Disease

The outbreak is primarily affecting West Texas, but officials in San Antonio, New Braunfels and San Marcos are monitoring cases after an infected person recently visited the area, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Monkeypox is now spreading through the Austin and Travis County community at such a rate that the source cannot be traced back to a single person or group, Austin Public Health says.

Although monkeypox's recent spread has caused concern, its similarities to smallpox have given the public health world a head start on combating it.

The count of pediatric cases under investigation has grown since the agency's last update, but most of the increase represents previous cases that are just now being reported.

Nearly 23 million birds have died as a highly pathogenic bird flu virus tears its way through farms and chicken yards. It has spread to at least 24 states in less than two months.

The state's top expert said nearly 99 percent of the population has developed some immune response to COVID-19. But other public health experts caution the virus can be unpredictable.

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From Texas Standard:On any given day between May and November, Bethany Bolling and her team of microbiologists at the Texas Department of State Health…

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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Donna Hubbard McCree, Associate Director for Health Equity, Division…