiting South America.

The final passengers left the vessel Monday, departing on flights to over 20 different countries where they’ll complete quarantine requirements.

The Omaha quarantine and biocontainment facilities are specially designed to monitor and treat individuals exposed to serious infectious diseases. The biocontainment unit specifically handles patients actively ill with highly contagious conditions.

Medical staff entering Rosmarin’s room wear complete protective equipment including gowns and masks, and he cannot receive any visitors. Nursing staff typically avoid entering his room, even during meal delivery.

“I open the door with a mask on and they kind of put the food toward me and I grab it on the tray,” he described.

Once passengers began falling ill during the voyage, everyone was instructed to remain in their cabins as much as possible.

“I left the cabin about 15 minutes each day to refill my water, get fresh air and grab food for breakfast and lunch,” he recalled, noting that passengers maintained social distancing and wore masks.

Rosmarin launched his world travel career in 2022 after leaving his job as a media buyer. He maintains an influencer partnership with the expedition vessel’s operator, which sponsored his trip to remote South Atlantic islands including South Georgia Island.

“We saw a King penguin colony — the largest in the world, 300,000 to 500,000,” Rosmarin shared. “We got to see Gentoo penguins, fur seals, elephant seals, Chinstrap penguins, albatross.”

He emphasized that the MV Hondius operates as an expedition vessel rather than a traditional cruise ship. Because passengers and crew would visit islands with delicate ecosystems, strict environmental protection protocols were enforced.

“An expedition vessel is much cleaner than any cruise ship you’re ever going to go on,” Rosmarin noted. “For South Georgia, there were the strictest biosecurity measures. We have to sit down in the lounge pulling fuzz out of our jackets. A little pebble in your shoe, it needs to come out.”

However, those safety measures were designed to protect the environment from passengers, not the reverse situation.

His originally planned five-week journey extended to six weeks because passengers couldn’t disembark once the outbreak was identified.

“We didn’t really know it was the hantavirus until the night we were supposed to disembark,” Rosmarin explained.

His fiancé awaits his return to Boston, where the couple plans to marry next year. “I think he tried to be calm for me, but I think he was also very scared,” Rosmarin said Tuesday.

Medical professionals have officially changed the name of a widespread women’s health condition that impacts one out of every eight women globally, hoping the new terminology will lead to better patient care and understanding.

What was previously known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will now be called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), according to research published Tuesday in The Lancet medical journal.

Medical experts and patient advocates pushed for this change because they believed the former name was misleading. The previous terminology oversimplified what is actually a complicated hormonal disorder by emphasizing ovarian cysts and focusing too heavily on reproductive organs, which led to diagnostic errors and substandard treatment, according to the Endocrine Society, an international organization of medical professionals and researchers.

“The thought behind that is that one, there’s no cysts in the ovary, so it’s very confusing,” explained Dr. Melanie Cree, who co-authored the Lancet study and works as a pediatric endocrinology specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz. “The hope was that with a more comprehensive and accurate name change, that it would start to enable and push better care.”

This terminology update comes after 14 years of collaborative work between medical professionals and patients.

The disorder involves hormone imbalances that can impact body weight, metabolism, mental wellness, reproductive health, and skin conditions.

Medical professionals link it to metabolic syndrome, which encompasses several health issues that raise the likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, noted Dr. Sarah Hutto from the University of Minnesota Medical School in a university publication.

The exact cause remains unknown, though medical research suggests genetic factors and obesity may contribute, according to Cleveland Clinic information.

The wide range of symptoms makes diagnosis challenging for healthcare providers.

The condition typically involves unpredictable menstrual periods and overproduction of androgens, a hormone group that can trigger acne and changes in hair growth or loss. It may also lead to follicle development on ovaries, though these are not abnormal cysts. However, patients don’t need to exhibit all these signs for a diagnosis.

For teenage patients, Cree explained that diagnosis requires both menstrual irregularities and evidence of elevated androgen levels. This evidence can include elevated hormone levels in blood tests or physical symptoms like severe acne or unusual hair growth patterns.

Medical experts at Cleveland Clinic identify it as the leading cause of female fertility issues, since infrequent ovulation can prevent conception.

Women with this condition may face higher risks for pregnancy-related complications, including gestational diabetes or early delivery. However, most individuals with the disorder can successfully complete pregnancies.

Cree emphasizes that the primary treatment approach involves lifestyle modifications, including reducing processed food consumption, increasing physical activity, and maintaining healthy sleep patterns.

“We’re not trying to be judgmental. There is science to back this up,” she stated. “So in PMOS, there is too much of the hormone insulin in many women, and that insulin confuses the ovary to make too much testosterone. And it’s the high testosterone that is causing all the symptoms.”

Additional treatment options include medications that improve insulin sensitivity like Metformin, drugs that counteract androgens, and hormonal contraceptives.

Hutto emphasizes that treatment plans should be customized to target individual symptoms and patient goals. Women planning pregnancies might prioritize fertility treatments, while others may prefer options like hormonal birth control.

Medical professionals are informing their colleagues about the name change through conferences, professional organizations, and other communication channels. They anticipate this will increase understanding of the condition and improve patient care.

“I’m very excited about the name change,” Cree commented, “as are the majority of my colleagues.”

A breakthrough study reveals that individuals transitioning from injectable weight-loss medications to Eli Lilly’s new oral drug Foundayo successfully maintained most of their weight reduction over a 12-month period.

The pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday that clinical trial participants who had used GLP-1 injection therapies for more than a year experienced minimal weight regain when switching to the pill form. Results shared at an obesity medical conference showed those moving from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injection to Lilly’s oral Foundayo gained back just 2 pounds on average after one year. Meanwhile, participants transitioning from Lilly’s stronger injectable Zepbound saw an average weight increase of 11 pounds.

The Indianapolis-based company launched Foundayo in the United States during early April as direct competition to Danish manufacturer Novo’s oral Wegovy option. This launch represents Lilly’s continued investment in the lucrative obesity and diabetes treatment market, specifically targeting the GLP-1 medication category.

Industry experts project that weight-loss drug sales could exceed $100 billion annually within the coming decade.

Research findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul demonstrated that patients can successfully transition between treatments while preserving their weight reduction achievements – addressing a major worry associated with discontinuing GLP-1 injections.

“If you’re a patient on Wegovy, you can switch from a GLP-1 injectable to a GLP-1 pill and basically keep all the weight off,” stated Kenneth Custer, Eli Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, during a recent interview. “Patients now have options.”

The research examined individuals transitioning to Foundayo (scientifically called orforglipron) following 72 weeks of weight reduction using either Lilly’s tirzepatide medications (marketed as Zepbound and Mounjaro) or injectable semaglutide products (Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic).

Detailed trial results showed that after 52 weeks post-transition, former tirzepatide users retained 74.7% of their original weight loss while taking orforglipron, compared to just 49.2% among those receiving inactive placebo treatments.

Participants who previously used semaglutide maintained 79.3% of their weight reduction with orforglipron, significantly higher than the placebo group’s 37.6% retention rate.

Novo introduced injectable Wegovy in 2021, followed by the pill version earlier this year. Oral medications are anticipated to attract new patient populations, particularly those uncomfortable with needle-based treatments.

When questioned about weight regain among patients switching from Zepbound to Foundayo, Custer explained this outcome was predictable considering the substantial weight loss achieved with Lilly’s injectable option. Clinical trials have demonstrated that Zepbound can produce weight reductions of 20% or greater.

Additional late-stage trial data revealed that participants maintaining maximum Zepbound dosages continued losing weight after an additional year of treatment, while those reducing to 5-milligram doses experienced approximately 12 pounds of weight regain.

“The study showed us two things. If you want to maintain every ounce of weight you lost on a drug like Zepbound, you should probably stay on that dose of Zepbound,” Custer explained.

“But if you want to consider reducing your dose, you can do that. You’ll regain a little bit of weight, but you’ll still maintain most of your weight loss,” he added.

TORONTO, May 12 – Toronto health officials are rolling out a unique public health campaign as the city prepares to host World Cup matches, providing specially designed condoms with soccer-themed messaging to promote safe sex practices.

The initiative comes as Toronto anticipates welcoming more than 300,000 visitors during the June 11-July 19 tournament. Toronto Public Health has created limited edition condoms with six different designs that aim to “celebrate the energy of the games while promoting sexual health.”

Among the creative designs are slogans including “Block those shots!” and “What a finish!” Another design called “Peaches & Cream” displays images of a peach and eggplant positioned in front of a soccer goal.

These specially branded condoms, along with additional safe sex materials, will be available at four sexual health clinics operated by Toronto Public Health. The distribution is part of the agency’s CondomTO program, which works to encourage safer sexual practices, reduce associated stigma, and help residents access sexual health resources.

According to the health unit’s website, “Studies show that using a condom every time you have oral, anal or vaginal sex decreases the risk of sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBIs), HIV and/or unplanned pregnancy.”

The upcoming World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

A small daily tablet fundamentally transformed modern American society.

The oral contraceptive, receiving FDA approval six and a half decades ago, accomplished far more than pregnancy prevention. This groundbreaking medication provided women with unprecedented autonomy, fundamentally altering family structures and societal norms across the nation.

“Its introduction in the 1960s afforded U.S. women this unprecedented control over their childbearing and subsequent life trajectories,” says Suzanne Bell of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The contraceptive separated sexual intimacy from reproduction. For the first time, women could manage their fertility independently, without requiring male participation in family planning decisions.

A pioneering woman led the charge for this medical breakthrough. Margaret Sanger, who established what would become Planned Parenthood Federation of America, championed the medication’s creation alongside financial backing from philanthropist friend Katharine Dexter McCormick. Sanger declared, “No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.”

Scientists Gregory Pincus and Min Chueh Chang, working with gynecologist Dr. John Rock, developed the medication. The contraceptive employs artificial progesterone and estrogen to block pregnancy primarily through preventing egg release, while also creating barriers that impede fertilization. Perfect usage achieves 99% effectiveness in pregnancy prevention.

American adoption was rapid – over one million women were using the medication within just two years of availability. Dramatic societal shifts emerged. Studies connect the contraceptive to delayed marriage timing, increased educational achievement, and expanded female workforce engagement. The medication also contributed significantly to the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Opposition arose alongside acceptance. During the 1960s, Pope Paul VI denounced the medication while numerous states prohibited contraceptive access. Married women gained exemption from these restrictions in 1965, though single women faced continued bans for years afterward.

Contemporary concerns have emerged following the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, with some fearing contraceptive rights may face similar challenges.

“With any device or procedure that gives women more reproductive or sexual autonomy, there are always groups that resist and push back,” says Bell, pointing to the recent push for women to have more children.

Despite opposition, women continue making independent choices. American birth rates have dropped to unprecedented lows, while the contraceptive maintains widespread popularity. Currently serving as America’s leading reversible birth control method, it serves more than 8 million users and continues influencing both individual lives and national trends.

Medical researchers are adapting an innovative cancer treatment to potentially combat HIV by enhancing patients’ natural immune defenses.

Scientists announced Tuesday that a single treatment using these enhanced immune cells successfully controlled HIV in two individuals – maintaining suppression for almost one year in the first patient and nearly two years in the second – all while they remained off their standard HIV medications.

Dr. Steven Deeks from the University of California, San Francisco, who spearheaded the research, emphasized that more extensive and extended studies will be necessary to determine whether CAR-T cell therapy could provide lasting benefits for HIV patients.

“We find the fact that two people have had such a really sustained response provocative,” he said. “There is a real need for a one-and-done, safe and scalable cure … and this is one of the strategies that we’re pursuing.”

The findings were shared at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy conference in Boston.

Approximately 40 million individuals worldwide are currently living with HIV. Modern medications have transformed the AIDS-causing virus from a rapidly fatal condition into a controllable chronic illness, frequently reducing viral loads to undetectable amounts. However, this only works when patients can access and consistently take their medications. The virus remains dormant in bodily reservoirs and quickly returns when treatment stops.

Scientists have spent years searching for an elusive cure, investigating leads such as uncommon genetic variations that provide natural HIV resistance, and studying cases where a small number of HIV patients with specific cancers achieved cure or extended remission following stem cell transplants – a procedure too dangerous for most individuals.

The CAR-T treatment process involves extracting T cells (immune system fighters) from a patient’s bloodstream, genetically modifying them into “living drugs,” then reintroducing them to the patient. This approach is already successfully treating certain cancers and is under investigation for additional conditions.

Scientists at nonprofit drug developer Caring Cross designed CAR-T cells with two special capabilities for HIV treatment. These cells are programmed to more effectively locate and destroy HIV-infected cells while being engineered with defenses against the virus they’re meant to combat.

According to Caring Cross executive director Boro Dropulić, this protective enhancement should allow the cells to multiply sufficiently to maintain HIV suppression.

Deeks’ preliminary trial tested various dosing approaches in participants who discontinued their HIV medications on the same day they received CAR-T cells. No severe adverse reactions occurred. The initial three participants showed no improvement and returned to standard treatments.

Six additional participants received mild chemotherapy to create room for the new T cells. The two successful responders experienced HIV levels dropping to undetectable amounts, with only occasional slight increases when the CAR-T cells apparently resumed their work. A third participant had temporary improvement before returning to regular HIV therapy.

All three of these patients had begun their initial HIV treatment shortly after becoming infected, Deeks noted. This pattern makes sense since individuals treated early typically have less HIV hiding in their bodies and stronger immune systems.

Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem, a gene therapy specialist at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who wasn’t involved in the study, commented: “This is certainly very fascinating that they’ve had this positive response.” However, he warned that additional research will be required to confirm CAR-T’s effectiveness.

The approach is promising because it’s “boosting what our body, our immune system, can already do,” explained Andrea Gramatica, vice president for research at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, which supports efforts to develop more accessible versions.

ROME – Italy’s leading infectious disease facility announced Tuesday that medical staff will test biological samples from a quarantined individual who had contact with a hantavirus victim.

According to the ANSA news agency, the person under quarantine is a 25-year-old man from Italy’s southern Calabria region who was initially reported as hospitalized.

The individual shared a brief flight with a female passenger who subsequently succumbed to the virus. The woman was removed from the KLM aircraft before departure from Johannesburg.

While ANSA initially reported the man’s transfer to Rome’s Spallanzani hospital, medical officials later explained they are only receiving his biological specimens for laboratory analysis.

According to the World Health Organization, hantavirus spreads mainly through rodent contact but can occasionally transmit between humans. Initial symptoms resemble flu-like conditions including exhaustion and fever, appearing one to eight weeks following exposure.

Recent cases have emerged connected to the MV Hondius vessel, which arrived at Spain’s Canary Islands after completing a polar research voyage from Argentina.

The WHO has updated its confirmed case count for this outbreak to nine individuals. Officials warn additional cases may surface due to the virus’s extended incubation timeline, though they emphasize this situation differs significantly from a pandemic and bears no resemblance to COVID-19.

A Spanish traveler who was removed from a cruise ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak has now tested positive for the disease, according to an announcement from Spain’s health ministry on Tuesday.

Health officials from the World Health Organization have verified a total of 11 infections, with three fatalities among those aboard the vessel.

The newly confirmed patient remains isolated at a military medical facility in Madrid following their evacuation.

This individual was placed in the same medical center as 13 other Spanish citizens who were brought back on Sunday, all of whom received negative test results for the virus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated while in Madrid that every one of the 11 verified infections involves either passengers or crew members from the MV Hondius cruise vessel, with three fatalities recorded.

Medical authorities have identified nine of the total cases as infections caused by the Andes virus strain.

AMSTERDAM – Aircraft carrying 28 passengers from the cruise vessel MV Hondius touched down in the Netherlands early Tuesday morning, following a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the ship that has claimed three lives.

The two flights arrived at Eindhoven Airport just after midnight, transporting eight Dutch citizens home. Passengers from other nations will travel onward to their respective countries from the Netherlands, according to officials.

In a separate development, Radboudumc hospital in Nijmegen has placed 12 medical staff members under preventive isolation for six weeks. The quarantine was implemented after personnel handled blood and urine samples without following updated safety protocols when treating a Hondius passenger who was admitted May 7 with hantavirus infection.

Hospital officials emphasized that the risk of transmission remains minimal and patient services continue without disruption.

“We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented in the future,” stated Bertine Lahuis, chair of the hospital’s executive board.

The Hondius departed for the Netherlands Monday night with 25 crew members, plus medical personnel including a doctor and nurse. All passengers have left the vessel, and ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions expects arrival by May 17.

The outbreak has resulted in three fatalities – a Dutch couple and a German citizen. Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with infected wild rodents, though person-to-person transmission can occur in rare instances involving close contact.

World Health Organization officials reported Monday that seven cases of the Andes strain have been confirmed, with two additional suspected infections. These include one person who died before testing could be completed and another individual on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where testing capabilities are unavailable.

Among the confirmed cases is a French passenger who tested positive after the ship docked in the Canary Islands Sunday. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu provided an update Monday on her condition.

“Our compatriot who tested positive for Hantavirus is still in intensive care in a stable condition,” he reported.

Spanish health authorities announced Monday evening that one of 14 Spanish nationals under quarantine at a Madrid military hospital has tested positive for the virus. The patient shows no symptoms, and additional testing is underway before final confirmation, according to the Spanish Health Ministry.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Back in the 1970s during her high school years, Lori Guess would eagerly pack her oboe each summer for music camp in Sidney, Maine. She was drawn to the peaceful lakeside setting with its haunting loon calls and the opportunity to bond with fellow musicians.

Now, more than five decades later, Guess continues returning to that same location. When an adult band program launched there in 2013, she enthusiastically joined and even picked up a new instrument — the trumpet.

“I was thrilled because I love this place,” said Guess, 71, of Baltimore, a retired lawyer for the U.S. Department of Defense who plans to return to the New England Adult Music Camp in August. “It is serene, beautiful, a perfect setting. And it’s not all that different from what it was 50-some years ago.”

Across America, adults seeking to reconnect with old friends, sharpen their musical abilities, or simply enjoy personal time after years of supporting their children’s activities can choose from numerous summer music programs. These camps span genres from electronic and folk to rock, jazz, chamber music, and opera.

Many participants find these camps provide a pathway to recapture the memorable musical moments of their younger days while building fresh friendships.

“Emotionally, making music is good for the soul,” said Carole Lieberman, a California-based forensic psychiatrist who has played multiple instruments herself. “It makes you feel creative, allows you to provide the music you like for yourself and can boost your spirits.”

“Cognitively, research demonstrates that learning to play a musical instrument and playing it helps your brain make better neurological connections,” she added. “It can help to ward off dementia.”

For Guess, creating music means entering “that zone” alongside fellow musicians.

“When you’re playing music together, you rise above all the pettiness of life,” she said. “And it’s just the most spiritual thing I can think of.”

These programs accommodate musicians of all skill levels. Camp directories published by organizations like Musical America Worldwide and The Instrumentalist feature listings that clearly indicate beginner, intermediate, and advanced options.

Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts, where Guess participated in band camp during middle school, has expanded to provide various adult summer music programs, including an August weeklong Symphonic Band Camp designed for seasoned players.

Since starting in 1983, the Midsummer Musical Retreat in Walla Walla, Washington, has expanded to feature numerous performance ensembles of different sizes accommodating various skill levels.

Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove hosts the Band Camp for Adult Musicians, where intermediate and advanced players receive instruction from former military musicians and university faculty.

The Pennsylvania camp’s creator drew inspiration from his children’s band camp experiences, according to director Leigh Hurtz.

Currently in its 37th year, the program attracts many retirees who have participated together for decades. Some bring their children and grandchildren along.

“They were lawyers or doctors, or working full-time, mothers,” Hurtz said. “There are also people who sold their tuba for a couch in college so they could have a couch, and 20 years later, it’s like, ‘I need a tuba again!’”

Beyond performances, these camps develop unique customs. Pennsylvania’s program kicks off with a group family dinner. Walla Walla features camper-produced comedy skits. New England organizes campfire gatherings and lobster feasts. Participants typically enjoy additional activities like kayaking, yoga, social hours, or open mic performances either solo or with small groups of fellow campers.

Many camps feature specialized workshops focusing on particular styles or instruments including jazz, percussion circles, klezmer, German band music, and ukulele, plus educational sessions covering performance anxiety and music theory.

Linda Haller, 70, of Laconia, New Hampshire, discovered a local adult community band promoting “music for life” a few years after retiring from her career as an obstetrician-gynecologist. This motivated her to return to clarinet, which she hadn’t touched since high school.

“It hasn’t all come back, but I’m getting to the point where I think I’m playing almost as good as I did back then,” she said. Haller, who also plays piano, said the rhythms and counting came right back to her.

She participated in the Sidney, Maine camp for two summers, advancing from the beginner ensemble to intermediate level. She particularly valued the fellowship with other musicians.

“Returning to an instrument learned in childhood is powerful because it combines memory, discipline and renewed growth,” said Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist based in New York.

“It strengthens attention, fine motor coordination, and memory pathways while reducing stress and improving mood,” Alpert said. “But equally important is the emotional experience of reengaging with something that once required patience and repetition.”

Haller’s community ensemble connects to the New Horizons International Music Association, a nonprofit organization that creates musical opportunities for adults, including those with zero previous experience. Since 1991, this organization has established over 200 bands, orchestras, and choruses globally serving 10,000 adult musicians.

The group’s guiding principle, embraced by other adult music programs, states “Your best is good enough.”

New Horizons operates its own camps, including an “American Music Abroad” journey to the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary in June, plus another near Cincinnati, Ohio, in July.

These programs enjoy strong popularity, according to Russ Grazier of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who instructs at New Horizons camps and serves as artistic director for the New England Adult Music Camp.

He observes that ensemble participation among adults over 60 has grown from roughly 150 to 300 people at a regional music and arts center under his leadership. He believes social connection drives this growth.

“And that’s something missing from a lot of people’s lives these days,” Grazier said. “So any time we have an opportunity to have a space outside of the home where we’re connecting with new people and sharing a common interest, it has remarkable benefits for our health and our aging.”

Passengers from a cruise ship who may have been exposed to hantavirus have been taken to a specialized medical facility in Nebraska for monitoring and potential treatment.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha was selected because it houses the United States’ sole federally-supported quarantine facility. The medical center also operates a distinct biocontainment unit specifically designed to care for individuals who have encountered infectious diseases.

This unique combination of quarantine and biocontainment capabilities makes the Nebraska facility the go-to destination for federal health officials when dealing with potential exposure to dangerous pathogens. The specialized units are equipped to safely isolate and treat patients while preventing the spread of infectious diseases to the broader community.

Medical researchers have achieved promising results using a patient’s own modified immune cells to combat HIV infection in a groundbreaking early-stage clinical trial, though scientists emphasize more research is needed to validate these findings and identify the best candidates for treatment.

The initial human trial utilized CAR-T technology, a single-dose treatment where doctors remove a patient’s T-cells, modify and multiply them in laboratory conditions, then reintroduce them into the patient’s system. For this study, scientists programmed the CAR-T cells to target specific HIV binding locations called CD4 and CCR5.

Without medical intervention, HIV multiplies and eliminates the body’s disease-fighting cells, ultimately developing into AIDS. Approximately 41 million individuals worldwide currently live with HIV, and although modern antiretroviral medications have made the condition manageable, patients must take these drugs throughout their lives.

This approach differs significantly from earlier HIV treatment breakthroughs that involved cancer patients receiving bone marrow transplants from donors carrying a uncommon genetic variation that naturally resists HIV. Scientists believe CAR-T therapy could benefit many more patients.

“Our goal is to make these therapies affordable and accessible,” stated Dr. Boro Dropulić, executive director of the nonprofit organization Caring Cross, which partnered with researchers from University of California, San Francisco, University of California, Davis and Case Western Reserve University Hospital on this study.

Among three trial participants who received the standard CAR-T treatment dose, researchers reported that two have sustained undetectable or extremely low HIV levels since discontinuing antiretroviral medications – one patient for more than two years and another for almost one year. The third participant experienced an initial virus resurgence but subsequently managed to keep HIV at low yet detectable amounts.

The safety-focused trial included three additional patients who did not receive the preparatory chemotherapy typically used to ready bone marrow for cell reinfusion, while three others received reduced CAR-T doses.

“The two that have been off (HIV drugs) the longest and doing well were importantly diagnosed pretty quickly and put on therapy pretty quickly,” explained Dr. Steven Deeks, a medicine professor at the University of California, San Francisco and the study’s primary researcher.

He described how antiretroviral treatment “freezes the virus in place” to prevent mutations while also stopping the body’s immune system from getting “ravished by HIV.”

Deeks noted that ongoing research aims to understand why certain patients have shown better responses.

“The CAR-T cells disappeared after several weeks… so we’re really trying to come up with a mechanism to explain that,” he said.

CAR-T treatments are currently approved for various blood cancers and are being tested for autoimmune conditions including lupus and scleroderma.

“In the cancer settings, the overall burden of disease is much higher. Typically the CAR-T cells persist much longer,” Deeks noted.

He added that HIV trial participants did not experience the severe side effects commonly seen in cancer patients receiving CAR-T therapy, including a dangerous inflammatory reaction called cytokine release syndrome.

The research results were scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy’s annual conference in Boston.

Federal health authorities announced Monday they have transported 18 cruise ship passengers back to American soil for quarantine following a hantavirus outbreak aboard their vessel, with one confirmed case now isolated in a specialized medical facility in Nebraska.

Health and Human Services Department officials revealed during a Monday press conference that the passengers are under medical observation at two locations: 16 individuals at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and two in Atlanta. One of the Atlanta patients is currently showing symptoms of the illness.

The affected travelers had been sailing on the MV Hondius, an upscale expedition vessel where an outbreak of the Andes virus occurred. This particular strain represents the sole type of hantavirus known to transmit between humans, though typically the disease spreads through contact with infected wild rodents.

Federal health authorities emphasized that public health risks remain minimal. Admiral Brian Christine, who serves as assistant secretary for health, explained that the Andes virus “does not spread easily” and typically requires extended close interaction with someone displaying symptoms.

The quarantined group spans a wide age range, from individuals in their late twenties to those in their late seventies or early eighties, according to officials. Medical monitoring could continue for as long as 42 days.

Among those returned to the United States were 17 American citizens and one British dual national who elected to receive care in America.

FRANKFURT, Germany – German health officials are closely watching four passengers from a cruise ship where a deadly hantavirus outbreak occurred, authorities announced Monday.

The individuals arrived at Frankfurt University Hospital during the early morning hours between midnight and 1 a.m. for medical evaluation and laboratory work, according to hospital officials. All four passengers are currently symptom-free and were placed in a specialized isolation facility.

A representative from Germany’s health ministry confirmed to Reuters that the passengers will eventually be moved to different regions across the country – Berlin, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein – where local health departments will continue their care.

“No indications of illness” have been detected so far, according to Timo Wolf, who oversees the specialized isolation unit for dangerous infectious diseases at Frankfurt University Hospital.

The outbreak occurred aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius, which departed from Argentina carrying primarily passengers from Britain, the United States, and Spain. The virus strain identified is the Andes hantavirus, a rodent-transmitted disease that can pass between humans and is commonly found in Argentina and Chile.

The outbreak has proven fatal for three individuals – two passengers from the Netherlands and one German citizen. Hantaviruses are carried by rodents and can cause serious illness when transmitted to humans.

TENERIFE, Spain — Health officials in France and the United States confirmed Monday that passengers evacuated from a cruise ship outbreak have contracted hantavirus, with one patient’s condition declining after arrival.

French Health Minister Stephanie Rist announced that a French woman who was airlifted to Paris on Sunday has tested positive for the virus and experienced worsening symptoms during her overnight hospital stay. The patient was one of five French nationals brought home from the MV Hondius and began showing signs of illness while aboard the repatriation flight, Rist explained during an interview with France-Inter radio.

Meanwhile, U.S. health authorities confirmed late Sunday that one of 17 American passengers flown to Nebraska has also contracted the virus but remains without symptoms. Officials noted that a second American passenger is experiencing minor symptoms. The evacuation flight touched down in Nebraska early Monday morning.

The American passengers will undergo evaluation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which operates a government-funded isolation facility. Medical staff will determine each person’s exposure risk and potential for virus transmission. The medical center houses a specialized treatment unit for highly contagious diseases, previously utilized for COVID-19 and Ebola patients during past health emergencies.

Military and government aircraft began transporting passengers from the cruise vessel on Sunday after it docked in the Canary Islands. Medical personnel wearing complete protective suits and respiratory equipment guided travelers from the ship to shore in Tenerife, with evacuation operations extending into Monday.

The World Health Organization has advised strict surveillance of all former passengers, prompting numerous nations to implement quarantine protocols.

Previously, representatives from Spain’s Health Ministry, the World Health Organization, and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions had stated that none of the more than 140 individuals aboard the Hondius were displaying viral symptoms.

The international evacuation effort involves transporting passengers from over 20 nations, with operations scheduled to continue through Monday.

The outbreak has claimed three lives, while five additional passengers who disembarked earlier have confirmed infections.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that the general population should remain calm about the situation. “This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic,” he stated Sunday.

The virus typically transmits through contact with rodent waste and rarely passes between humans. However, the Andes strain identified in this cruise ship incident may occasionally spread person-to-person. Symptoms generally appear one to eight weeks following exposure.

Maria van Kerkhove, WHO’s chief epidemiologist, explained the organization’s recommendations for passenger monitoring: “have active monitoring and follow-up, which means daily health checks, either at home or in a specialized facility.”

Multiple countries have announced plans to quarantine or hospitalize their returning citizens for medical observation.

PARIS – A French woman who traveled on a cruise ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak has contracted the disease and her health is declining, according to French Health Minister Stephanie Rist, who made the announcement Monday.

The infected woman was one of five French citizens aboard the affected vessel. The remaining four French passengers have tested negative for the virus but will undergo additional testing, Rist explained during an interview with France Inter radio. She noted that French health officials have identified 22 individuals who may have been exposed.

“What is key, is to act at the start and break the virus transmission chains. This is what we are doing with the Prime Minister, notably with a decree that came out today that will allow us to strengthen isolation measures for contact cases and to protect the population,” Rist stated.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is scheduled to convene a meeting regarding the hantavirus situation later Monday.

When questioned about France’s preparedness for a potential outbreak, including adequate supplies of masks and testing materials, Rist responded confidently: “Yes, France is ready.”

Spain’s health minister announced that the final group of passengers will be removed Monday from a Dutch luxury cruise vessel where a fatal hantavirus outbreak has claimed three lives and infected multiple travelers.

Two evacuation flights are scheduled to depart from Spain’s Tenerife island – one Australian aircraft will transport six passengers while a Dutch flight will carry 18 individuals. Both planes will also accommodate travelers from nations that did not arrange their own rescue missions, according to Spanish officials.

World Health Organization data from Friday indicates eight former ship passengers have become ill, with six cases officially confirmed as hantavirus infections. The fatalities include a married couple from the Netherlands and one German citizen.

U.S. health officials revealed Sunday that among 17 Americans being brought home, one person has tested positive for the Andes variant of the virus while another individual is showing mild symptoms. France’s health minister separately confirmed a French passenger contracted the virus and is experiencing worsening health conditions. It remains unclear whether these cases are part of the WHO’s reported six confirmed infections.

The MV Hondius carried 147 passengers and crew members when health authorities first learned of a cluster of serious respiratory cases on May 3. By that time, 34 additional passengers had already left the ship, which began its journey from Argentina in March with Antarctic stops and other destinations before traveling north toward Cape Verde’s waters off Africa’s west coast. The vessel was temporarily detained there last week once news of the health crisis broke.

Health officials in Johannesburg first identified the outbreak on May 2 while treating a British passenger who required intensive care after leaving the ship. This discovery came approximately three weeks after another traveler had died. The virus typically spreads through rodent contact but can occasionally transmit between people during close contact situations.

The cruise ship departed Cape Verde waters Wednesday bound for Spain’s Canary Islands after the WHO and European Union requested Spanish authorities coordinate passenger evacuations following the outbreak confirmation.

Aircraft departed Tenerife over Sunday and Monday carrying passengers to Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, France, Britain, Ireland, and the United States. Some travelers were also transported to Madrid for processing.

All evacuated passengers will undergo testing upon arrival and will either be hospitalized, placed in quarantine facilities, or sent home for isolation monitoring.

WHO’s epidemic and pandemic management director Maria Van Kerkhove announced during a briefing that the organization recommends a 42-day quarantine period for all ship passengers beginning Sunday.

Thirty crew members will stay aboard the vessel as it sails to the Netherlands Monday evening, where comprehensive disinfection procedures will take place.

Health authorities are urging public calm, emphasizing to communities still affected by COVID-19 memories that this virus poses significantly less transmission risk and minimal danger to general populations.

“This is not COVID and we don’t want to treat it like COVID,” acting U.S. CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya told CNN Sunday, explaining that the 17 American passengers can choose between home isolation or quarantine at a Nebraska facility.

Spain’s health ministry similarly minimized broader population risks while noting that no rodents were found on the cruise ship.

Medical experts are emphasizing that playground time serves a much greater purpose than simply giving students a chance to have fun during the school day. According to health professionals, these unstructured periods are vital for both academic achievement and overall wellness across all grade levels.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its first updated recommendations in over a decade regarding the importance of safeguarding these school breaks. The timing of this guidance comes as many schools have been cutting back on recess time while children’s health outcomes have declined.

“The group has always supported play – free play for kids – but it’s been increasingly threatened over time,” explained Dr. Robert Murray, one of the primary authors of the new recommendations. He noted that pressure to improve standardized test performance has contributed to this trend. “It has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest.”

The updated recommendations, which appeared Monday in Pediatrics journal, maintain similar principles to earlier guidance but incorporate recent scientific findings about how these breaks support students’ learning capacity and their mental, physical, social and emotional development.

Recent studies demonstrate that students require breaks between intense learning sessions to allow their minds to process and retain new information effectively. Scientists have also found that recess provides opportunities for children to practice social interactions and develop self-confidence, benefits that remain important for teenagers as well as elementary students.

Murray and his research team highlighted how physical movement during these breaks helps combat childhood obesity, which currently impacts approximately 20% of young people in the United States.

Based on these advantages, the medical professionals urge schools to preserve recess time and avoid removing it as a consequence for poor behavior or academic performance, practices that occur in some educational settings.

“If the child is disruptive or rude and disrespectful, recess is one of the things that teachers use to punish kids,” Murray explained. He emphasized that students who display behavioral problems or academic struggles are typically those who would benefit most from these breaks.

However, the issue extends beyond individual disciplinary actions. Data from Springboard to Active Schools working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that since the mid-2000s, as many as 40% of school systems nationwide have shortened or completely removed recess periods.

Currently, the amount of recess time varies dramatically among American schools, spanning from under 10 minutes to over an hour daily, according to the pediatrics organization. High school and middle school students typically receive less break time compared to elementary pupils.

Research indicates that children should receive at least 20 minutes daily along with several shorter breaks throughout the day. International examples from countries like Denmark, Japan and the United Kingdom show students getting breaks every 45 to 50 minutes of classroom time.

“They should get a long enough period of time where they can de-stress and blow off steam and prepare for the next class,” Murray stated.

Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, who specializes in childhood obesity treatment at Mass General Brigham for Children in Boston, expressed support for the revised recess guidelines. Drawing from her experience as both a physician and parent, she shared how her 8-year-old discovered basketball during recess and developed a passion for the sport.

Fiechtner, who did not participate in developing the new guidance, supports extending recess requirements to older students as well.

“As kids get older, they’re more on their screens. So it’s really helpful, I think, for outdoor activity and recess to be happening,” she noted. “Recess is great. We all kind of need recess.”

Australian officials announced Monday they will bring home citizens aboard a luxury cruise vessel where a fatal hantavirus outbreak has claimed three lives.

The MV Hondius, flying under a Dutch flag, remains anchored off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands as international evacuation efforts continue. Environment Minister Murray Watt confirmed to ABC News that Australia has committed to evacuating a small group of its nationals along with one foreign resident requiring medical care, though he did not specify that person’s nationality.

“We have agreed to repatriate a small number of Australians… and also one resident of another country to Australia for medical treatment,” Watt stated.

Officials have not disclosed whether any Australians being evacuated have developed symptoms or contracted the illness. Australia’s foreign ministry has yet to provide additional evacuation details.

According to World Health Organization data from Friday, eight individuals who were previously aboard the cruise ship have become sick, with six cases confirmed as hantavirus infections. The outbreak has resulted in three fatalities: a Dutch couple and one German passenger.

Spain’s health minister indicated that the final two evacuation flights – one bound for Australia and another for the Netherlands – were scheduled to depart Monday afternoon local time. Earlier evacuations had already transported passengers to Spain, France, Canada, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States by Sunday evening.

New Zealand officials are still working with international partners to arrange evacuation for one of their citizens aboard the ship. Public Health Director Corina Grey said Monday that New Zealand’s health system is prepared to handle quarantine protocols if needed.

Health authorities are implementing a 42-day quarantine period for all passengers, following WHO recommendations. However, global health experts are urging the public to remain calm, emphasizing that this virus spreads much less easily than COVID-19 and presents minimal danger to the broader population.

The virus typically spreads through contact with infected rodents, though rare cases of human-to-human transmission can occur during close contact. Health officials in Johannesburg first identified the outbreak on May 2 while treating a British passenger who required intensive care. This occurred 21 days after another passenger had already died from the illness.

Once authorities confirmed the outbreak, the vessel departed Cape Verde waters on Wednesday and headed toward Spain. The ship had completed a journey from Argentina’s southern coast, crossing the southern Atlantic Ocean before reaching the Cape Verde islands.

Federal health officials announced Sunday that among 17 Americans being evacuated from a luxury cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak, one passenger has received a mild positive test result for the Andes strain while another is experiencing mild symptoms.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that all American citizens are being flown back to the United States via airlift, with the two affected passengers traveling in specialized biocontainment compartments aboard the aircraft. Officials noted that the second passenger showing symptoms has not yet received confirmation of infection.

These viruses typically spread through contact with rodents, though person-to-person transmission can occur in uncommon instances. Public health experts emphasize that the likelihood of widespread transmission remains minimal.

According to a Friday update from the World Health Organization, eight individuals no longer aboard the MV Hondius have become sick, with six receiving confirmed diagnoses. The outbreak has claimed three lives: a Dutch couple and one German passenger.

The particular Andes strain detected in this outbreak can lead to serious respiratory complications with mortality rates reaching up to 50% of cases, WHO officials report.

The State Department’s evacuation flight will deliver passengers to the ASPR Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The symptomatic passenger will receive treatment at an additional specialized facility, according to HHS statements.

Upon reaching these medical centers, every individual will receive comprehensive health evaluations and treatment tailored to their specific medical needs, health officials confirmed.

Multiple nations including Spain, France, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ireland have initiated evacuation efforts for their citizens from the MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Spain’s health minister announced Sunday evening that the remaining evacuation flights from a cruise ship experiencing a fatal hantavirus outbreak will leave Monday afternoon from waters near Tenerife, with 94 passengers already removed from the vessel.

According to officials, an Australian aircraft will transport six passengers while a flight from the Netherlands will carry 18 passengers. Both planes will also accommodate travelers from nations that chose not to organize their own rescue operations.

The co-creator of WhatsApp has made history with an unprecedented $200 million contribution to a Jerusalem medical facility, marking the largest healthcare gift ever recorded in Israel.

Jan Koum’s massive donation will support Shaare Zedek hospital’s ambitious expansion plans, which include constructing a new patient care tower and housing complex for medical personnel. In recognition of his generosity, the medical facility will receive a new name: the Koum Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

The ambitious construction project centers around a 24-floor structure covering more than 1.5 million square feet, featuring state-of-the-art surgical suites and emergency treatment areas. Hospital officials expect the expansion to triple their current operations and transform the facility into one of Israel’s premier medical institutions.

Currently housing approximately 1,000 patient beds, Shaare Zedek operates independently without ties to Israel’s major healthcare networks, making external financial support crucial for growth and acquiring cutting-edge medical equipment.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, to a Jewish household, Koum relocated to America during his teenage years with his mother and grandmother. His career path led him from security analysis work at Ernst & Young through a stint at Yahoo before launching WhatsApp in 2009. The messaging platform’s success culminated in a $19 billion acquisition by Meta in 2014.

Through the Koum Family Foundation, the tech entrepreneur has become a significant supporter of Israeli and Jewish causes in recent years. His philanthropic efforts have channeled hundreds of millions toward various organizations, including Stanford University’s Israel studies programs, the AIPAC political lobby, Chabad institutions, Ukrainian Jewish communities, and groups focused on acquiring property in eastern Jerusalem.

According to Forbes’ 2023 calculations, Koum’s wealth totals $15.2 billion, ranking him among the globe’s most affluent individuals.

Travelers aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius have begun leaving the ship at Spain’s Canary Islands following an outbreak of hantavirus, with passengers now being transported back to their home nations.

Health officials are overseeing the evacuation process as passengers disembark from the affected vessel. The outbreak has prompted authorities to implement safety protocols for those who were aboard the ship.

The evacuation efforts continue as passengers make their way home from the Canary Islands location where the ship docked.

TENERIFE, Spain — The MV Hondius cruise vessel, carrying over 140 individuals during a hantavirus outbreak, has docked at Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands off West Africa’s coast, where passengers and select crew members will leave the ship.

According to the World Health Organization, Spanish officials, and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions, no one currently aboard the vessel is displaying virus symptoms. The outbreak has claimed three lives, while five passengers who previously departed the ship have tested positive for hantavirus, a potentially fatal illness.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will oversee the ship’s evacuation alongside Spain’s health and interior ministers. Officials have confirmed that disembarking passengers and crew will remain isolated from local residents and will only leave the vessel when evacuation aircraft are prepared to transport them to their final destinations.

A luxury cruise vessel affected by a fatal hantavirus outbreak reached the waters near Tenerife’s Port of Granadilla early Sunday morning, where Spanish authorities began coordinating an emergency passenger evacuation operation.

Health officials plan to transport all passengers to shore using smaller vessels before conducting mandatory health screenings. None of the travelers aboard the MV Hondius have shown symptoms of the deadly virus, Spanish authorities confirmed.

Following medical evaluations, passengers will board sealed transportation vehicles for the brief 10-minute journey to Tenerife’s primary airport, where international flights await to return them to their home countries.

European health officials have classified every passenger as a high-risk contact as a safety precaution, according to a rapid scientific assessment released Saturday evening by the continent’s public health agency.

The complex evacuation operation was scheduled to commence between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. local time, with Spanish citizens departing first, followed by other nationalities in organized groups. Thirty crew members will stay aboard to sail the vessel to the Netherlands for complete sanitization.

The ship departed from Cape Verde’s coastline Wednesday after the World Health Organization and European Union requested Spain manage the emergency passenger removal following the virus detection.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus touched down in the Canary Islands Saturday evening, joining Spain’s interior, health, and territorial policy ministers to oversee the vessel’s arrival coordination.

Health authorities reported Friday that eight individuals became ill during the voyage, with three fatalities including a Dutch couple and a German passenger. Six cases have received laboratory confirmation, while two additional suspected infections remain under investigation.

While rodents typically transmit hantavirus, rare instances of human-to-human spread can occur. Global health officials assess the risk to the general population as minimal, though passengers and crew face moderate exposure levels.

European health officials have designated every traveler aboard a cruise ship affected by a fatal hantavirus outbreak as high-risk contacts as a safety precaution, according to statements released Saturday by the continent’s public health agency. The announcement comes as the vessel prepares to dock Sunday near Spain’s Tenerife island.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced that travelers showing no symptoms would be returned to their home nations for self-isolation using special transportation arrangements rather than standard commercial airline services.

Nations were making preparations to retrieve their citizens from the MV Hondius between 6:30 and 7:00 GMT. The World Health Organization reported Friday that eight individuals have become sick, with three fatalities including a Dutch couple and one German citizen. Health officials have confirmed six cases of the virus, with two additional suspected infections under investigation.

The ECDC noted that while passengers will be classified as high-risk during departure, this designation may not necessarily continue once they return to their respective countries.

The health agency recommended that passengers displaying symptoms receive immediate priority for medical evaluation and testing upon arrival. These individuals may remain in isolation on Tenerife or be transported home for medical care based on their health status.

While rodents typically transmit the virus, human-to-human transmission can occur in uncommon circumstances. Health officials have stated that the likelihood of widespread transmission remains minimal.

A cruise vessel called the MV Hondius is currently experiencing a hantavirus outbreak, with over 140 individuals aboard including both travelers and staff members.

The situation aboard the affected vessel has been documented through a series of photographs compiled by Associated Press photo editors.

Federal health authorities are working to calm public concerns about hantavirus, emphasizing that the chances of a major outbreak spreading across communities remain very low.

Despite recent media coverage that has generated anxiety about the potential for another pandemic-level health crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that the likelihood of extensive transmission is minimal.

The virus has captured significant attention in news reports recently, leading to public worry about whether the nation could face another widespread health emergency similar to previous pandemic experiences.

British health officials announced Saturday that passengers and crew members from the United Kingdom aboard a cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be placed in hospital isolation upon their return home.

Twenty-two British citizens are currently on the MV Hondius, which is scheduled to dock near the Spanish island of Tenerife early Sunday morning before the passengers are transported back to Britain by aircraft.

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the vessel has sickened eight individuals, with three fatalities reported. Spanish authorities indicated that multiple nations including the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, and Ireland have arranged evacuation flights to retrieve their citizens from the affected cruise ship.

Upon arrival, British passengers will undergo medical evaluation and testing during a precautionary isolation period lasting up to three days at a supervised medical facility, according to a collaborative announcement from northwestern England health departments, law enforcement, and local government officials. Sky News identified the location as Arrowe Park Hospital in the Liverpool area.

“The risk to the general population remains very low,” officials stated in their joint announcement.

The UK Health Security Agency announced Friday that returning passengers and crew members will be required to remain in isolation for 45 days following their homecoming.

Public health specialists are questioning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to an unusual hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise vessel that has affected American citizens and drawn international attention.

The federal health agency has faced criticism for not immediately deploying disease investigators, holding public briefings, or issuing prompt medical advisories to healthcare providers during the crisis.

“We seem to have things under very good control,” President Donald Trump told reporters Friday evening.

However, health authorities indicate the situation remains manageable primarily because hantavirus doesn’t transmit easily between people, unlike COVID-19, measles, or influenza. International health officials, rather than U.S. agencies, have taken the lead in managing the outbreak over the past week.

“The CDC is not even a player,” said Lawrence Gostin, an international public health expert at Georgetown University. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Some specialists suggest the CDC’s reduced involvement signals the agency no longer holds its former position as a leader in global health or domestic disease protection.

The hantavirus situation represents “a sentinel event” that reveals “how well the country is prepared for a disease threat. And right now, I’m very sorry to say that we are not prepared,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The outbreak began in early last month when a 70-year-old Dutch passenger developed fever-related symptoms aboard a cruise vessel traveling from Argentina to Antarctica and South Atlantic islands. The man died within a week. Additional passengers fell ill, including his spouse and a German woman, both of whom also died.

Medical officials confirmed hantavirus as the cause of illness in one case on May 2. The World Health Organization responded quickly and declared an outbreak by Monday. Approximately two dozen Americans were aboard the ship, with roughly seven disembarking last month and 17 remaining on the vessel.

Historically, the CDC worked closely with WHO during such emergencies. The agency served as a cornerstone of international disease investigations, supplying personnel and knowledge to solve outbreak puzzles, create control measures, and inform the public about risks and appropriate responses.

These efforts helped establish the CDC’s reputation as the world’s leading public health organization.

However, the WHO has taken center stage this time, conducting the risk evaluation that determined the outbreak doesn’t pose a pandemic threat.

“I don’t think this is a giant threat to the United States,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center. But the way events have unfolded “just shows how empty and vapid the CDC is right now,” she said.

This situation follows 16 months of upheaval during which the Trump administration left the WHO, sometimes prevented CDC scientists from communicating with international colleagues, and began building its own global health network through individual country partnerships.

The administration has eliminated thousands of CDC scientists and public health workers, including staff from the agency’s ship sanitation program.

During these developments, Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stated he was working to “restore the CDC’s focus on infectious disease, invest in innovation, and rebuild trust through integrity and transparency.”

The CDC hasn’t remained entirely quiet about the hantavirus situation.

On Wednesday, the agency released a brief statement declaring the risk to Americans “extremely low” and describing the U.S. government as “the world’s leader in global health security.”

Nuzzo responded: “Not only was that not helpful, it actually does damage because a core principle of public health communications is humility.”

CDC acting director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya posted on social media that the agency was contributing expertise while coordinating with other federal departments and international authorities. Arizona state officials announced this week they learned from the CDC that one American who left the ship — showing no symptoms and not considered infectious — had returned to the state. WHO representatives confirmed the CDC has been sharing technical data.

The CDC is also “monitoring the health status and preparing medical support for all of the American passengers on the cruise,” Bhattacharya wrote.

Nevertheless, federal health officials have largely remained silent, refusing interview requests. Some information emerged through anonymous sources rather than public announcements, including Friday’s news that the CDC was dispatching a team to Spain’s Canary Islands to assist Americans aboard the vessel.

Friday evening, health officials released an updated statement confirming the Canary Islands team deployment. They also announced a second team would travel to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska as part of plans to evacuate American passengers to a quarantine facility.

During interviews this week, several experts drew comparisons to a 2020 incident involving the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan that became the site of one of the first major COVID-19 outbreaks outside China.

The CDC deployed staff to the port, assisted with American passenger evacuation, operated quarantine facilities, shared virus genetic information, coordinated with WHO and Japan, conducted public briefings, and quickly published reports “that became the world’s reference data on cruise ship COVID transmission,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director.

While some aspects of the Diamond Princess international response faced criticism and didn’t prevent the outbreak or stop COVID-19’s global spread, experts say the CDC made significant efforts.

“The CDC was right on top of it, very visible, very active in trying to manage and contain it,” Gostin said, contrasting with the agency’s current delayed and muted response.

Rather than collaborating with nearly all world nations through WHO, the Trump administration has pursued bilateral health agreements with individual countries for information sharing, public health assistance, and what it calls “the introduction of innovative American technologies.” About 30 such agreements currently exist.

Gostin considers this approach inadequate. “You can’t possibly cover a global health crisis by doing one-on-one deals with countries here and there,” he said.

Medical and wellness guidance floods social media platforms daily — ranging from helpful tips to trendy fads to outright false information — and millions of Americans are turning to these sources for health advice.

Recent findings from the Pew Research Center reveal that roughly 40% of American adults — with about half of those younger than 50 — obtain health guidance through social media platforms or podcasts.

The study examined social media accounts belonging to 6,828 wellness influencers who each have more than 100,000 followers. Results showed that only around 40% actually list credentials as healthcare professionals. Approximately one-third identify as coaches, roughly 30% describe themselves as business owners, and about 10% cite personal experiences such as parenthood as their qualifications.

Even with varying levels of expertise among these content creators, approximately half of people following health influencers reported that the information helps them understand their wellbeing better. About one-third said the content made little impact, while roughly 10% admitted it left them more confused.

Medical professionals recommend approaching fitness, mental health, and personal wellness posts with healthy skepticism. They offer guidance on becoming a more informed consumer of online health content.

Healthcare professionals emphasize that easily accessible credentials on an influencer’s profile serve as the most reliable indicator of legitimacy. They warn against self-proclaimed coaches who cannot demonstrate proper training or certification.

Courtney Babilya, a certified medical exercise specialist and personal trainer with over 430,000 Instagram followers, has observed this pattern in pregnancy-related content. “Someone has a baby and suddenly they’re a pregnancy coach,” she noted.

“We have to be careful with people who have an experience in one thing and suddenly become a ‘coach’ on that,” Babilya explained.

She points out that coaching represents a business approach rather than evidence of professional training. While Babilya discusses her personal chronic illness journey online, she maintains clear separation from her professional guidance.

“You do have an obligation to make sure that you are not giving someone a false idea or spreading a message that isn’t going to be applicable to everyone,” she emphasized.

Medical experts advise taking a step back when content triggers strong emotional responses. For individuals who struggle to access healthcare or feel dismissed by physicians, unconventional advice might seem like the solution they’ve been seeking. The Pew study found that 53% of uninsured individuals obtained health information through social media, compared to 38% of those with insurance coverage.

However, Dr. Fatima Daoud Yilmaz, an OB-GYN at Stony Brook Medicine in New York who creates the popular “Feminine Aisle” video series reviewing drugstore products, explains that legitimate medical information providers online avoid creating fear or shock.

Even when dealing with qualified experts, viewers should consider whether they’re discussing topics beyond their expertise and if their statements align with established scientific understanding.

“All opinions are not created equal when it comes to something such as health or medicine or science,” Daoud stated.

Babilya warns against overstated or absolute statements, particularly in video openings where influencers work hard to capture viewer attention.

Nedra Glover Tawwab, a practicing therapist and author, suggests that cautious language indicates credibility. In her boundary and mental health videos for 1.8 million Instagram followers, she uses words like “maybe,” “sometimes,” and “perhaps” rather than providing diagnoses.

Tawwab advises that feeling like you’ve discovered a diagnosis online signals the need to consult an actual professional.

Social media users should remember that content creators earn money from their platforms — for many, it’s their primary income source.

“It doesn’t mean that all of the information that they put out is biased, but it should tell consumers of that information to take it with a grain of salt because they do have financial incentive to be pushing information like this,” Daoud explained.

Babilya’s platform has become her full-time career and helps support her family. While accepting partnerships and brand collaborations wasn’t an easy choice, it makes her work financially viable.

Babilya emphasizes transparency with her audience and ensures all sponsored content receives proper labeling.

Medical professionals also suggest verifying video sources and looking for high-quality scientific evidence. Some posts lack proper fact-checking, Babilya cautions, referencing studies that don’t actually support the influencer’s claims.

Tawwab recommends applying the same scrutiny used when researching online purchases. Examine broader discussions around the advice similar to reading product reviews.

According to the Pew survey, two-thirds of users encounter this content accidentally rather than actively searching for it.

Ash Milton from the University of Minnesota, who researches how people navigate online mental health information, explains that controlling your feed requires ongoing effort and time.

“You have to work for it because the algorithm is designed to be passive consumption,” Milton noted.

Users can employ Instagram’s “Hidden Words” feature or TikTok’s “Not Interested” option to filter content, though Milton points out that TikTok may not identify exactly which video elements you want to avoid. She suggests using your reactions as guidance to limit content by asking whether the health information truly applies to and benefits your life, or simply feels relatable.

Healthcare professionals strongly recommend verifying any online health information with trusted medical providers before taking action.

Unlike influencers who can make any claims, medical professionals face ethical and legal responsibility for patient care and “may face professional and personal consequences for the advice that they give you,” Daoud explained.

“Ultimately, talk to the medical provider who knows you,” she concluded.

The World Health Organization’s top official touched down in Spain Saturday to coordinate the safe removal of more than 140 people aboard a cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak as it approaches the Canary Islands.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced his arrival at the Spanish island of Tenerife, located off West Africa’s coast, accompanied by high-ranking Spanish officials. “to oversee safe disembarkation of the passengers, crew members and health experts,” he stated.

The MV Hondius, sailing under a Dutch flag, is scheduled to dock at Tenerife during the early morning hours Sunday. Tedros reported that currently, no individuals aboard the vessel are displaying viral symptoms.

“WHO continues to actively monitor the situation, coordinate support and next steps and will keep Member States and the public updated accordingly. So far, the risk for the population of Canary Islands and globally remains low,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced Friday her plans to travel to Tenerife alongside Tedros and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to manage the passenger removal process.

The outbreak has claimed three lives, with five passengers who previously departed the vessel now confirmed to carry the hantavirus infection. Both American and British governments have committed to dispatching aircraft to retrieve their nationals from the affected cruise liner.

Virginia Barcones, who leads Spain’s emergency response services, explained that passengers will be transported to a “completely isolated, cordoned-off area” upon leaving the ship.

Typically transmitted through breathing in contaminated rodent waste particles, hantavirus rarely passes from person to person. However, the specific Andes strain identified in this cruise outbreak may occasionally spread between individuals. Illness signs typically emerge one to eight weeks following exposure.

A correspondence from Dutch foreign and health officials to their parliament Friday evening revealed that Spain has triggered the European Union’s civil protection system, placing a specialized medical evacuation aircraft on alert for high-risk infectious disease transport.

Should anyone become sick, ship medical personnel will notify Spanish officials, and the evacuation aircraft “will be sent to Tenerife so that the sick person can be quickly transported by air to the European mainland.”

Dutch authorities plan to collaborate with Spanish officials and the shipping company to arrange the return of Dutch passengers and crew immediately after reaching Tenerife, pending medical assessments and guidance from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Symptom-free individuals will enter six-week home isolation with local health service monitoring.

Given the vessel’s Dutch registration, the Netherlands may temporarily house people from other countries while overseeing their quarantine period.

Medical officials across four continents are tracking and observing more than two dozen passengers who left the ship before the fatal outbreak’s discovery. They are also working urgently to locate others who may have encountered these individuals.

Friday brought news from the WHO that a flight attendant on an aircraft briefly boarded by an infected cruise passenger had received a negative hantavirus test. Concerns about her potential infection had sparked worries regarding the virus’s transmission capabilities.

The flight attendant’s negative outcome should calm public anxiety, noted Christian Lindmeier, a WHO representative. “The risk remains absolutely low,” he emphasized. “This is not a new COVID.”

On April 24, nearly fourteen days after the initial passenger death aboard the vessel, more than two dozen individuals from at least twelve nations departed the ship without contact monitoring, according to Dutch authorities and the ship’s management company.

Health officials didn’t confirm the first hantavirus case in a ship passenger until May 2, the WHO reported.

The KLM flight attendant who received the negative test result was working aboard an aircraft traveling from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25 and subsequently became ill.

The cruise passenger who briefly traveled on that flight — a Dutch woman whose spouse died aboard the ship — was too sick to continue the international journey to Europe and was removed in Johannesburg, where she passed away.

Dutch public health officials are conducting contact tracking for passengers who interacted with the sick woman before her plane departure.

Friday brought word from U.K. health officials that a third British citizen who had sailed on the ship is suspected of hantavirus infection. The U.K. Health Security Agency reported the individual is located on Tristan da Cunha, an isolated British territory in the South Atlantic where the vessel made an April stop. No update was provided regarding the person’s medical status.

Spanish health authorities announced Friday that a woman in the southeastern Spanish region of Alicante shows signs matching a hantavirus infection and is undergoing testing.

She traveled on the same aircraft as the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg after her cruise ship journey, Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla informed media representatives.

Two additional Britons from the ship have confirmed viral infections. One remains hospitalized in the Netherlands while the other receives treatment in South Africa.

South African officials are working to identify contacts of any passengers who previously left the vessel. Their efforts have concentrated primarily on an April 25 flight from the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena to Johannesburg, occurring one day after some passengers left the ship on the island.

Several U.S. state officials reported monitoring a small group of residents who sailed on the ship and have returned home, along with people who may have contacted ship passengers. None are showing symptoms.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Provincial authorities in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego are disputing federal claims that a fatal hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship may have started in their region, calling instead for investigations into other Argentine locations the infected passengers had visited before their voyage.

Local leaders in this southernmost archipelago of South America are rejecting the theory that the virus originated from a waste site in Ushuaia that national health officials identified earlier this week as the probable location where two Dutch tourists became infected while observing birds.

“I believe we are facing a smear campaign against this destination,” Juan Facundo Petrina, the province’s director of epidemiology, told reporters Friday in a press conference from Ushuaia.

Petrina said federal authorities failed to reach out to local officials initially, learning about the supposed Ushuaia connection through news coverage instead. He also noted that Tierra del Fuego has never documented a hantavirus case, particularly not the Andes strain linked to the ship outbreak, unlike northern Argentine provinces.

The Dutch pair, who both perished, remained in Tierra del Fuego for only two days during their four-month journey across Argentina and Chile, he noted, which “dramatically reduces the likelihood that the infection happened here.”

Serving as the primary departure point for Antarctic expeditions, the isolated community of Ushuaia welcomed more than 157,000 cruise travelers last year — nearly twice its resident population. Wealthy cruise tourists have become increasingly essential to Tierra del Fuego’s economic stability as its primary electronics manufacturing industry struggles under libertarian President Javier Milei’s elimination of trade protections and government subsidies.

“Now the whole world is associating Ushuaia, and cruise travel, with a lethal virus, and if this continues, reservations for next season are honestly going to plummet because nobody will want to be exposed,” said Rubén Rafael, the former health minister of Tierra del Fuego. “Ushuaia’s reputation as a tourist destination is suffering badly.”

When questioned Friday about whether the Argentine Health Ministry still supported the theory that the outbreak began at the Ushuaia landfill, a ministry representative, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization to discuss the investigation, confirmed their position remained unchanged and Ushuaia was the sole location receiving investigators, while acknowledging the virus could have originated elsewhere in Argentina.

The Health Ministry revealed Wednesday it would send specialists from the government-supported Malbran Institute to capture rodents at the Ushuaia waste facility and surrounding areas for testing for the Andes hantavirus strain.

More than two days later, the research team has not yet arrived. The official attributed the postponement to Argentina’s typically sluggish government processes.

In Tierra del Fuego, Petrina expressed hope that national researchers would vindicate Ushuaia. He explained the delay was needed “to determine all the exact locations where trapping and analysis will take place.”

Others in the left-leaning province criticized the administration’s postponement and lack of openness as part of a broader trend since Milei dismantled the nation’s health infrastructure, pulling Argentina from the World Health Organization shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump made the same move and eliminating national programs that monitor infectious diseases.

“The health system in Argentina is going through a serious crisis,” said Rafael, the former provincial health minister. “The system is weakened, and as a result, the response to this outbreak has been very slow. That exposes all of us.”

Beyond Argentina, public health specialists emphasized that the investigation represents a crucial measure to prevent similar incidents.

“It’s not an extreme emergency, but it’s still of urgency in terms of collecting the data,” said Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist who serves as editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News and previously advised the Biden administration on the coronavirus pandemic.

“If there is an Andes virus that is more infectious locally you’d want to know that so that you can warn local residents and take measures to prevent their infection. And if they haven’t started that process yet, that would be concerning.”

The Dutch travelers whom the WHO has confirmed as the initial cruise passengers infected with the Andes variant — the sole hantavirus that may transmit between people in uncommon instances — reached Argentina last November, according to the Argentine Health Ministry.

The travelers, ages 70 and 69, spent weeks driving throughout the nation before making multiple border crossings between Argentina and Chile over several months. They also journeyed between Argentina and Uruguay in March before starting their Antarctic cruise from Ushuaia on April 1.

The administrations of Chile, which has experienced fatal Andes variant outbreaks previously, and Uruguay, which has not, determined the couple could not have contracted the infection during their visits based on the virus’s up-to-eight-week incubation timeline. They provided no additional information.

Since the couple died, tracking their movements across the country proves extremely challenging, Argentine health officials stated, adding they are working to complete missing details of the couple’s itinerary.

Numerous independent Argentine disease specialists believe the hantavirus outbreak most likely originated from the forests of central Patagonia, another significant tourist area where officials have recently documented hantavirus cases and long-tailed rodents known to harbor the Andes variant are abundant — unlike in Ushuaia.

“With the media pressure now, it wouldn’t surprise me if the government’s response has been more about quieting criticism by appearing to act,” said Raul González Ittig, genetics professor at the National University of Cordoba.

A North Carolina chocolate manufacturer has broadened its voluntary product recall over concerns about potential bacterial contamination that could pose health risks to consumers.

Spring & Mulberry announced on May 8, 2026, from Raleigh that it is expanding a previously issued recall of certain chocolate bar products due to possible Salmonella contamination.

The company had initially issued a recall for select chocolate bars and is now taking additional precautionary steps by widening the scope of affected products.

Salmonella contamination can cause serious foodborne illness, particularly in young children, elderly individuals, and those with compromised immune systems. Symptoms typically include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

The Food and Drug Administration has posted details about the expanded recall on its website as part of ongoing safety monitoring efforts.

Consumers who have purchased Spring & Mulberry chocolate products are advised to check recall notices and avoid consuming any items that may be affected by the contamination concern.

Health officials announced Friday that a deadly hantavirus outbreak has struck passengers aboard a cruise vessel bound for Spain, resulting in three deaths among eight people who became sick.

The World Health Organization confirmed that laboratory testing has verified six cases of Andes virus, a form of hantavirus, while two additional cases remain under investigation.

When authorities first became aware of the health crisis on May 2, the vessel was carrying 147 passengers and crew members, though 34 individuals had previously departed the ship.

Medical facilities in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland are currently treating four patients from the outbreak. A suspected case transported to Germany has since tested negative for the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it is actively tracking the situation involving American travelers on the affected cruise ship. Federal health officials plan to arrange a medical evacuation flight to transport U.S. passengers to Omaha, Nebraska.

According to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions, 17 American citizens are currently aboard the vessel.

The ship departed from Cabo Verde on May 6 and is traveling toward Spain’s Canary Islands, where passengers are scheduled to leave the vessel.

While the WHO assessed the threat to the general global population as minimal, officials described the risk level for those aboard the cruise ship as moderate.

Health investigators believe the initial infection may have occurred before the person boarded the ship, potentially during travel through Argentina and Chile, with subsequent transmission happening among passengers and crew during the voyage.

A Milwaukee-based food manufacturer has issued a voluntary recall of white cheddar seasoning products sold to consumers after discovering potential salmonella contamination.

Jonco Industries, Inc. announced the recall affecting certain consumer-sized packages of their White Cheddar Seasoning. The company took action after identifying the possibility that their products could contain salmonella bacteria.

Health officials warn that salmonella exposure can lead to severe infections that may prove life-threatening for vulnerable populations, including young children, elderly individuals, and people with compromised immune systems.

The recall specifically targets consumer-sized packaging of the seasoning product, though the company has not yet released additional details about specific lot numbers or distribution areas affected by the contamination concern.

Health officials in Argentina have ruled out their southernmost province as the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury cruise vessel, according to statements made during a Friday news conference.

Juan Petrina, who oversees epidemiology and environmental health for Tierra del Fuego province, explained that investigators analyzed the timeline between when passengers visited the region and when they began showing symptoms of the disease.

“The calculations don’t add up for them to have been infected in our province … the possibility is practically nil,” Petrina stated during the briefing held in Ushuaia.

The determination eliminates Argentina’s southernmost territory as a potential infection site for the cruise ship passengers who contracted the dangerous virus.

Spanish health officials are making emergency preparations as a cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak makes its way toward the Canary Islands.

The MV Hondius, carrying more than 140 passengers and crew members, is expected to dock in Tenerife either Saturday or Sunday. At least three people aboard the vessel have lost their lives to the virus, with additional passengers falling ill. Currently, no other passengers or crew are showing symptoms of the disease.

Emergency officials will conduct a carefully orchestrated evacuation when the ship arrives. “Passengers will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” Virginia Barcones, Spain’s head of emergency services, announced Thursday.

Both American and British governments have committed to sending aircraft to retrieve their citizens from the stricken vessel. The U.S. will dispatch a plane to evacuate 17 American passengers, while Britain plans to charter a flight for nearly two dozen British nationals on board.

International health authorities are working around the clock to locate passengers who departed the ship before officials detected the outbreak. On April 24, more than two dozen individuals from at least 12 nations left the vessel without proper contact tracing, according to the ship’s operator and Dutch authorities. The hantavirus wasn’t confirmed in a passenger until May 2, according to the World Health Organization.

The tracking efforts span four continents as officials attempt to monitor those who disembarked and identify anyone who may have encountered them afterward. One Dutch passenger whose husband died aboard the ship became too sick to continue on an international flight to Europe and was removed from the aircraft in Johannesburg, where she later died.

A KLM flight attendant who worked on the April 25 flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam later became ill but tested negative for the virus. She was placed in isolation at an Amsterdam hospital Thursday.

Health experts explain that hantavirus typically transmits when people breathe in contaminated particles from rodent waste. While these viruses have existed for centuries worldwide, they don’t spread easily between humans.

“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” explained Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”

The World Health Organization maintains that the risk to the general public remains minimal. The disease received increased attention recently following the death of Betsy Arakawa, wife of late actor Gene Hackman, from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year.

The MV Hondius operates under a Dutch flag, and Dutch officials confirmed Friday they maintain close communication with the ship’s owner and authorities from nations whose citizens are aboard the vessel.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — International authorities are coordinating efforts to manage 140 passengers and crew aboard a cruise vessel affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak as it approaches Spain’s Canary Islands.

The ship is scheduled to arrive at Tenerife, located off West Africa’s coast, early Sunday morning.

The outbreak has claimed at least three lives, with additional passengers showing signs of infection.

Hantavirus typically spreads through breathing in contaminated particles from rodent waste. The disease’s symptoms emerge between one and eight weeks following exposure. While the World Health Organization states the general public faces minimal risk from this outbreak, the specific Andes strain involved in this incident can occasionally transmit between humans.

Officials and the cruise company continue releasing updates, though significant details remain unclear.

Here are the unanswered questions:

Argentine health investigators believe a Dutch couple initially caught the virus during a bird-watching excursion before joining the cruise in Argentina on April 1. However, no agency has verified the exact location or method of their infection.

Argentina’s Health Ministry has focused attention on Ushuaia, the country’s southernmost city. According to a written statement to The Associated Press, officials plan to visit the area in upcoming days, though no reason was provided for the postponement.

Spanish officials are making preparations to receive the remaining passengers and crew at Tenerife. Authorities announced Friday that upon the vessel’s arrival, passengers will be transferred via small boats to buses only after their homebound flights are confirmed ready for departure.

The United States has committed to dispatching an aircraft to the Canary Islands for American citizens, with Britain making similar arrangements. Other nations have not yet announced their evacuation strategies, leaving uncertainty about passenger wait times.

Virginia Barcones, Spain’s emergency services director, stated Friday that the country had requested medically equipped aircraft for symptomatic passengers, though availability remained uncertain.

Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions reports the MV Hondius left Ushuaia on April 1, making two port calls before the outbreak began.

Six additional passengers joined at Tristan da Cunha, a remote island. The vessel subsequently stopped at St. Helena island, where 30 passengers departed, including a Dutch woman and her deceased husband’s remains. Two of those 30 passengers have unknown nationalities, believed to be Chileans who boarded at Tristan da Cunha, the company stated.

Stephen Doughty, the U.K. minister of overseas territories, reported Friday that a Tristan da Cunha resident has been hospitalized with hantavirus symptoms. Whether this individual traveled on the ship remains unclear.

Oceanwide Expeditions initially reported the ship departed Argentina with 114 passengers plus an undetermined crew count. Updated company figures indicate 61 crew members from 12 nations were aboard, though potential crew changes during the voyage remain unknown.

The cruise company was compelled to revise passenger numbers and nationalities for those who disembarked at St. Helena after finding errors in their original data. Their revised count differs from Dutch Foreign Ministry estimates, with the discrepancy unexplained.

Numerous passengers who left at St. Helena continued to other destinations, including the Dutch woman whose husband perished aboard. She traveled to Johannesburg before briefly boarding an Amsterdam-bound flight. She was removed due to severe illness and later died.

South African and Dutch authorities are tracking anyone who contacted the deceased woman during her journey. A flight attendant who interacted with her tested negative for hantavirus after developing symptoms.

Certain governments, including the United Kingdom, have confirmed their citizens’ locations after leaving the vessel. U.K. health officials report two are self-quarantining at home, four remain on St. Helena, and one “has been traced outside of the U.K.” However, British officials have not disclosed or determined how many others these individuals may have contacted since departing.

A Wisconsin snack manufacturer has issued a voluntary product recall for certain Giant Eagle brand pita chips over concerns about possible salmonella contamination.

Legacy Snack Solutions, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, announced on May 7, 2026, that it is pulling specific production runs of Giant Eagle Baked Pita Chips With Parmesan, Garlic & Herb from store shelves due to potential bacterial contamination.

The company’s decision to recall these products comes after California Diaries, Inc. issued a recall for milk powder ingredients.

Salmonella contamination can cause serious foodborne illness, particularly in young children, elderly individuals, and those with compromised immune systems.

Consumers who have purchased these pita chips are advised to check their packages and dispose of any affected products rather than consuming them.

A food manufacturer based in Grove City, Pennsylvania has initiated a voluntary product recall affecting more than 13,600 pounds of sunflower seeds that potentially contain cashew allergens not listed on the packaging.

The George J. Howe Company announced the recall covers exactly 13,619 pounds of their sunflower seed products due to the presence of undeclared tree nut allergens, specifically cashews.

Health officials warn that consumers who have allergies or heightened sensitivity to tree nuts could experience severe or potentially fatal allergic reactions if they eat the contaminated sunflower seeds.

The recall affects products that may have been distributed to retailers and consumers without proper allergen labeling, creating a significant health hazard for individuals with tree nut allergies.

A California-based bakery company has issued a voluntary product recall after discovering they mistakenly labeled muffins containing tree nuts as a different variety that doesn’t include allergens.

The Brownie Baker, Inc., located in Fresno, announced the recall on May 7, 2026, for Nouria Banana Nut Muffins that were incorrectly packaged and sold as blueberry muffins. The error means consumers with tree nut allergies could unknowingly purchase and consume products containing walnuts, which are not disclosed on the packaging.

The mislabeling poses a potentially dangerous situation for individuals with tree nut sensitivities, as the product contains walnuts but the packaging fails to warn customers about their presence.

The company has voluntarily initiated the recall to address the labeling mistake and protect consumers from potential allergic reactions.

Spanish authorities have developed comprehensive evacuation procedures for a luxury cruise vessel that will dock Sunday after experiencing a deadly hantavirus outbreak during its voyage.

The MV Hondius, carrying 149 individuals representing 23 different nations, is scheduled to reach Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands around midday Sunday (1000 GMT), according to Spanish government officials.

The viral outbreak has resulted in three fatalities, with four additional confirmed infections and three more suspected cases under investigation. However, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions reported Thursday that no remaining passengers are currently showing signs of illness.

Rather than docking directly at port, the vessel will anchor offshore while passengers and crew are transported to land using smaller watercraft. This approach was requested by local island officials, though Spain’s central government emphasized that standard docking procedures would not have posed public health dangers.

The World Health Organization has assessed the broader public risk from this viral outbreak as minimal.

The cruise began its journey April 1 from Argentina, carrying 88 passengers and 61 crew members, including one deceased German citizen still aboard the ship.

Upon reaching Granadilla port in southern Tenerife, evacuees will be transported to the island’s primary airport approximately 10 minutes away, Spain’s civil protection and emergencies director Virginia Barcones explained to state broadcaster TVE Friday.

“They will likely be transferred to the airport on sealed-off buses whose drivers and emergency crew will be clad in protective gear,” Barcones stated. The specialized transport vehicles will deliver passengers directly to airport runways where they will board designated aircraft.

Multiple countries have committed to sending charter aircraft to retrieve their citizens. The United States and Britain have already confirmed flight arrangements, Barcones noted.

For nations unable to organize their own evacuation flights, officials indicated passengers could potentially travel on aircraft dispatched by other countries. Final coordination will involve the European Commission and the Netherlands, which serves as the ship’s flag nation.

Passenger distribution by nationality shows the Philippines with 38 people, Britain with 23, the United States with 17, Spain with 14, and the Netherlands with 13, according to Oceanwide data.

While authorities plan rapid departure for all evacuated individuals, local officials are establishing an isolated medical facility at a nearby hospital as a precautionary measure, confirmed by regional government and union representatives.

Spanish citizens aboard the vessel will be flown to a military medical facility in Madrid.

Regarding the three virus-related deaths, one victim remains on the ship. Dutch authorities will manage the evacuation of the deceased German passenger following established maritime and health protocols, Barcones confirmed.

The MV Hondius must continue to the Netherlands due to flag state requirements, explained Spain’s health secretary Javier Padilla, though he did not specify departure timing.

Canary Islands officials emphasized minimizing the ship’s presence in the archipelago, which is home to approximately one million residents in Tenerife alone.

Padilla noted that ship disinfection procedures while anchored near Tenerife remain under consideration. “It will be done in the moment and place considered most adequate. What we can guarantee is that it will be done without any (health) risks,” he stated.

Whether all crew members will depart the MV Hondius remains unclear, with Padilla indicating the vessel would eventually leave Spanish waters with the “necessary (number of) crew members” aboard.

British health authorities announced Friday they have identified a suspected hantavirus infection in a British citizen living on Tristan da Cunha, a remote South Atlantic island. Officials are working to locate passengers and close contacts from a luxury cruise vessel that visited the island last month.

The cruise ship MV Hondius made a stop at the island on April 15.

AMONG EARTH’S MOST ISOLATED COMMUNITIES

Tristan da Cunha stands as the sole populated island within a distant volcanic island chain, operating under British overseas territory status alongside Saint Helena and Ascension. The island’s single community, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, housed 216 residents as of May 2026, with most families tracing their ancestry to a small group of 1800s colonists.

This location ranks among the planet’s most isolated populated territories. Saint Helena, the closest inhabited territory, sits approximately 1,500 miles away, while South Africa lies roughly 2,800 kilometers to the east.

Without any airports or landing strips, maritime transport provides the exclusive access route to the island. Ships traveling from Cape Town make the journey approximately ten times annually.

COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMIC SYSTEM

The island chain’s official administration reports that Tristan da Cunha operates through subsistence agriculture and fishing activities, along with revenue from collectible stamps and currency sales, plus limited tourism income.

Visitor activities focus on outdoor adventures, including treks up Queen Mary’s Peak volcano. This same volcano’s 1961 eruption required emergency relocation of all residents to the United Kingdom temporarily.

The community functions on egalitarian values. Land ownership remains collective, with livestock numbers carefully controlled to maintain pasture resources and ensure economic balance between families. Outside individuals cannot purchase property or establish permanent residence on the island.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A groundbreaking initiative announced Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom will make California the first state to distribute free diapers to new parents directly at hospitals when they take their babies home.

The program will initially launch at approximately 65 to 75 medical facilities across the state, serving roughly one-fourth of California births and primarily benefiting hospitals that care for families with lower incomes, according to the governor’s office. Plans call for expanding the initiative to additional hospitals throughout the state, though officials have not specified how many more will participate.

According to Newsom, this latest effort continues California’s mission to reduce the financial burden on families living in one of America’s most costly states. The governor pointed to recent initiatives including universal free school meals for students and no-cost preschool programs.

“Every baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life — and that means making sure parents have the basics they need from day one,” the Democratic governor stated.

State lawmakers allocated $7.4 million in the previous year’s budget to launch this program, with an additional $12.5 million proposed in the current budget to fund operations through June 2027.

New parents will receive 400 diapers per infant when discharged from participating hospitals, including sizes appropriate for newborns and babies weighing up to 14 pounds. This supply should last just over a month, considering newborns typically need eight to 10 diaper changes daily. The state has partnered with Baby2Baby, an organization dedicated to providing essential children’s items, to produce the diapers for participating medical centers.

This announcement follows Tennessee and Delaware becoming the first states two years ago to offer free diapers through their Medicaid programs for low-income families. Tennessee’s program allows families to collect 100 diapers monthly at pharmacies for children under age two. Delaware’s initiative, which started as a pilot program before permanent adoption in 2024, provides up to 80 diapers and one package of baby wipes weekly during an infant’s first 12 weeks.

While California’s Medicaid system does not currently cover diapers for newborns, it does provide them for participants age five and older who have medical requirements for the products.

Families typically spend approximately $100 monthly per child on diapers, according to research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive policy organization. This financial pressure sometimes forces parents to leave soiled diapers on longer than recommended or attempt to reuse disposable products, potentially causing skin irritation and urinary tract infections, the organization reports.

California leaders are promoting this new program as a solution to reduce that economic stress on families.

“The first days at home with a newborn should be focused on the love, connection, and joy of an expanded family, not stress about affording diapers,” said Kim Johnson, the state’s health secretary. “This program helps ensure families can begin that journey with greater stability and peace of mind.”

Eli Lilly’s recently introduced weight-loss medication Foundayo reached 7,335 prescriptions during its fourth week of availability in the United States, showing a gradual start compared to competing treatments, according to market analysts.

The pharmaceutical company is competing against Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy tablet, which gained an early advantage by launching in January, several months before Foundayo’s April debut.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Trung Huynh noted that although Foundayo’s prescription figures appeared lower than expected, “we’re beginning to see investors looking past initial weekly script tracking metrics as the barometer for Foundayo’s future potential.”

Market watchers believe the emerging generation of oral weight-loss medications could reach millions of patients while helping to reduce cost pressures in the healthcare sector.

Company officials from Lilly reported last week that Foundayo now has more than 8,000 healthcare providers prescribing the medication, with one-third being doctors who had never previously prescribed oral GLP-1 treatments. The company also stated that over 20,000 patients have received treatment with the drug.

Huynh emphasized that Foundayo’s prescription rates must increase quickly “in order to hit (the) consensus (expectation).”

The analyst explained that the medication would require approximately 22,000 weekly prescriptions to reach projected second-quarter revenue of $160 million.

U.S. regulators approved Foundayo on April 1st, with immediate prescription availability through LillyDirect. The company began shipping orders on April 6th, followed by widespread distribution through retail pharmacies and telehealth services starting April 9th.

The prescription data comes from IQVIA, a company that tracks retail pharmacy prescriptions and samples from telehealth platforms, Lilly Direct, and mail-order services.

Spanish health officials announced Friday they are investigating a potential hantavirus infection in a woman from Alicante province in southeastern Spain’s Valencia region, according to Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla.

The woman in question traveled on the same aircraft as a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship, who subsequently passed away in Johannesburg after contracting the virus, Padilla explained to media representatives.

Medical staff have admitted the woman to an Alicante hospital where she is being kept in isolation, the health official reported. She is experiencing symptoms of coughing and “general malaise.”

According to Padilla, the Spanish woman’s seat was positioned two rows away from the cruise ship traveler, though their interaction “was brief” because the passenger had only been “on board for a short time” during the flight.

Valencia region health officials are currently conducting contact tracing to identify individuals who may have interacted with the woman in recent days, Padilla noted.

Health authorities have identified another potential hantavirus infection involving a British citizen on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, officials announced Friday.

The development comes as international health agencies continue their efforts to track down passengers and close contacts from the luxury cruise vessel MV Hondius, where a deadly virus outbreak has already claimed three lives.

British health security officials have not released additional information about the latest suspected infection on Tristan da Cunha, which houses approximately 200 residents and served as a port of call for the cruise ship on April 15.

The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has resulted in three fatalities: a married Dutch couple and a German passenger. Additionally, four confirmed cases are currently receiving medical care in hospitals across multiple countries – two British nationals, one Dutch citizen, and one Swiss passenger are being treated in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Switzerland respectively.

The first death occurred on April 11 when a Dutch man, later identified as ‘patient zero,’ died aboard the vessel. His wife passed away on April 24, shortly after disembarking from the ship.

The World Health Organisation announced it would release updated figures on both suspected and confirmed cases later Friday.

Dutch health officials reported Thursday that two individuals who had close contact with the deceased woman before she was removed from an aircraft in Johannesburg on April 25 due to worsening health conditions have tested negative for the virus.

One of those tested was a flight attendant who had been hospitalized in Amsterdam after showing potential infection symptoms, according to Friday’s WHO statement. Dutch public health authorities indicated they were still awaiting definitive test results for a third case.

While hantavirus typically spreads through rodent contact, the particular strain affecting the Hondius passengers can occasionally transmit between people in unusual circumstances.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated this hantavirus situation as a ‘level 3’ emergency response, representing their lowest emergency activation category.

Medical experts continue emphasizing the minimal likelihood of widespread transmission, though the outbreak has prompted heightened vigilance among authorities who are advising anyone who contacted passengers departing the Hondius before the outbreak became known to watch for potential symptoms.

Multiple U.S. states have reported monitoring asymptomatic residents who returned home after leaving the cruise ship. Singapore authorities isolated and tested two residents Thursday who had traveled aboard the vessel.

Oceanwide, the cruise line operating the ship, stated Thursday that no passengers currently aboard are showing infection symptoms. The vessel is scheduled to arrive in Tenerife in the Canary Islands early Sunday morning.

The WHO is developing comprehensive guidelines for when the remaining dozens of passengers disembark and return to their home countries. British health services announced that UK nationals aboard the ship who remain symptom-free will be transported home and required to isolate for 45 days.

Spanish emergency officials are making final preparations to handle the arrival of a cruise vessel carrying more than 140 individuals aboard the hantavirus-affected MV Hondius, which is approaching the Canary Islands for urgent medical evacuations.

The ship is anticipated to dock at Tenerife, located off West Africa’s coast, either Saturday or Sunday, according to Spanish authorities.

“They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” Virginia Barcones, Spain’s emergency services director, stated Thursday.

Barcones explained that Spain is working with multiple nations to coordinate evacuation procedures for their citizens currently on the vessel.

American officials have committed to dispatching an aircraft to the Canary Islands to transport 17 U.S. nationals from the cruise ship, she confirmed. British authorities have similarly announced plans to charter a flight for evacuating approximately 24 British passengers still aboard the MV Hondius.

The outbreak has claimed at least three lives, with additional individuals reported ill. However, the World Health Organization has assessed the threat to the general population as minimal.

The virus typically spreads through breathing in contaminated rodent waste particles and does not easily pass from person to person. Initial symptoms generally appear between one to eight weeks following exposure.

Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise operator, reported Thursday that no remaining passengers or crew members are currently showing symptoms.

Medical officials spanning four continents continue efforts to locate and monitor passengers who left the vessel before the fatal outbreak was identified, while attempting to trace individuals who may have contacted them subsequently.

On April 24, nearly two weeks following the first passenger death aboard the ship, more than 24 people from at least 12 nations departed the vessel without proper contact tracing, according to the ship’s operator and Dutch officials who spoke Thursday.

Friday brought news from U.K. health authorities of a third British citizen suspected of contracting the hantavirus.

The U.K. Health Security Agency reported the suspected case is located on Tristan da Cunha, an isolated British territory in the south Atlantic where the vessel made a stop during April.

Officials have not released information regarding the individual’s medical status.

Two additional British nationals from the cruise have received confirmed hantavirus diagnoses. One remains hospitalized in the Netherlands while the other is receiving treatment in South Africa.

South African health officials are also working to identify contacts of passengers who previously departed the ship. Their focus has centered primarily on an April 25 flight traveling from St. Helena to Johannesburg, occurring one day after passengers disembarked at that location.

AMSTERDAM – Health officials confirmed Friday that a Dutch airline crew member who was exposed to a deadly hantavirus case has tested negative for the infection, according to the World Health Organization.

The KLM flight attendant had come into contact with a woman who later died from hantavirus in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a precautionary measure, the crew member was taken to an Amsterdam hospital on Thursday after showing potential symptoms of infection.

The World Health Organization announced the negative test results, clearing the flight attendant of any hantavirus infection concerns.

Health authorities in the United Kingdom have reported that a third British citizen is suspected of contracting hantavirus in connection with a fatal disease outbreak aboard a high-end cruise vessel.

The UK Health Security Agency announced Friday that they have confirmed hantavirus infections in two other British citizens as part of their ongoing surveillance of the dangerous outbreak. The cases are linked to incidents on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.

Officials continue to monitor the situation as they track the spread of this serious viral infection among passengers from the luxury cruise ship.

A food company based in Zanesville, Ohio has announced it is pulling certain coleslaw products from store shelves due to safety concerns.

My Wife’s Slaw has issued a voluntary recall for both its Original and Jalapeno Heat varieties of coleslaw, which are packaged in 8-ounce and 16-ounce glass mason jars. The recall was announced on May 5, 2026.

According to the company, the coleslaw products are being recalled because they are considered adulterated. The items were manufactured without proper inspection procedures and safety protocols in place.

A dairy operation based in Vernon Center, New York has issued a voluntary recall of their sour cream and onion flavored cheese curds after discovering potential salmonella contamination.

Stoltzfus Family Dairy announced the recall due to concerns that their cheese curd product may contain salmonella bacteria, which poses significant health dangers to vulnerable populations including infants, senior citizens, and individuals with compromised immune systems.

Health officials warn that salmonella infections can lead to severe illness and in some cases may prove fatal, especially among high-risk groups. The contaminated dairy product was distributed from the company’s New York facility.

Consumers who have purchased the affected sour cream and onion cheese curds are advised to dispose of the product immediately and contact their healthcare provider if they experience symptoms of foodborne illness.

Health officials in Argentina are conducting an investigation to determine if their nation served as the starting point for a deadly hantavirus outbreak that struck passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship during an extended Atlantic Ocean journey.

The outbreak resulted in fatalities among passengers and led to the identification of at least eight suspected cases of the dangerous virus during the month-long voyage. Medical testing has verified two infections with the Andes strain of hantavirus, while three individuals required emergency medical evacuation from the ship this past Wednesday.

Investigators are working to pinpoint exactly where passengers may have been exposed to the virus. Officials are reviewing travel records and timelines to establish whether contact occurred prior to the ship’s April 1st departure from Argentina bound for Antarctica, during a port call at an isolated South Atlantic island, or while passengers were on the ship itself.

According to the World Health Organization, Argentina holds the distinction of having the globe’s highest rate of hantavirus infections. The disease transmits through exposure to contaminated rodent bodily fluids including saliva, urine, and droppings.

Data from Argentina’s Health Ministry shows 101 hantavirus cases have been documented since June 2025, representing approximately twice the number seen in the prior year.

The specific Andes strain discovered among MV Hondius passengers is capable of triggering hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a serious lung condition that frequently proves deadly.

Argentine medical experts believe environmental shifts may be playing a role in the virus’s expansion.

Infectious disease specialist Hugo Pizzi explained to the Associated Press: “Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate.”

“There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more,” he said.

Medical authorities across several nations are actively tracking passengers and crew members linked to the disease outbreak.

The Netherlands has taken in three evacuated individuals for medical care, while Swiss health officials have confirmed a positive test result in a passenger who returned to their home country. Meanwhile, South Africa is providing intensive care treatment for a British patient.

Additional passengers are being monitored in isolation in Britain, the United States, and Singapore, with most showing no symptoms at this time. Dutch authorities are also conducting tests on a KLM airline crew member who may have been exposed through contact with a passenger who died last month in South Africa.

Health authorities worldwide are working to track down cruise ship passengers who may have been exposed to a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives, though officials remain confident the situation won’t develop into a widespread epidemic.

The virus typically doesn’t transmit easily from person to person, but health officials in multiple countries are conducting thorough contact tracing to locate and monitor individuals who may have encountered infected passengers.

Hantaviruses typically infect people when they breathe in contaminated particles from rodent waste. While human infections are uncommon, small clusters of cases have occurred globally. However, the Andes virus involved in this cruise ship incident might have the unusual ability to pass between people in certain circumstances, and viruses have the potential to evolve.

Researchers are racing to understand more about this particular virus, including whether genetic changes have occurred and the exact mechanisms of transmission.

Contact tracing aims to notify potentially exposed individuals, monitor them for developing symptoms, and stop further transmission to others.

The tracking process presents challenges because people naturally interact socially, move around frequently, spend time in busy locations, and travel extensively.

During this cruise ship incident, less than twelve individuals are believed to have developed symptoms, with only five confirmed infections, though many more passengers may have encountered the virus.

Approximately 140 passengers continue aboard the vessel as it travels toward the Canary Islands for disembarkation, with no reported illnesses among this group.

However, officials are attempting to locate dozens of passengers who departed the ship roughly two weeks after an initial death occurred, but before authorities identified hantavirus as the cause. These individuals came from at least twelve nations, including multiple U.S. states such as Arizona, California, Georgia, and Texas, according to disease specialists and state health departments.

Officials from St. Helena, the isolated volcanic British territory in the South Atlantic where passengers disembarked, reported they are observing a small group of individuals classified as “higher-risk contacts.” These people have been instructed to remain isolated for 45 days, the St. Helena government announced.

British health authorities report that two former ship passengers who flew home during the voyage are self-isolating without symptoms. The U.K. Health Security Agency stated that “a small number” of people who contacted these two individuals are also self-isolating but remain symptom-free.

Singapore health officials said they are observing two men who left the ship at St. Helena, traveled to South Africa, then returned home. These men, who arrived in Singapore at separate times, were undergoing hantavirus testing and quarantined at the nation’s National Center for Infectious Diseases, authorities reported.

The U.S. government has shared limited information regarding its contact tracing efforts.

Texas health officials announced Thursday that public health workers successfully contacted two people who departed the ship on April 24. These individuals report no symptoms and had no contact with sick passengers during the voyage. They agreed to conduct daily temperature monitoring and contact health officials if any signs of illness appear, authorities stated.

Two Canadian passengers who disembarked are currently in Ontario and have been instructed to self-isolate since returning home, according to the province’s health minister.

Beyond tracking individuals, scientists are also working to comprehend the pathogen itself. The Andes virus, part of the hantavirus group found in South America, may be among the uncommon hantaviruses capable of human-to-human transmission. Argentine officials suspect the initial cases may have originated during a birdwatching expedition in the southern city of Ushuaia.

Argentina’s Health Ministry has not yet deployed the team, but researchers from the government-funded Malbrán Institute planned to visit Ushuaia “in the coming days,” the ministry informed The Associated Press.

Scientists are examining the virus’s genetic makeup to determine if mutations have made it more easily transmissible.

They are also investigating the precise transmission methods, explained Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Researchers believe people are primarily contagious when showing symptoms, and if the virus spreads between people, it may transmit through tiny droplets expelled when infected individuals speak, cough, or sneeze.

A Wisconsin-based company has announced a voluntary product recall affecting certain seasoning products over concerns about bacterial contamination.

JCB Flavors, LLC, located in Watertown, Wisconsin, is pulling select topical seasoning items from the market after discovering they may contain Salmonella bacteria.

Health officials warn that Salmonella can lead to severe illness and, in some cases, life-threatening complications. The risk is particularly high for young children, senior citizens, and individuals whose immune systems are compromised.

The company initiated the recall as a precautionary measure to protect consumer safety. Anyone who has purchased the affected seasoning products should stop using them immediately.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A deadly hantavirus outbreak has swept through passengers aboard a cruise ship during its weeks-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving three people dead and several others seriously ill.

The outbreak has prompted international health authorities to launch an urgent effort to locate passengers who previously left the vessel and anyone who may have come into contact with them. More than 140 passengers and crew remain aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius as it makes its way toward Spain’s Canary Islands.

Hantavirus spreads through contact with infected rodents, and while person-to-person transmission is extremely uncommon, the World Health Organization maintains that public risk remains minimal since the virus does not easily pass between humans.

The tragic sequence of events began when the vessel departed from Ushuaia in southern Argentina, with planned destinations including Antarctica and remote islands in the South Atlantic.

A 70-year-old Dutch passenger developed illness symptoms including fever, headache and mild diarrhea while aboard the ship. Prior to boarding, he and his Dutch wife had been touring Ushuaia and other locations throughout Argentina and Chile, according to WHO reports.

The Dutch man’s condition deteriorated as he experienced breathing difficulties, ultimately dying aboard the vessel. At that time, cruise officials could not determine what caused his death.

When the ship docked at Tristan da Cunha, a remote British territory in the South Atlantic, six new passengers boarded while the deceased man’s body remained on the vessel.

The body was removed when the ship reached St. Helena island, also part of the British territory. His wife departed the ship along with more than two dozen other passengers.

The Dutch woman, who had begun showing signs of illness, boarded a commercial flight from St. Helena to South Africa. That aircraft carried 88 passengers and crew members, though it remains unclear how many other cruise passengers were on that same flight.

The woman collapsed at a South African airport while attempting to board another flight home and subsequently died.

Meanwhile, after the ship left St. Helena, a third passenger — a British man — became ill and was evacuated to Ascension Island. He was later transferred to a South African hospital and placed in intensive care, suffering from high fever, breathing problems and pneumonia symptoms that can result from hantavirus infection.

As the vessel continued toward Cape Verde off Africa’s western coast, a German woman passenger also fell sick.

Nearly one month after the initial case, the German woman died aboard the ship, becoming the third fatality.

On that same day, South African health officials received confirmation that the British man in intensive care had tested positive for hantavirus — marking the first confirmed identification of the virus in this outbreak.

The World Health Organization announced it was responding to a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship, which had by then reached Cape Verde waters.

South African health authorities later received posthumous test results confirming hantavirus in the Dutch woman who died at the airport. Officials decided to test her remains after the British man’s positive result.

WHO officially classified the situation as an outbreak at that point.

A tense standoff developed between the cruise ship and Cape Verde authorities over whether additional sick passengers could be evacuated and others allowed to disembark. While Cape Verde sent medical personnel to assist the vessel, officials refused to allow anyone off the ship. Two crew members, including the ship’s doctor, were seriously ill, and another person was under medical observation.

Those three individuals, two of whom tested positive for hantavirus, were eventually evacuated and flown to specialized European hospitals. The ship then departed for Spain’s Canary Islands after Spanish authorities agreed to accept the vessel.

Swiss authorities announced another positive hantavirus case involving a man who had left the cruise at St. Helena, bringing the total confirmed cases to five.

Health officials in South Africa and Switzerland identified the strain as Andes virus, the only known hantavirus that spreads between humans. This particular virus is typically found in South America, especially Argentina and Chile.

Health agencies across Switzerland, Britain, Netherlands, France, Singapore, South Africa and other nations are now isolating individuals who previously departed the cruise and returned home. They are also working to identify anyone who may have had contact with cruise ship passengers.

A Massachusetts biotechnology firm announced Thursday that its experimental treatment demonstrated significant progress in enhancing muscle capabilities among young patients battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a devastating inherited disorder that gradually destroys muscle tissue.

Entrada Therapeutics conducted testing of their investigational medication, designated ENTR-601-44, on mobile patients between ages six and 17 who carry a specific genetic defect treatable through exon 44 skipping techniques.

This hereditary condition predominantly impacts male children, causing progressive muscle deterioration throughout their lives. Most affected youngsters become wheelchair-bound during their teenage years and eventually face cardiac and respiratory complications.

According to Entrada’s findings, participants receiving the experimental therapy demonstrated substantial enhancement in their ability to transition from floor-sitting to standing positions. Medical professionals rely on this assessment to evaluate muscle power and forecast when patients may lose mobility.

The company reported that the observed progress exceeded statistical significance thresholds and surpassed the benchmark for clinical relevance by more than threefold.

Study participants also exhibited increased levels of dystrophin, an essential muscle protein absent in Duchenne patients, rising approximately 2.4 percentage points above the initial 4% baseline measurement.

Initial trial participants experienced the therapy without major safety concerns, showing good tolerance with no severe adverse reactions and complete treatment adherence, according to Entrada’s report.

The pharmaceutical company noted that drug absorption into children’s bloodstreams fell short of adult-based projections. Researchers have initiated treatment for a second patient cohort using twice the original dosage, with outcomes anticipated by late 2026.

The online retail giant Amazon revealed Thursday that its pharmacy division will begin dispensing Novo Nordisk’s diabetes medication Ozempic in tablet form through automated dispensing machines nationwide, while providing rapid same-day delivery service.

The medication from Novo Nordisk contains the active compound semaglutide, which helps regulate blood glucose levels in individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition where the body struggles to produce adequate insulin or becomes resistant to this blood sugar-controlling hormone. Since January, Amazon’s pharmacy has been distributing Novo’s weight management drug Wegovy, which contains the identical active ingredient found in Ozempic. The company also revealed in April its plans to stock Eli Lilly’s competing weight-loss medication Foundayo.

“Amazon Pharmacy continues to provide customers expanded selection and reliable, convenient access to the latest treatments like the Ozempic pill for type 2 diabetes,” said Tanvi Patel, a vice president at Amazon. “We are making it easy for customers to get the medication they need to stay healthy.”

The company started distributing GLP-1 medications, which represent a category of treatments for diabetes and weight management, beginning in 2021. The injectable forms of these drugs cannot be stored in the automated dispensers due to refrigeration requirements, unlike their pill counterparts.

Approximately half of Amazon’s customer base across the United States can access same-day delivery services, while all customers receive their prescriptions within a four-day window. The company plans to provide rapid delivery of Ozempic to roughly 3,000 communities initially, with plans to extend this service to 4,500 locations before year’s end.

Individuals holding valid prescriptions can purchase the medication through Amazon Pharmacy for a monthly cash price of $149 or utilize their insurance coverage, according to company officials. When using insurance benefits, the minimum cost drops to $25, Amazon stated in its announcement.

Currently, Novo’s Wegovy tablets are available at five automated dispensers located in California, where patients can collect their medications at Amazon’s One Medical facilities after completing medical consultations.

The introduction of these automated dispensers addresses accessibility challenges and reduces shipping costs for patients, initially focusing on commonly prescribed medications including antibiotics, blood pressure treatments, and asthma inhalers.

Individuals do not require a One Medical membership, Amazon’s primary and urgent care platform, to schedule appointments and access the dispensing kiosks. An annual One Medical subscription carries a $199 fee.

Last year, Amazon committed more than $4 billion toward an initiative to triple its delivery capabilities by 2026, with particular emphasis on serving smaller communities and rural regions.

A college student’s deeply personal podcast about his grandmother’s battle with dementia has earned him top honors in NPR’s College Podcast Challenge, demonstrating how creative expression can help families navigate difficult conversations.

Colby McCaskill took home the grand prize for his audio submission that takes the form of a heartfelt letter to his grandparents, Kathy and Dick McCaskill. The podcast centers on his grandmother Kathy’s dementia diagnosis and the family’s journey in learning to discuss challenging topics they had previously avoided.

The winning entry explores themes that many families struggle with but often find too difficult to address directly – the realities of growing older, cognitive decline, and facing mortality. McCaskill admitted he had been frightened to confront his grandmother’s condition before creating the podcast.

The project became more than just a college assignment; it served as a bridge for meaningful family dialogue about subjects that had previously felt too overwhelming to tackle. Through the process of creating his audio story, McCaskill found a way to connect with his grandparents and address the elephant in the room that had been affecting their entire family.

NPR’s annual College Podcast Challenge invites students nationwide to submit original audio content, with entries judged on storytelling quality, production value, and emotional impact. This year’s winning submission stands out for its raw honesty and the way it transforms personal struggle into universal understanding.

Dutch government officials report that roughly 40 cruise ship passengers have been evacuated to the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena following a fatal hantavirus outbreak aboard their vessel.

The evacuated passengers include the spouse of a Dutch citizen who died from the virus, according to statements from Netherlands authorities. Among those who left the ship during its stop at the rocky, isolated island were a Dutch woman currently receiving medical care in South Africa and a Swiss passenger also undergoing treatment.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen detailed the situation in correspondence to parliament delivered Wednesday evening local time. The minister’s letter outlined the evacuation but did not specify the current whereabouts of the passengers who disembarked.

Officials have not disclosed the present location of the evacuated individuals or provided updates on their medical conditions. St. Helena, known for its rugged terrain and remote location in the South Atlantic, served as the emergency disembarkation point during the health crisis.

A groundbreaking experimental treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer has shown remarkable results in extending patient survival, though it comes with a significant rate of side effects that doctors say are largely treatable, according to new research published Wednesday.

The medication, called daraxonrasib and developed by Revolution Medicines, represents what medical experts believe could establish a new treatment standard for patients battling metastatic pancreatic cancer who have already undergone previous therapies.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal cancer diagnoses worldwide, with approximately only 13% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis, making it among the deadliest cancer types.

The latest research findings provide support for an ongoing advanced clinical trial that compares daraxonrasib against conventional second-round chemotherapy treatments for patients whose pancreatic cancer has metastasized throughout their bodies.

During the initial human trial involving 168 patients with previously treated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who took daraxonrasib, 96% experienced treatment-related adverse reactions of varying severity, while 30% faced serious or life-threatening complications.

Patients most frequently reported experiencing skin rashes, mouth inflammation, nausea, and diarrhea as side effects from the treatment.

“Almost all patients do experience some adverse effects, with the most common being a rash that occurs in the majority of patients,” said senior researcher Dr. David Hong of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “But those effects are manageable in most patients, and the benefits significantly outweigh those adverse effects.”

Current results from the larger ongoing trial with 500 participants show patients taking daraxonrasib lived a median of 13.2 months compared to 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy, Revolution announced in April.

Traditional treatment approaches for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer typically result in serious or life-threatening complications and provide median survival periods of just 5 to 7 months, researchers noted in their report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Both clinical trials focused on patients carrying specific mutations in KRAS tumor genes, which enable cancer cells to reproduce and spread. While medications targeting these genes already exist for lung and colorectal cancer treatment, they work against a different RAS mutation that rarely appears in pancreatic cancer cases.

Daraxonrasib, administered as a daily oral medication, specifically targets the RAS mutations present in 90% of pancreatic cancer diagnoses.

“Although much work remains to be done, it genuinely feels like a new day is dawning for pancreatic cancer treatment, with daraxonrasib potentially serving as the first of a set of new medicines that broadly target mutant RAS and allow us to help patients with pancreatic cancers in new ways,” study leader Dr. Brian Wolpin of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted early access authorization for daraxonrasib, enabling patients to receive the experimental therapy outside of clinical trials before official approval.

A groundbreaking flu vaccine using mRNA technology has shown significantly better results than traditional shots in a comprehensive clinical trial involving more than 40,000 participants aged 50 and above, according to research published Wednesday.

The experimental vaccine from Moderna demonstrated 26.6% greater effectiveness compared to GSK’s conventional standard-dose flu vaccine, surpassing the study’s primary objective of proving non-inferiority to existing immunizations.

Federal regulators are currently evaluating the vaccine application, with a final determination anticipated by August 5th. If given the green light, this would mark the first seasonal influenza vaccine in America utilizing mRNA technology, which offers faster development capabilities than traditional manufacturing approaches.

However, the approval process faces additional challenges under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has expressed strong opposition to mRNA platforms. Kennedy, known for his anti-vaccine stance, has eliminated hundreds of millions in research funding and made unsubstantiated claims about the technology.

“These findings support the role of mRNA-1010 in improving influenza prevention,” stated Dr. Isabel Leroux-Roels from Ghent University and her research team in their publication in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study revealed that participants receiving the mRNA vaccine experienced more frequent side effects, including pain at the injection site, tiredness, headaches, and muscle soreness, compared to those getting standard shots. However, most reactions were classified as mild to moderate and resolved quickly.

Serious adverse events occurred at similar rates between both groups, affecting 2.2% of mRNA vaccine recipients versus 1.9% of those receiving the conventional vaccine. Researchers noted that overall safety profiles aligned with previous large-scale trial results.

The FDA initially declined Moderna’s application in February, questioning the company’s choice to compare against a standard-dose vaccine rather than the high-dose formulation typically recommended for Americans 65 and older due to its superior effectiveness.

Following discussions between the company and regulators, the agency accepted a revised application with Moderna’s commitment to conduct additional studies in elderly populations after approval.

International regulatory authorities in the European Union, Canada, and Australia are also reviewing the vaccine. Meanwhile, European officials approved Moderna’s combination mRNA vaccine targeting both influenza and COVID-19 in April.

A major snack food manufacturer has pulled several of its products from store shelves following concerns about potentially contaminated ingredients.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., an Illinois-based company traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol JBSS, announced the voluntary recall of various snack mix items on May 5, 2026. The decision comes after California Dairies, Inc. previously recalled dry milk powder that was used in seasonings for the affected products.

The Elgin, Illinois company’s recall specifically targets snack mix varieties that contain seasonings made with the questionable milk powder ingredient. The move represents a precautionary measure to protect consumer safety following the earlier dairy ingredient recall.

Company officials have not yet provided details about the specific health risks associated with the recalled products or the extent of potential contamination in the milk powder supply.

What was supposed to be an adventure cruise to some of the world’s most isolated islands has turned into a nightmare for passengers aboard the MV Hondius, as a deadly hantavirus outbreak has claimed three lives and left the Dutch-flagged vessel searching for a safe harbor.

The expedition ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, has been dealing with three deaths and eight confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases. Passengers, some of whom boarded the vessel on March 20, describe their experience as alternating between anxiety and tedium as they remain confined to their quarters.

After spending four days anchored off the West African nation of Cape Verde, the ship departed Wednesday evening for Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. Specialist medical teams evacuated three individuals before the vessel’s departure, with local authorities granting permission for the journey to continue.

Approximately 150 passengers and crew members remain on board and are expected to disembark under medical supervision once they reach their destination, though quarantine requirements remain unclear.

The cruise line has instructed all passengers to adhere to “isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring,” according to company statements. Martin Kriz, a Swedish physician who has worked aboard the Hondius, explained this means passengers must eat their meals while confined to small four-person cabins.

“It’s quite a small space,” Kriz explained to reporters.

Despite the cramped conditions, passengers report that spirits remain relatively high. Kasem Hato, one of those on board, described the atmosphere as composed and cooperative.

“People are taking the situation seriously but without any panic, trying to keep social distancing and wearing masks to be safe,” Hato said. “Our days have been close to normal, just waiting for authorities to find a solution, but morale on the ship is high and we’re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks, and that kind of things.”

Social media footage reveals the ship’s elegant wood-paneled common areas sitting completely vacant, with upholstered furniture arranged on vibrant carpeting and ocean views visible through large windows. Photos show medical workers in protective gear delivering supply bags to the vessel’s deck – a sharp contrast to the breathtaking Antarctic scenery passengers had shared from earlier portions of their journey.

American passenger Jake Rosmarin gained attention after sharing a worried video message from his cabin on Instagram, expressing concern about the uncertain situation facing travelers. He later posted a more optimistic update.

“I’m feeling well, getting some fresh air, and continuing to be well fed and taken care of by the crew,” Rosmarin wrote in his follow-up message.

Turkish content creator Ruhi Cenet, who left the ship at Saint Helena on April 24, offered criticism of the initial response. He said that after the first passenger died on April 11, travelers were informed the deceased was not contagious, so normal dining and social activities continued.

“I think this problem could have been small before spreading too much,” Cenet told reporters from Istanbul, suggesting faster isolation protocols might have contained the outbreak.

Oceanwide Expeditions defended their actions in a Wednesday statement, saying information provided by the ship’s captain was accurate when given, and that proper health and safety procedures were followed after the death occurred at sea.

Belgian traveler Helene Goessaert told VRT broadcaster that conditions aboard remain “relatively good,” with fresh produce still being delivered to the vessel. She commended the crew’s efforts during the crisis.

“We are all in the same boat, literally,” Goessaert remarked.

She noted that passengers who weathered rough seas earlier in the voyage are proving resilient during this health emergency as well.

“I think the people on board can take a few lumps,” she observed.

Health authorities in Argentina announced Wednesday they will begin capturing and testing rodents in the southern port city of Ushuaia following a fatal hantavirus outbreak on a cruise vessel that departed from there.

According to a Wednesday statement from Argentina’s health ministry, officials are also working to piece together the complete travel history of Dutch passengers who visited both Argentina and Chile before developing hantavirus symptoms while aboard the cruise ship.

The investigation focuses on Ushuaia, which served as the departure point for the affected cruise vessel where the deadly virus outbreak occurred.

Israel’s Health Ministry is moving to eliminate smoking medical cannabis within the next three years, even as the nation faces unprecedented levels of post-traumatic stress disorder and record numbers of licensed cannabis users.

A special ministry committee delivered its recommendations on Sunday to phase out smoked cannabis forms, citing emerging research that questions whether the treatment helps or harms PTSD patients. The proposal comes as approximately 140,000 Israelis currently possess medical cannabis permits, a dramatic increase from 33,000 just a few years earlier.

The timing coincides with alarming statistics showing roughly one-third of Israel’s population – about three million people – are experiencing PTSD symptoms, according to separate reports from the State Comptroller and independent researchers.

Dr. Shaul Lev-Ran, who co-founded and serves as academic director of the Israel Center on Addiction, emphasized that the recommendations focus on medical standards rather than personal freedoms. He stressed the need to evaluate cannabis like any other medical treatment, examining who prescribes it, which conditions warrant its use, and how to properly assess risks versus benefits.

“The medical cannabis industry in Israel has become a much larger operation than originally intended,” Lev-Ran explained. He noted this marks the first time the Health Ministry is implementing better screening tools to identify patients at risk for cannabis addiction or adverse effects.

Current data reveals that 98% of licensed purchases involve smoked cannabis, while 88% of permits are for high-THC products with greater addiction potential. Smoking inherently increases risks for heart and lung disease, according to Lev-Ran.

“Early signs of problematic use kind of define what the red flags are and establish criteria for either tapering or discontinuing your treatment,” Lev-Ran stated.

He referenced a recent JAMA Psychiatry study demonstrating that medical cannabis failed to improve PTSD and actually worsened long-term patient outcomes. The medical system must weigh immediate relief against future consequences, he argued.

“We definitely want to be compassionate, but I think what the report is trying to do is balance compassion and concern,” he said. “So, compassion for the short-term effects and to alleviate them, but concern that people may get stuck with medical cannabis, and they may actually be worse off in the long term.”

Cannabis users are responding negatively to the committee’s findings. M., a 50-year-old Tel Aviv area resident who requested anonymity, said he felt “jolted to hear of the recommendation by the committee.”

He criticized the ministry for not warning current patients through their psychiatrists before releasing the report, noting that sudden anxiety often triggers PTSD symptoms.

“Many of us who have PTSD have been smoking cannabis to assist us for many years,” M. explained. “It’s something we’ve been used to relying on.”

M. said alternative forms like oils and capsules proved less effective for his condition. He questioned why officials would issue such recommendations when PTSD cases are climbing and adequate treatment options remain limited.

However, Lev-Ran pointed out that the United States Veterans Association already advises against prescribing medical cannabis to veterans with PTSD due to harmful long-term effects.

The most comprehensive medicinal cannabis review, published in The Lancet this year, concluded that cannabis fails to effectively treat anxiety, depression, or PTSD despite user claims. The analysis examined 54 randomized controlled trials spanning 45 years from 1980 to 2025, finding increased risks for psychosis and addiction while potentially delaying proven treatments.

A 2025 Centers for Disease Control report found 19% of Americans – approximately 52.5 million people – used illegal cannabis at least once in 2021. Medical cannabis remains legal in 47 states, three territories, and Washington D.C. Research from 2021 indicated around three million Americans were using cannabis medicinally.

Those numbers have likely grown significantly. Recent data shows about 27% of Americans and Canadians aged 16-65 report medical cannabis use, with half citing mental health management. The American Medical Association has expressed similar concerns to Israel’s Health Ministry regarding limited regulation and uncertain effectiveness.

Under the committee’s plan, medical cannabis prescribing will transfer to Israel’s four health funds within one year. These organizations will collaborate with research groups to monitor and evaluate cannabis treatment outcomes.

The recommendations also call for promoting new technologies, potentially including Israel’s SyqeAir inhaler system. The company markets its device as “the most innovative and safest route of administration of medical cannabis” compared to smoking, vaping, or oils. It represents the world’s first metered-dose cannabis inhaler, designed for consistent treatment while reducing overdose risks and side effects.

While the report doesn’t specifically mention SyqeAir, it states that new treatments will begin with extracts and precision inhalers, gradually replacing smoked forms with alternative delivery methods.

“I think when you look at cannabis, a lot of countries are realizing the limitations of medical cannabis, realizing the burden that it poses on the medical system,” Lev-Ran added. He noted that medical systems rely on research and precise dosing, both difficult to achieve with smoked cannabis.

Lev-Ran compared cannabis to other alternative treatments like forest therapy, where studies suggest benefits “and it’s really hard to think about severe risks. So the risk-benefit ratio leans a lot towards the benefits.”

He contrasted this with treatments like psychedelic-assisted therapy or ketamine, where patients don’t receive take-home prescriptions.

“Let’s say I’m receiving ketamine in a ketamine clinic,” Lev-Ran explained. “I’m not getting doses to take home, so that, for example, substantially reduces the risk of addiction.”

He noted that MDMA treatment for trauma in Israel involves structured protocols with three sessions and 16 therapy meetings, rather than simply providing medication without supervision.

Despite current recommendations, Lev-Ran expressed confidence that the Health Ministry would reconsider its position if future research supports cannabis use, including smoking forms.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentine health authorities are working urgently to trace whether their nation is the origin point of a fatal hantavirus outbreak that has claimed lives aboard an Atlantic cruise vessel.

This health crisis at sea coincides with Argentina experiencing a dramatic spike in hantavirus infections, which local medical researchers link to accelerating climate change impacts. The World Health Organization consistently ranks Argentina as having Latin America’s highest rates of this rare, rodent-transmitted illness, and the Antarctic cruise departed from Argentine shores.

Warming temperatures expand where the virus can spread because changing ecosystems allow hantavirus-carrying rodents to survive in new areas, according to medical experts. Humans typically become infected through contact with rodent waste, urine or saliva.

“Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate,” explained Hugo Pizzi, a leading Argentine infectious disease expert. “There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.”

Argentina’s Health Ministry reported Tuesday that 101 people have contracted hantavirus since June 2025, nearly twice the number of infections documented during the same timeframe last year.

The South American strain, known as the Andes virus, triggers a serious and frequently deadly respiratory condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This illness proved fatal in almost one-third of cases over the past year, according to Argentina’s Health Ministry, significantly higher than the 15% average death rate recorded in the five preceding years.

Officials confirmed that passengers aboard the MV Hondius vessel tested positive for the Andes virus strain.

Argentine investigators are working to determine where infected passengers visited within the country before they boarded the Dutch-registered cruise ship in Ushuaia, a southern Argentine city nicknamed “the end of the world.” After mapping their travel routes, authorities plan to track down contacts, quarantine those at risk and conduct active surveillance to halt additional transmission.

The World Health Organization reports that the initial fatality aboard the ship occurred April 11, when a 70-year-old Dutch passenger died. His 69-year-old wife, also from the Netherlands, passed away April 26. A German woman became the third victim on May 2.

The virus can remain dormant for one to eight weeks, making it difficult to determine whether passengers became infected before departing Argentina for Antarctica on April 1, during a planned stop at a remote South Atlantic island, or while aboard the vessel.

Tierra del Fuego province, where the ship docked for weeks before sailing, has never recorded a hantavirus case. Prior to boarding, the Dutch couple toured Ushuaia and visited other locations in Argentina and Chile, WHO officials said.

Argentine government investigators believe the couple most likely contracted the virus during a bird-watching excursion in Ushuaia, according to two researchers who requested anonymity because they lack authorization to speak publicly while examining incomplete evidence. Officials are also retracing the Dutch tourists’ movements through Patagonia’s forested mountains in southern Argentina, where some infections have been concentrated.

Early symptoms mirror flu-like fever and chills, making diagnosis challenging. “Tourists might think they just have a cold and not take it seriously. That makes it particularly dangerous,” said Raul González Ittig, a genetics professor at the National University of Córdoba and researcher with the state science organization CONICET.

The mountain resort community of Bariloche, Patagonia’s primary northern gateway, documented its first human hantavirus infection of 2026 on Tuesday, announced the Río Negro Province government. The patient was admitted to the hospital Wednesday.

Argentina recently suffered through a devastating drought while also experiencing periods of unusually heavy rainfall, reflecting broader extreme weather patterns that scientists connect to climate change.

This weather volatility has generated conditions allowing hantavirus to spread, experts explain. Drought forces animals from their normal territories as they seek food and water. Heavy rains promote plant growth, dispersing seeds that draw leaf-eating rodents.

“When precipitation increases, food availability increases, rodent populations grow, and if there are infected rodents, the chance of transmission between rodents — and eventually to humans — also increases,” Ittig explained.

While hantavirus infections were once confined to Patagonia’s southern regions, the Health Ministry now reports that 83% of cases occur in Argentina’s northern areas. In January, the ministry issued warnings about multiple deadly hantavirus outbreaks, including in Buenos Aires, the country’s most populated province.

“With the climate changing, the epidemiological picture has completely changed,” Pizzi noted. “The ship may be an isolated case. But this virus isn’t going anywhere.”

Residents of Spain’s Canary Islands are expressing anxiety as a cruise vessel affected by a hantavirus outbreak prepares to arrive this weekend, bringing back memories of the COVID-19 quarantine measures they endured.

The cruise ship MV Hondius, with 150 individuals on board, is scheduled to arrive at Tenerife on Saturday. Spain has agreed to accept the vessel following requests from the World Health Organization, despite objections from local authorities.

The island chain was among Europe’s earliest locations to implement quarantine protocols during the pandemic’s initial phase. In February 2020, more than 700 tourists were confined to a Tenerife hotel for two weeks when officials sealed the facility to contain virus transmission, occurring weeks before the disease spread throughout Europe.

The archipelago has previously dealt with other health crises, including a 2014 Ebola outbreak, which have impacted the tourism-dependent economy. Local officials have also expressed frustration about handling migration pressures from Western Africa.

“We are a community that’s already quite flexible when it comes to helping others and being accommodating to people, but I think this is excessive,” said local resident Margarita Maria, 62. “People are scared, people are worried. Spain is a huge country with plenty of ports where the cruise ship could go.”

According to the World Health Organization, public risk remains minimal, and the strain identified among passengers can only transmit between people through extended, close contact.

However, an unnamed nurse reported that news of the ship’s arrival has sparked concerns about potential lockdowns of medical facilities and hospitals on Tenerife.

“It will be just like Covid … People are worried about their children, elderly relatives and the vulnerable,” the nurse said, adding that the islands’ quarantine protocol for viruses, if one was declared, would affect schools and healthcare centres.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced Wednesday that all remaining passengers aboard the vessel showed no disease symptoms and would return to their home countries. The 14 Spanish nationals on board will be transported to a Madrid hospital for quarantine.

Some locals criticized that the Canaries’ reputation as a secure destination means it consistently bears responsibilities that other tourist areas avoid.

“Tourist destinations competing with the Canary Islands in the international market, such as Morocco, have not been taken into account, and the decision has been made to bring the cruise ship to the Canary Islands – there must be a reason for that,” said Jorge Marichal, president of Tenerife’s hotels association, Ashotel.

Regional tourism minister Lope Afonso stated that Madrid has not clearly communicated expectations for the archipelago, making it challenging to reassure the tourism sector.

Some islanders expressed worry about potential impacts on Pope Leo’s planned June visit to the Canaries.

“Can you imagine the Pope with hantavirus? That’s a headline we don’t want,” local comedian Omayra Cazorla said on Instagram.

The ownership team behind the Cleveland Browns has made a substantial financial commitment to advancing blood cancer treatment, contributing $12.5 million to support research efforts.

Dee and Jimmy Haslam structured their philanthropic gift to support two key initiatives. The largest portion, $10 million, will support the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre in England, specifically targeting research and medication development for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other uncommon blood cancers. The remaining $2.5 million will benefit Cleveland’s University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, where it will create a permanent research position focused on CLL studies and establish a fund to advance patient care innovations.

The charitable contribution stems from personal experience, as Dee Haslam received a CLL diagnosis in 2021. “I am extremely grateful that I am living a full, healthy life after being diagnosed with CLL in 2021,” Dee Haslam said in a statement. “Together with UH Seidman Cancer Center and the Oxford-Harrington Centre, we hope to increase knowledge of CLL, generate new treatments and give others the confidence and information they need to navigate the disease. Ideally, cures for other blood disorders will be discovered in the process.”

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia represents the most prevalent type of leukemia affecting adult patients. While medical professionals have yet to develop a cure, current treatment approaches have transformed the condition into one that patients can manage long-term.

The Harrington Discovery Institute began operations in 2021 and has achieved significant milestones in its brief history. The organization currently oversees 227 potential medications in development, provides support to 75 medical institutions, has helped launch 47 companies, advanced 24 treatments to clinical trials, and secured 15 pharmaceutical licensing agreements.

Beyond their NFL ownership, the Haslam family maintains majority ownership stakes in the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, and a Columbus-based NWSL expansion franchise.

PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Medical authorities evacuated three individuals Wednesday from a cruise vessel experiencing a fatal hantavirus outbreak, transporting them by air to the Netherlands as the ship carrying approximately 150 passengers makes preparations to sail toward Spain’s Canary Islands.

The outbreak has claimed three lives, with the World Health Organization confirming eight total cases have been documented.

Those aboard the Dutch vessel MV Hondius remain confined to their quarters while the ship stays positioned near the Cape Verde islands off West Africa’s coast. The vessel departed Argentina on April 1 for what was planned as a multi-week polar expedition.

This uncommon virus typically transmits when individuals breathe in contaminated particles from rodent waste. While person-to-person transmission can occur, the WHO notes such instances are uncommon.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that “the overall public health risk remains low.”

Oceanwide Expeditions reports the three individuals are being transported via specially outfitted aircraft to “locations able to provide specialized care and appropriate medical screening.”

A Dutch medical facility has confirmed it will receive one patient, while German officials say they are making arrangements to collect a second person from the Netherlands.

The Dutch cruise operator indicates two of those medically evacuated “remain in a serious condition.” The third shows no symptoms but had “closely associated” with a passenger who passed away May 2.

The company also announces it is “expanding medical care on board with two infectious disease physicians, arriving today by plane from the Netherlands.”

Leiden University Medical Center confirms the department receiving the patient is fully prepared.

In a website statement, the hospital declared, “In addition to isolation rooms for patients, all protective equipment for our staff is available. Treatment takes place in strict isolation, following the applicable protocols. The LUMC has specialized isolation facilities.”

The facility also seeks to calm concerns among other hospital visitors, noting patients or visitors “run no risk of infection. You do not need to take any special measures. You can continue to visit as usual.”

In Germany, Düsseldorf University Clinic announced that one of the three evacuated passengers who had contact with a hantavirus case aboard the vessel would arrive at the hospital for testing later Wednesday.

The clinic stated the individual would be transported to Düsseldorf from an undisclosed Dutch airport with assistance from the city’s fire department specialists.

Hospital officials emphasized the patient shows no symptoms and testing serves as a precautionary measure.

The vessel’s arrival “won’t represent any risk for the public,” Spanish Health Minister Mónica García announced.

She explained the ship will dock at a secondary port on Tenerife island, positioned 10 minutes from an airport. From that location, approximately 140 passengers will return to their respective countries.

García noted the European Union’s civil protection program will oversee the operation to send passengers and crew members home.

The 14 Spanish citizens aboard will travel by military aircraft to the mainland, where they will enter quarantine if deemed necessary.

Fernando Clavijo, regional president of Spain’s Canary Islands, said Wednesday the Hondius had requested authorization to dock at Tenerife on May 9.

Clavijo expressed surprise that passengers were being required “to travel for three days” rather than flying home from Praia’s airport.

He also criticized that central Madrid authorities had not briefed him on vessel circumstances, limiting local health officials’ preparation capabilities.

“We still don’t know the status of all the passengers,” he stated. “There is no protocol for this.”

Oceanwide Expeditions announced Tuesday evening that two specialized aircraft were traveling to Cape Verde to evacuate two individuals requiring urgent medical attention and one person who had traveled with a German woman who died aboard Saturday. They were scheduled for transport to the Netherlands, though exact timing remained unclear.

Following the medical evacuation, the vessel plans to navigate to the Canary Islands, either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, requiring approximately three days, the company stated, adding that “discussions are ongoing with relevant authorities.”

Spanish health officials had indicated in an earlier announcement they were monitoring and that “the most appropriate port of call will be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have informed the World Health Organization.”

The World Health Organization reported the ship’s itinerary included stops throughout the South Atlantic Ocean, encompassing mainland Antarctica and remote islands including South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension.

The cruise operator has disclosed limited details about two stops: at St. Helena, where the body of a Dutch man suspected as the initial hantavirus case was removed from the vessel. His wife also departed at St. Helena and flew to South Africa, where she died.

The company reported a British man was subsequently evacuated at Ascension Island and taken to South Africa, where he remains in intensive care.

The company has not disclosed whether other individuals left the cruise vessel at those or additional locations.

Spanish authorities will welcome the cruise ship to Spain’s Canary Islands, as the vessel remained off West Africa’s coast for a third day Wednesday awaiting evacuation of ill passengers.

Fernando Clavijo, regional president of Spain’s Canary Islands, expressed Wednesday his concern the ship’s arrival could endanger the local population and demanded an urgent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

“Neither the populace nor the government of the Canary Islands can rest assured because it is clear that the danger to the population is real,” Clavijo told Onda Cero radio.

South African health authorities confirmed they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two passengers from the vessel, and Swiss authorities reported identifying the same virus in their affected patient.

The World Health Organization states the Andes virus, a specific hantavirus species, occurs in South America, mainly in Argentina and Chile.

The Andes virus can transmit between people, though this is uncommon and disease spread typically remains contained because transmission occurs only through close contact, such as sharing sleeping quarters or food, experts explain.

The South African Department of Health said results came from testing performed on passengers after their removal from the ship and transport to South Africa.

One passenger, a British man, remains in intensive care at a South African hospital. Testing was conducted on the other passenger after her death in South Africa.

Twenty-five-year-old Shula Jassell from Southern California feels self-conscious about her chin size and has thought about getting filler injections to enhance it.

However, when she considers the reality of repeating the cosmetic treatment annually — since the effects wear off after about a year — she contemplates whether a surgical implant might be more sensible, despite her fear of going under the knife.

“I just try to remember self-love, you know? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” she says while working through her internal conflict and deciding against any procedures for the time being.

Recent technological progress has made different types of body modification more available to the general public — and unavoidable on social media feeds.

With treatments like Botox injections, plastic surgery procedures, and weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic becoming more widespread, individuals — predominantly but not solely women — are wrestling with the moral and philosophical questions surrounding these interventions in their endless pursuit of attractiveness, youthfulness, and social acceptance.

“We need to have a wider conversation about how to think about this in a way where we’re not putting the burden squarely on women, while also not taking away their moral agency,” said Natalie Carnes, a feminist theologian at Duke Divinity School. “Beauty is something that’s good. And beauty is something that is good to pursue. Botox and Ozempic and face-lifts, they’re all ways of really narrowing the cultural ideals of beauty.”

Major religious institutions have provided minimal formal guidance or clear restrictions regarding these procedures. However, an increasing number of theologians, philosophers, and bioethicists are advocating for more discussions about these treatments and operations.

This past March, the Vatican issued a statement on Christian anthropology condemning the “cult of the body.” “Once modified, often with relentless frenzy, the body becomes a body-object in which the person-subject mirrors themselves, creating a relationship in which the person is no longer his or her body but ‘owns’ a body,” it said.

Interest in aesthetic surgery throughout the United States has grown recently among people of all ages and ethnic groups, according to Dr. C. Bob Basu, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “Forty years ago, perhaps people would think, ‘Cosmetic surgery is for the superrich or the celebrity elite. It’s not for regular folk.’ That’s not the case anymore.”

Among the most significant trends he’s observed is younger individuals choosing these interventions.

“They’re being proactive and thinking about preventive measures, whether it be baby Botox at a younger age to prevent wrinkles from starting or maybe considering a deep plane face-and-neck-lift in the late 30s or early 40s, rather than waiting until you’re in your 60s,” he said.

Despite becoming increasingly common, many bioethicists report that plastic surgery receives little attention during their education.

“If you’re getting into bioethics and you rotate to learn about medicine, you go to the ICU, you go to places where the palliative care is for dying people, you’re looking at transplants. Nobody rotates to plastic surgery,” said Arthur Caplan, founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

Consequently, plastic surgeons frequently must establish their own ethical guidelines for acceptable procedures without extensive specialized moral training.

Numerous faiths discourage vanity while encouraging humility, which can shape perspectives on cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Jerry Chidester, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, observes varied viewpoints on plastic surgery within his religious community. While some conservative interpretations might discourage such interventions, Chidester notes this perspective conflicts with the general cultural environment of Salt Lake City, where he practices. Multiple research studies indicate the region has an unusually high concentration of plastic surgeons and procedures relative to population.

When patients struggle with surgical decisions, Chidester advises them to ignore others’ opinions.

“I’m like, ‘Look, if you want to do this or not, it’s up to you,’” he said. “It’s literally your body. Who cares if they think you’re doing it for vanity or for function or whatever? It is none of their business.”

Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a Jewish board-certified plastic surgeon, draws upon her understanding of Torah passages when considering appropriate circumstances for body modification.

“If it’s bringing distress, then it’s OK,” she said. “My patient population, they’re all pretty well adjusted, happy, successful, intelligent people. But they need help with one little thing that they’d just rather not think about anymore.”

Dr. Michael Obeng, a Christian practitioner, has witnessed a remarkable change in how people view cosmetic procedures during his nearly two decades of practice.

“Now people are not even hiding it. They show their plastic surgery as a badge of honor, like somebody wearing their expensive bag,” he said. “We are aging slower and of course we are working much longer than our moms and grandmothers worked. In the marketplace, we have to look presentable.”

Obeng, a board-certified surgeon practicing in Beverly Hills, performs various operations from abdominoplasties and Brazilian butt lifts to rib removal procedures. He reports rarely experiencing conflict between his religious beliefs and professional duties. This changed in 2018 when he reached a “crossroads” while considering his willingness to perform certain gender transition surgeries.

He consulted multiple pastors and religious leaders for guidance. “Nobody could give me an answer,” he recalled.

His faith eventually guided him to restrict his practice to certain gender-related procedures like breast augmentation while avoiding genital gender-affirming surgeries, which he considers more difficult to reverse.

Ivory Kellogg, a 29-year-old actress in Los Angeles, struggles with conflicting feelings as a woman considering cosmetic treatments.

“There’s this expectation that once you hit 35, you think about doing a mini face-lift. That’s a lot of pressure,” she said. “At the same time, I do want women to feel like they’re allowed to do whatever they want. Like if you want to have a face-lift, that’s your prerogative.”

While choosing these procedures is frequently presented as an individual choice, many specialists argue the situation is far more complex.

“It’s important to think about how those choices are constrained and to think about the social pressures,” said Abigail Saguy, a sociologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “This is a social issue. It is a collective problem. But it’s continually treated as an individual issue and what individual people should do.”

Sometimes, as with medications like Ozempic, these treatments can provide genuine health advantages. However, as their application extends beyond medical necessity, concerns emerge about healthcare resource allocation.

Dr. Aasim Padela, who researches bioethics and Islamic philosophy at the Medical College of Wisconsin, believes broader discussions are essential. His main concerns involve how the medical profession suffers and how resources become misallocated when society prioritizes cosmetic surgery.

“The profession is supposed to be about restoring health or preventing loss of health,” he said. “Certain types of procedures, body modifications, interventions — whatever you want to call them — may not meet those goals or even be aimed at those goals.”

Medical authorities in Germany are preparing to transport a passenger from a hantavirus-affected luxury cruise ship to a Duesseldorf hospital for examination, according to Wednesday reports from German newspaper Bild.

The German citizen, who is not displaying any symptoms of the virus, had been in contact with another German passenger who died while aboard the vessel, the publication stated.

Bild reported that a specialized high-risk patient transport team from Duesseldorf’s fire department has departed for Amsterdam’s international airport to retrieve the passenger.

Hospital officials have not yet provided a response regarding the reported transport.

Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions announced earlier that three passengers were scheduled to be transferred from the ship to specialized aircraft on Wednesday morning, according to Cape Verde local time.

The outbreak, which began in early April, has claimed the lives of a Dutch couple, while a British passenger was airlifted from the vessel and remains in critical care at a South African medical facility.

California’s Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a groundbreaking case that could determine whether pharmaceutical companies must continue developing safer alternatives to drugs already on the market.

The legal challenge centers on Gilead Sciences, which is fighting lower court decisions allowing HIV patients to sue the company for negligence. The patients claim Gilead halted development of a drug with fewer side effects than its existing medication.

If upheld, the ruling could establish new product liability standards that might force drug manufacturers to invest more resources in developing and rapidly bringing alternative treatments to market – a concept legal experts call a “duty to innovate.”

The lawsuit involves approximately 24,000 HIV patients who used Gilead medications containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, known as TDF.

Federal regulators approved these TDF-based drugs in 2001, even though they carried potential risks including kidney damage and bone complications.

Shortly after, Gilead began researching tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, or TAF, a similar compound with reduced side effects.

However, the company stopped TAF development in 2004, stating that its safety and effectiveness improvements over TDF weren’t significant enough to warrant continued investment.

In its Supreme Court appeal, Gilead contends that allowing such lawsuits would discourage pharmaceutical innovation by making companies liable for developing but not marketing new treatments.

“In permitting liability for failing to bring to market an allegedly marginally better product — even when the accused product is not defective — and requiring manufacturers to disclose information to physicians about products still in development, the ruling weaponizes innovation itself,” Gilead stated. “The result would be less product development, not more.”

The patients argue that Gilead recognized TAF would “cannibalize” TDF sales and strategically postponed TAF’s release to maximize profits while waiting for TDF’s patent to expire in 2017.

“Gilead made billions in additional profit from tenofovir-containing drugs sold after 2017,” the patients stated. “A jury must now decide whether this boardroom decision to intentionally delay the commercialization of TAF at the expense of thousands of HIV-infected patients using TDF was unreasonable.”

Three passengers displaying symptoms of hantavirus have been removed from a stranded cruise vessel and are being transported to the Netherlands for medical treatment, according to World Health Organization officials announced Wednesday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that the United Nations health organization is collaborating with operators of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise vessel to carefully track the wellbeing of all passengers and crew members onboard.

“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” Tedros stated in a post on his X social media account.

The cruise vessel remains anchored off Cape Verde’s coastline with approximately 150 individuals aboard, waiting for clearance to proceed to Spain’s Canary Islands following a fatal hantavirus outbreak. Health officials in South Africa and Switzerland have confirmed cases involving the Andes strain of the virus, which can occasionally spread between people.

Swiss health authorities reported Wednesday that a male passenger who had returned from South America and traveled aboard the cruise ship has contracted the virus and is undergoing medical treatment.

The outbreak has claimed three lives and infected a minimum of five individuals aboard the MV Hondius. Hantavirus typically spreads through breathing in contaminated particles from rodent waste. Laboratory testing has confirmed three cases so far.

The vessel departed Argentina on April 1st for an Atlantic voyage originally planned to include visits to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and additional destinations. The ship’s route may have been altered due to the health emergency aboard.

Spanish Health Ministry officials stated late Tuesday that the Canary Islands would accept the MV Hondius following requests from the World Health Organization and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Currently, the ship remains immobilized near Cape Verde, a West African island nation in the Atlantic Ocean. WHO officials report that passengers are confined to their individual cabins.

South African medical authorities confirmed they detected the Andes hantavirus strain in two passengers who had been aboard the vessel.

The World Health Organization identifies the Andes virus as a particular type of hantavirus located in South America, mainly throughout Argentina and Chile.

While the Andes virus can transmit between individuals, such transmission is uncommon and typically limited due to requirements for intimate contact, including sharing sleeping quarters or meals, according to medical experts.

South Africa’s Department of Health indicated in their report that this information came from laboratory analysis conducted on passengers after their removal from the ship and airlift to South Africa.

One passenger, a British citizen, remains in critical care at a South African medical facility. Testing was conducted on another passenger following her death in South Africa.

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health announced that the infected man “returned to Switzerland after traveling on the cruise ship on which there were a number of hantavirus cases.” Officials confirmed his case also involved the Andes virus strain.

The agency reported he had completed a South American trip with his spouse at April’s end. Upon developing symptoms, he sought care at University Hospital Zurich following consultation with his physician and was immediately isolated.

The patient’s spouse has shown no symptoms but is self-quarantining as a safety measure, according to the statement.

Swiss public health officials emphasized that “there is currently no risk to the Swiss public.”

WHO confirmed through social media that the man responded to “an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event” and sought hospital care.

Spanish authorities have agreed to welcome the cruise ship to the Canary Islands as the vessel waited off West Africa’s coast for a third consecutive day Wednesday while arrangements were made for sick passenger evacuation.

Fernando Clavijo, regional president of Spain’s Canary Islands, expressed concern Wednesday about potential risks to local residents from the ship’s arrival and requested an emergency meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

“Neither the populace nor the government of the Canary Islands can rest assured because it is clear that the danger to the population is real,” Clavijo stated during an interview with Onda Cero radio.

Medical evacuation crews remained on alert Wednesday morning at the port in Praia, Cape Verde’s capital city.

Associated Press reporters in the area observed a vessel approaching the cruise ship Tuesday evening before quickly departing. The purpose of this approach and whether it involved evacuation personnel remains unclear.

Pharmaceutical company Bayer announced Wednesday that fresh analysis of clinical trial data demonstrates their investigational blood-thinning medication asundexian successfully lowered both the occurrence and intensity of repeat ischemic strokes.

Results from the phase III clinical study revealed that patients taking the experimental drug experienced ischemic strokes at a rate of 6.2%, while those receiving a placebo had strokes occur 8.4% of the time. The trial focused on individuals who had previously experienced non-cardioembolic ischemic strokes or high-risk transient ischemic attacks.

The findings represent a potential breakthrough for stroke prevention therapy, offering hope for patients at elevated risk of experiencing additional cerebrovascular events.

Health authorities in South Africa confirmed Wednesday they have detected the Andes variant of hantavirus in two individuals who disembarked from a cruise vessel experiencing a disease outbreak, according to a parliamentary briefing by the nation’s health minister.

The cruise vessel MV Hondius received clearance from Spanish authorities to dock at the Canary Islands and was en route to Europe on Wednesday following the approval.

This particular Andes variant is notable because it can transmit between people, unlike the more typical hantavirus strains that primarily infect humans through exposure to contaminated rodents or their waste products and bodily fluids.

Federal health regulators made a groundbreaking decision Tuesday by approving the nation’s first fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes for commercial sale, representing a major departure from previous policy positions.

The Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval to Los Angeles company Glas Inc for several flavored vaping pods, including Classic Menthol, Fresh Menthol, Gold and Sapphire varieties. The small manufacturer employs specialized technology designed to prevent underage users from accessing their devices.

“The FDA’s rigorous, scientific review of these products found that the applicant sufficiently demonstrated that Glas’s device access restriction technology, combined with FDA-required marketing restrictions, is expected to effectively mitigate the ability of youth to use the product,” the regulator said.

The approval comes as reports surfaced that President Trump criticized FDA Commissioner Marty Makary over the weekend for moving too slowly on flavored vaping product approvals, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Federal authorities have historically refused to license flavored vaping products, with the FDA maintaining that companies must provide substantial proof that flavored products benefit adult smokers while avoiding appeal to minors, particularly those resembling fruit or candy.

The agency has recently modified its stringent stance on flavored vaping devices following increased lobbying efforts from tobacco companies and growing political pressure to expand market access for these products.

This latest approval brings the total number of FDA-authorized e-cigarette products available in the United States to 45.

A grocery chain based in Eugene, Oregon has pulled one of its prepared salad products from shelves after discovering it contains sesame without proper labeling.

Market of Choice announced the voluntary recall on May 5, 2026, affecting its 9.5-ounce Vegan Kale Caesar Salad due to unlisted sesame ingredients. The company warns that customers who suffer from sesame allergies or sensitivities could experience dangerous or potentially fatal reactions if they eat the contaminated product.

The recall notice comes as food allergies continue to pose serious health threats to millions of Americans, with sesame being recognized as one of the major allergens requiring disclosure on food labels.

Customers who have purchased the affected salad are advised not to consume it and should return the product to the store for a full refund.

WASHINGTON — Federal health regulators made a groundbreaking announcement Tuesday, granting approval for the first fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes designed for adult smokers. This represents a dramatic policy reversal following months of lobbying efforts directed at President Donald Trump by vaping manufacturers.

The authorization is expected to face strong opposition from public health advocates and parent groups, who have consistently argued that flavored products drive youth vaping across the nation. However, this federal decision comes at a time when teenage vaping has reached its lowest point in a decade, while industry leaders have pressed the Republican administration to ease product restrictions.

Vaping manufacturers have consistently argued their products could significantly reduce the devastating impact of traditional smoking among adults. Conventional cigarettes are responsible for approximately 480,000 deaths each year in the United States from cancer, lung disease, and heart conditions. While these battery-operated devices have been available since 2007, concerns about their benefits have been overshadowed by widespread use among middle and high school students.

The recently approved electronic cigarettes feature mango, blueberry, and two menthol varieties. California-based manufacturer Glas Inc. will sell these flavors as Gold, Sapphire, Classic Menthol, and Fresh Menthol, according to federal documentation.

Until now, the FDA had only permitted tobacco or menthol-flavored vaping products. Most previously approved e-cigarettes came from major manufacturers like Juul and Altria.

Tuesday’s decision does not constitute a full approval or endorsement, with the FDA emphasizing that Glas products are exclusively intended for adults seeking to quit or reduce cigarette consumption.

Regulators highlighted the company’s digital age-verification technology as a barrier preventing underage access. Users must validate their age using government identification through their mobile device. The e-cigarettes only function when connected via Bluetooth to the verified user’s phone.

The FDA’s approval of these fruit-flavored products will serve as “a key test case,” according to Kathy Crosby from the Truth Initiative, an organization dedicated to fighting tobacco use.

“Ultimately, it’s critical that we remain vigilant in protecting young people, including closely monitoring the use of authorized products,” Crosby stated in an email.

During his campaign, Trump promised to “save” vaping and received support from e-cigarette companies, retailers, and enthusiasts.

The Biden administration previously rejected over one million applications for candy and fruit-flavored products, as part of broader enforcement efforts credited with reducing teen vaping following a 2019 spike. Trump’s initial presidency established the first flavor limitations on e-cigarettes and increased the minimum purchase age for all tobacco products from 18 to 21.

However, vaping and tobacco policy initiatives have taken a secondary role under FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has prioritized other issues including COVID-19 vaccine restrictions, eliminating artificial food coloring, and accelerating innovative drug approvals.

Organizations like the Vapor Technology Association have recently met with administration officials advocating for expanded flavor options.

In March, the FDA issued its inaugural industry guidance on flavors, indicating that menthol, coffee, mint, and spice varieties could attract adult smokers. The same document reinforced concerns about sweeter flavors that appeal to teenagers, including fruit, candy, and dessert options.

Most American teenagers who vape still use unauthorized fruit and candy-flavored products, based on recent federal statistics. While technically prohibited, these items remain widely accessible through inexpensive, disposable brands typically manufactured in China.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A fatal hantavirus outbreak claimed three lives aboard an expedition cruise ship over several weeks before health officials identified the rare disease, according to the World Health Organization and cruise operator records.

The timeline reveals nearly four weeks elapsed between the first passenger’s death in the South Atlantic and laboratory confirmation of hantavirus infections in South Africa — located over 2,100 miles away.

Three travelers have died, one remains in critical condition at a South African hospital, and three others aboard the vessel are showing symptoms while awaiting medical evacuation. The MV Hondius carries nearly 150 passengers and crew members from 23 nations and is currently positioned off West Africa’s coastline.

Hantavirus spreads through rodent contact, with humans contracting the disease through exposure to infected rodent saliva, urine or feces. The virus typically doesn’t transmit between people, though some medical experts say human-to-human spread remains possible.

Although laboratory tests have confirmed only two hantavirus cases connected to the vessel, WHO suspects the remaining cases also involve the virus and is managing the situation as an outbreak. Officials continue investigating the infection source.

Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions operates the MV Hondius, offering “expedition cruises” to Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands for travelers seeking Earth’s most isolated destinations.

These voyages extend a month or longer, with prices ranging from $6,000 to $25,000 based on cabin selection.

The MV Hondius departed southern Argentina on April 1.

A 70-year-old Dutch passenger developed fever, headache and mild diarrhea on April 6, WHO reported.

The man died aboard the ship on April 11 after experiencing breathing difficulties. Ship tracking data shows the vessel was sailing between British territories South Georgia and St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Oceanwide Expeditions said the death’s cause remained undetermined.

The cruise continued for nearly two weeks, making a stop near Tristan da Cunha before reaching St. Helena, where the Dutch man’s remains were removed on April 24. His 69-year-old wife disembarked with the body and flew to South Africa, while her husband’s remains stayed behind.

The woman, already experiencing symptoms, deteriorated during the April 25 flight and collapsed at a South African airport. She died at a hospital on April 26, WHO stated.

A British passenger became ill after the ship departed St. Helena for tiny Ascension Island, approximately 800 miles north. He experienced high fever, breathing problems and pneumonia signs, according to WHO, and was airlifted from Ascension Island to South Africa on April 27. He remains in intensive care at a South African medical facility.

The third death involved a German woman who died Saturday aboard the ship as it sailed toward Cape Verde. She died four days after becoming sick and also showed pneumonia symptoms, WHO said, which hantavirus can cause. Her body remains on the vessel.

South African health officials eventually tested the hospitalized British man for hantavirus after other comprehensive tests proved negative. They received positive hantavirus results on Saturday, 21 days after the initial passenger death.

WHO announced Sunday it was investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which had reached Cape Verde waters by then.

The British man’s positive test prompted South African authorities to posthumously test the Dutch woman’s body for hantavirus. That test returned positive results on Monday.

WHO stated the ship outbreak is being controlled and global risk remains low since hantavirus doesn’t easily spread between people, though officials are tracing passengers who flew between St. Helena and Johannesburg, South Africa, with the Dutch woman.

Oceanwide Expeditions announced Tuesday that aircraft were flying to Cape Verde to evacuate two people requiring urgent medical attention and one passenger traveling with the German woman who died Saturday. They were heading to the Netherlands, though arrival timing remained unclear.

The ship would then sail to Spain’s Canary Islands, approximately a three-day journey, the company said.

Spanish officials reported they were monitoring the situation but hadn’t confirmed any plans as of Tuesday evening.

Passengers and crew remain isolated in cabins with “maximal physical distancing,” WHO said, creating a lockdown similar to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

WHO says it continues investigating how this relatively rare human virus reached the ship. Officials noted the Dutch man and his wife — identified as the first two cases — had traveled through Argentina and other South American locations before boarding.

WHO reports that Andes virus, a specific hantavirus type, exists in South America, mainly in Argentina and Chile.

Federal health regulators have prevented the release of multiple research studies that confirmed the safety profiles of commonly administered COVID-19 and shingles vaccines, according to a Tuesday report from the New York Times.

The research projects, which cost taxpayers millions of dollars to fund, involved scientists from the federal agency collaborating with data analysis companies to examine millions of medical records from patients.

According to the report, the research conclusions demonstrated that severe adverse reactions occurred extremely infrequently.

When contacted by Reuters for a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services, which supervises the FDA, had not provided an immediate response.

A California-based food manufacturer has issued a nationwide recall for several varieties of its kimchi products after discovering they contain unlisted fish ingredients that could trigger dangerous allergic reactions.

Downey, California company Ocinet, Inc. is pulling all varieties of its “…And Kimchi” brand sliced kimchi from store shelves. The affected products include three different UPC codes: 8541200408, 8541200409, and 8541200411.

The company discovered that the fermented vegetable products contain anchovies, a fish ingredient that was not disclosed on product packaging. This poses a significant health threat to consumers who suffer from fish allergies or sensitivities, who could experience severe allergic reactions if they consume the products.

The Food and Drug Administration announced the recall as part of its ongoing food safety monitoring efforts. Consumers who have purchased any of the affected kimchi products are advised to dispose of them immediately and contact the company for refund information.

Anyone with fish allergies who may have consumed these products should monitor themselves for allergic reaction symptoms and seek medical attention if needed.

A transatlantic cruise has turned into a floating quarantine zone after three passengers died and another was hospitalized with Hantavirus, leaving 149 travelers from 23 nations confined to their ship under emergency health protocols.

The MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, has implemented stringent isolation procedures following confirmation that two of the three deaths were linked to the deadly virus. Among the fatalities were a married couple from the Netherlands and a passenger from Germany, with the Dutch woman testing positive for Hantavirus.

A 69-year-old British traveler who contracted the illness was airlifted to a South African medical facility, where he remains in critical care. Additionally, two crew members who had direct contact with the deceased German passenger were removed from the vessel as a precautionary measure.

The vessel’s journey began over a month ago when it left Ushuaia, Argentina. According to MarineTraffic vessel monitoring data, the Dutch-registered ship first visited Antarctica before returning to Argentina for a brief stop and departing again on April 1st. The ship later made a port call at Saint Helena, a British territory, before anchoring near Praia this past Sunday.

Cape Verde officials blocked the ship from docking Tuesday due to health safety concerns, forcing the vessel to remain at sea while containment protocols continue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hantavirus typically spreads through exposure to infected rodent waste, urine, or saliva. A particularly dangerous variant called Andes virus can transmit between humans and is commonly found in Chile and Argentina, where the cruise originated.

The infection can progress to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a life-threatening respiratory condition with high mortality rates. This same disease claimed the life of Betsy Arakawa, widow of deceased actor Gene Hackman, in the previous year.

World Health Organization European Regional Director Hans Kluge sought to calm public concerns, stating: “There is no need for panic or travel restrictions.” Health authorities emphasized that the outbreak poses no wider threat to public safety.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary stood by his agency’s choice to reject a cancer treatment application from Replimune on Tuesday, as the pharmaceutical company’s stock price fell in response to the regulatory setback.

During a CNBC television interview, Makary pointed to the agency’s formal documentation explaining their reasoning. “If you read our what we call our complete response letter, you will see the details of the FDA logic,” the commissioner stated.

The rejection of Replimune’s advanced skin cancer therapy sent the company’s shares tumbling 5% during morning stock market activity on Tuesday.