public health

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Deadly Virus Hits Kids in China

EV71 claims at least 21 lives, mostly young children

(Newser) - Almost 3,000 children living in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui have been infected with a deadly intestinal virus. At least 21 children have died of Enterovirus 71, a highly contagious malady whose cause remains unknown, reports state-run media. Most of the victims have been children under the age...

77% of US Moms Breast-Feed
 77% of US Moms Breast-Feed 
Apr 30, 2008 7:07 PM CDT

77% of US Moms Breast-Feed

Percentage highest in survey's history; rise greatest among African-Americans

(Newser) - About 77% of new mothers breast-feed, the highest percentage since the CDC began taking surveys 20 years ago. The agency cites public-awareness campaigns about its health benefits for the rise, noting that only 60% of mothers breast-fed in 1994, the AP reports. Changing cultural attitudes that accommodate the practice also...

NY Stays Calorie-Count Law
 NY Stays Calorie-Count Law 
Apr 21, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

NY Stays Calorie-Count Law

Restaurants use delay to seek another delay

(Newser) - Today a New York judge delayed a law requiring Big Apple eateries to list calorie content on menus. Set to kick in today, the law is now slated to take effect Friday—which gives the city time to sort out a suit by New York restaurants, which are seeking yet...

Health History Hidden in Urine
 Health History Hidden in Urine 
Apr 21, 2008 10:07 AM CDT

Health History Hidden in Urine

Metabolites differ across national, ethnic boundaries, could offer insight into disease

(Newser) - Urine does indeed hold metabolic clues, researchers have found, and could shed light on blood pressure and heart problems, the Times of London reports. "Metabolic profiling can tell us how specific aspects of a person’s diet and how much they drink are contributing to their risks for certain...

Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical
Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical
Apr 18, 2008 1:31 PM CDT

Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical

Company will yank bottles containing bisphenol A

(Newser) - The maker of Nalgene bottles will pull the products from stores over concerns about the health effects of the chemical bisphenol A, Reuters reports. The plastic water bottles, long a favorite of hikers, will be made with BPA-free materials going forward. The move comes despite the chemical industry's assurances that...

Cataract Risk Linked to Climate Change

Rising UV levels will hit developing countries hardest

(Newser) - As climate change drives ozone depletion and increases the level of ultraviolet rays reaching Earth's surface, humans' eyesight will be suffering more and more, AFP reports. UV rays are one of the leading causes of cataracts, which in turn cause 50% of avoidable blindness worldwide. The trend is likely to...

For Healthier Teens, Keep the TV in the Den

Older adolescents who watch in their bedrooms pick up bad habits with the remote

(Newser) - Older teens feeling too fit, well nourished, and smart can turn all that around with one simple move: install a TV in the bedroom. Kids 15 to 18 with a boob tube in the boudoir were twice as likely to watch 5 or more hours a day than those who...

Skip Liplock, 'Go for the Heart' to Save a Life

Chest compressions key in heart attack CPR, says health group

(Newser) - Reluctant bystanders can skip mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if they witness someone collapse from a heart attack, but should attempt "hands-only" CPR to save a life, the American Heart Association has recommended.  With less than a third of cardiac arrest victims receiving any form of CPR before it's too late,...

Mental Decline Strikes 1/3 of Seniors
Mental Decline Strikes 1/3
of Seniors
Mar 18, 2008 12:53 PM CDT

Mental Decline Strikes 1/3 of Seniors

Alzheimer's will afflict 1 in 8 baby boomers, report projects

(Newser) - Cognitive problems ranging from forgetting what day it is to full-blown dementia are affecting one-third of the nation's seniors, reports a new study by the National Institute on Aging. The report says 22% of those over 71 have mild impairment, added to 16% suffering dementia, the Washington Post reports. An...

Scientists Warn Doctors of Syphilis Comeback

Cases are on the rise, doctors not spotting the symptoms

(Newser) - Health researchers have warned that syphilis is making a comeback, and doctors may not be recognizing the symptoms. Developed countries came closing to wiping out the disease in the '90s, Reuters reports, but infection rates in the US went up last year for the seventh year in a row. A...

All Schoolkids Should Get Flu Shot, Feds Say

CDC panel proposes vaccinations for additional 30M kids

(Newser) - All schoolchildren in the US should get flu shots, a CDC panel advises. Current guidelines call for shots for those ages 6 months to 5 years, but the new recommendation raises the age to 18, an expansion of 30 million youngsters, the AP reports. The CDC is expected to adopt...

Malaria: Africa's Success Story
Malaria: Africa's Success Story
Feb 19, 2008 9:45 AM CST

Malaria: Africa's Success Story

Well-funded prevention effort brings down infection rates

(Newser) - A new anti-malaria effort will provide a mosquito net to every Tanzanian child under age 5, reports the Washington Post. President Bush visited northern Tanzania yesterday to announce the program, spotlighting Africa's hugely successful fight against malaria, with committed African and Western governments collaborating on the well-funded strategy. In Zanzibar,...

Smoking Deaths Rocket in India
Smoking Deaths Rocket in India
Feb 14, 2008 11:05 AM CST

Smoking Deaths Rocket in India

Study predicts 1 million will die annually from tobacco-related illnesses

(Newser) - Tobacco use is the smoking gun in 900,000 deaths annually in India, and the numbers are on the rise as the nation grapples with its epidemic-scale cigarette addiction, reports the BBC. At least 1 million Indians will die annually from smoking-related illnesses in the next decade unless the nation...

WHO Pushes Governments to Battle Smoking

Developing countries most at risk, can least afford measures

(Newser) - Aiming to slash the 5.4 million tobacco-related deaths worldwide per year, the World Health Organization today called on governments everywhere to discourage smoking, the Wall Street Journal reports. As it stands, only 5% of countries have programs working to curb the habit, such as advertising bans and warning labels....

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits
Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits
Jan 21, 2008 7:45 PM CST

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits

Strength training provides health benefits that aerobic workouts can't

(Newser) - Pumping iron has long been known to improve strength and prevent injury, but evidence increasingly points to a wide range of other benefits, writes Judy Foreman in the Boston Globe. The findings—decreased heart disease and neck pain, improved metabolism and balance—are driving groups such as the American Heart...

Outbreak Has UK Wards Closing Doors

Vomit-inducing norovirus strikes with a vengeance

(Newser) - Dozens of hospital wards across the UK have shut their doors in an effort to stop the spread of a vomiting virus that has already infected more than 2 million nationwide. With 100,000 new patients per week, many already-overflowing hospitals have been forced to cancel non-emergency operations and focus...

Fight Disease, Not Just AIDS
Fight Disease, Not Just AIDS
OPINION
Jan 1, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Fight Disease, Not Just AIDS

Public health expert urges perspective in global efforts

(Newser) - Global action to fight HIV/AIDS is imperative, but wealthy countries should reconsider committing most of their assistance to just one disease, Harvard expert Daniel Halperin writes in today's New York Times. Cheaply preventable illnesses like diarrhea claim many more lives in the poorest African countries than HIV yet receive scant...

New Approach Targets Tough Parasitic Illness

Insect-borne disease infects 11M annually

(Newser) - A new way to test for Chagas disease offers hope for combating the insect-borne ailment, which can otherwise go unnoticed for years, Reuters reports. The new method involves screening children in small areas where exterminators find the most disease-carrying bugs instead of having to test bigger populations. The disease infects...

Syphilis Makes a Surprise Comeback
Syphilis Makes
a Surprise Comeback
Dec 20, 2007 5:34 PM CST

Syphilis Makes a Surprise Comeback

Infection rates in Europe have soared on safe-sex fatigue

(Newser) - Syphilis, the sexual scourge of the 19th century, was all but vanquished in Europe in the fifties. But it's making a comeback, with 2006 UK infection rates 10 times what they were a decade earlier, and other nations boasting similar stats. Health officials blame the upsurge on the rise of...

Gassy Kudzu Choking South
Gassy Kudzu Choking South
Dec 4, 2007 8:10 PM CST

Gassy Kudzu Choking South

Quick-spreading vine emitting greenhouse gas

(Newser) - It's nicknamed "the vine that ate the South," but experts now warn that the fast-spreading invasive plant is choking more than just power lines, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Scientists have found that the plant emits ozone, making smog worse, leading to health problems—and speeding up climate change.

Stories 321 - 340 | << Prev   Next >>