Health

The Carter Center said Tuesday that only 13 human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide last year. After decades of progress, the eradication program’s director cautioned the end phase of the global effort to eradicate the parasitic disease will be “the most difficult.” The Atlanta-based center, founded by …

The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Malawi has passed 1,000 while cases have risen to 30,621, the highest on record in the country, Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda said on Wednesday. Most of the deaths occurred in the two main cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre where children have recently …

A pair of conjoined twins were successfully separated during a complex procedure that marked a surgical first for the Fort Worth, Texas, pediatric hospital where it took place on Monday.  The infants, AmieLynn Rose and JamieLynn Rae Finley, “are recovering well,” officials at the hospital, Cook Children’s Medical Center, wrote …

The United States is experiencing a dire shortage of infectious disease specialists, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a medical association based in Arlington, Virginia.  “Infectious disease (ID) physicians have repeatedly demonstrated their importance during critical worldwide crises, such as with HIV/AIDS, the COVID-19 pandemic and Mpox …

A bulging belly might be linked to early physical decline and age-related infirmity. Researchers in Norway recently released a prospective cohort study that looked into the relation body mass indexes (BMI) and waist circumferences (WC) have on “pre-frailty” and “frailty” in older adults, and they published their findings in BMJ …

The Food and Drug Administration released draft guidelines Tuesday that detail the maximum amount of lead that can be found in baby food products, and is part of the organization’s Closer to Zero initiative aiming to reduce childhood exposure to harmful contaminants in food.  “The proposed action levels would result …

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that there were shortages of some medicines in Russia, despite the country producing more of its own drugs, and suggested building up stocks of popular medicines to help meet demand. While prescription drugs are exempt from Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, …

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just proposed treating COVID-19 vaccines in the same way in which many Americans receive the annual flu shot — in order to protect people against mutations of the virus.  Not everyone is jumping up and down about this idea.  The proposal aims to …

The possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday. The mass movement of people during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday period may spread the pandemic, boosting …

The body positivity movement — while rooted in good intentions — has spiraled out of control and promotes lifestyles that are not physically or mentally healthy, a man in the middle of a weight-loss journey said.  “I can say that when I was about 400 pounds, that wasn’t a positive …