disease

Randal Halfmann at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City is hoping to treat diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's by influencing how cells make life-or-death decisions.

A Perryville, Missouri, radio personality has died after apparently contracting the West Nile Virus, according to employees at the station where he worked.

Missouri health officials say West Nile virus is spreading more than usual this year. There have already been 16 reported cases.

Missouri is one of eight states in the country where a human has been diagnosed with Chagas disease, a parasitic infection spread by bugs. Scientists are now calling on health authorities to declare the disease endemic in the United States.

A community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks. In Missouri, the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners stands at 90%, while some areas have rates as low as 75%.

The amoeba is a single-celled organism that lives in hot springs, lakes and other warm freshwater bodies. The Missouri health department says this is only the state's third case on record, but infections are nearly always fatal.

Years of drought conditions in the Midwest and Great Plains have opened the door for pests and diseases that are killing trees. Now people working in parks and forests are planting new species they hope can survive the changing conditions.

As the U.S. records its highest number of measles cases in decades, one Wyandotte County district draws comfort from its high vaccination rate. Another is working to catch up.

In the last week, the Kansas health department has recorded four additional measles cases. That brings the state's total to 87, most of which are in southwest Kansas. The disease was declared eliminated 25 years ago.

Red crown rot stems from a fungus that lives in the soil. Its first confirmed case in Missouri was last year, and in one field, it cut soybean yields by more than half.

Kansas has reported 37 cases of measles this year, but Wichita hasn't had a case since 2017. Doctors are bracing for when that finally happens.

Kansas has so far identified 37 measles cases this year — mostly among children — and the first Missouri measles case of the year was reported just last week. Dr. Sarah Boyd of Saint Luke's Health System says vaccinating is the best way to prevent contracting the airborne virus.