Whistleblower Complaint, California Case Spur Changes in CDC Coronavirus Testing Efforts

FRIDAY, Feb. 28, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Just how prepared the United States is to quell an outbreak of coronavirus on American soil came into question on Thursday, as federal officials changed guidelines for testing after a whistleblower complaint.

The complaint claimed some federal health workers had been allowed to interact with ...

Coronavirus Strikes Men, Older People the Hardest

The coronavirus is on the cusp of becoming a global pandemic and experts say that, if it does, older people and men could be most at risk for serious illness and death.

Men have died from coronavirus at nearly twice the rate as women, and the virus has been shown to sicken and kill older folks at a greater rate than young people, accor...

It's Not Medical Outcomes That Drive Patients' Hospital Reviews

Rave online reviews about a hospital stay may not mean much about the actual medical care there, if a new study is any indication.

Researchers found that across U.S. hospitals, patient-satisfaction scores were more dependent on "hospitality" factors -- like friendly nurses, quiet rooms and good food -- than on hard measures of health c...

Imaging Scans May Lead to Shorter TB Treatment

A new monitoring approach could help improve treatment of patients with tuberculosis (TB), researchers say.

TB is an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs. Treatment involves multiple pills or injection drugs daily for at least six months. Successful treatment depends on the medications reaching pockets of TB bacteria in ...

Japan Closes Schools to Help Stem Coronavirus Spread

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News, Japan) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for all schools to close for about a month while officials try to contain a coronavirus outbreak spreading through that country.

"It is of extreme importance to prevent one patient cluster to create another cluster, so as to contain the outb...

Scientists Spot Early Markers of Coronavirus in Lungs of Patients

U.S. researchers report they have spotted early, subtle signs in the lungs that point to coronavirus infection.

This could help doctors diagnose patients in the early stages of the disease, when it may not be obvious on lung scans, according to the Mount Sinai Health System doctors.

They say they're the first U.S. experts to ...

Healthy Heart in Your 20s, Healthier Brain Decades Later

A healthier heart in early adulthood could mean fewer thinking and memory problems later in life, a new study suggests.

"These results indicate that people need to pay close attention to their health even in their early 20s," said study author Dr. Farzaneh Sorond, of Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago.

Soro...

Blood Flow in Heart Differs in Men and Women

How your blood flows through your heart may depend on whether you are a man or a woman, new research suggests.

For the study, researchers used a sophisticated imaging technique called 4D flow MRI to examine blood flow and to assess how it influences cardiac performance.

Scans of the heart's main pumping chamber, the left vent...

AHA News: What Heart Patients Should Know About Coronavirus

The coronavirus should have everyone's attention by now, health experts say. And people with heart disease have extra reasons to be alert.

COVID-19, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has sickened tens of thousands of people and killed hundreds around the globe. On Tuesday, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director o...

Trump Taps Pence to Head Coronavirus Response, As 1st U.S. Case of 'Unknown Origin' Spotted

Vice President Mike Pence will lead the U.S. response to a potential global pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening.

The move came amid growing political pressure on his administration to take a more energized response to the coronavirus, which has infected more than 82,000 people in 37 ...

More Than 4 in 10 Americans Are Now Obese: CDC

In a sign that suggests America's obesity epidemic is far from under control, a new government report shows that more than 40% of people in the United States are obese.

And almost 1 in 10 is severely obese, the researchers added.

"Over the time period from 1999 to 2018, the obesity prevalence increased about 12% -- f...

How to Prepare, Protect Yourself From Coronavirus

With U.S. health officials this week declaring a domestic outbreak of coronavirus a "not if, but when" situation, one expert in infectious illness offers guidance on how you can prepare and protect yourself.

First of all, if you do develop symptoms such as fever, congestion and coughing, "it's important to stay calm and not panic," sai...

Record Number of Pedestrian Deaths Seen in U.S.

Walking on America's streets is getting ever more dangerous, a new report shows.

Based on data from the first six months of 2019, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) predicts there were 6,590 pedestrian deaths that year, which would be a 5% increase over the 6,227 pedestrian deaths in 2018.

The 2019 figure is ...

What Makes Your Food So Attractive to Seagulls?

Given a choice, seagulls prefer food that's been handled by humans, a new British study finds.

This suggests that the birds may watch you when deciding what to scavenge, according to the researchers.

"We wanted to find out if gulls are simply attracted by the sight of food, or if people's actions can draw gulls' attention tow...

Drug Shows Promise Against Aggressive Breast Cancer

The immunotherapy drug Keytruda might offer a new treatment option to women with an aggressive form of breast cancer, a clinical trial suggests.

The study found that for women with "triple-negative" breast cancer, adding Keytruda to standard chemotherapy improved their odds of responding.

And in the months afterward, women tr...

Want Your Kids to Eat Veggies? Both Parents Must Set Example

Mom and Dad, if you want your little ones to eat their fruit and vegetables, both of you must set an example, Finnish researchers say.

They noted that early childhood is a critical time for encouraging healthy eating habits that continue into adulthood.

Researchers surveyed 100 parents to see how they influenced their 3- to 5...

For a Longer Life, Stay in School, Study Suggests

U.S. life expectancy hasn't kept up with other wealthy nations and experts have cited health care, drug addiction and mental health woes as possible causes.

But maybe the key to longevity can be found in the classroom, new research suggests.

In the new study, a team from Yale and the University of Alabama-Birmingham sought ...

Years of Endurance Exercise May Change Heart Structure

Triathlons, rowing, mountaineering, cross-country skiing: Tough exercise like this done over decades appears to reshape the heart, new research shows.

In older adults, long-term endurance exercise seems tied to an enlargement of the aorta -- the large artery that carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body. But whet...

Weight Gain Is No Friend to Aging Lungs

Piling on extra pounds speeds up the decline of lung function in older adults, a new study suggests.

While lung function decreases naturally as people age, researchers linked moderate or significant weight gain to an even sharper decline.

The study included 3,700 people in Europe and Australia who were recruited between the a...

Study Casts Doubt on Need for Adult Boosters for Tetanus, Diphtheria

Countering a U.S. government advisory, a new study suggests that adults may not need regular booster shots for tetanus and diphtheria if they received a complete vaccination series as children.

Researchers compared data gathered from millions of people in 31 countries in North America and Europe between 2001 and 2016. They found no si...