A weekly roundup of public health news
Microplastics linked to fatty liver disease
Polyethylene — one of the world’s most widely used plastics — may raise risks for an increasingly common liver disease, new research finds.
Published in Science Advances in July, the study linked exposure to microplastics made of polyethylene to higher risks for fatty liver disease, cases of which are on the rise.
Mice fed the microplastics had higher levels of a blood marker of liver injury, more fat buildup in the liver and signs of worsening liver disease. The study also showed a trend toward more inflammation and damage to liver cells. The damage was worse when polyethylene exposure was combined with a diet high in fat, sugar and cholesterol.
Polyethylene makes up about one-third of the world’s plastic production and is commonly found in food packaging, plastic wrap, food storage containers and beverage cup linings. Polyethylene is the most common type of microplastic found in the human liver.
Fatty liver disease, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, has become much more common in recent decades. About 42% of U.S. adults have the condition, previous research has estimated, and rates are increasing among children as well. The disease, which can cause liver damage, is more common among people with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other metabolic conditions.
Workplace pesticide exposure may raise ALS risk
Workers who are exposed to pesticides on the job may be significantly more likely to develop ALS, a new study says.
The research, published Aug. 3 in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, found that workers exposed to herbicides had a 70% higher risk of the progressive neurological disease than workers who were not exposed. Workers exposed to insecticides or fungicides were at 60% higher risk.
The risks increased with heavier exposure. Workers with high levels of pesticide exposure were nearly three times as likely to develop ALS as those who were not exposed. Men exposed to pesticides on the job were about twice as likely to develop ALS as unexposed men. The study did not find an increased risk among women.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, damages nerve cells that control muscle movement and is eventually fatal.
In the U.S., jobs that commonly have exposure to pesticides include landscaping, pest control and agriculture, the latter of which accounts for about 3 million laborers.
More than three decades after federal rules were adopted to protect U.S. farmworkers from pesticides, another new analysis finds there is still little evidence showing whether those protections are effective.
That research, published Aug. 3 in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, examined dozens of studies on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Worker Protection Standard. It found that no study evaluated the rule as a whole, making it difficult to know whether the protections are improving worker health nationwide.
Another problem was that most of the research focused on pesticide safety training and was concentrated in North Carolina and other Southeastern states. California and Texas, which employ many of the nation’s farmworkers, were included in relatively few studies.
While EPA’s Office of Inspector General called for a formal evaluation of the Worker Protection Standard in 2018, the recommendation has not been carried out, researchers noted. Adopted in 1992 and updated about 20 years later, the standard is intended to protect workers from pesticide poisoning and injuries through trainings, recordkeeping, warnings and other measures.
Measles outbreaks come with high price tag
Last year’s measles outbreak in New Mexico cost more than $53,000 per case to contain, new research finds.
Published Aug. 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study estimated the 2025 outbreak carried a total cost of $5.4 million after the virus spread into New Mexico from a larger outbreak that began in neighboring West Texas.
Vaccination campaigns accounted for the largest share of the public health response, highlighting both the expense of controlling outbreaks and the value of preventing them through immunization.
The New Mexico outbreak lasted from February through September 2025, sickening 100 people across nine counties and leading to one death. More than half of infected people were adults, and 85% had not been vaccinated against measles.
Researchers estimated the outbreak cost about $1,800 for every person who was exposed to the virus, in addition to the per case cost. The total included medical care, public health response and lost productivity from illness, caregiving and quarantine.
About $3.2 million of the cost went toward containing the outbreak, including about $2.1 million spent on vaccination-related activities. Those efforts included vaccination campaigns, contact tracing and other work aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.
New Mexico health officials launched an extensive outreach campaign after the disease crossed the border. The state set up a dedicated measles website and telephone hotline, expanded public messaging in English and Spanish, and deployed mobile vaccination clinics across affected and nearby communities. Health officials hosted 60 mobile vaccination clinics, primarily at schools, community centers, public health offices and correctional facilities. Overall, the campaign coincided with a 55% increase in measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations statewide.
The multi-state outbreak, which also spread to Oklahoma and Kansas, was one of 48 reported in the U.S. in 2025, when about 2,290 measles cases were recorded nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far in 2026, the agency has recorded 37 measles outbreaks and more than 2,370 cases, the highest total in 35 years. Because of ongoing transmission, the U.S. could lose its measles elimination status this fall.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• High levels of lead can be present in the soil around older homes, and they’re often tracked inside, making lead a hazard even in housing without contaminated paint, a new study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology finds. Researchers found that 86% of soil samples collected in an East Trenton, New Jersey, neighborhood exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s residential lead hazard level. Among homes without lead-based paint, 80% of floor dust samples still exceeded hazard thresholds, suggesting contaminated soil was being carried indoors. Lead exposure can permanently damage children’s developing brains, and no level of exposure is considered safe.
• When private equity and corporations take over hospice care, health workers spend less time with patients, even as they’re dying, new research in Health Affairs reports. Hospice facilities acquired by private equity firms saw registered nurse visits decline by 5%, social worker visits by 12% and home hospice aide visits by nearly 7% after the acquisitions, the Aug. 3 study found. Similar reductions occurred after publicly traded corporations acquired hospice facilities. The declines continued during the last seven days of patients’ lives, when care needs are often greatest. Nearly 80% of U.S. hospice facilities now operate as for-profit companies.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.
