Health A-Z News

Fireworks-related injuries are rising in the U.S., according to a new report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission released ahead of the country’s Independence Day.

At least eight Grand Canyon rafting trips this spring were affected by norovirus, with more than 150 campers reporting symptoms of the gastrointestinal illness, according to the National Park Service. Symptoms include nausea, stomach cramping and pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

The American Academy of Audiology is warning Americans to protect their hearing this Fourth of July.

HHS Expands Monkeypox Vaccine Plan June 29, 2022 -- The U.S. government plans an “enhanced nationwide vaccination strategy” to fight Monkeypox, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced.“The strategy will vaccinate and protect those at-risk of monkeypox, prioritize vaccines for areas with the highest numbers of cases, and provide guidance to state, territorial, tribal, and local health officials to aide their planning and response efforts,” the department said in a news release Tuesday.HHS will make about 300,000 doses available within weeks, including 56,000 immediately. Up to 1.6 million doses should be made available in the

Monkeypox Going Through ‘Accelerated Evolution,’ Researchers Report June 28, 2022 -- The Monkeypox virus has recently been on an “accelerated evolution,” surprising scientists but possibly accounting for its current growth in places it doesn’t normally thrive, new research in the journal Nature Medicine says.Monkeypox is a viral disease from the same family as smallpox, but it’s usually not as serious. Scientists have known about it since 1958, when it was found in lab monkeys used for research. It is most common in Central and West Africa.But this May, an outbreak of the virus began being reported in

Microplastics Help Viruses Spread Farther, Last Longer, Study Shows June 28, 2022 -- Microplastics that get seemingly everywhere in the world’s water supply also help dangerous viruses spread by giving them a free ride for days, new research shows.“We found that viruses can attach to microplastics and that allows them to survive in the water for three days, possibly longer," said Richard Quilliam of the U.K. Stirling University in The Guardian.Earlier studies were conducted in sterile settings. This was the first research into how viruses act in the real world, Quilliam said."We weren't sure how well viruses

The World Health Organization said Saturday that the growing monkeypox outbreak in 50 countries should be watched closely but doesn’t yet warrant being declared a global public health emergency.

Scientists create a robotic fish that can swallow microplastics pollution out of the water.

The House passed the Senate’s bipartisan gun bill on Friday and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law, marking the most wide-ranging gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years,

On the 50th anniversary of Title IX’s inception, the Biden administration has proposed changes to the law that would protect transgender students and assault survivors on college and university campuses.

U.S. Senate negotiators have reached a final agreement on a bipartisan gun safety bill that could become the first gun control measure to pass Congress in nearly 30 years.

Accused of transmitting viruses to humans, rats do not appear to be as culpable of spreading infectious diseases, researchers report.

This year, through mid-June, at least 278 mass shootings have occurred in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. And as families of the victims grieve, legions of survivors who have witnessed the carnage firsthand also struggle to heal from the trauma.

Swimming Federation Bans Trans Women From Competing Almost all transexual women would be banned from swimming at the Olympics and other international competitions under new rules announced Sunday by FINA, the organization that administers international aquatic events. The new FINA rules say trans women can’t compete in aquatics competitions unless they began testosterone suppression treatments before going through the early stages of puberty or by age 12, whichever comes later. FINA will also create a new “open” category for athletes who identify as women but don’t meet the new criteria. Details about this category will be worked out in

It turns out that those so-called “forever chemicals” are worse for human health than previously thought, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week.

The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that it will rename the monkeypox virus after a group of scientists voiced concerns that the name is “discriminatory and stigmatizing.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has clarified its guidance on wearing face masks to avoid monkeypox after clarifying that it is not airborne and primarily spreads through direct bodily contact.

A proposed plan would tax sheep and cattle belches, a major source of greenhouse gas.

Researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand found tiny plastic fragments in samples collected at 19 sites on the least-populated continent, as reported in the journal The Cryosphere.

The World Health Organization has warned of a strong likelihood that cases of monkeypox could escalate in Europe over the summer months, with transmission of the virus boosted by people gathering at festivals and other large-scale events.

U.K. Companies Launch Largest Trial to Explore Four-Day Workweek June 7, 2022 -- In the ongoing effort to improve work-life balance, a new program has launched in Britain that aims to answer the question “Can you work just four days a week and still be as productive as you were working five?”Some 3,300 workers in 70 U.K. companies – in industries including banks, retail, health care and marketing – started a pilot program this week, the largest trial of its kind.They’ll get all of their pay for working just four days instead of five – in exchange

3-Digit Suicide Prevention Line Is Close, Funding Is Not June 7, 2022 -- The FCC approved a nationwide 3-digit phone number, 988, for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline back in December 2019.Congress, with bipartisan support for a bill signed into law by President Donald Trump, mandated the new system in 2020.But now, as its July 16 rollout approaches, most state haven’t figured out how to pay for the number, which aims to be as easy to remember as 911 and cause an increase in calls seeking mental health assistance, according to The New York Times.That could mean

The global tally of monkeypox cases has passed 800 and continues to increase daily across more than two dozen countries where the virus isn’t typically found, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization.

Children and adults who have trouble swallowing pills could benefit from an invention that helps the medicine go down. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed a gel made of plant-based oils, which can be mixed with medicine, to make it easier to swallow.

More suspected cases of monkeypox are being investigated in the United States, with health authorities in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois reporting their first cases.