On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the startling announcement that the US military would begin requiring all active duty and reserve personnel aged 30 and older to undergo mandatory screening for testosterone deficiency. The screenings will take place during yearly health assessments. Those under age 30 can also get screened on request.

In a short video posted on social media, Hegseth explained to the military community that the screenings and possible subsequent treatments are intended to "optimize your performance, your resilience, and your long-term health." While saying that the initiative wasn't about "artificial enhancement" and that members could decline treatment, Hegseth claimed that the testing and potential treatment was for "restoring and optimizing" capabilities, protecting "longevity," and "ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight."

But will testosterone screening and treatment actually "optimize" our "warfighters"? Will it help most of them live longer? Should everyone else get screened and treated, too?

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Federal officials on Friday announced that shredded iceberg lettuce imported from Mexico and served at Taco Bell restaurants in five states is a source of Cyclospora, the foodborne parasite causing the nationwide surge in cases of explosive, watery diarrhea. The five states are Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

A traceback investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration identified a single supplier in Mexico as the source of iceberg lettuce for Taco Bell restaurants where sick people reported eating. While federal authorities did not name the supplier, sources told the Washington Post that it is Taylor Farms.

Taylor Farms was also implicated in a 2024 multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated onions served at McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants. At the time, FDA inspectors found multiple violations at a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado.

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Two nominees for high-profile health roles in the Trump administration faced scrutiny from the Senate health committee Wednesday—and both crashed and burned in their own special ways.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) scrutinized Erica Schwartz, the nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Sean Kaufman, up for the role of assistant secretary for preparedness and response.

Schwartz's assignment

Public health experts were "cautiously optimistic" about Schwartz's nomination. She is well-respected and holds views in line with evidence-based medicine, including being supportive of vaccinations—in contrast to anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom she will serve under. She is also highly qualified for the role, with a medical degree, a master's degree in public health, and a law degree. She's had a long career as a Navy Officer and previously held the roles of chief medical officer for the US Coast Guard and deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration.

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The Trump administration on Monday barred US citizens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from returning home amid an Ebola outbreak that continues to outpace response efforts.

Reuters first reported late Monday that Americans currently in the DRC or those who have recently traveled to the Ebola-stricken country have been put on a "do-not-board" list. They cannot travel back to the US until they have spent 21 days in a third country. The order, taken under a transportation authority known as Title 49, was independently confirmed by Politico on Tuesday.

Both outlets noted that roughly two dozen Americans who had been set to board flights home on Tuesday have already been blocked by the new rule. It remains unclear if the bar also applies to government workers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has at least two dozen employees working in the DRC.

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Lettuce and salad greens have become the prime suspects in an explosive outbreak of the diarrheal parasite Cyclospora, which is surging nationwide but erupting to extraordinary heights in Michigan.

In recent years, Michigan has typically reported around 50 cases of cyclosporiasis, which causes urgent bouts of watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea. But, this year, as of July 14, the state has reported 3,309 cases of the food-borne pathogen. Of those 44 have been hospitalized.

Based on interviews with more than 1,000 people sickened in Michigan, the latest data is pointing to leafy greens as the source, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

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A US citizen doing humanitarian work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has tested positive for Ebola, marking the second American infected amid the DRC's explosive Ebola outbreak—and the second to be sent for care in Germany rather than the US.

The Ebola outbreak, which was first declared on May 15, is already the third largest on record and still growing. As of July 12, the DRC has reported 1,926 cases and 702 deaths in the outbreak, which is caused by the lesser-known Bundibugyo strain of Ebolavirus.

Under the Trump administration, the US has adopted a seemingly isolationist approach, implementing stringent and controversial travel restrictions and blocking the repatriation of citizens exposed to or infected with the virus. That's despite the US having multiple facilities around the country designed to safely monitor and provide high-quality care for Ebola patients in these types of situations.

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With no new data or clear reasoning, a panel of advisors hand-selected by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted last September to strip federal recommendations for a combination shot against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox). An analysis published today by independent researchers does the work the advisors neglected to do before the vote and, in turn, shows how harmful the decision is to vulnerable US toddlers.

The decision last fall followed clumsy discussion by Kennedy's dubiously qualified advisors, who make up the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most noticeably, their unprompted review of the MMRV vaccine did not include a standard decision-making framework ACIP has historically used to comprehensively evaluate what the change would mean for US children in practice—including basic questions, such as which children would be affected.

Still, the decision meant that private health insurance providers would no longer be required to cover the vaccine, called MMRV. It also meant the shot would no longer be available through a federal program that provides vaccines to about half of American children, mostly from low-income families.

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Cases of an explosive diarrheal parasite continue to skyrocket in Michigan, which is reporting 1,251 cases as of July 9. Of those, 44 were hospitalized. Meanwhile, across the border in Ohio, cases are also quickly rising, with news reports of a case total over 500.

The outbreak in Michigan began with two cases reported on June 22 and rose steeply at the start of July. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported 572 cases on July 4. On Wednesday, July 8, 239 cases were reported, the highest single-day tally so far. The current total of 1,251 cases includes 159 case reports received on July 9.

The epicenter of the outbreak is in the southeastern corner of the state, where health officials from multiple jurisdictions are working furiously to identify and interview cases to track the source, or sources, of the parasite, which spreads through food and water.

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When surgeons dug into a man's groin to repair a painless bulge, they made the unexpected discovery of a living, 10-inch-long (26 cm) worm snug in his abdomen. Adding to the oddity, the man told the surgeons that this had actually happened to him before, according to a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The 71-year-old man had opted to have surgery to repair the bulge, which was an inguinal hernia. These types of protrusions are fairly common, particularly in older men, and occur when a small amount of abdominal contents, such as fat or a bit of intestines, slips through a gap or weak point in the muscles and tissues of the abdominal wall. This bodily leakage creates an external bulge that, in some cases, can be painful and uncomfortable. If the bulge's contents become stuck and pinched off, it can even create a life-threatening situation called a strangulated hernia. But, in other cases, the escaped innards are painless and loose and can be temporarily put back in place by simple, gentle massage.

Most people with inguinal hernias will need surgery at some point to patch up their weak abdominal wall. But, for older men with no pain or discomfort, doctors may suggest watchful waiting, delaying surgery until the need is clear. This was the case for the man. But he elected to repair the inguinal hernia, which was on his right side.

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Cases of a diarrhea-causing intestinal parasite have exploded in Michigan over the last two weeks in an outbreak that still has no clear source.

As of July 6, the state has received reports of over 700 cases since June 22, along with 36 hospitalizations, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) told Ars Technica on Tuesday.

On June 30, the health department reported 170 cases, which rose to 572 on July 4.

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In some parts of the US, up to 30 percent of people may carry the antibody behind a red meat allergy spurred by tick bites, far exceeding the estimated number of people who actually have the allergy, according a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The findings suggest far more Americans than previously thought may be at risk of the allergy, which can make having a hamburger for dinner a potentially life-threatening choice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously estimated that only 0.14 percent of the US population (up to 450,000 people) has the allergy. But the study also highlights how little we understand about this unique disease—and the challenges of accurately diagnosing it.

The study surveyed blood donations for the disease's key antibody, which is in a class dubbed IgE and specifically attacks a double-sugar molecule called galactose-α-1,3-galactose, also known as alpha-gal. This disaccharide is found decorating the cells of nonprimate mammals, including cows and pigs, but it's also released in the saliva of ticks, particularly the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). People bitten by ticks can develop IgE antibodies against alpha-gal, which can sometimes trigger an allergic response to eating red meat as well as other animal products, such as dairy and gelatin.

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Amid disease surveillance for the ongoing Ebola outbreak, Ugandan health authorities identified a case of Marburg virus disease in a one-and-a-half-year-old child, who has died, according to Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Ugandan health officials appear reluctant to publicly disclose information about the case and its context.

Marburg virus is related to Ebolaviruses and causes similar hemorrhagic disease. Its transmission routes and prevention measures are likewise similar.

On Wednesday, Africa CDC told Reuters that no contacts of the deceased toddler had developed symptoms, and there were no other current active cases in the country, citing Ugandan health authorities. But when Reuters reached out to Uganda's health ministry, a spokesperson said he was not aware of a Marburg outbreak.

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A 56-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with an array of alarming symptoms that were only getting worse. For eight weeks, she had a painful "pins and needles" feeling that started in both of her feet and then began working its way up her legs. By the time she arrived at the hospital, she was unable to feel her feet on the ground. She frequently stumbled and clutched at walls to stay up. But the tingling numbness was moving into her hands, too. Then came neurological symptoms. She told her doctors about short-term memory problems and difficulty concentrating. She was irritable and had no appetite. She was experiencing heart palpitations, too.

According to a case report this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, her doctors looked through her medical history for clues, finding nothing that immediately stood out. She had high blood pressure, a history of anxiety and depression, and hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid). They did notice that, although she had managed the thyroid problem for more than a decade at the same dose of medication, she had been switched four weeks earlier to a stronger dose. But the dosage change didn't immediately raise any red flags.

She also had a history of hip problems. Twenty years before, she had a hip replacement that stemmed from an injury she sustained in a car crash ten years before that. While more than 90 percent of hip replacements last at least 30 years, the woman's started failing her after 19.

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Another large study has found no link between autism and Tylenol use during pregnancy, refuting claims by President Trump and anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In September, Trump and Kennedy held a press conference in which they stated without clear evidence that the common fever and pain reducer acetaminophen—sold as Tylenol in the US and also known as paracetamol—causes autism in children if taken during pregnancy. Trump repeatedly warned pregnant people not to take Tylenol and instead "tough it out" with fever and/or pain.

Medical organizations decried Trump's message, emphasizing that acetaminophen is a safe pain and fever reliever during pregnancy and that untreated fever during pregnancy is known to increase the risk of autism in babies as well as other conditions, including miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth. Still, the president's warning was effective. Texas sued the maker of Tylenol over the alleged connection. And a study in The Lancet in March found that use of acetaminophen in pregnant patients in emergency departments fell by 10 percent after Trump's press conference.

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Anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stacked another federal advisory panel with allies, advancing his efforts to force the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its stance on a dozen popular but unproven injectable peptide drugs.

While FDA scientists determined in 2023 that the drugs lack evidence of benefits and may pose safety risks, Kennedy is a self-professed "big fan" of the dubious drugs and has vowed to "end" FDA's "aggressive suppression" of them.

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration updated its list of advisors who will review the peptides, adding nine new members—almost all of whom personally promote peptide use and/or have financial ties to wellness clinics that offer peptide treatments. The additions bring the total number of advisors to 13, making it easy for the new members to determine the outcome of upcoming meetings.

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