Americans who are traveling to Costa Rica should take additional precautions following a recent travel alert issued by U.S. Health officials regarding an outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Travel Health Alert Level 2 for Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province. The majority of cases were reported at the popular Playa Langosta beach.
Guanacaste, Costa Rica’s top tourist region, is known for its beautiful beaches, hiking and surfing.
Doctors say that certain travel essentials could save your trip.
It is important to take precautions against mosquito bites when visiting this area.
The CDC stated in its travel warning that Chikungunya can be spread by mosquitoes. It is usually accompanied by severe joint pain and fever.
The symptoms usually appear three to seven day after the mosquito bite. They may include headaches, muscle pain, swelling of joints, and rash.
The CDC cautions that while most people will recover in a few days, some may experience severe joint pain as long as a year after an acute illness.
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According to the Agency, there is no treatment specific for chikungunya.
Prevention is key to preventing infection.
The CDC suggests wearing insect repellant, long sleeves and pants as well as staying in accommodations that have air conditioning and window screens. Travelers who are eligible and visiting an area where there is a disease outbreak should also get vaccinated.
According to an official notice by the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica, four confirmed cases have been identified and another 17 are probable. The investigation is looking at both Costa Ricans and visitors from abroad.
This latest travel warning is part of an ongoing series on chikungunya.
The notice said that teams of specialists had fumigated 5,000 homes in order to control the mosquito outbreak.
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The CDC advises women who are pregnant to avoid traveling to affected areas, especially if their child is close to being born, as the virus could be transmitted to a baby at the time of delivery.
The agency advised travelers who experience fever, joint or muscle pains, headaches, joint swelling, or a rash while on their trip or afterwards to seek medical attention.
Fox News Digital contacted the CDC to get a comment.
This latest travel warning for chikungunya is in Costa Rica.
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Fox News Digital reported earlier that the CDC had issued a level 2 travel health notice for Bolivia in early this year following a chikungunya epidemic which occurred within Bolivia’s Santa Cruz Department and Cochabamba Department.
After chikungunya epidemics, the agency issued level 2 advisories to Cuba, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, along with the Guangdong Province of China.

The first time I heard of the Cyclospora epidemic, I held on to my breath. Not because I was afraid I would get sick. But because I knew all this talk about diarrhea and vomiting would lead us to another word: diet.
Social media is awash with people who claim to want to get cyclosporiasis in order to shed weight for the summer. TikTokkers, Instagrammers and others who got sick post before-and after photos blaming their illness for slimmer bodies. Other people are posting videos with text that says “Losing up to 10-20 pounds by a parasite sounds good at the moment” or “I am one parasite from reaching my target weight.”
The latest example is that people are willing to get a parasitic infection which causes severe diarrhea, nausea, cramping and fatigue. This is what the diet culture has taught us: the pursuit of a thin body is important, even if you have to put your own body through hell.
The diet culture frames illness as an opportunity. Many people are now asking: “Could this be an occasion to lose weight?” instead of asking how to prevent cyclosporiasis.
This was the question I asked every time I became sick. My mom passed away from cancer at the age of 11, and I struggled for years with anorexia. When I had the stomach flu or got sick with the flu, I would eat even less. What’s all the fuss? “What’s the big deal?” I would ask myself. I thought to myself, “The culture around me is tolerant of it.”
In 1997, when the film Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion was released (the year in which I also developed an eating disorder), Michele made a comment about how much Romy lost weight for prom. “I got mono so lucky,” Romy responded. It was the most amazing diet.
The same thing happened to my mother when she lost weight due to cancer.
It was also suggested that sickness can lead to thinness during the COVID-19 Pandemic. After I contracted coronavirus, and I lost my taste and smell senses, I was unable to motivate myself to eat. After many years of eating disorder recovery, I experienced a short relapse and fell into food restrictions. Then, people would post on Facebook about losing their taste for food, and then add “But I did lose some weight!”
Ironically, most people who try to lose weight because of cyclosporiasis are ineffective. When someone has diarrhea, they tend to lose water through their bowel movement. Mara Gordon is a physician who writes the Your Doctor Friend newsletter. She told me that it might appear on the scale as a smaller number, but not necessarily a reduction in body fat. This weight loss usually is temporary, and disappears as soon as the person rehydrates. “Dehydration can be serious.”
The “diarrhea” diet is often meant to be humorous, but this can cause harm to all people.
The message is telling fat people it’s better to be sick than look like them. Rachel Millner is a clinical psychology and fat activist. She told me that it also tells thin individuals to be wary of gaining too much weight. Diet culture, as well as patriarchy and misogyny or white supremacy etc., has already determined that being fat is worse than trying to lose weight. “Cyclospora is a means to get closer to this ideal.
After nearly losing my life due to anorexia I cannot help but reflect on all of the messages we are told that we would be happier, more attractive, and worthy of love, if we only lost weight. In the process of writing my memoir I spoke to people who were in their 60s or 70s, and had lived their entire lives trying to achieve a smaller number on the scale. I spoke to several young people, who sought help from doctors for eating disorders and were told they needed to lose weight. Those who were seriously ill then began to engage in even more extreme behaviors of weight loss to demonstrate that they deserved care.
It’s not that I’m angry, but rather sad to see people trying to get sick from eating Taco Bell’s lettuce shredded. This has been associated with the outbreak. Over 200,000 people have viewed a TikTok featuring two women who go to Taco Bell in order to become “#20poundslighter.” A video of a woman making a hasty salad to try and contract cyclosporiasis attracted more than three million views. It is difficult to distinguish between the joke and endorsement when the caption uses #satire.
Shana Minei, a registered dietitian on Instagram, compared those who were trying to catch cyclosporiasis with 1990s dieters who deliberately ate Olestra-laced potato chips (a fat replacement that caused diarrhea) to people in the 90s. Spence wrote: “Diet culture will find a solution when it has the will.” This is why I also say that weight loss and health are not synonymous. “Too many people care only about their thinness and not about health.”
We can’t help but care about being thin, especially when we have access to weight loss drugs and other filters which are able to slim down our bodies and faces. It’s easy to produce and seek content which reinforces this goal when it becomes our ultimate objective. The fact that so many people readily accept these posts as normal suggests we find it easier to accept it than resist it.
But we don’t need to accept that. Millner, a psychologist, explained that the culture either wants us to agree with these messages or to have us gaslit to think they are not a big deal. Name that these messages are harmful and a major deal. It’s easier to distance yourself from the message once you have identified the damage.
I was completely sucked in by the diet culture that was an unnamed force during my teenage years. Now I know something I did not then: It’s powerful to name this force, and weaken its power over us, as well as how we judge our own worth.

A trainer’s 12-minute routine for strength after 50 is all you need.
Strength is no longer dependent on the amount of time spent exercising after 50. The key is to challenge your muscles consistently so that you can move well each day. Trainers have seen some people lift weights for an hour a few days a week, but make little progress. Others transformed their strength with a routine that they followed before breakfast. It’s almost always about quality and not quantity.
Most people believe that building strength involves endless repetitions, heavy equipment and lengthy rest periods. Compound movements, which recruit several muscle groups simultaneously, are a great way to build strength. Short workouts that target your hips, legs, chest, shoulders and back can often provide more benefits functionally than longer isolated exercises. It’s for this reason that I urge clients to use every minute instead of just adding minutes.
Since I have been coaching adults over the age of 50, my strongest clients are rarely those who overcomplicate their exercises. The strongest clients are those who master the foundational moves, execute them with great technique and remain consistent from week to week. The 12-minute routine improves balance, mobility, and posture while strengthening your whole body. You only need a chair that is sturdy, some space for movement, and the willingness to spend a few moments on your health.
Minute 1-2: Sit to Stand
Start with your largest muscles first, as they will waken up the entire body quickly. The sit-to-stands will strengthen your quadriceps and glutes as well as your hamstrings and core. They also reinforce one of the key movement patterns that you perform every day. Each repetition will prepare your legs to walk, climb stairs and get out of chairs confidently. Clients often notice that this simple movement leaves them feeling energized almost immediately because it recruits so many muscles at once.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
What to Do?
Sit in the middle of a chair that is sturdy.
Your feet should be at shoulder width apart.
Slightly lean forward.
Press your heels into the ground.
Slowly lower yourself.
Rest briefly if necessary, but continue for another 2 minutes.
Minutes 3-4 : Wall Pushups
As soon as the lower body is awakened, you can begin to work on strengthening the upper body. Avoid putting unnecessary strain on your joints. The wall push-ups work the core, chest, shoulders and triceps while also improving posture and shoulder stability. Instead of rushing the exercise, I suggest focusing on controlled and slow repetitions. After incorporating this morning exercise into their routine, clients often feel more powerful when pushing objects around.
What to Do?
Face a wall.
Your hands should be slightly larger than the width of your shoulders.
Step your feet back.
Your chest should be lowered towards the wall.
Return to your starting position.
Keep the pace steady for two minutes.
Standing Knee drives
The balance, coordination and strength are combined in this part of the workout. Standing knee drives work the glutes and hip flexors while also gently increasing your heart rate. This movement is my favorite because it closely mimics walking with power, which makes the benefits instantly practical. After completing this two-minute exercise, clients often say they feel more energetic and lighter.
What to Do?
Standing tall is a good thing.
One knee should be pointing towards your chest.
Tighten your core.
Reduce with Control
Alternate sides continuously.
Continue to 2 minutes.
Minutes 8-9: Resistance Band Rows
Strengthening your pulling muscles will help you maintain a healthy posture and protect the shoulders against unnecessary strain. The resistance band row strengthens the upper back and rear shoulders while improving shoulder movement. They are often included because adults tend to spend more time pulling than pushing in their daily lives. It is often helpful to clients to build upper-back muscles so they can stand taller, and move with more ease throughout the day.
What to Do?
Place a band of resistance in front.
Take one handle each in both hands.
Pull your elbows backward.
Your shoulder blades should be squeezed together.
Slowly return to your original position.
Continue to 2 minutes.
Minutes 9-10 – Glute Bridges
A strong hip will support your lower back and provide power to nearly all lower body movements. The glute bridge helps to activate your glutes and hamstrings without putting unnecessary stress on your spine or knees. Stronger hips can make everything easier. From standing to climbing the stairs. This exercise strengthens the foundation and gives the legs a new challenge compared to the first movement.
What to Do?
Lean back and bend your knees.
Your feet should be flat on the ground.
Tighten your core.
Raise your hips.
Reduce with Control
Continue to 2 minutes.
Minutes 11-12 – Farmer’s Carry
It’s nice to finish with something that brings everything together. Farmers’ carries help strengthen grips, shoulders, postural muscles, core and legs while walking. This exercise is one of the best for your body because it challenges you in the real world. After performing this exercise consistently, clients often tell me that they feel more confident in carrying grocery bags, luggage and everyday objects. This is the perfect way to finish a strength-building routine that matters.
What to Do?

Is your spouse’s Alzheimer’s contagious or not?
Marriage has shown to be beneficial for many health aspects. People who are married with cardiovascular disease have lower risks of having a heartattack or dying from the disease. They also have less obesity.
The story, however, is a little more complex. According to a new study, those married to someone who has dementia have a greater chance to develop dementia than married couples without dementia.
There is a substantial increase in the risk for women – up to 74%, while it’s 69% for men.
The research builds upon findings from the previous year, which showed that people who are divorced, widowed or have never been married had a reduced risk of developing dementia. This suggests people form their own networks of friends after a partner’s death or divorce. If they weren’t married before, then they had more energy and time to do so.
How can marriage, which provides support, love and a little spice to life harm your brain health? Scientists have some theories.
Your risk of dementia increases if your spouse is affected by it
This study was published on Monday and looked at almost 1 million married couples in Taiwan. The study, published Monday, looked at nearly 1 million married people in Taiwan.
Dementia, which is a group of symptoms, includes declines in mental abilities such as memory, problem-solving, language and communication.
This study considered dementia of all types, including Alzheimer’s disease (abnormal formation of proteins) and vascular (disrupted flow to the cerebral cortex).
The same was true for both genders in diverse neighborhoods (urban, rural and suburban).
It is interesting to note that, despite the presence of this association, people with more incomes and children had a slightly lower risk for developing dementia.
What can cause dementia in a spouse?
Scientists suggest that there are a few factors at work, such as forces in place long before the onset of dementia.
They first point out assortive mating. It is the notion that couples choose partners with similar educational, socioeconomic and health habits.
A healthy diet, regular exercise, and a higher education all reduce or delay the risk of dementia. All of these early-life factors can contribute to dementia in later life.
There’s also a shared life. Couples may have shared habits for many years. These include diet, physical activity, and social conditions. All of these factors affect the cognitive ageing process.
If one person has dementia, it’s likely that their spouse will also develop dementia as a result of living in the same conditions for a long time.
Researchers say that neither factor is sufficient to explain the findings. This is because dementia affects people of all backgrounds. The richest, the healthiest and most educated are affected.
They also point out the responsibility of caring for others. The other spouse may be the one who steps in first to help the dementia-stricken spouse.
A third of caregivers do this while battling poor health. This group is often not paid and gets little support.
The caregivers are at high risk for depression, anxiety, frustration and anger. It can also lead to drug and alcohol dependence. This increases the risk of dementia.
This study found a slight difference between women and men when it came to spouses who did not have children. It suggests that the woman is more burdened if there are no children around.

The cause of a mysterious group of skin lesions on catfish found in New England was stranger than expected: it turned out that the cancerous growths were contagious.
Researchers from Vermont examined melanoma tumours taken from the brown bullhead catfish, Ameiurus nubulosus (which lives in Lake Memphremagog). Researchers found that the tumors of different fish looked more alike genetically than those on their hosts. This strongly suggests an infectious origin for cancer. Researchers say it’s the only type of animal cancer that has been found to be transmissible. There are still many unanswered questions regarding this and other cancers.
Researchers wrote that “transmissible cancers” are an enigmatic biological phenomenon, which they did not expect to exist. Their paper was published in Nature on Wednesday.
Catfish blackened
Lake Memphremagog, a large freshwater body of water, stretches between Quebec and Vermont. Local biologists as well as fishers in the area have noticed an increase of brown bullhead cats with a blackened surface. By 2014, surveys showed that a third or more of the catfish had blackened skin.
Scientists initially believed that the lesions could be caused directly by viruses or environmental toxins, but it was later revealed to be melanoma tumours. The fact that these cats, as with most other species, live in the bottom of the ocean, meant they were unlikely to be exposed to much UV radiation from the Sun. (UV exposure causes the majority of cancer cases among humans). Cancer rates that were increasing and rising also suggested something was amiss.
Researchers decided to compare the tumors of affected catfish with healthy tissue and other non-affected cats. The researchers expected to discover mutations which could explain why the cells are more likely to become cancerous. They found that the tumors had a very different genetic makeup from the hosts. This led to a more detailed whole genome sequencing of the tumours.
They found that the cancerous tumors were remarkably similar to each other, even though they didn’t share any genetic variations with the catfish or the hosts. This is far beyond what you would expect from conventional types of cancer.
When you examine shared variants among non-transmissible types of cancer, there are many variants. As you begin to compare cancers from more sources, the number of variants decreases. In the case of transmitsible cancers it’s the reverse. “The more samples you take, the more variants are found that you share.”
Researchers did look at other possible causes, including the possibility that toxins from nearby landfills were introduced into the lake. The affected fish were found throughout the entire lake and tests of water quality have not revealed any abnormalities. Researchers have found the cancer in catfish populations across New England. This includes places where there are no significant human sources of pollution. The only explanation, barring any major surprises, is that the cancerous lineage has evolved into an entity that appears to be parasitic, and has outlived it’s original host catfish. It now infects others, like a disease.
Transmissible Cancers: The Mysteries
Bis now, cancers transmissible have been detected in dogs, Tasmanian Devils, as well as at least ten different bivalve species, such clams or mussels. It is the very first time that a cancer has been found in freshwater animals and fish.
This cancer is still a mystery. It’s not known how this cancer will affect brown bullhead cats in the future. Some transmissible tumours like that found in Tasmanian Devils have a 90% fatality rate, but transmissible venereal cancer in dogs rarely causes death and is highly curable.
Also, we don’t understand how the disease is transmitted between animals. These cancers are only found in mature sexual catfish. They may spread mainly when they huddle together at spawning time. It’s possible that these cancerous cells survive in the bottom of lakes long enough to infect other fish. (A similar thing happens when bivalves are infected with a transmissible form of cancer). The environment could still be a factor in its spreading. These tumors have high arsenic levels, which is a known carcinogen. Toxins like arsenic, or hormonal changes during the spawning period might make these fish more susceptible to cancer.
The big question is, how does the cancer avoid the immune system of the fish? Dragon stated that they will explore this because the fish’s immune system can provide some insight into how human cancers are able to avoid our own immune systems.
The first time this cancer split from the original host is also a mystery. Researchers note that early twentieth century scientific reports on melanoma were made in relation to brown bullhead cats. However, Henry David Thoreau described similar looking fish as far back as the 1880s in Massachusetts.
Researchers argue that there may be more cancers that are transmissible than they know, and their effect on the globe is much greater.
We think they may be widespread but are not seeing them. Dragon explained that you often miss things if you don’t look for them.
Researchers plan to study other populations of fish with this cancer in order to answer some of the above questions. Dragon says that even though these parasitic cancers don’t affect humans, they can still be useful in the future.
She said: “I hope people take from this that cancer is not just a human disease, but also a global problem. Genomics is an important tool to research cancer and other diseases.” This project offers us a rare opportunity to study melanoma using a novel approach that can be of great benefit to humans.