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Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable malignancies. The introduction of HPV tests and the HPV vaccine over the past 20 years, following decades of Pap testing, have contributed to a steady decline in the disease — with one notable exception. (Chen, 8/18)

Globally, nearly half of deaths due to cancer can be attributable to preventable risk factors, including the three leading risks of: smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having a high body mass index, a new paper suggests. (Howard, 8/19)

Health officials say Florida's meningococcal outbreak appears to be slowing, but they still urge caution against the deadly disease. (Colombini, 8/18)

In the early 1900s, up to 35,000 Americans a year were disabled by polio. The virus, which mainly spread during summer months, was finally tamed with a highly effective and widely embraced vaccine. For decades, transmission had disappeared in the United States. Until now. New York reported a confirmed case of paralytic polio in July, and wastewater surveillance showed the virus may have been circulating in neighboring counties since April. (Rodriguez, 8/19)

A “fast-moving” outbreak of E. coli illness has been reported in Michigan and Ohio. While the majority of E. coli strains are harmless and play a key role in maintaining a healthy intestinal tract in humans, other strains are classified as pathogenic — meaning they can cause sickness that may lead to urinary tract infections, pneumonia and respiratory infections, according to the CDC. (Hassan, 8/18)

So scientists have tried for years to find ways to break down PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. On Thursday, researchers at Northwestern University published a study showing that PFAS can be destroyed using two relatively harmless chemicals: sodium hydroxide or lye, a chemical used to make soap, and dimethyl sulfoxide, a chemical approved as a medication for bladder pain syndrome. (Bendix, 8/18)

Hallucinogen use in the United States has increased among adults in the last two decades, a new study found. (Habeshian, 8/18)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends protections to people with gender dysphoria, a federal appeals court found this week. (Rummler, 8/18)

For older adults at risk of dementia, regular exercise from light stretching to rigorous aerobics can help slow memory and thinking decline, a new study shows. Alzheimer’s researchers said the findings are from a late-stage trial measuring exercise as a potential remedy for people with mild cognitive decline. And they described it as a new avenue to attack a neurodegenerative disease that for decades has stymied researchers and pharmaceutical companies. (Alltucker, 8/19)

Latino, Black and Asian adults are more likely to have diabetes at lower body mass indexes than non-Hispanic white adults, suggesting doctors should lower the threshold for testing. (Franco, 8/18)

KHN: Readers And Tweeters Place Value On Community Services And Life-Sustaining Care 

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (8/19)