JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Just west of the St. Johns River, which divides this sprawling city racially and economically, 2-year-old A’mahri Robinson was murdered in his mother’s arms.

Ladonna Johnson was rocking A’mahri to sleep in March when he was shot in the head with a gun she kept for protection.

A’mahri loved going outdoors and ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Two people have died from measles in Pennsylvania, state officials confirmed Tuesday, the first fatalities from the highly contagious disease in the state in 35 years and the only deaths involving the highly contagious disease reported nationally so far this year.

The deaths occurred in Lancaster County, the center of a major ...Read more

Misinformation and distrust are among the challenges facing public health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo as they confront the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Even though the virus has faded from U.S. headlines, key organizations are still at work providing medical care and training to counter the spread of the disease.

...Read more

The City Council of Pueblo, Colorado, voted to ban the distribution of syringes through syringe service programs starting in May 2024.

Also called needle exchanges, these programs are run by community organizations that provide healthcare services. The impetus for the ban, as council members noted, was syringe litter in public spaces....Read more

Lactose intolerance makes drinking milk or eating ice cream a literal pain. For some people, eating a dairy treat can lead to bloating, nausea and diarrhea. You might’ve experienced its effects yourself. If so, you may think of lactose intolerance as a defect rather than the norm.

But did you know that most people in the world today...Read more

While America is suffering a mental health crisis, the good news is that tens of millions of people are getting help. In 2023, 60 million adults reported having sought counseling or treatment in the previous year, and the numbers continue to rise.

Psychotherapy works because of what’s known as the therapeutic frame, a set of boundaries that ...Read more

For years, health insurers have argued that the arbitration system through which they dispute bills must be broken because providers win so often — which obliges insurance companies to pay medical expenses they sought to avoid. Physicians, hospitals and air ambulances prevail in more than 80% of disputes under the No Surprises Act, which took ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland officials declared a measles outbreak in three counties as cases continue to rise, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Officials identified St. Mary’s, Carroll and Cecil counties as outbreak spots. MDH is investigating 14 new confirmed cases in unvaccinated Maryland residents. No public exposures have been ...Read more

No matter what grade your child is entering this fall, your back-to-school checklist is probably already filling up. Here's why a thorough physical and a sports physical should be on your checklist.

An annual visit with your pediatrician provides an up-to-date picture of your child’s growth, development and overall health. For many healthy ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Anderson and Meg Nohner were driving through the heart of Minneapolis on a recent weekday when they got a call from headquarters: A woman was talking to herself outside a business on Lake Street.

Part of the city’s behavioral crisis response team, Anderson and Nohner arrived to find a tall woman wearing bright blue yoga ...Read more

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill Thursday that offers greater protections for reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare — both for patients and for providers in the state — by making it a crime to intervene against such care.

The new law strengthens existing reproductive healthcare protections and also broadens them to now ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday outlined potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, suggesting kids shots should be spread farther apart in contrast to recommendations from pediatric groups.

The request for information fulfills directives outlined in President Donald Trump’s executive order ...Read more

What comes to mind when you think about preventing teen suicide? Crisis hotlines, maybe. Emergency interventions. Those matter – but prevention often starts earlier, in everyday relationships at home, school and in the community. A parent asking about a teenager’s day over dinner, for instance. Or a teacher helping a student find purpose ...Read more

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2026 nearly 11 million people will contract the virus that causes measles. Most of these cases will occur in Africa and Asia, but many countries in the Americas and Europe are reporting outbreaks affecting hundreds or thousands of people.

There is no treatment for measles, but vaccines ...Read more

Growing up, my brothers were fascinated by the first “Rocky” movie. They were trying to get stronger and excel in sports, so one scene stood out almost as much as Rocky sprinting up the museum steps: Before sunrise, Rocky cracked raw eggs into a glass and drank them.

To a teenager, this raised some questions. Why raw eggs? Was ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My spouse will tell me occasionally that their hands and feet "fall asleep," and they experience numbness, tingling and a pins-and-needles sensation. Is this normal, or does it require medical attention?

ANSWER: Most people experience numbness or the familiar pins-and-needles sensation from time to time. Often, it's harmless ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — A high amount of rainfall and humid conditions have created ideal conditions for mosquitoes in Connecticut as state officials say the West Nile virus has now been detected in 22 cities and towns and is spreading.

According to Dr. Phil Armstrong, chief scientist with the state’s mosquito trapping and testing program at the ...Read more

Thomas Zordani flew from his home in Denver to Phoenix for a consultation with a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, hoping to find out what could be done to treat his debilitating headaches after worrisome brain scan findings.

When making the appointment, Zordani said, he’d been told the clinic was in his insurer’s network. Upon arrival, Zordani was...Read more

After an abnormally warm winter and a blistering March heat wave, California has seen a surge in mosquito activity that has driven West Nile virus activity to a five-year high.

As of last week, there had been 30 human cases of the virus and three fatalities across the state, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Then on ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of Boyle Heights residents suffered health problems after a fire at a cold storage facility burned stubbornly for days, including respiratory infections, eye disorders and persistent cough, according to a new study.

The St. John’s Community Health study found the symptoms were “directly related to toxic exposure and...Read more