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Florida鈥檚 RSV season begins earlier and runs longer than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the University of Florida鈥檚 Emerging Pathogens Institute. New vaccines can help, but most older adults, who are vulnerable to RSV, haven鈥檛 gotten them yet.
A single Central Florida county reported 13% of all U.S. leprosy cases in 2020. Researchers have teamed up to investigate whether armadillos are passing the bacteria that cause the disease to humans 鈥 which is especially concerning as the animals expand their range farther north.
Illegal supplies of fentanyl are being cut with xylazine, a powerful horse tranquilizer. Overdoses involving this veterinary sedative are growing nationally and now Florida officials are tracking the deaths.
The well-known 鈥淎manita muscaria鈥 mushroom is legal to possess and consume in 49 states. The market for gummies, powders, and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.
A recent report detailing problems with Florida鈥檚 patchwork mental health system had reached conclusions nearly identical to those of a similar report from more than 20 years ago. The echoes between the findings are unmistakable. And Florida isn鈥檛 the only state struggling with the criminalization of mental illness, a lack of coordination between providers, and insufficient access to treatment.
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