First Edition: August 26, 2019

Kaiser Health News: Why Red Wyoming Seeks The Regulatory Approach To Air Ambulance Costs
Wyoming, the reddest of Republican states and a bastion of free enterprise, thinks it may have found a way to end crippling air ambulance bills that can top $100,000 per flight. The state’s unexpected solution? Undercut the free market by using Medicaid to treat air ambulances like a public utility. The issue has come to a head in Wyoming, where rugged terrain and long distances between hospitals forces reliance on these ambulance flights. Costs for such emergency transports have been soaring, with some patients facing massive unexpected bills as the free-flying air ambulance industry expands with cash from profit-seeking private-equity investors. (Hawryluk, 8/26)

Kaiser Health News: Coming Out About Mental Health On Social Media
Susanna Harris was sitting in her lab class for her graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she received an email that told her she had failed what she describes as “the most important exam in grad school,” the doctoral qualifying exam. She took the rest of the day off, went home and baked cookies. Harris continued with her regular schedule: lab, work, home, repeat. Everything seemed fine until she realized she was having a hard time focusing due to lack of sleep. (Lofton, 8/26)

California Healthline: Doctors Fight Legislation Prompted By Sex Abuse Scandals
Daniella Mohazab didn’t know what to expect from her first pelvic exam in 2016. The University of Southern California sophomore, then 19, was startled when her doctor examined her vagina for several minutes without gloves, but assumed it was standard procedure. It wasn’t until two years later, when she read about Dr. George Tyndall’s alleged sexual abuse against USC students, that she realized she may have been sexually violated by him as well. (Almendrala, 8/23)

Politico: Senate Battleground Dems Shun 'Medicare For All'
The major battleground-state Democrats running to flip the Senate want nothing to do with "Medicare for All." In states like Arizona, Iowa and North Carolina, challengers Mark Kelly, Theresa Greenfield and Cal Cunningham are staying tightly focused on the health care message House Democrats used in 2018: expanding Medicaid, protecting Obamacare and slamming Republican repeal efforts. Incumbents like Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) are aligned similarly, backing proposals like a public health insurance option but declining to embrace a single national insurance plan. (Ollstein and Arkin, 8/25)

The Hill: Sanders Doubles Down On 'Medicare For All' Defense: 'We Have Not Changed One Word' 
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 White House hopeful, on Sunday dismissed criticism that he is backtracking on his "Medicare For All" plan. "We have not changed one word," Sanders said of the plan on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked about "2020 rivals" attacking him for tweaking its impact on union workers. (Klar, 8/25)

The Hill: Sanders, Warren Back Major Shift To Fight Drug Overdoses 
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are vowing to put in place a controversial approach to stopping drug overdoses if elected. Both Democratic presidential candidates endorsed supervised injection sites this week, a stance that conflicts with the federal government's objection to allowing so-called "safe" locations that let drug users inject heroin and other drugs. (Hellmann, 8/25)

The Hill: Advocates Sound Alarm As Uninsured Rate Rises Under Trump 
The uninsured rate is rising for the first time since ObamaCare passed, two recent studies show, alarming advocates who fear the problem could get worse. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in July show there were 2.1 million more uninsured people between 2016 and 2018. And a study from the Urban Institute this month, using Census Bureau data, found 700,000 more uninsured people just between 2016 and 2017. (Sullivan, 8/25)

Reuters: CDC Flags One Death And Nearly 200 Cases Of Lung Illnesses In U.S., Possibly Tied To Vaping
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday it had identified 193 potential cases of severe lung illness tied to vaping in 22 states as of Aug. 22, including one adult in Illinois who died after being hospitalized. The CDC has been investigating a "cluster" of lung illnesses that it believes may be linked to e-cigarette use, although it has not yet been able to establish whether they were in fact caused by vaping. (8/24)

The New York Times: First Death In A Spate Of Vaping Sicknesses Reported By Health Officials
Many patients, including some in Illinois, have acknowledged vaping of tetrahydrocannabinol, or (T.H.C.), the high-inducing chemical in marijuana, according to statements from federal and state health agencies. But officials don’t know whether the ailments have been caused by marijuana-type products, e-cigarettes, or some type of street concoction that was vaped, or whether a contaminant or defective device may have been involved. (Richtel and Kaplan, 8/23)

The Associated Press: Illinois Patient's Death May Be First In US Tied To Vaping
The illnesses have been reported since late June, but the total count has risen quickly in the past week. That may be partly because cases that weren't initially being linked to vaping have begun to be grouped that way. Among the newest reports are two in Connecticut, four in Iowa and six in Ohio. Health officials are asking doctors and hospitals to tell state health officials about any possible vaping-related lung disease cases they encounter. (Babwin and Stobbe, 8/23)

The Washington Post: Vaping Death: Person Who Used E-Cigarettes Died After Severe Lung Illness, Illinois Officials Say
While some of the cases appear similar, officials said they don’t know whether the illnesses are associated with the e-cigarette devices themselves, or with specific ingredients or contaminants inhaled through them. Health officials have said patients have described vaping a variety of substances, including nicotine, marijuana-based products and do-it-yourself “home brews.” (Sun, 8/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Illinois Death Could Be First Linked To Vaping
“The severity of illness people are experiencing is alarming and we must get the word out that using e-cigarettes and vaping can be dangerous,” Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a statement. Doctors are searching for answers and turning to some previous cases for help. At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, specialists have treated seven patients over the past couple of weeks who developed pulmonary illnesses after vaping, “and we think there may be a couple more,” said Alison Morris, division chief of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine. (McKay and Ansari, 8/23)

The Washington Post: Vaping Illness: Acute Respiratory Failure Nearly Killed Alexander Mitchell And Doctors Blame E-Cigarettes
Within days, Alexander Mitchell had gone from being a 20-year-old hiking enthusiast to being kept alive by two machines forcing air into and out of his lungs and oxygenating his blood outside of his body. “He went from being sick to being on death’s door in literally two days,” recalled his father, Daniel Mitchell, as he struggled to grasp the unthinkable. “The doctor said he was dying. In all honesty, I was preparing to plan a funeral for my child. I wept and wept for this boy.” (Sun, 8/24)

The Washington Post: After Planned Parenthood Quits Federal Program, Patients Face Higher Fees, Longer Waits And Possible Clinic Closures
In Cleveland, a Planned Parenthood mobile clinic that tests for sexually transmitted diseases has cut its staff to part-time and may shut down. In Minneapolis, women and girls accustomed to free checkups are now billed as much as $200 per visit on a sliding fee scale. And in Vienna, W.Va., Planned Parenthood employees are marking boxes of birth control pills with “Do not use” signs because they were paid for with federal grants the organization can no longer accept. Planned Parenthood’s decision to quit a $260 million federal family planning program this week, rather than comply with what it calls a “gag rule” imposed by the Trump administration on abortion referrals, is creating turmoil in many low-income communities across the United States. (Cha and Regan, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood Asks Judge To Pause Missouri Abortion Law
Critics of a new Missouri ban on abortions at or after eight weeks of pregnancy are asking a judge to block the law from taking effect this week. Attorneys for Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union head to court Monday to ask U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs to put the law on hold while their legal challenge against it plays out in court. They face a tight deadline: The law is set to take effect Wednesday. Planned Parenthood and ACLU lawyers in a court filing wrote that unless Sachs blocks the law, it will severely limit access to abortion and prevent the “vast majority of patients from obtaining the constitutionally protected medical care they seek.” (Ballentine and Stafford, 8/26)

The New York Times: The $6 Million Drug Claim
Dawn Patterson keeps a multimillion-dollar drug in the fridge, next to a bottle of root beer and a jar of salsa. The drug, Strensiq, treats a rare bone disease that afflicted her with excruciating pain and left her struggling to work or care for her family. A year after she began taking the drug, Ms. Patterson, 49, credits it with nearly vanquishing her pain, enabling her to return to work part time for a hospital. (Thomas and Abelson, 8/25)

Stat: Amgen’s R&D Chief On The ‘Slow-Moving Tsunami’ Of Alzheimer’s And The Future Of Disease Research
It’s been just over a month since Amgen and Novartis ended two studies of an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment early, the latest in a long string of failures in Alzheimer’s drug development. There is still no effective treatment for the disease. But as the population ages, the already significant need for an Alzheimer’s treatment is only growing more urgent, said Dr. David Reese, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen. (Thielking, 8/23)

The Associated Press: Oklahoma Judge To Deliver Judgment In State's Opioid Lawsuit
An Oklahoma judge is expected to rule Monday in the first state case to go to trial accusing an opioid drugmaker of being responsible for the devastating consequences arising from addiction to the powerful painkillers. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman is scheduled to deliver his judgment in open court at 3 p.m. The case is at the forefront of a wave of similar lawsuits by states, cities, counties and Indian tribes against drug companies over the wreckage caused by the national opioid crisis. (Murphy, 8/26)

The Washington Post: Q&A: Deadly Opioid Crisis Sparks Lawsuits Across The US
The first judgment is expected Monday in a lawsuit from a state government seeking to hold a drug company accountable for a U.S. opioid crisis that has ripped apart lives and communities. More trials and legal settlements are likely to follow the ruling in Oklahoma as the nation looks for answers and solutions to a massive societal and legal problem. Following are questions and answers about the opioid crisis. (Mulvihill, 8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Investigators Use New Strategy To Combat Opioid Crisis: Data Analytics
When federal investigators got a tip in 2015 that a health center in Houston was distributing millions of doses of opioid painkillers, they tried a new approach: look at the numbers. State and federal prescription and medical billing data showed a pattern of overprescription, giving authorities enough ammunition to send an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent. She found a crowded waiting room and armed security guards. After a 91-second appointment with the sole doctor, the agent paid $270 at the cash-only clinic and walked out with 100 10mg pills of the powerful opioid hydrocodone. (Tau and Viswanatha, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: New Details Emerge Over Mallinckrodt’s Role In Opioid Crisis
In July 2010, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration met with Mallinckrodt, informing the pharmaceutical company that the agency viewed it “as the kingpin within the prescription drug cartel.” Now, more details and questions about Mallinckrodt’s role in the opioid crisis are emerging, including whether it effectively guarded against products leaving legal distribution channels as required by law. Much attention over the sprawling opioid litigation against the pharmaceutical industry has targeted Purdue Pharma LP and its prescription pain pill OxyContin, which has sold more than $35 billion since launching in 1996. (Hopkins and Walker, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: David Koch's Death Unlikely To Weaken His Network's Healthcare Lobbying
Billionaire libertarian activist David Koch died Friday, removing a major funding figure from the healthcare political scene. But the passing of the 79-year-old co-founder of the right-wing advocacy group Americans for Prosperity likely will have little impact on continuing efforts by that group and his brother Charles Koch on healthcare issues. (Meyer, 8/23)

The New York Times: A Lobbyist Gave $900,000 In Donations. Whose Money Is It?
Of all the billionaires, hedge fund managers and chief executives who have showered politicians in New York with money in the last five years, no one has given more often than David C. Rich. Since 2014, Mr. Rich has doled out more than 200 contributions totaling over $900,000. Last year alone, he gave away nearly a quarter of a million dollars across dozens of campaigns, according to an analysis by The New York Times, and has donated at least 39 times so far this year. (Goodman, 8/26)

The Washington Post: ICE Opens Family Detention Facility To News Cameras
More than a year after he drew criticism for comparing family detention to a “summer camp,” the nation’s top immigration enforcer stood in a clean hallway in America’s largest family detention complex and gestured around himself. “Take a look,” said Matthew Albence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director. (Sacchetti, 8/25)

The Hill: Critics Fear Widespread Damage From Trump 'Public Charge' Rule
Experts are warning that the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule linking immigrants’ legal status to their use of public benefits will have far reaching impacts on health care coverage as well as the country's safety net. ...Health and immigration experts and activists said the final rule will have a chilling effect even on people who aren’t directly affected and could discourage permanent residents and even U.S. citizens from renewing or applying for benefits they are entitled to. (Weixel, 8/24)

Stateline: Success Of Red Flag Laws Might Depend On Mental Health Teams 
A rarity among local law enforcement agencies, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office employs a staff of round-the-clock mental health and threat assessment experts who continuously seek intelligence from the community on people they believe could pose a threat of violence. When a tip comes in, the team assesses the risk and intervenes if warranted. In the wake of back-to-back shootings in Ohio and Texas this month, red flag gun laws have emerged as a potentially bipartisan method of curbing the nation’s escalating number of mass murders. But the infrastructure that Palm Beach County has in place may be necessary to make the laws work. (Vestal, 8/26)

The New York Times: One Handgun, 9 Murders: How American Firearms Cause Carnage Abroad
She came to Jamaica from the United States about four years ago, sneaking in illegally, stowed away to avoid detection. Within a few short years, she became one of the nation’s most-wanted assassins. She preyed on the parish of Clarendon, carrying out nine confirmed kills, including a double homicide outside a bar, the killing of a father at a wake and the murder of a single mother of three. Her violence was indiscriminate: She shot and nearly killed a 14-year-old girl getting ready for church. (Ahmed, 8/25)

NPR: In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
A gun show might not be the first place you would expect to talk about suicide prevention — especially in a place like rural northeast Utah, where firearms are deeply embedded in the local culture. But one Friday at the Vernal Gun & Knife Show, four women stood behind a folding table for the Northeastern Counseling Center with exactly that in mind.Amid a maze of tables displaying brightly varnished rifle stocks, shotguns and the occasional AR-15 assault-style rifle, they waited, ready to talk with show attendees. (Neumann, 8/26)

The New York Times: Why Doctors Still Offer Treatments That May Not Help
When your doctor gives you health advice, and your insurer pays for the recommended treatment, you probably presume it’s based on solid evidence. But a great deal of clinical practice that’s covered by private insurers and public programs isn’t. The British Medical Journal sifted through the evidence for thousands of medical treatments to assess which are beneficial and which aren’t. According to the analysis, there is evidence of some benefit for just over 40 percent of them. Only 3 percent are ineffective or harmful; a further 6 percent are unlikely to be helpful. But a whopping 50 percent are of unknown effectiveness. We haven’t done the studies. (Frakt, 8/26)

The New York Times: When College Dormitories Become Health Hazards
Annemarie Cuccia saw the black mold spread through rooms in her dormitory — five on her floor in a span of about two weeks last September. Soon she spotted some mold in her own room as well, growing on walls and furniture. Ms. Cuccia, now a sophomore at Georgetown University, and her roommate told a maintenance worker about the mold, and workers came to clean it off a few days later. But her problems did not end there. “About a month later, I started getting really, really terrible pains in my ears,” said Ms. Cuccia, 19. She had an ear infection, caused by black mold spores. (Jun, 8/25)

The Associated Press: AARP Chief: How Living To 100 Changes Our Ideas About Aging
Jo Ann Jenkins is the CEO of AARP, the world's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization. AARP is focused on helping people "improve their quality of life" as they age; it has more than 38 million members. Jenkins joined AARP in 2010 and became CEO in 2014. Previously she was chief operating officer at the Library of Congress, one of her many roles in public service. She is the author of "Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age," a book about changing society's views on aging. She is the first woman to be named CEO of AARP on a permanent basis. (8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Kids Should Call The Robot ‘It’
If you want your preschooler to grow up with a healthy attitude toward artificial intelligence, here’s a tip: Don’t call that cute talking robot “he” or “she.” Call the robot “it.” Today’s small children, aka Generation Alpha, are the first to grow up with robots as peers. Those winsome talking devices spawned by a booming education-tech industry can speed children’s learning, but they also can be confusing to them, research shows. Many children think robots are smarter than humans or imbue them with magical powers. (Shellenbarger, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: When An Epidemic Threatens The Globe, This Doctor Jumps Into Action
When an infectious disease threatens to become a pandemic, it is up to John Hackett to keep the world’s blood supply safe. He is known as the “chief virus hunter” within Abbott Laboratories , where Dr. Hackett is in charge of a global team that plays a prominent public-health role whenever an outbreak occurs. Dr. Hackett’s job is to consult Abbott’s vault of more than 60,000 viral strains of HIV and hepatitis to determine whether a diagnostic test to detect the particular virus exists, brainstorm a plan for developing one in the event of a new viral strain, and collaborate with government agencies to coordinate a public health response. Today his tests are used to screen more than 60% of the world’s blood supply. (Higgins, 8/24)

NPR: How To Talk To Kids About Weight
Dale Knuth, now 58, says that in childhood her weight was a source of anguish — largely because of how her family treated her. "I had a brother who tormented me constantly," she says. "If I came home from school and was hungry and ate an apple, I'd be called a cow, or a pig or whatever." Her parents, she says, did nothing to stop her brother "except to say, 'Yeah, you're getting fat.' " She had no physical outlet for her frustration — she wanted to play softball, but her mother wouldn't allow it. (Neilson, 8/25)

ProPublica: TSA’s Body Scanners Are Gender Binary. Humans Are Not.
On Sept. 15, 2017, Olivia stepped into a full-body scanner at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. When she stepped out, a female Transportation Security Administration officer approached. On the scanner’s screen was an outline of a human body with the groin highlighted. The officer told Olivia that because of something the scanner had detected, a pat-down would be necessary. As a transgender woman, Olivia, 36, had faced additional TSA scrutiny before. On those occasions, a manual search at the checkpoint had been enough to assure TSA officers that there wasn’t a weapon or explosive hidden in her undergarments. (Waldron and Medina, 8/26)

NPR: Low-Dose Steroids Questioned In Prevention Of Asthma Attacks
Steroid inhalers commonly used to prevent asthma attacks may not work any better than a placebo for many people with mild asthma, according to recent research. Synthetic corticosteroids mimic the steroid hormone cortisol, reducing inflammation in the airways. But the drug targets a type of inflammation that may be found in far fewer patients than previously thought, research in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine finds. (Dembosky, 8/26)

NPR: Women May Be More Adept Than Men At Discerning Pain
The pathway to opioid abuse for women often starts with a prescription from the doctor's office. One reason is that women are more likely than men to seek help for pain. Pain researchers say not only do women suffer more painful conditions, they actually perceive pain more intensely than men do. "The burden of pain is substantially greater for women than men," says researcher and psychologist Roger Fillingim, "and that led pain researchers like myself to wonder if the pain perception system is different in women than in men." (Neighmond, 8/26)

The New York Times: PTSD Made Him Walk Away From Public Life. Now He’s Heading Back.
Jason Kander was a rising political star, in the homestretch of a race for mayor of Kansas City that he was widely expected to win. And he was moments away from upending it all. His campaign manager, Abe Rakov, stopped him and asked, “Are you sure this is the thing you want everyone in the world to remember about you forever?” Mr. Kander said yes. So his manager pressed Send. (Philipps, 8/25)

NPR: Summer Heat Can Inflame Illness
A little Shakespeare came to mind during a recent shift in the Boston emergency room where I work. "Good Mercutio, let's retire," Romeo's cousin Benvolio says. "The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl." It was hot in Boston, too, and people were brawling. The steamy summer months always seem to bring more than their fair share of violence. (Dalton, 8/24)

The New York Times: Malnutrition Case Stirs Debate About Vegan Diets For Babies
It happens every once in a while: A child being raised vegan develops serious health problems, setting off an emotional debate over whether such diets are suitable for the very young. Experts say it is possible to raise healthy infants and children on a totally plant-based diet. Planning helps, as babies are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition and are unable to choose the foods they eat. (Fortin, 8/24)

The New York Times: Alternatives To Surgery For An Enlarged Prostate
Ed Goldman, a retired bookbinder who says he’s “pushing 80,” does not let his age or enlarged prostate curtail his physical activities and desire to travel. He walks the streets of his beloved New York for about two miles a day, five or more days a week, and knows every possible bathroom stop along his usual routes. When arriving in foreign territory, he immediately checks out the location of lavatories to avoid an embarrassing accident. “The urgency, when it hits, can be pretty scary,” he told me. (Brody, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Getting Pulled By A Horse Can Actually Be Serious Exercise
Ken Weckstein doesn’t even fit his own profile of what a top athlete looks like. He’s a 66-year-old who puts in long hours as a lawyer. But he’s found an unusual sport to scratch his competitive itch: harness racing, the sport where a horse pulls a two-wheeled cart occupied by a driver. Mr. Weckstein, a partner with Brown Rudnick, has spent nearly three decades riding in harness races at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Md., and Ocean Downs in Berlin, Md. He splits his time between the Washington, D.C., area and Ocean City, Md., and competes from February through mid-December, racing three to four times a week, sometimes up to three races a night. (Murphy, 8/25)

The New York Times: 4 Will Be Charged In Florida Nursing Home Deaths After Hurricane Irma, Lawyers Say
The police in Hollywood, Fla., plan to charge four employees of a nursing home in the deaths of a dozen residents who succumbed to heat exposure there in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017, lawyers for three of the employees said on Saturday. Among those charged will be Jorge Carballo, the administrator of the nursing home, as well as a charge nurse and two other nurses, the lawyers said. (Bogel-Burroughs and Hard, 8/24)

The New York Times: Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings And A Boss With A Criminal Past
In the year after receiving test results showing alarming levels of lead in this city’s drinking water, Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark made a number of unexpected decisions. He mailed a brochure to all city residents assuring them that “the quality of water meets all federal and state standards.” He declared the water safe and then condemned, in capital letters on the city’s website, “outrageously false statements” to the contrary. (Corasaniti, Kilgannon and Schwartz, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Couple Says Hospital Misplaced Remains Of Miscarried Baby
A couple says a suburban Philadelphia hospital misplaced the remains of their miscarried baby. Tiffany Griffin and Chad Greaves filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming Bryn Mawr Hospital mistakenly gave a funeral home Griffin's placenta to cremate instead of the baby's remains. Seventeen days later, the remains were found, having been misplaced like "a set of keys or item of clothing," the lawsuit alleges. (8/23)

The Washington Post: Md. Dental Program For Poor Pays To Remove Teeth — But Not Replace Them
Bridget Morlan called the number on her first-ever dental insurance card and held her breath. After more than 30 years of dealing with broken teeth, gum infections and toothaches that landed her in the emergency room dozens of times, the Baltimore woman hoped the new coverage would make everything better. “I’m wishing for a miracle,” said Morlan, 53, whose teeth were damaged years ago by an abusive boyfriend and subsequent lack of care. (Kim, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Tourist May Have Brought Measles To Southern California
A New Zealand teenager who visited Disneyland and other Southern California tourist spots last week brought along more than just her luggage. She brought measles. Public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties issued a warning Friday that people may have been exposed to the disease if they were at Disneyland or the Disney California Adventure Park on Aug. 12. (8/24)

The Washington Post: Measles: A Tourist At Disneyland And Universal Studios In California Could Have Exposed Others
The teen was on a trip from New Zealand and flew into Los Angeles International Airport. She visited Disneyland and California Adventure, among other attractions from Aug. 11 to Aug. 15. She also reportedly traveled to Universal Studios, Madame Tussauds and the Santa Monica Pier during the trip, the officials said. Public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties said Friday they are attempting to find anyone who might have been exposed to the virus and has started showing symptoms. (Krakow, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times: Teen With Measles Visited Disneyland, Universal Studios, Other Tourist Attractions
Considered one of the most contagious diseases in the world, measles spreads through coughing and sneezing but can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the room. “Measles is a highly contagious and potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough and red, watery eyes,” Orange County health officer Dr. Nichole Quick said in a statement. “It spreads very easily by air and by direct contact with an infected person.” (Karlamangla, 8/23)

Los Angeles Times: Disneyland, LAX Measles Warning: What To Look For
The symptoms range from ordinary to grim: fever over 101 degrees, cough, runny nose, red watery eyes and, then, the clincher — a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. With thousands of people potentially exposed to measles earlier this month at Disneyland, Los Angeles International Airport and several other locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, health officials are urging those who may be vulnerable to watch for those symptoms of the potentially deadly disease. (Smith, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Officials: Teen At Dance Competition In Arizona Had Measles
Public health officials say a teenager competing in the World Hip Hop Championship in Phoenix has measles and may have exposed others at the dance competition. The Maricopa County Public Health Department said Friday the teen was infectious with measles from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11 at the Arizona Grand Resort, where the competition was held. (8/23)