health – Page 4

Measles continues raging in South Carolina; 99 new cases since Tuesday

health, Infectious disease, measles, outbreak, South Carolina / Tim Belzer / January 9, 2026

The disease usually develops seven to 14 days after an exposure, but it can take up to 21 days (which is the length of quarantine). Once it develops, it’s marked by a high fever and a telltale rash that starts on the head and spreads downward. People are contagious for four days before the rash develops and four days after it appears. Complications can range from ear infections and diarrhea to encephalitis (swelling of the brain), pneumonia, death in up to 3 out of 1,000 children, and, in very rare cases, a fatal neurological condition that can develop seven to 10 years after the acute infection (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis).

Two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is considered 97 percent effective against the virus, and that protection is considered lifelong. Ninety-nine percent of the 310 cases in the South Carolina outbreak are in people who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or have an unknown vaccination status (only 2 people were vaccinated).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which only has data as of January 6, has tallied three confirmed cases for this year (two in South Carolina and one in North Carolina, linked to the South Carolina outbreak). Since then, South Carolina reported 26 cases on Tuesday and 99 today, totaling 125. North Carolina also reported three additional cases Tuesday, again linked to the South Carolina outbreak. In all, that brings the US tally to at least 131 just nine days into the year.

In 2025, the country recorded 2,144 confirmed cases, the most cases seen since 1991. Three people died, including two otherwise-healthy children. In 2000, the US declared measles eliminated, meaning that it was no longer continuously circulating within the country. With ongoing outbreaks, including the one in South Carolina, the country’s elimination status is at risk.

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RFK Jr.’s dietary guidance: Food funnel features slab of red meat, butter

Dietary guidelines, health / Rejus Almole / January 8, 2026

Earning some praise from outside experts, including the American Medical Association, the new guidelines are the first iteration to directly address highly processed foods. While emphasizing “whole, nutrient-dense foods,” it aims for a “dramatic reduction in highly processed foods laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and chemical additives.”

While the guidelines don’t provide a clear definition of what constitutes highly processed foods or how consumers can identify them, they do offer some broad examples at various points, including store-bought “chips, cookies, and candy,” and “white bread, ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas, and crackers.”

New triangle

In an effort to steer Americans to healthy choices, the new guidance unveils a new(ish) visual aid—a food pyramid that is upside-down, thus resembling a funnel.

The move at least explains a puzzling trend: Over the past year, Kennedy and other Trump administration officials have repeatedly made reference to the food pyramid—though only to mock and scorn it, often with inaccuracies.

“The dietary guidelines that we inherited from the Biden administration were 453 pages long,” Kennedy said in August, referring to the 2020–2025 guidelines, which are 164 pages long. “They were driven by the same commercial impulses that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid.”

On Wednesday’s unveiling of the new guidelines, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary lamented that, “for decades, we’ve been fed a corrupt food pyramid.”

Not only were Froot Loops never listed on a food pyramid, no food pyramid has been included in federal dietary guidelines for over a decade, raising the question of why the administration was repeatedly attacking a defunct polyhedron. The original food pyramid was introduced in 1992, significantly revised in 2005, and ditched entirely in 2011. Since then, the guidelines have used MyPlate as a visual aid, intended to provide a simplistic depiction of the foods people should eat, in their recommended proportions, on a plate.

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AI starts autonomously writing prescription refills in Utah

AI, fda, health, prescription, refill, telehealth, Utah / Kris Guyer / January 7, 2026

Caution

The first 250 renewals for each drug class will be reviewed by real doctors, but after that, the AI chatbot will be on its own. Adam Oskowitz, Doctronic co-founder and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, told Politico that the AI chatbot is designed to err on the side of safety and escalate any case with uncertainty to a real doctor.

“Utah’s approach to regulatory mitigation strikes a vital balance between fostering innovation and ensuring consumer safety,” Margaret Woolley Busse, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said in a statement.

For now, it’s unclear if the Food and Drug Administration will step in to regulate AI prescribing. On the one hand, prescription renewals are a matter of practicing medicine, which falls under state governance. However, Politico notes that the FDA has said that it has the authority to regulate medical devices used to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease.

In a statement, Robert Steinbrook, health research group director at watchdog Public Citizen, blasted Doctronic’s program and the lack of oversight. “AI should not be autonomously refilling prescriptions, nor identifying itself as an ‘AI doctor,’” Steinbrook said.

“Although the thoughtful application of AI can help to improve aspects of medical care, the Utah pilot program is a dangerous first step toward more autonomous medical practice,” he said.”The FDA and other federal regulatory agencies cannot look the other way when AI applications undermine the essential human clinician role in prescribing and renewing medications.”

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Under anti-vaccine RFK Jr., CDC slashes childhood vaccine schedule

anti-vaccine, health, robert f kennedy jr, Science, vaccine / Paul Patrick / January 5, 2026

Under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., federal health officials on Monday announced a sweeping and unprecedented overhaul of federal vaccine recommendations, abruptly paring down recommended immunizations for children from 17 to 11.

Officials claimed the rationale for the change was to align US vaccine recommendations more closely with those of other high-income countries, namely Denmark, a small, far less diverse country of around 6 million people (smaller than the population of New York City) that has universal health care. The officials also claim the change is necessary to address the decline in public trust in vaccinations, which has been driven by anti-vaccine activists, including Kennedy.

“This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Kennedy said in a statement.

Health experts disagree. “Kennedy’s decision will harm and kill children, like all of his anti-vaccination decisions will,” virologist James Alwine, who works with the organization Defend Public Health, said in a statement.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, a vocal critic of Kennedy, blasted the changes, saying “to arbitrarily stop recommending numerous routine childhood immunizations is dangerous and unnecessary,” AAP President Andrew Racine said. “The United States is not Denmark,” he added.

Under the new federal recommendations, universally recommended immunizations are pared down to these 11 diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).

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Healthy 18-year-old welder nearly died of anthrax—the 9th such puzzling case

anthrax, bacillus, CDC, health, Infectious disease, metalwork, welders / Rejus Almole / January 2, 2026

In 2022, CDC researchers found an unexpected pattern. Since 1997, there had been seven cases of infections from Bacillus group bacteria producing the anthrax toxin—all in metalworkers. Six of the seven were welders, hence the term “welder’s anthrax,” with the remaining case in a person working in a foundry grinding metal. Of the six cases where a specific Bacillus species was identified, B. tropicus was the culprit, including in the newly reported case.

Speculating risks

It’s unclear why metalworkers, and welders specifically, are uniquely vulnerable to this infection. In their 2022 report making the connection, CDC experts speculated that it may be a combination of having weakened immune responses in the lungs after inhaling toxic metal fumes and gases created during metalwork, and having increased exposure to the deadly germs in their workplaces.

In the latest case, the teen did welding work four hours a day, four days a week, with limited ventilation, sometimes in confined spaces, and often didn’t use personal protective equipment, like a respirator. Environmental sampling of his workplace found anthrax-toxin-producing Bacillus in 28 of 254 spot samples. Other investigations of welder’s anthrax cases have found similar results.

So far, all nine cases have been detected in either Louisiana or Texas. But the experts note that cases are likely underreported, and modeling suggests these dangerous germs could be thriving in many Southern US states.

The experts also speculated that iron exposure could play a role. Bacillus bacteria need iron to live and thrive, and metalworkers can build up excess iron levels in their respiratory system during their work. Iron overload could create the perfect environment for bacterial infection. In the teen’s case, he was working with carbon steel and low-hydrogen carbon steel electrodes.

For now, the precise risk factors and why the healthy teen—and not anyone else in his workplace—fell ill remain unknown. CDC and state officials recommended changes to the workplace to protect metalworkers’ health, including better use of respirators, ventilation, and dust control.

There is also a vaccine for anthrax that’s recommended for those considered at high risk, such as certain military members, lab workers, and livestock handlers. It’s unclear if, in the future, metalworkers might also be considered in this high-risk category.

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The top 5 most horrifying and fascinating medical cases of 2025

Boerhaave syndrome, brucella suis, Brucellosis, Cholesterol, health, medical case reports, rat lungworm, toothpick / Paul Patrick / December 30, 2025

Florida man makes two appearances on the list.

Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images

There were a lot of horrifying things in the news this year—a lot. But some of it was horrifying in a good way.

Extraordinary medical cases—even the grisly and disturbing ones—offer a reprieve from the onslaught of current events and the stresses of our daily lives. With those remarkable reports, we can marvel at the workings, foibles, and resilience of the human body. They can remind us of the shared indignities from our existence in these mortal meatsacks. We can clear our minds of worry by learning about something we never even knew we should worry about—or by counting our blessings for avoiding so far. And sometimes, the reports are just grotesquely fascinating.

Every year, there’s a new lineup of such curious clinical conditions. There are always some unfortunate souls to mark medical firsts or present ultra-rare cases. There is also an endless stream of humans making poor life choices—and arriving at an emergency department with the results. This year was no different.

The top five medical cases of 2025 were chosen using a blend of editorial judgment and reader interest. There’s a mix of cases stemming from poor life choices and just plain bad luck. Florida man makes two appearances (we’ll let you guess which of the aforementioned categories he fits into). There’s a puzzling, oozing, explosive vomiting, a bioterror bacterial surprise, and, of course, parasitic worms. Best of all, nobody died—a happy ending we could all use as this year draws to a close.

Without further ado …

5. Man eats dubious street food—ends up blowing apart his GI tract

Street food can be among a region’s best culinary offerings. No one can be blamed for partaking. But, it does come with some risks—namely, food poisoning. An unfortunate 59-year-old man fell ill after eating some street food in China. It wouldn’t be a remarkable story if it weren’t for the degree of trauma his ensuing illness created. The man vomited so fiercely that the force his body created to launch the offending substance up and as far away as possible—presumably to another dimension—blew apart his esophagus (the muscular tube that conveys food between the throat and stomach).

Such organ-shattering is called Boerhaave syndrome, which is rare. If it isn’t treated quickly, it has a 60 percent to 100 percent fatality rate. The man, luckily, received care within a few hours of the blast, though his chest was already filling with fluid and his right lung was collapsing. He was rushed to emergency surgery and eventually made a full recovery. However, it required 35 days in the hospital and an additional three months with a feeding tube before his esophagus completely healed. It remains unclear what street food sparked the detonation, but presumably, it is one he won’t eat again.

4. Burning in woman’s legs turned out to be slug parasites migrating to her brain

For days, a 30-year-old woman in New England experienced searing pain that crept up her body, starting with her legs, then moving up her trunk and to her arms. She went to two different emergency departments seeking relief. But doctors at each found no clear explanation for her pain and sent her home with only a recommendation to see her primary doctor. The condition continued to worsen. After waking up in a mental fog, she was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where doctors discovered that she was infected with parasitic worms.

The pain and burning sensations the woman had experienced moving up her body was from worm larvae traveling along her peripheral nerves to get to her brain. The parasite behind the infection was the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as rat lungworm. This delightful parasite typically circulates between rats—its primary host—and slugs and snails. Infected rats poop out larvae, which are picked up by slugs and snails. Late-stage larvae develop in the slugs and snails, then move back to rats, who get infected by eating the infected mollusks. Back in the rat, the larvae make their way to the rat’s brain, where they become adults. Then they relocate to the lungs (hence the name) to mate.

Humans accidentally get infected by eating raw vegetables containing or contaminated by infected slugs or snails, or by eating undercooked creatures that eat slugs or snails, such as land crabs, freshwater prawns, or frogs. In the woman’s case, doctors suspected she got infected from eating raw seafood and salads on a recent trip to Hawaii, where the parasite is a known threat. Luckily, the woman was treated for the infection and made a full recovery.

3. Man gets drunk, wakes up with a medical mystery that nearly kills him

It’s not every day a person gets drunk and wakes up with a medical case so enigmatic that a master clinician with an expertise in medical reasoning is called in to help crack it. But a 36-year-old did just that in a case published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The man showed up at the hospital with abdominal pain, a crackling in his lungs, bacteria in his blood, liver abnormalities, an injury in his small intestine, and a blood clot in his right kidney—and no clear idea of how any of those things happened or how they were connected.

In the case report, doctors lay out how they identified all of the aspects of his condition and then how master clinician Gurpreet Dhaliwal of the University of California, San Francisco, unraveled how they fit together.

Providing a fascinating look into diagnostic sleuthing, Dhaliwal reasoned out that it all came down to beers and a toothpick. The man—who had a history of binge drinking—got drunk, ate something, and accidentally swallowed a toothpick, Dhaliwal surmised. While still drunk, the man aspirated some of the food, causing his lung infection. The toothpick, meanwhile, pierced his small intestine near his right kidney, causing the injury and the blood clot. The injury then became infected, causing sepsis and his liver abnormalities.

After Dhaliwal came to his conclusion, medical imaging found the toothpick. After it was removed, the man made a full recovery.

2. Florida man eats feral pig meat, contracts rare biothreat bacteria

I promised Florida man made the list—and of course, he’s near the top. In this case, a Florida man was gifted the bloody meat of a feral pig, which he handled with his bare hands before cooking and eating it. In doing so, he inadvertently exposed himself to a highly infectious bacterium considered a potential bioterror threat. The man developed an insidious infection that lurked in his heart implant and took doctors nearly two years to properly diagnose.

The bacterium at hand is Brucella suis, which typically infects pigs. The bacterium is not particularly deadly, but it can spread by air and only takes a few bacterial cells to cause an infection, making it a good potential weapon. In 1954, B. suis became the first biological agent to be weaponized by the US government as part of its offensive biological warfare program.

Once the man’s infection was finally diagnosed, he was treated with an effective antibiotic regimen to clear it. He also got a new heart implant and made a full recovery. Unfortunately, due to the high infectiousness of the germ, doctors had to reach out to all the man’s previous health care providers and clinical lab workers to warn them of the exposure. Three lab workers were found to have had a high-risk exposure and had to undergo months monitoring and post-exposure prophylaxis.

1. Florida man eats diet of butter, cheese, beef; cholesterol oozes from his body

While that Florida man’s case was … unusual, it mostly stems to some bad luck—who among us hasn’t occasionally forgotten to check our gifted feral pig meat for bioterror threats? By contrast, this year’s top medical case goes to another Florida man, whose life choices are definitely in question.

In January, we shared the case of a Florida man who adopted a daily diet of six to nine pounds of cheese, sticks of butter, and hamburgers that had additional fat incorporated into them. He made the medical literature after eight months, when he showed up to cardiologists with cholesterol literally oozing out of his hands, feet, and elbows.

As the cholesterol was trying to escape his body, it created painless, yellowish nodules filled with lipids. The condition is called xanthoma and most often presents with nodules around the eye.

The cardiologists tested the man’s blood cholesterol levels and found that they exceeded 1,000 mg/dL. For context, the target level of total cholesterol for good cardiovascular health is under 200 mg/dL, while 240 mg/dL or over is considered high.

It’s unclear how things ended up for the man, but at least his doctors did not report that he died—at least not yet. Generally, xanthoma itself is benign; his cholesterol levels, on the other hand, put him at significant risk of cardiovascular disease. Still, he suggested to his doctors that he was pleased with his dairy-heavy diet, which he described as a “carnivore diet.” He claimed he lost weight, had more energy, and improved his “mental clarity.”

With that, we sign off on the medical line-up of 2025 and look forward to what medical horrors 2026 will hold—and what Florida man will do next.

Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes.

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Man shocks doctors with extreme blood pressure, stroke from energy drinks

blood pressure, caffeine, cardiovascular disease, case report, energy drinks, health, hypertension, stroke / Kris Guyer / December 12, 2025

Sometimes, downing an energy drink can feel like refueling your battery. But with too much, that jolt can turn into a catastrophic surge that fries the wiring and blows a fuse. That was the unfortunate and alarming case for a man in the UK several years ago, according to a case report this week in BMJ Case Reports.

The man, who was in his 50s and otherwise healthy, showed up at a hospital after the entire left side of his body abruptly went numb and he was left with clumsy, uncoordinated muscle movements (ataxia). His blood pressure was astonishingly high, at 254/150 mm Hg. For context, a normal reading is under 120/80, while anything over 180/120 is considered a hypertensive crisis, which is a medical emergency.

The man had suffered a mild stroke, and his extremely high blood pressure was an obvious factor. But why his blood pressure had reached stratospheric heights was far less obvious to his doctors, according to the retrospective case report written by Martha Coyle and Sunil Munshi of Nottingham University Hospital.

Upon examining the man, the doctors described him as fit and healthy. He didn’t smoke, drink, or use any drugs. His blood work was all completely normal. His cholesterol, blood sugar levels, markers for kidney and liver function—everything from routine tests came back normal. Specialized tests for things like autoimmune and clotting disorders were also negative. Heart tests found no problems. Urine tests and abdominal scans found no problems with his other organs.

Power surge

Still, a computed tomography (CT) scan of his head found evidence of spasms in arteries in his brain, which are strongly linked to high blood pressure. And magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) found an infarct (dead tissue) in his thalamus, a central, deep part of the brain, which, among many critical functions, relays sensory and motor signals. In all, it seemed his spasming arteries had cut off blood supply to this part of his brain, causing his stroke, subsequent numbness, and ataxia.

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Senator endorses discredited doctor’s book that claims chemical treats autism, cancer

chlorine dioxide, Dr. Pierre Kory, health, jenna mccarthy, Sen. Ron Johnson / Paul Patrick / December 12, 2025

Safety experts advise those who handle chlorine dioxide to work in well-ventilated spaces, wear gloves.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) gives a thumbs up to chlorine dioxide. Credit: Scott Olson

For years, Sen. Ron Johnson has been spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines.

He’s promoted disproven treatments for COVID-19 and claimed, without evidence, that athletes are “dropping dead on the field” after getting the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the Wisconsin politician is endorsing a book by a discredited doctor promoting an unproven and dangerous treatment for autism and a host of ailments: chlorine dioxide, a chemical used for disinfecting and bleaching.

The book is “The War on Chlorine Dioxide: The Medicine that Could End Medicine” by Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist who practiced in Wisconsin hospitals before losing his medical certification for statements advocating using an antiparasite medication to treat COVID-19. The action, he’s said, makes him unemployable, even though he still has a license.

Kory has said there’s a globally coordinated campaign by public health agencies, the drug industry, and the media to suppress evidence of the medicinal wonders of chlorine dioxide. His book, according to its website, contends that the “remarkable molecule” works “to treat everything from cancer and malaria to autism and COVID.”

The book jacket features a prominent blurb from Johnson calling the doctor’s treatise: “A gripping tale of corruption and courage that will open eyes and prompt serious questions.”

Chlorine dioxide is a chemical compound that has a range of applications, including as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment. Hospitals use it to sterilize medical devices, and some municipalities use low levels to treat public water supplies. Paper mills rely on it to whiten wood pulp. Safety experts advise those who handle it to work in well-ventilated spaces and to wear protective gloves.

Concentrations in drinking water systems higher than 0.8 milligrams per liter can be harmful, especially to infants, young children, and fetuses, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Still, for many years people in online discussion groups have been promoting the use of chlorine dioxide in a mixture that they call a “miracle mineral solution,” ingested to rid people of a host of maladies. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that drinking these chlorine dioxide mixtures can cause injury and even death.

It is not medicinal, despite Kory’s contention. “It is all lunacy. Absolutely, it’s 100% nonsense,” said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society in Montreal and an expert on the threat of pseudoscience. Schwarcz has written articles about the so-called miracle mineral solution, calling it “a poison” when it’s in high concentrations.

Kory’s book, set to be released to the public in January, argues that word of chlorine dioxide’s effectiveness has been suppressed by government and medical forces that need people to remain perpetually ill to generate large profits. The use of the word “war” in the title is fitting, Kory said in a recent online video on his co-author’s Substack. “In the book I detail many, many assassination attempts of doctors who try to bring out knowledge around chlorine dioxide,” he said.

Johnson confirmed to ProPublica in an email that he authorized the statement on the cover. “After reading the entire book, yes I provided and approved that blurb,” he said. “Have you read the book?”

ProPublica asked Kory and his co-author, Jenna McCarthy, to provide an advance copy, an interview, and responses to written questions. Kory did not respond. McCarthy wrote in an email to ProPublica that she was addressing some of the questions on her Substack. (She did not send a book or agree to an interview.)

The book “is a comprehensive examination of the existing evidence and a plea for open-minded inquiry and rigorous research,” she wrote on Substack. She dismissed warnings about chlorine dioxide’s toxicity in high concentrations, writing: “Everything has a toxic dose — including nutmeg, spinach, and tap water.”

She said that chlorine dioxide is being studied in controlled settings by researchers in the United States and Latin America and that “the real debate is how it should be used, at what dose, and in which clinical contexts.”

Her Substack post was signed “Jenna (& Pierre).”

Johnson did not agree to an interview and did not answer questions emailed to his office by ProPublica, including whether he views chlorine dioxide as a world-changing medical treatment and whether he believes the FDA warnings are false.

“It’s called snake oil”

Johnson has been an advocate of Kory’s for years, calling the doctor as an expert witness in two 2020 Senate hearings. In one, Kory championed taking the drug ivermectin, an antiparasite medicine, to treat COVID-19.

In 2021, an analysis of data from clinical trials concluded that ivermectin could reduce deaths from COVID-19 and may produce other positive effects. McCarthy cited that analysis in her Substack response.

In 2022, however, the American Journal of Therapeutics, which had published the study, warned that suspicious data “appears to invalidate the findings” regarding ivermectin’s potential to decrease deaths.

Later clinical trials have found no beneficial effect of ivermectin for COVID-19, and the FDA has warned that taking large doses can be dangerous. The drug’s manufacturer has said it hadn’t found any scientific basis for the idea that ivermectin can effectively treat COVID-19. Kory, though, continued advocating for ivermectin.

In 2024 the American Board of Internal Medicine, which credentials physicians in certain specialties, revoked Kory’s certifications in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, and critical care for making false and misleading public statements about the ability of ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Hospitals and many insurance networks typically require doctors to be board certified.

Kory vigorously fought the disciplinary action, arguing to the ABIM that he provided substantial medical and scientific evidence to support his recommendations for addressing COVID-19, though not the “consensus-driven” approach. He also sued the board in federal court, citing his free speech rights in a case that is still progressing in the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. On Substack, McCarthy excoriated the ABIM, saying it “bullies physicians” and “enforces ideological conformity.”

In 2022, Johnson and Kory penned a Fox News op-ed opposing a California bill that would strip doctors’ licenses for espousing misinformation about COVID-19. The bill became law but was repealed after a court fight. A federal judge found the statute’s definition of misinformation to be too vague, which could infringe on doctors’ right to free speech.

Johnson, who has been in Congress since 2011, has a history of advocating for experimental treatments and viewing the government as an impediment. Dr. Peter Lurie, president and executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public health advocacy group, said that among members of Congress, Johnson was “an early adopter of anti-science ideas.”

Lurie said that Johnson is no longer an outlier in Washington, which now has many more elected lawmakers whom he considers anti-science. “What may have started off as the cutting edge of an anti-science movement has now turned into a much more broader-based movement that is supported by millions of people,” he said.

Earlier this year, Johnson held a hearing highlighting a flawed study claiming that vaccinated children had an increased rate of serious chronic diseases when compared to children who were not vaccinated. The conclusion questions the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe. The study’s researchers chose not to publish it because of problems they found in their data and methodology.

In November, Johnson and Kory were listed among the speakers at a conference of the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit that stirs anti-vaccine sentiment. It was launched in 2018 by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose FDA is considering new ways to more closely scrutinize vaccine safety.

HHS did not respond to requests from ProPublica about Kennedy’s views on chlorine dioxide. At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy praised President Donald Trump for his wide search for a COVID-19 remedy in his first term, which Kennedy said included vaccines, various drugs, “even chlorine dioxide.”

Kory’s publisher is listed as Bella Luna Press, which has issued at least two other titles by McCarthy. “Thanks to the Censorship Industrial Complex, you won’t find The War on Chlorine Dioxide on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble. We had to design and build this website, figure out formatting and printing and shipping, and manage every aspect of order processing ourselves,” the book’s website states. (A representative for Bella Luna could not be reached for comment.)

As this new book is released, the autism community is also grappling with another controversy: the unsubstantiated assertion by Kennedy that Tylenol use by pregnant women poses an increased risk of autism. In addition, under Kennedy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its website in November to cast doubt on the long-held scientific conclusion that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.

Some parents of children with autism, desperate for a remedy, have long reached for dubious and at times dangerous panaceas, including hyperbaric oxygen chambers and chelation therapy, used for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. Neither method has been proven effective.

Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University, said Johnson has “acted extremely irresponsibly” in lending his name to a book making claims about chlorine dioxide treating autism.

“Wisconsin is filled with experts—clinical experts, medical experts, scientists—who understand and have studied autism and treatments for autism for many many years,” she said. “He’s chosen to completely ignore the clinical and the scientific community.”

People with autism may take medication to reduce anxiety, address attention problems, or reduce severe irritability. Many benefit from behavioral interventions and special education services to help with learning and functional abilities. But there is no cure, said Tager-Flusberg.

Referring to chlorine dioxide, she said: “We have had examples of this probably throughout the history of medicine. There’s a word for this, it’s called snake oil.”

In her response on Substack to ProPublica, McCarthy wrote that “chlorine dioxide is being used to treat (nobody said ‘cure’) autism with life-changing results.”

The search for miracle cures

The mother of an autistic son, Melissa Eaton of North Carolina, heard Kory reference his book in early November on The HighWire, an Internet talk show hosted by Del Bigtree, a prominent vaccine skeptic and former communications director for Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign. She then looked up the book online and noticed Johnson’s endorsement.

Eaton for many years has worked to expose people who peddle chlorine dioxide and to report apparent injuries to authorities. She monitors social media forums where parents discuss giving it to their children orally or via enemas. Sometimes the families reveal that their children are sick. “They’re throwing up and vomiting and having diarrhea and rashes,” Eaton said.

Some adherents advise parents that the disturbing effects indicate that the treatment is working, ridding the body of impurities, or that the parents should alter the dosage.

“Most of these kids are nonverbal,” Eaton said. “They’re not able to say what’s hurting them or what’s happening to them. The parents feel they’re doing the right thing. That’s how they view this: They’re helping to cure autism.”

The idea that chlorine dioxide can be a miracle cure began to spread about 20 years ago when a gold prospector, Jim Humble, wrote a book claiming his team in Guyana fell ill with malaria and recovered after drinking safe amounts of chlorine dioxide.

Humble later co-founded a “health and healing” church in Florida with a man named Mark Grenon, who called himself an archbishop and sold a chlorine dioxide solution as a cure for COVID-19. They described it as a “miracle mineral solution,” or MMS.

Grenon went to prison in 2023 for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug. The scheme took in more than $1 million, according to prosecutors.

An affidavit in the case filed by a special agent with the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations noted: “FDA has received numerous reports of adverse reactions to MMS. These adverse reactions include hospitalizations, life-threatening conditions, and death.”

Grenon, who is now out of prison, told ProPublica that he too is writing a book about chlorine dioxide. “My book will tell the truth.” He declined further comment.

Chlorine dioxide is currently used in many ways that are not harmful. It is found in some consumer products like mouthwashes, but it is not meant to be swallowed in those instances. (One popular mouthwash warns to “keep out of reach of children.”) It’s also available to consumers in do-it-yourself packages where they combine drops from two bottles of different compounds—commonly sodium chlorite and hydrochloric acid—and add it to water. Hikers often carry the drops, or tablets, using small amounts to make quarts of fresh water potable.

But numerous online shoppers post product reviews that go further, referring to it as a tonic. Various online guides, some aimed at parents of autistic children, recommend a shot-glass-size dose, sometimes given multiple times a day and even hourly. That can far exceed the threshold the EPA considers safe.

McCarthy, addressing ProPublica on Substack, wrote: “You point to various online guides that offer what could be considered dangerous dosing instructions. We agree, the internet is a terrifying wasteland of misinformation and disinformation.”

In the Substack video, Kory said he felt compelled to spread the word about chlorine dioxide much as he did about ivermectin, even though it cost him professionally.

He no longer has a valid medical license in Wisconsin or California, where he did not renew them, according to the Substack post. His medical licenses in New York and Michigan are active.

“I like to say I was excommunicated from the church of the medical establishment,” he said in the Substack video. As a result, he said, he turned to telehealth and started a practice.

In the November 6 HighWire episode hosted by Bigtree, the discussion included talk not just of chlorine dioxide’s medicinal potential but also of how cheap and easy it is to obtain.

“On Amazon, it’s literally, you get two bottles, well, it comes in two,” Kory started to explain, before stopping that train of thought.

“I wouldn’t know how to make it,” he said.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

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Ars Live: 3 former CDC leaders detail impacts of RFK Jr.’s anti-science agenda

Ars Live Chat, CDC, health, Science / Tim Belzer / December 11, 2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in critical condition. This year, the premier public health agency had its funding brutally cut and staff gutted, its mission sabotaged, and its headquarters riddled with literal bullets. The over 500 rounds fired were meant for its scientists and public health experts, who endured only to be sidelined, ignored, and overruled by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist hellbent on warping the agency to fit his anti-science agenda.

Then, on August 27, Kennedy fired CDC Director Susan Monarez just weeks after she was confirmed by the Senate. She had refused to blindly approve vaccine recommendations from a panel of vaccine skeptics and contrarians that he had hand-selected. The agency descended into chaos, and Monarez wasn’t the only one to leave the agency that day.

Three top leaders had reached their breaking point and coordinated their resignations upon the dramatic ouster: Drs. Demetre Daskalakis, Debra Houry, and Daniel Jernigan walked out of the agency as their colleagues rallied around them.

Dr. Daskalakis was the director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. He managed national responses to mpox, measles, seasonal flu, bird flu, COVID-19, and RSV.

Ars Live: 3 former CDC leaders detail impacts of RFK Jr.’s anti-science agenda Read More »

Sperm donor with rare cancer mutation fathered nearly 200 children in Europe

health / Paul Patrick / December 10, 2025

A single sperm donor who carries a rare cancer-causing genetic mutation has fathered at least 197 children across 14 countries in Europe, according to a collaborative investigation by 14 European news groups.

According to their investigative report, some of the children have already died, and many others are expected to develop deadly cancers.

The man—Donor 7069, alias “Kjeld”—carries a rare mutation in the TP53 gene, which codes for a critical tumor suppressor called protein 53 or p53. This protein (which is a transcription factor) keeps cells from dividing uncontrollably, can activate DNA repair processes amid damage, and can trigger cell death when a cell is beyond repair. Many cancers are linked to mutations in p53.

When a p53 mutation is passed down in sperm (a germline mutation), it causes a rare autosomal dominant condition called Li Fraumeni syndrome, which greatly increases the risk of a variety of cancers in childhood and young adults. Those include cancers of the brain, blood, bone, soft tissue, adrenal glands, and breast, among others.

The estimated frequency of this type of mutation is between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 20,000 .

According to the investigation, the man was unaffected by the condition, but the mutation was present in around 20 percent of his sperm.

Sperm donor with rare cancer mutation fathered nearly 200 children in Europe Read More »

Over 250 people quarantined in South Carolina as measles outbreak rages

health, Infectious disease, measles, misinformation, outbreak, South Carolina, virus / Kris Guyer / December 9, 2025

The quarantine period for measles is 21 days from the exposure, which is the maximum incubation period before the tell-tale rash appears. Measles is highly infectious, with up to 90 percent of unvaccinated or otherwise vulnerable people contracting the virus upon exposure. People infected with measles are infectious from four days before the rash appears to four days after its onset.

The outbreak is occurring in the northern region of South Carolina, with many cases identified in Spartanburg County, which contains Inman, as well as Greenville County. Both counties have low vaccination rates. For the 2024–2025 school year, only 90 percent of Spartanburg students were vaccinated, while Greenville’s vaccination rate was 92.4 percent. Those numbers are well below the 95 percent target needed to halt community transmission.

The two counties’ low vaccination rates are coupled with high rates of religious exemptions. Spartanburg has the state’s highest rate, with 8.2 percent of students exempt from the school vaccination requirement based on religious beliefs. Neighboring Greenville has a religious vaccination exemption rate of 5.3 percent.

Of the 111 outbreak cases, 105 were unvaccinated, three were partially vaccinated, two had an unknown status, and one case was fully vaccinated.

On a national scale, vaccination rates have declined overall amid misinformation spread by anti-vaccine activists, including current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As such, measles cases are at a 33-year high, with nearly 2,000 cases this year and 46 outbreaks.

Over 250 people quarantined in South Carolina as measles outbreak rages Read More »

Without evidence, RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel tosses hep B vaccine recommendation

ACIP, anti-vaccine, CDC, health, hepatitis B, robert f kennedy jr / Rejus Almole / December 5, 2025

Retsef Levi, an operations management expert and ACIP member who expressed strong anti-vaccine views, said, “I think that the intention behind this [recommendation change is] that parents should carefully think about whether they want to take the risk of giving another vaccine to their child, and many of them might decide that they want to wait far more than two months, maybe years and maybe up to adulthood.”

In the discussion before the vote, Meissner described the motivation as “baseless skepticism.”

With a second vote, the panel created a new recommendation that parents and health care providers should consider testing a child’s antibody levels after each dose of the three-dose hepatitis B series. The recommendation suggests that if a baby’s antibody levels reach a certain threshold, they can forgo completing the series.

CDC subject matter experts, medical organizations, and members of the committee pointed out that there is no data to support this recommendation. Vaccine efficacy data is based on the entire three-dose series, and antibody levels are not sufficient to presume the same level of lifelong protection.

This vote “is kind of making things up,” Meissner said in frustration. “I mean, it’s like Never Never Land.”

There was no data or discussion on the administrative burden or clinical feasibility of testing the antibody levels of a baby after each dose.

The panel approved the recommendation on antibody testing in a vote of 6–4, with one abstention.

Medical experts were quick to condemn today’s votes. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, a board member of the American Medical Association, said the vote is “reckless and undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine.”

“Today’s action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns,” Fryhofer said in a statement.

Without evidence, RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel tosses hep B vaccine recommendation Read More »