A Washington state woman who was diagnosed with tuberculosis has been taken into custody after months of refusing treatment or isolation, officials said on Thursday. The Tacoma woman, who is identified in court documents as V.N., was booked into a room “specially equipped for isolation, testing and treatment” at the Pierce County Jail, the local […]
Category: Health
Canada now puts health warnings ‘On’ Cigarette
Canada will soon print warning labels directly on cigarettes in a world-first, the country’s health agency announced. New packaging will feature a warning on each cigarette with phrases like: “Cigarettes cause cancer” and “Poison in every puff”. The regulation will come into effect on 1 August, Health Canada said. It is part of an effort […]
Does daily multivitamin use improve memory?
Americans spend billions of dollars on supplements each year, and roughly 1 in 3 adults report taking a multivitamin. But there is a debate about whether this helps promote good health. A team of researchers wanted to assess how a daily multivitamin may influence cognitive aging and memory. They tracked about 3,500 older adults who […]
Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency
Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end. “For more than […]
New Covid variant Arcturus causes pink eye
About 1 in 10 cases of COVID-19 nationwide is caused by an emerging coronavirus strain, XBB.1.16. The World Health Organization has elevated this strain of omicron to one of two “circulating variants of interest.” The variant, which has been called Arcturus, is responsible for a growing share of coronavirus cases in the United States. As […]
Liberal state stocks up on 1000’s of abortion pills
Washington state officials have stocked up on a key abortion drug in preparation for the possibility that it could become much more difficult to access nationwide, pending the outcome of a federal lawsuit brought by anti-abortion-rights groups. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, says he ordered the Washington Department of Corrections to use its pharmacy license […]
Are sugar substitutes better than the real thing?
To satisfy the public’s craving for sweetness and concern about the health effects of sugar, food companies have increasingly turned to sugar substitutes. Natural and artificial sweeteners are added to everything from sodas to toothpaste, lip balm to snack items. Now, studies are raising concerns about the health effects of these substitutes. Late last month, […]
The sad state of U.S. life expectancy
Just before Christmas, federal health officials confirmed life expectancy in America had dropped for a nearly unprecedented second year in a row – down to 76 years. While countries all over the world saw life expectancy rebound during the second year of the pandemic after the arrival of vaccines, the U.S. did not. Then, last […]
Deadly fungal infection spreads across U.S.
A drug-resistant and potentially deadly fungus has been spreading rapidly through U.S. health care facilities, a new government study finds. The fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris, or C. auris, can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems. The number of people diagnosed with infections — as well as the number […]
Will you pay $130 a shot for Covid vaccine?
The U.S. government paid around $10 billion in the early years of the pandemic to develop and purchase Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed. So far, any American who wants the shot has paid nothing out-of-pocket for it — the federal government has footed the bill. But once it’s time to switch […]
Brain-eating amoeba kills Florida resident
A Florida resident has died after becoming infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba, officials say. Health experts in Charlotte County, in southwest Florida, say the victim was probably infected after rinsing their nasal sinuses with tap water. Naegleria fowleri infects the brain through the nose. Officials say that drinking it is not dangerous. Infections are […]
Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack & stroke
A sugar replacement called erythritol – used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monkfruit and keto reduced-sugar products – has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study. “The degree of risk was not modest,” said lead study author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the Center for Cardiovascular […]