Evan MacDonald

Houston

Health and Medical Reporter at Houston Chronicle

Health and medical reporter for @houstonchron. News tips: [email protected]

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Articles

Harris County reports first West Nile virus case of 2025

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

Female mosquitoes collected from traps around Harris County are selected and then sorted by species at the Mosquito Survey facility Tuesday, June 11, 2024 where they will be tested for the presence of West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis virus in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographerA Harris County man tested positive for West Nile virus, the first case of 2025 in the unincorporated part of the county, public health officials said.
Analysis ranks Texas worst in nation for health care access and affordability

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

In this 2023 file photo, a reminder about Medicaid coverage is displayed at Hope Clinic in Houston. A new report ranks Texas as the worst state in the nation for health care access and affordability. Melissa Phillip/Staff PhotographerA new report ranks Texas second-to-last in the nation in terms of how well its health care system is working for residents, and worst for health care access and affordability.
Houston surgeons perform first fully robotic heart transplant

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

A milestone in robotic surgery was announced Tuesday in Houston, as Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center surgeons revealed they successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States. The groundbreaking surgery at the Texas Medical Center involved the use of a surgical robot to give a new heart to Tony Rosales Ibarra, a 45-year-old man from Lufkin suffering from advanced heart failure.
UTMB lost $19 million in NIH research grants after Trump administration cuts

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

The University of Texas Medical Branch, shown in this 2020 file photo, lost more than $19 million in National Institutes of Health grants that were terminated by the Trump administration.
What RFK Jr.'s purge of the CDC's vaccine committee could mean for Texans

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Rx and Illicit drug Summit, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Kennedy announced Monday that he is removing every member of a CDC advisory committee on vaccines. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)George Walker IV/Associated PressHealth Secretary Robert F.
Woman who had stroke on flight saved by quick landing in Houston

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

Maricela Hernandez Quezada knew something was wrong after she felt dizzy and collapsed during her flight from Turkey to Mexico last week. When other passengers tried to help her stand, she couldn’t speak or move her right side. Another passenger, a doctor from Mexico, recognized she was having a massive stroke. He persuaded the Turkish Airlines flight crew to land in the nearest city with a major hospital — Houston.
Texas measles outbreak expands to new West Texas county as cases grow to 729

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas rose to 729 cases on Tuesday, a net gain of one infection since the last update from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The latest update continues a trend of fewer cases being reported recently, as experts have said they are cautiously optimistic the outbreak is slowing. But it does include the first case in Brewster County, along the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas.
Texas measles outbreak grows to 728 cases, increasing by 10 over the past week

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

The measles outbreak centered in northwest Texas grew to 728 cases on Friday, a net gain of 10 new infections over the past week, according to the latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Ninety-four people have been hospitalized for treatment since the outbreak began in late January. Two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl, died after contracting the virus.
Texas measles outbreak adds four cases, including first near San Antonio

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

The Texas measles outbreak increased by four cases on Tuesday, including the first in the San Antonio area, according to health officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services has now reported 722 cases connected to the outbreak that is centered in the South Plains region. Roughly two-thirds of cases have been in children and teens. More than 95% have been in individuals who have not received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or whose vaccination status is unknown.
What Biden's cancer diagnosis tells us about the disease and its treatments

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Evan MacDonald

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office announced Sunday. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among American men, aside from skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 313,780 new cases diagnosed in 2025, and an estimated 35,770 men will die from the disease. Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing urinary symptoms.