disease

Often when Missourians receive an alpha-gal syndrome diagnosis, they don't know where to start — beyond simply not eating red meat. Some people in southern Missouri are trying to help people adapt to their new diets.

Certain prepared pasta dishes were recalled from retailers like Trader Joe's, Kroger and Walmart between June and October. Health officials urge customers to dispose of them and clean their fridges. Missouri is one of 18 states that have reported cases.

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.