CDC

Scientists are scratching their heads over the number of leprosy cases in Brevard and Volusia, leaving some to believe it may be endemic to the area.

The health department says 26 cases of Vibrio vulnificus have been confirmed statewide this year, with two deaths in Hillsborough County, and one each in Pasco, Polk and Sarasota counties.

In February 2020, U.S. public health labs received flawed COVID tests from the CDC. As the agency revamps, efforts to be better prepared for future threats won’t be easy, observers say.

Death certificates don’t always reflect the role that extreme heat played in ending a life, even when it seems obvious it was a factor. That imprecision harms efforts to better protect people from extreme heat.

"I know it's complicated, I really do. But we have to be able to do something," says a Pasco County mom whose 21-year-old son shot himself a year ago.

An expert panel for the CDC endorsed the one-time shot for infants born just before or during the RSV season and for those less than 8 months old before the start of the season.

The doctors hope the data helps other physicians whose patients have symptoms that align with leprosy but wouldn’t think to check for it. There have been 15 cases in Florida this year, mostly in Brevard.

Mandy Cohen led North Carolina's department of Health & Human Services throughout the pandemic. Now, she's taking what she learned to the national level.

From 2015 to 2020, about 20 percent of the reported U.S. cases were in Florida, and 81 percent of those cases were in Central Florida, according to a research letter released by the CDC.

In July, coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and emergency room visits have inched up. Recent summers have seen a bump in COVID-19. This year's rise looks modest so far.