RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Antibiotic resistance is a one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. An Army project has developed a new weapon to combat super-bugs, which could protect Soldiers and fight resistance. Bacteriophage, a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria, kill bacteria through different mechanisms than antibiotics, and they can [...]
Since the Zika epidemic of 2015 and 2016 sickened thousands of people in the Americas, and resulted in 3,700 babies born with birth defects —including microcephaly —researchers have produced a deluge of academic papers in an effort to answer key questions about the flavivirus. Yesterday in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers published a comprehensive review [...]
Mike Ryan, MD, the World Health Organization (WHO) executive director of health emergencies, said today that the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been “squeezed into a small geographical area”—a triangle between Mambasa, Beni, Mandima, and Komanda. “The virus is now back to where it began in Mandima, the same [...]
Executive summary Key facts: In 2017, 8.3% (11 787) of the patients who stayed in intensive-care units (ICUs) for more than two days presented with at least one ICU-acquired healthcare-associated infection (HAI) under surveillance (pneumonia, bloodstream infection, or urinary tract infection). Of all patients staying in an ICU for more than two days, 6% presented [...]
America’s food safety attorney Bill Marler, who by way of proper disclosure is also the publisher of Food Safety News, wants food handlers vaccinated for Hepatitis A. Fact is Marler has been on something of a campaign or crusade or jihad with health departments and restaurant owners to get food handlers vaccinated. He’s pleaded, cajoled, and bargained [...]
Are you getting enough vitamin D, aka the “sunshine” vitamin? Among other risks, not having enough of this protective vitamin could put you at higher risk for developing breast cancer. Additionally, research links higher levels of the micronutrient with better outcomes if you have breast cancer. Holly Pederson, MD, Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Breast [...]
Luka is a six month old baby from Pirkanmaa. He participates in a study where the hygiene hypothesis is being tested for the first time in the world. According to the hygiene hypothesis, babies are exposed to too few dusts, which increases their allergies. The study introduces natural bacteria, viruses, and other microbes into the skin of children, who [...]
Upper Respiratory Infection Versus Lower: What’s the Difference? The body’s respiratory system includes the nose, sinuses, mouth, throat (pharynx), voice box (larynx), windpipe (trachea), and lungs. Upper respiratory infections affect the parts of the respiratory tract that are higher on the body, including the nose, sinuses, and throat, while lower respiratory infections affect the airways [...]
Upon Closer Inspection … Every restaurant has to have regular health inspections to stay in business. But even if one gets a passing grade, chances are you’re going to come into contact with a few unhealthy germs there. Some are more likely than others, so it’s a good idea to know where to watch for [...]
(DAKAR, Senegal) — More than 4,000 people have died in Congo this year in the world’s largest measles outbreak, the United Nations children’s agency said Wednesday. The Central African nation is also battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed about half that number since August 2018. Since January, more than 200,000 cases of measles have [...]
