Measles outbreak in Ohio plus other health stories you need to read this week

A new blood test developed by researchers in the United States could detect a marker of Alzheimer’s disease neurodegeneration without the need for expensive brain scans or invasive lumbar puncture procedures.

“At present, diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease requires neuroimaging,” said senior author Thomas Karikari, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, which led the research. “Those tests are expensive and take a long time to schedule, and many patients, even in the U.S., don’t have access to MRI and PET scanners. Accessibility is a major issue.”

The biomarker the test uses is specific to Alzheimer’s disease, and the researchers report it correlates well with Alzheimer’s neurodegeneration markers in cerebrospinal fluid.

Its development is still in the early stages, though, with the team planning to conduct large-scale tests in a broader group, including people from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds and patients at different stages of memory loss.

An outbreak of measles has hit the US state of Ohio, infecting more than 80 children as of late December. Cases were first reported in early November, and the highly contagious disease has spread to see cases reported at a market, mall and church, reports the BBC.

The number of cases seen in November and December is higher than all the cases reported in the whole of the United States in 2020 and 2021.

Alongside being highly contagious, measles can also cause serious illness. Vaccination levels against the disease fell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cases have fallen steadily around the globe in recent decades.

Pandemic restrictions that hampered the circulation of viruses other than COVID-19 could be behind the unseasonably early upsurge in respiratory infections in Europe this winter, scientists say.

It comes as European Union officials have recommended that passengers flying from China to the EU should have a negative COVID-19 test before they board.

Czech authorities are preparing to destroy up to 220,000 hens on a poultry farm in the west of the country after bird flu was discovered there last week, in the biggest outbreak to date.

Malawi has delayed the opening of public schools in the southern African country's two major cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe, the health minister said, to try to slow down a surge in cholera deaths.

New research published in eBioMedicine suggests that adults who stay well hydrated appear to be healthier, develop fewer chronic conditions, such as heart and lung disease, and live longer than those who may not get sufficient fluids.

A new study found that older adults who walk 6,000 to 9,000 steps a day have a 40-50% reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as a heart attack or a stroke, compared to those who walk 2,000 steps per day, healthline reports.

The number of young people under age 20 with diabetes in the United States is likely to increase rapidly in future decades, according to a new modelling study published by the American Diabetes Association.

Racism poses a public health threat to millions worldwide. Here’s how.

Why nutritious food could be the answer to some of the world’s greatest health problems.

The digital revolution in healthcare offers the promise of better health and longer lives for people around the world. Here’s why we need to unlock health data to beat disease.