infectious disease

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%.

Naegleria fowleri lives in warm, fresh water and can enter the brain through the nose, where it causes inflammation and tissue death. Fewer than 200 people have contracted the amoeba since 1962, but infection is almost always fatal.

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.

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.

Kansas City, Missouri, has not recorded a measles case since 2019 but that could soon change, as southwest Kansas is experiencing a measles outbreak this year. Officials say religious exemptions to vaccines are becoming more common, and giving deadly diseases a foothold.

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.

The state has identified 37 measles cases, mostly among children. That prompted Kelly to appear in Garden City and urge people to take action.

The child, who is not a Missouri resident, was visiting Taney County in the southwest part of the state and was diagnosed “soon after arrival." Kansas has so far reported 37 measles cases as part of an ongoing outbreak.

Two dozen states, but not Missouri, have filed suit to block the federal cuts to immunization and other public health programs.

Al menos 23 personas de Kansas han dado resultado positivo a sarampión. Las autoridades de salud recomiendan un esquema de vacunación completa contra esta enfermedad.

At least 23 Kansans have tested positive for measles. Health officials urge full vaccination against the disease.