Concerns are growing among U.S. health experts about rising cases of dengue fever, an infection caused by mosquito bites that could become endemic to some states within the next decade. 

More than 220,000 children were diagnosed with arthritis between 2017 and 2021, a CDC report published in July estimates. The majority of diagnoses were adolescents between 12 and 18 years old. 

The nation's new COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been off to a slow start, with about 12 million Americans receiving the shots since mid-September, according to an Oct. 24 report from Politico.

Officials at Henry Ford Medical Center Fairlane in Dearborn, Mich., thought they may have had faulty testing swabs for strep throat when rates were so high, but the swabs are accurate, radio station WWJ reported Oct. 23. 

In the 38 years Anthony Fauci, MD, spent as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, he was often asked what his worst nightmare was. His answer remained consistent: The emergence of a new viral pathogen capable of spreading quickly and causing significant morbidity and mortality.

Although both COVID-19 cases and flu are now both low nationwide, health officials are still encouraging individuals to get vaccinated before the end of October. 

Health officials confirmed dengue virus in a California resident with no history of international travel, marking an "extremely rare case of local transmission" in the U.S., the Pasadena Public Health Department said Oct. 20. 

Leishmania mexican, a flesh-eating parasite that also causes fever, weight loss, and an enlarged spleen and liver is now endemic to Southern parts of the U.S., CDC experts told CBS News Oct. 19.

A new biomedical research hub is coming to New York City, with the ultimate goal of bioengineering immune cells capable of stopping a disease in its tracks. 

As of Oct. 19, flu activity in the U.S. is down 66 percent compared to last year, marking a more gradual start to flu season that is closer to the pre-pandemic norm, according to new data from Walgreens' Flu Index.

The spread of mosquito-transmitted viruses is accelerating in the Southern U.S., stirring concerns about the potential return of yellow fever, two infectious disease experts wrote in an Oct. 14 article for The New England Journal of Medicine.

Remnants of the virus that causes COVID-19 may linger in the gut, ultimately causing a reduction in circulating levels of serotonin. This may explain a number of long COVID-19 symptoms, such as brain fog and memory problems, according to new research from scientists at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Last week, 1,127 patients with laboratory-confirmed flu cases were admitted to a hospital, according to CDC data ending Oct. 7.

Following the August wildfires that decimated parts of Maui, the state's department of health issued a new warning Oct. 15 urging the public residents and visitors to avoid contact with toxic ash remnants. 

New weekly COVID-19 admissions are down for the fourth week straight, according to the latest data from the CDC. Meanwhile, flu and respiratory syncytial virus are starting to rise. 

Health experts are betting on a collection of vaccines and a monoclonal antibody to prevent severe illness and minimize capacity strain on hospitals from flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus this respiratory virus season. However, hurdles in accessing the shots may prevent those most at risk for severe illness from getting vaccinated before virus season is in full swing. 

Researchers at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and University of Oxford in England have created an AI tool to forecast which COVID-19 strains will grow in dominance, according to an Oct. 11 article in Nature. 

After seals in Seattle's Puget Sound tested positive for H5N1 avian flu in late August, a researcher at the University of Washington Medical School is highlighting the unprecedented wave of cases in the last year and what that means for human health.

Forty percent of healthcare leaders are "not confident at all" that the U.S. would be better prepared for a future pandemic, according to a September Becker's LinkedIn poll.

Dengue fever, an infection caused by mosquito bites, may become increasingly common across the Southern U.S. within the next decade.