Federal health officials are warning that dengue fever risks are elevated in the United States as cases in the Americas for the first half of 2024 are already more than double last year’s rates. This year has also set a record for global cases of the potentially fatal mosquito-borne illness, the Centers for Disease Control […]
Tag: infections
Past COVID infections may help protect against certain colds. Could it lead to better vaccines?
If you’ve been sick with COVID-19, you may have some protection against certain versions of the common cold. A new study suggests previous COVID-19 infections lower the risk of getting colds caused by milder coronavirus cousins, which could provide a key to broader COVID-19 vaccines. “We think there’s going to be a future outbreak of […]
‘Vampire facials’ at an unlicensed spa in New Mexico led to HIV infections in three women
Three women were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report last week, marking the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through cosmetic services using needles. Federal health officials said in a new report that […]
Salmonella infections linked to organic basil sold at Trader Joe’s are under investigation. What to know about foodborne illnesses.
You might want to pick another night for homemade pesto. Grocery chain Trader Joe’s has voluntarily removed all Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil, sold in clamshell packaging, from its stores amid an ongoing investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into a salmonella outbreak. CDC data […]
CDC warns of dangerous uptick in infections from flesh-eating bacteria in three states — officials say the cause ‘is well-documented’
Rising temperatures have manifested in conspicuous manners along the East Coast, including storms and wildfires. But a new threat has been flying under the radar and is impossible to detect by the naked eye: flesh-eating bacteria. What’s happening? The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published last February found that seven people from North Carolina […]
CDC drops 5-day isolation guidance for Covid-19, moving away from key strategy to quell infections
People who test positive for Covid-19 no longer need to routinely stay away from others for at least five days, according to new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Friday. The change ends a strategy from earlier in the pandemic that experts said has been important to controlling the spread […]
Study links COVID-19 infections in pregnant women to respiratory health issues in babies
Babies born to mothers who contracted a COVID-19 infection while pregnant have “unusually high rates” of respiratory distress at birth or shortly after, a Nature Communications study found. While studies have shown contracting COVID during pregnancy has been associated with adverse outcomes for both mothers and newborn babies, the authors of the study found there […]
How COVID-19 Vaccines and Infections Are Tweaking Our Immunity
Credit – pixelsforfun—Getty Images Your immune system may be getting smarter every time you encounter COVID-19, a new study suggests. After getting vaccinated and infected, the immune system generates broader defenses against the virus, including against new variants. In a paper published Jan. 19 in Science Immunology, researchers in South Korea compared immune cells in […]
What is ‘immunity theft’? How certain illnesses can leave you more vulnerable to other infections.
Having a COVID-19 infection can shore up your immunity to the virus, but can it also leave you more susceptible to getting sick with other illnesses? That’s the theory laid out in a new scientific paper in JAMA Medical News and Perspectives, which looks at a possible tie between COVID and the recent surge in […]
Flu and COVID infections got worse over the holidays, with more misery expected, CDC says
NEW YORK (AP) — The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse but it’s too soon to tell how much holiday gatherings contributed to a likely spike in illnesses. New government data posted Friday for last week — the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s — show 38 states with high or very […]
Double infections hit California hard
California’s hospitals are getting busier with more COVID-19 and flu patients, some of whom are suffering from both viruses at the same time. The simultaneous sickness is another wrinkle in an already hectic respiratory virus season. Although hospitals are not nearly as crowded as during the emergency phase of the pandemic, they are becoming increasingly […]
Sanders tests positive for COVID-19 during Senate break as infections rise nationally
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday he tested positive for COVID-19, amid a nationwide spike in infections. The 82-year-old Sanders, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he was experiencing “minimal” symptoms and will continue to isolate while working from his home in Vermont. “I am glad to be fully up to […]