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KINSHASA — An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday.

The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told the Associated Press.

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The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.

There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.

After t..

Parts of Texas and New Mexico have been struck by measles outbreaks, sickening nearly 100 people, health officials announced last week.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday that 90 cases have been identified in the state since January, and the New Mexico Department of Health reported nine cases on Friday. Most of the patients in Texas are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown, according to state health officials. The news comes a week after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, was confirmed to run the country’s leading health agency, sparking outrage and concern among public health experts.

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Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease caused by a virus, and can be severe or even fatal. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to protect yourself against measles is to get vaccinated. Here, TIME answers all your questions about the vaccine.

What is the measle..

The eyes of the Catholic world are focused on Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis remains hospitalized for a number of health issues.

Here’s what to know about the Pope’s health situation—and what experts think it says about the risks of respiratory infections in older people.

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A slew of health developments

The Pope was admitted on Feb. 14 for bronchitis, a viral infection that causes inflammation of the airways in the lung, making it difficult to breathe. While there, he developed additional infections that required him to remain under the care of doctors, and soon after developed pneumonia in both lungs, according to the Vatican.

Over the Feb. 22 weekend, the Pope had an “asthma-like respiratory crisis” for which he required oxygen. He has also received blood transfusions after being diagnosed with low platelets, which help the blood to clot, the Vatican said.

The combination of health issues has kept the Pope from performing ..

There is still no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new deep brain stimulator that could benefit patients with the motor condition.

On Feb 24, the FDA approved Medtronic’s BrainSense Adaptive deep brain stimulation, a device that surgeons implant in patients’ chests with electrodes connecting to the brain. The system is programmed to respond to and manage abnormal brain signals that contribute to involuntary muscle movements in Parkinson’s, which previous deep brain stimulation systems could not do. The device represents the most personalized and responsive deep brain stimulator for the condition.

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“A deep brain stimulator is a brain pacemaker: similar to a cardiac pacemaker, except you insert electrodes in the brain to stimulate brain neurons,” says Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart, professor of neurology, neurological sciences, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. Bronte-Stewart helped design the in..

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, many states have moved to protect the right to abortion, and several have turned to a new tool to do so: abortion shield laws.

The laws are intended to preserve abortion access by protecting multiple classes of people—abortion providers practicing in states where abortion is legal, as well as patients and people who help them access abortion—from civil and criminal actions taken by states with bans or restrictions on abortion. Now, these laws are being tested through two legal challenges in Texas and Louisiana, both involving a New York doctor.

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So what are shield laws exactly, and what does the future hold for them? TIME spoke to experts to find out.

What are abortion shield laws?

Abortion shield laws are “novel protections” enacted in 18 states and Washington, D.C., says Lizzy Hinkley, senior state legislative counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which h..

A man who took hostages in a Pennsylvania hospital during a shooting that killed a police officer and wounded five other people highlights the rising violence against U.S. healthcare workers and the challenge of protecting them.

Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, carried a pistol and zip ties into the intensive care unit at UPMC Memorial Hospital in southern Pennsylvania’s York County and took staff members hostage Saturday before he was killed in a shootout with police, officials said. The attack also left a doctor, nurse, custodian and two other officers wounded.

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Officers opened fire as Archangel-Ortiz held at gunpoint a female staff member whose hands had been zip-tied, police said.

The man apparently intentionally targeted the hospital after he was in contact with the intensive care unit earlier in the week for medical care involving someone else, according to the York County district attorney.

Such violence at hospitals is on the rise, often in eme..