Despite being washed with industrial detergent in high, disinfecting temperatures, hospital sheets still were contaminated with the potentially life-threatening C. difficile bacteria, researchers found. And those sheets spread the bacteria to uncontaminated ones.

The good news is that the disease is very rare. Only one in 1 million people will get it, and most of them will recover without treatment. Still, because the disease is more likely to strike children, and because of the mysteries of it and because of the dramatic health effects, it gets more attention than it might otherwise.

In a new study, about 12 percent of bacteria, on average, were able to reproduce in dark rooms, compared with 6.8 percent in sunlit rooms, and 6.1 percent in rooms exposed to UV light, ABC News reported.

Almost Half of Americans Are Trying to Lose Weight: CDC Fri,Oct 19 2018 By E.J. MundellHealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Oct. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The latest national tally on dieting finds that nearly half of U.S. adults are doing what they can to trim a widening waistline.Overall, 49.3 percent of people aged 20 and older said they'd tried to lose weight over the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings were based on a 2015-2016 national health survey, the latest data available.The new stats reflect a significant increase from prior

A new study says that smoking marijuana could raise the risk for any stroke by 15 percent and 29 percent for an ischemic stroke -- the most common kind,

Several brands of ready-to-eat salads with meat have been recalled because they may contain corn products contaminated with salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and 7-Eleven are among the retailers selling the salads included in separate recalls.

A scientist believes that Leonardo da Vinci had strabismus, a misalignment of the eyes, which may have forced the artist to rely on only one eye, a perspective that may have been a creative boon.

In a study of gay men who did not have HIV who were given antiviral drugs protectively, the number of new HIV infections fell from 295 cases in the year before the program rollout to 221 cases the year after.

Brain scans reveal that people who are better at losing weight have more activity in regions of the brain associated with self-control, a small new study reports.

In what researchers call “a breakthrough,” two clinical trials have found that two different three-drug treatment plans could help 90 percent of people with cystic fibrosis. “It’s not a cure,” said one of the lead researchers. “But it could be game-changing.”

Contrary to the usual advice, a new study has found that, unless applied very heavily, skin creams did not raise the radiation dose to the skin during cancer treatment.

The company says there's a need for opioid pain medicines that don't require swallowing, because some patients have difficulty taking oral medication and may not have access to IV opioids. The FDA had earlier flagged two safety concerns.

There's no proof that cardboard baby reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and they may pose other risks, British researchers said this week, concerns that are shared by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Researchers in two new pilot studies report that ketoprofen, a common anti-inflammatory drug, significantly eases swelling and other skin damage from lymphedema.

Women with a history of preeclampsia were 3.4 times more likely to suffer from vascular dementia later in life, researchers have found. This form of dementia is triggered by impaired blood flow in the brain.

New research appears to challenge longstanding wisdom that those who struggle with rosacea should avoid both caffeine and hot drinks of any kind.

The agency is not yet advising consumers to stop eating chicken but urges anyone who does to make sure it is properly cooked. Illnesses began in January, and the most recent case was confirmed in September.

Experts say there has long been concern that obstetrics has focused on babies’ well-being almost to the exclusion or certainly to the detriment of moms, and many hope and believe that tide is starting to turn.

Only two burger chains in the U.S. earn top marks for avoiding ground beef pumped full of antibiotics, according to a new report issued by a group of environmental and consumer groups. Shake Shack and Burger Fi both earned A’s while nearly all other major burger chains failed.

Researchers say that we now know of 102 genes that are associated with autism.

Fewer babies are being born in the United States, and women are generally older when they have their first child, according to a new government report.

In a study of pounds regained after weight-loss surgery, the percentage of pounds put back on helped predict serious health problems, researchers said.

Researchers studying cognitive health related to hearing and vision found that the rate of mental decline was halved after cataract surgery and was 75 percent lower after people got a hearing aid.

Feds and Pharma Spar Over Drug Costs in TV Ads Oct. 16, 2018 -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants drugmakers to list the price of pharmaceuticals in television ads -- even as the industry tried to head off the new rules by promising to give consumers more information about pricing.The Trump administration first mentioned requiring drug prices in ads in May, as part of the government's American Patients First plan to lower drug costs. In August, it began officially reviewing a proposed rule.Members of Congress have also pressed for action. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

The CDC on Tuesday reported 127 cases of a rare but devastating polio-like virus, partially paralyzing hundreds of children in 22 states. It’s the third wave of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) to hit the United States since 2014.