Ever since Donald Trump's return to the White House and the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health, the United States has become the scene of a growing clash between science and politics. One field in particular is paying the price of this ideological battle: health. FRANCE 24's Pierrick Leurent and Valerie Defert report from Texas.
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Between January and August 2025, Texas saw a major resurgence of measles, a disease declared eradicated more than 20 years ago. Nationwide, more than 1,200 cases have been recorded in 2025, a level not seen since 1992.
This crisis reflects a longer-term trend taking hold locally and nationally in the US: the constant questioning of science and medicine, a phenomenon fuelled by social media. These theories are now reaching the highest levels of government, as seen with the recent decision by the Texas attorney general to sue Tylenol, the painkiller accused without evidence by the Trump administration of being responsible for the rise in autism cases in the country. The move contradicted the conclusions of every serious scientific study on the subject.
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Texas, once a pioneer in public health, is becoming a testing ground for an ideology where health becomes a matter of opinion.
English (US) · 