Utah has confirmed 300 measles cases in an ongoing outbreak, with the virus now spreading in Salt Lake County and new exposures at high schools in that county, according to an update yesterday from the Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD).

“The first measles symptoms are often cold- or flu-like, with cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, and fever, so you may think you have a common respiratory illness and can continue engaging in normal activities,” said Dorothy Adams, executive director of SLCoHD. “But please stay home if you have any signs of illness, especially now that we know measles is actively circulating in our community.”

Please stay home if you have any signs of illness, especially now that we know measles is actively circulating in our community

Salt Lake County has had 32 cases in the current outbreak, while Utah County has 41 and Southwest Utah health district has 194. Of the 300 measles cases, 58 have been identified in the past 3 weeks, and 255 occurred in patients who are unvaccinated. 

North Carolina: 22 cases since December 

In other measles news, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced earlier this week that the state has had 22 measles cases since late December. 

“The rise in measles cases is concerning, especially since most infections are affecting unvaccinated children,” said Zack Moore, MD, MPH, NCDHHS state epidemiologist. 

NCDHHS said most of the cases are related to known outbreaks, including the large ongoing outbreak in South Carolina. 

Byron Caughey, PhD, hailed as a “titan” in the field of prion diseases, has died. He was 68 years old.

Caughey, who died February 15, was chief of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy/Prion Biochemistry Section of the Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases at the National Institute of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana.

His major research areas included Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and prion structural biology, biochemistry, cell biology, diagnostic tests, and therapeutics. Prions are infectious misfolded proteins that cause illnesses such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids (eg, deer) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow” disease) in cattle.

Caughey and his lab developed ultrasensitive real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays, which are used in research and the diagnosis of prion diseases such as CWD.

A legacy of scientific achievement, humility

As co-chair of a CWD contingency-planning work group at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Caughey made important contributions to a 2025 report on CWD spillover preparedness and response.

“He was truly one of the kindest and most intelligent experts I’ve encountered in my career,” said Jamie Umber, DVM, MPH, co-director of CIDRAP’s CWD program. “He had a way about him of making the complex field of prion biology and disease diagnostics feel approachable and understandable.”

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in Pennsylvania poultry facilities this week, including six detections in Lancaster County, which has seen a dramatic uptick in H5N1 activity in the past several weeks.

The largest outbreaks are in commercial egg-layer sites, with 2.6 million birds affected in one Lancaster County location, and 1.4 million birds affected in another. Almost 30,000 commercial turkey birds in two Lancaster County facilities were also affected, as were 179,000 commercial broiler birds. 

In the past 30 days, 51 US flocks have been confirmed to have avian flu, including 23 commercial flocks and 28 backyard flocks. A total of 8.97 million birds nationwide have been affected. 

Pennsylvania is the epicenter of activity, with 11 affected commercial flocks, six affected backyard flocks, and 7,165,500 birds affected in this outbreak.

Libya has become the latest country to eliminate the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that Libya is the 28th country worldwide to officially eliminate trachoma, which is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomitis. Trachoma spreads through personal contact with hands, clothing, or flies carrying infected eye discharge, and repeated infections can lead to scarring of the inner eyelid and blindness. It’s been documented in Libya for more than a century and remains endemic in many countries where access to water and sanitation is limited.

Libya’s Ministry of Health has prioritized trachoma elimination since 2017, aided by technical and operational support from the WHO. Libya’s acting minister of health said the achievement is a testament to the commitment of the country’s health workers.

“Even through difficult years, we maintained our focus on improving eye health services and ensuring no one was left behind,” Mohamed Al-Ghoj said in a WHO news release.

WHO officials said the achievement is notable given the country’s political instability, strained health services, and increased demand for basic services, including water, sanitation, and hygiene. 

“This milestone reflects Libya’s determination to safeguard the health of its people and reinforces our conviction that progress against neglected tropical diseases is possible everywhere,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD.