Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida's Dengue Fever Outbreak May Be One Of The Largest In US In Decades
The Hill: Florida's Dengue Outbreak Reportedly Largest US Has Seen In Decades
A dengue fever outbreak in Florida appears to have grown into the largest number of cases the continental U.S. has seen in decades — totaling 252 reported cases this year in the Sunshine State, according to an update this week. Dengue fever, which is transmitted through infected mosquito bites, is rarely fatal and most infected people do not experience symptoms. However, it can cause fever, eye and joint pain, nausea, and rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last month, Florida reported one death from the virus of an elderly woman in Tampa. (Davis, 10/3)
Newsweek: Map Shows States Where Dengue Fever Cases Have Risen After Florida Outbreak
Following the dengue fever outbreak in Florida, which health officials are describing as the largest outbreak in the continental United States in decades, dengue fever cases have increased across a number of U.S. states in recent days, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data shows that the number of reported cases has risen in at least 15 states, with Florida accounting for the largest share of the increase. (Greenwood, 10/4)
On measles and shingles —
CIDRAP: Measles Milestones: US Closes In On 4,000 Cases As Pennsylvania Nears 1,000
With three months left of 2026, the United States is closing in on a number of measles cases that would have been unheard of just a couple years ago. With 228 new cases logged this week, the country reached 3,886 infections, just 114 shy of 4,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) weekly update today. It could top that milestone next week. And US cases could be more than double the 2025 total this month. (Wappes, 10/2)
The Hill: Measles Cases Near 1,000 In Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s health department reported Friday that there have been nearly 1,000 measles cases in the state this year, after previously reporting on Sept. 28 the number had just surpassed 900. The Pennsylvania Department of Health wrote that “977 measles cases have been confirmed across 39 counties in Pennsylvania so far in 2026,” in a statement released Friday. (Bhakta, 10/3)
CIDRAP: Measles Outbreaks Could Leave Thousands Vulnerable To Infectious Diseases For Years
Measles infections make people miserable for up to two long weeks, commonly causing dangerously high fevers, a painful sensitivity to light and, of course, a tell-tale red rash. Sufferers who escape without developing pneumonia, brain swelling, or other serious complications may believe the worst is over. Yet the measles virus has only gotten started. (Szabo, 10/2)
NBC News: Young Adult Shingles Cases Plummet As First Chickenpox Vaccine Group Grows Older
The chickenpox vaccine appears to protect against shingles, according to a large new analysis. Anyone who got infected with chickenpox as a child is at risk of later developing shingles, a painful, blistering rash that usually appears on one side of the body. For unknown reasons, cases of shingles have been gradually rising, even among younger adults, research has shown. (Sullivan, 10/2)
On plague and Ebola —
CNN: Researcher At Russian Plague Laboratory Dies Of ‘Unknown’ Infection
Russian authorities have imposed “anti-epidemic measures” after a laboratory worker at an institute in Siberia dedicated to studying the plague and other infectious diseases died of a mysterious illness. (Lister, Vlasova, Harvey and Chernova, 10/5)
Axios: White House Monitors Suspected Plague Outbreak In Russia
The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios on Sunday. Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures in response to the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research facility, but have not confirmed that she contracted plague. (Isenstadt, 10/4)
CIDRAP: CDC Reminds Doctors In Southwest To Be Aware Of Plague
After a young Arizona man died of pneumonic plague last year, a report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Arizona scientists yesterday issued a caution to clinicians in areas where plague is endemic. They say to consider it as a possible cause of patients’ severe respiratory and systemic disease if they’ve been exposed to sick animals. As detailed in a new paper in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the man who died had occupational exposure to two ill cats, which are especially susceptible to plague. (Boden, 10/2)
CIDRAP: DR Congo Ebola Cases Grow, Deaths Top 4,000 As Officials Struggle To Ascertain Numbers, Trends
The largest-ever Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached 8,300 infections and 4,018 deaths, as a Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF) staff member is evacuated after testing positive for the virus. The staff member was medically evacuated to the Netherlands after testing positive for Ebola on September 29, according to an MSF press release yesterday. Fifty healthcare workers have died of Ebola since the outbreak was declared in May, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in a special briefing yesterday. (Van Beusekom, 10/2)
On cyclospora and flu —
The New York Times: F.D.A. Found Cyclospora During Taylor Farms Inspection In Mexico
The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that it had found two samples of the cyclospora parasite during its investigation of Taylor Farms facilities in Mexico, strong new evidence that an outbreak that sickened thousands in the United States this summer came from lettuce produced by the company. The agency sent inspectors to the company’s processing plant and nearby farms in August, about a month after Taylor Farms recalled bags of lettuce sent to retailers and restaurants across the nation. Friday’s announcement disclosed the first results of that inquiry: Inspectors discovered cyclospora in water from a tank that held outgoing wastewater from the Taylor Farms de Mexico processing facility, which chopped fresh lettuce. (Jewett, Callahan and Hopkins Legaspi, 10/2)
North Carolina Health News: Cyclospora And The Cost Of Convenience
The largest cyclosporiasis outbreak on record in the U.S. this past summer sickened 12,883 people in 21 states, including North Carolina, before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared it over on Sept. 11. In North Carolina, the picture is more complicated. The state Department of Health and Human Services has reported 955 cyclosporiasis cases and 32 hospitalizations since May, more than half in Wake County alone. (Atwater, 10/5)
The Washington Post: Why You Should Think About Getting Your Flu Shot Right Now
Flu is hitting unusually early in parts of the West, catching doctors by surprise as some hospitals see levels of illness more typical of early winter, when the respiratory virus season normally gets underway. Across Seattle Children’s hospital system, about 150 children have tested positive for influenza in the past two weeks, a level the system typically does not see until early December. By comparison, for the same time period last fall, the health system had about 10 flu cases, said Danielle Zerr, who heads the pediatric infectious diseases division. The percentage of flu tests coming back positive has also risen sharply, signaling that the virus is spreading more widely in the community. (Sun, 10/4)
