Nearly 90,000 bottles of children’s ibuprofen voluntarily recalled
Bottles of children’s ibuprofen, made for Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., are being recalled due to the potential presence of a foreign substance. (NIH)
(NEW YORK) — Nearly 90,000 bottles of children’s ibuprofen are being voluntarily recalled due to the potential presence of a foreign substance.
According to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration, Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. received complaints from customers who reported “a gel-like mass and black particles” in the drug products.
Four-ounce (120 ml) bottles of Children’s Ibuprofen Oral Suspension are impacted by the recall. The FDA said the children’s medications, intended for pain relief from the common cold, flu, sore throat, headache and toothache and a fever reducer, were manufactured in India for Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
Recalled children’s ibuprofen products have lot codes of: 7261973A and 7261974A and bear an expiration date of 01/31/2027, according to the federal agency.
The FDA is classifying the recall as a Class II, which the agency defines as anything where the “use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
ABC News has reached out to Taro Pharmaceuticals and its parent company Sun Pharma for comment.
A sign outside a mobile clinic offering measles and flu vaccinations on February 6, 2026 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Measles cases have topped 1,000 in the United States for the third time in 26 years.
At least 154 new measles cases have been confirmed in the last week for a total of 1,136, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So far this year, cases have been confirmed in 27 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Just six measles cases were reported among international travelers so far this year, according to CDC data.
About 92% of cases are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, CDC data shows.
Meanwhile, 4% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 4% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.
The current measles situation in the U.S. is partly being driven by a large outbreak in South Carolina that began last year, with 979 cases recorded as of Friday, according to state health officials.
Last year, the U.S. recorded 2,281 measles cases, which is the highest number of national cases in 33 years, according to the CDC. Before that, the last time measles cases rose above 1,000 was 2019 — CDC data showed 1,274 that year. Recorded cases dropped to a low of 13 in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC.
However, federal data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024-2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 92.7% seen in the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tylenol (Acetaminophen) tablets are sold in a drugstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Acetaminophen orders in emergency rooms for pregnant patients fell in the weeks after a White House briefing last year linked its use during pregnancy to an increased risk of autism, a new analysis finds.
Researchers at Harvard and Brown University looked at data from an electronic health records system with more than 294 million patient records from more than 1,600 hospitals and 37,000 clinics across the United States.
They found that orders for acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, fell 10% between the briefing on Sept. 22, 2025 and Dec. 7, 2025, according to the analysis, published on Thursday in The Lancet.
The drop in acetaminophen fell 16% in the first month after the White House news conference and reached a low of 20% in the third week after the announcement, according to the analysis. Over subsequent weeks, prescriptions appeared to trend back to baseline by early December.
This analysis did not track over-the-counter use of acetaminophen sales, which is the most common way people purchase the medication.
Meanwhile, as acetaminophen orders fell, new outpatient prescriptions for a drug called leucovorin increased sharply for children between ages 5 and 17, the analysis found.
Leucovorin is a form of folic acid used to reduce side effects from some chemotherapy drugs and treat folate deficiency.
Researchers have also studied it as a possible treatment for some children with autism who have cerebral folate deficiency, but it’s unclear if it has a role in treating children with autism more broadly, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
At the same September White House briefing, the Trump administration announced it was starting the approval process for leucovorin as a possible treatment for autism.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the drug as an “exciting therapy that may benefit large numbers of children who suffer from autism.”
The analysis found a 93% rise in leucovorin prescriptions in the first month after the briefing and a 113% spike in week two, meaning prescriptions more than doubled compared with expected levels. Overall, the analysis found that leucovorin prescriptions increased by about 71% from mid-September to early December.
“It is unknown whether the results reported reflect changes in patient demand or clinician decision making; nonetheless, they show the apparent power that public authority figures have to drive sudden changes in health care practices,” the researchers wrote.
Many health professionals and major medical organizations criticized the Trump administration’s assertion that pregnant women should avoid acetaminophen, claiming use during pregnancy may be linked to autism.
Studies on a potential link have not shown a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Some studies point to a possible association, but those associations often weaken or disappear once researchers adjust for other factors.
In January, a large meta-analysis of about 60 studies was published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health, finding no link to developmental disorders in children when expectant mothers used acetaminophen as directed.
In response to statements made by the White House, The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) strongly rejected the claim that acetaminophen in pregnancy causes autism, calling it “highly concerning,” “irresponsible” and “not backed by the full body of scientific evidence.”
The group emphasized that more than 20 years of research show no direct link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or intellectual disability, specifically pointing to two high-quality studies.
Acetaminophen is regarded as one of the safest non-opioid pain medication for pregnant women, according to ACOG. The group adds it’s an important drug to help treat fever in pregnancy that can have negative health impacts for both mom and baby if left untreated.
“The White House briefing was an extremely unusual mechanism to communicate medical information and bypassed many standard checks on ensuring accurate messaging,” Dr. Michael Barnett, a physician and professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown and one of the researchers, said in a press release.
“The results show just how much political leaders can steer health behavior even when there has been no change in the evidence for these therapies,” Barnett said.
In a statement, Kenvue Brands LLC, the maker of Tylenol, said it was “deeply concerned” about “unfounded claims” over its product.
“It is scientifically known that untreated high fevers pose potential serious risks to a pregnancy, such as miscarriage, pre-term labor and birth, and fetal malformations.” the statement read, in part. ‘As medical organizations have recognized, acetaminophen is the safest option for pain and fever relief for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy.”
Kenvue Brands added that there are multiple potential consequences as a result of pregnant women using acetaminophen less frequently, including higher rates of untreated fevers and use of medications that are less safe to use during pregnancy,
“Recent additional evidence has identified no increased rates of autism disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or intellectual disability among the offspring of those who used paracetamol during pregnancy,” the company stated.
Jade A. Cobern, MD, MPH, is a practicing physician, board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, and is a fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Stock photo of people commuting on e-bikes and scooters. (Maskot/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — E-bikes and e-scooters led to a growing number of trauma injuries at one New York City hospital, according to a new study published Wednesday.
About 7% of all trauma visits between 2018 and 2023 at Bellevue Hospital Center were due to micromobility injuries. Micromobility is the use of small, lightweight and low-speed modes of transportation such as bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters.
The study showed a growing share of patients who sustained these injuries had accidents linked to e-bikes or e-scooters.
Hospital data showed that, by 2023, over half of all trauma cases related to bikes or scooters involved an e-bike or e-scooter, an increase from just 8% in 2018, according to the study, published in the journal Neurosurgery.
The most common type of mechanism involved a collision with a motor vehicle followed by falls from the bike or scooter.
Bellevue is a Level 1 Trauma center in a large metropolitan city, designed to treat the worst kinds of injuries. Over the study period, about 30% of patients suffered a traumatic brain injury, 26% had injury to the skull or face and 50% required surgery.
“Our study shows that micromobility injuries are producing serious brain and spinal trauma that demands neurosurgical care at a scale we haven’t seen before,” corresponding study author Dr. Hannah Weiss, a resident in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a press release. “In a busy urban setting, we are seeing more and more of these injuries firsthand.”
Most patients seen for these injuries, nearly 69%, needed to be admitted to the hospital and nearly a third needed intensive care.
The majority of patients stayed at least three days in the hospital. Pedestrians who were struck had higher rates of traumatic brain injuries and were more likely to be admitted for intensive care.
“The data point to actionable solutions — helmet use, safer bike lane design and enforcement — that could prevent many of these injuries and better protect both riders and pedestrians, who in our study often sustained even more severe brain injuries than the riders themselves,” Weiss said.
About 20% of patients were intoxicated with alcohol, only 31% were using a helmet and injuries were more likely to occur in the evening hours, according to the study.
“Our findings make clear that urban infrastructure must continue to improve to keep pace with the rapid rise of electric bikes and scooters,” Dr. Paul P. Huang, an associate professor in the department of neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and chief of neurosurgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, said in a press release.
“Future studies should track these injuries across multiple cities and measure whether protected bike lanes, helmet programs, and speed enforcement actually reduce the number of brain and spine surgeries we perform,” Huang added,
Jade A. Cobern, MD, MPH, is a practicing physician, board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, and is a fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit.
